RobertPGH1981
Puritan Board Sophomore
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
1 Cor 7:12-14 ends with the passage stating that "the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." When thinking another passage came to mind regarding Acts 10:12-15 it state, 12In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
It seems like to me this is coming from the Levitical priesthood language of common, holy / clean and unclean. Leviticus 10:10 "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean," A few questions regarding this topic:
1. What does it mean to be common and holy?
2. What does it mean to be clean and unclean?
3. How are the two related? Can something be Holy but Unclean?
The reason I ask these questions because it had me thinking in terms of Baptism. If they mean what I think they mean then you could draw up three different categories of groups of people.
1. Unbelievers outside the Covenant community (Common, Unclean)
2. Unbelievers inside the Covenant community (Holy, Unclean)
3. Believers inside the Covenant community (Holy, Clean)
4. a fourth category is not possible since you cannot be unclean and holy
Does this sound about right? I was thinking this would be a good case for infant baptism. Although my mind also went to another section of scripture of when Ezra asks Israelite men to divorce their foreign wives (Ezra 10:3). In this instance I think it was because the foreign wives were unbelievers not part of the covenant along with their children. Interesting in hearing your thoughts on the subject.
Thanks,
Rob
1 Cor 7:12-14 ends with the passage stating that "the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." When thinking another passage came to mind regarding Acts 10:12-15 it state, 12In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
It seems like to me this is coming from the Levitical priesthood language of common, holy / clean and unclean. Leviticus 10:10 "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean," A few questions regarding this topic:
1. What does it mean to be common and holy?
2. What does it mean to be clean and unclean?
3. How are the two related? Can something be Holy but Unclean?
The reason I ask these questions because it had me thinking in terms of Baptism. If they mean what I think they mean then you could draw up three different categories of groups of people.
1. Unbelievers outside the Covenant community (Common, Unclean)
2. Unbelievers inside the Covenant community (Holy, Unclean)
3. Believers inside the Covenant community (Holy, Clean)
4. a fourth category is not possible since you cannot be unclean and holy
Does this sound about right? I was thinking this would be a good case for infant baptism. Although my mind also went to another section of scripture of when Ezra asks Israelite men to divorce their foreign wives (Ezra 10:3). In this instance I think it was because the foreign wives were unbelievers not part of the covenant along with their children. Interesting in hearing your thoughts on the subject.
Thanks,
Rob