Do you agree with Augustine on Baptism?


In our Wednesday evening Bible studies, we are studying the Augsburg Confession. I'm also personally reading the Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession in order to give more background to the attendees of the class. In Article II of the Apology on Original Sin, one of the early church fathers, Augustine, is quoted: "Sin is forgiven in Baptism, not in such a way that it no longer exists, but so that it is not charged."

Every year I have new people in my Bible Inquirer's Class, an adult confirmation class to learn the basics of the Bible. In almost every class people have questions about Baptism. A thought came to mind while reading Augustine's quote. People want to compare what we teach from the Bible with what their pastor and former church taught about Baptism. Now I have three questions for them based on Augustine's quote.

Go to your home church and ask the pastor what his church teaches on Baptism compared with the early church fathers like Augustine. 1. If their church agrees with the church fathers, there's a problem. Because they say they agree, but they don't really agree in doctrine. 2. If their church does not agree with the church fathers, there's a problem. Because how they can be a historical church that does not agree with previous orthodox (true) theologians. 3. If their church does not know the church fathers, then there's a problem. Because how can they be a church and a pastor without being built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles and then the church fathers and theologians who followed them.

In any instance, these new people need to find a church home that agrees with Scripture and the theologians who have gone before us who teach us Scripture.

Praise God that is our Lutheran Church!

Comments

  1. crtewsSeptember 30, 2010 at 8:57 PM

    Most Protestants I know do not respect the the church fathers or care about the early history of the church,or how the disciples of the apostles administered baptism.

    If they do know, they say error has crept into the church as early as the first century.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pastor Michael ZarlingOctober 1, 2010 at 9:31 AM

    Sadly, most Evangelicals today think that we live in a vacuum. They only focus on what something means for them, as opposed to what has happened in the past.

    That's why I'm enjoying our studies of the Lutheran Confessions so much. We see what kind of false doctrines our church fathers fought against 450 years ago. We learn from them because those same false doctrines are still spooking around in the Christian church today.

    ReplyDelete

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