How has the CT (and baptism) position of PB members changed - and why?

[lynnie]

Bill-

Two Baptist Churches in our past, both pastors with an MDiv from WestminsterTS, both excellent preachers and solid Calvinists and excellent one on one counselors.

Unbaptized kids took communion. I didn't even care because I was too busy fretting about the serious Joyce Meyer influences among the women.

I don't think it happens where we are now, but a lot of kids are up in the balcony so I wouldn't know. Solid leadership thank God. Just found out one nice lady in the church is an avid fan of Joyce Meyer though. I don't know how people can sit under preaching that has occasionally spoken to the error of the word of faith teachers and not "get it".

I pray a lot

 

[PuritanCovenanter]

Personally I am swinging towards the position that both sacraments should go together, and even a little baptized child can examine their heart to some degree, enough to take communion. And if the Baptist lets the little kid take communion, why are they not baptized? ( I realized the Reformed Baptists at PB probably do not have unbaptized child communion).

So anyway, I am "other" in your poll. Either position is biblical, but I think sacraments should be consistent. Baptism and communion go together.....babies ate the Passover meal for paedos; children partaking of communion need to be baptized for credos.

I'm still thinking about it when these threads come up, and my opinion is probably not set in stone, which I guess is a good thing......

I usually don't reply to these type of discussions Lynnie. But you have missed a lot of the discussion concerning this issue evidently. The Pedagogical has some argumentation in this. The Ceremonial and Judicial were that. Not the Moral Law. Some things have changed between between the Covenants due to fulfillment. But the recipients as far as familial are the same. Acts proves that in that the promises are for us and our children. There are many other things discussed on the PB concerning this and I thought you followed distinctions. Paedocommunion has been heavily discussed here by good men. Do you want to turn this into a paedocommunion thread? If so, I recommend Reverend Lane Keister on the topic.

 

[reaganmarsh]

While I have no doubt that this happens, the Baptist Faith and Message, which is decidedly not reformed, specifically states that baptism is a prerequisite for partaking of the Lord's Supper, and so this should not be happening in any Baptist church.

I always do my best to "fence the Table," so to speak, in this matter (1 Cor 11.28-30). But before our present call, I'd never served a church where the children weren't basically just allowed to partake whenever, profession of faith or not.

We desperately need biblical reformation in the SBC.

 

[Bill The Baptist]

I always do my best to "fence the Table," so to speak, in this matter (1 Cor 11.28-30). But before our present call, I'd never served a church where the children weren't basically just allowed to partake whenever, profession of faith or not.

We desperately need biblical reformation in the SBC.

I usually read from 1 Cor. 11 and explain to people that if you are a Christian and you take the Lord's supper, you are partaking in the forgiveness secured by the body and blood of Christ, but if you are an unbeliever who takes the Lord's supper, you are drinking judgment upon yourself and you will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. That usually does the trick.

 

[reaganmarsh]

Indeed, Bill. Amen.

 

[zsmcd]

This is going to be long.

I was baptized at 14 in a PCA church and honestly never gave much thought to CT or my opinion on baptism for several years. In all honesty, from age 14 to 22 I mainly concerned myself with the doctrines of grace and various other random topics of theology.

I joined the Navy at 19 and drifted through various churches (& chaplains) as I moved at least every year and half, and not always having many options. I found myself at two baptistic Acts 29 churches and then had nondenominational, AoG, PCUSA (one very liberal, one oddly conservative), and SBC chaplains. So, needless to say, I did not have any real steady teaching on the topic of CT for long.

Frankly, I really did not give much thought to these topics until I had met my wife and was ready to propose to her. Its not that I didn't care, it just didn't seem to effect me much. When I realized that I would be married soon, however, I also realized that I would, Lord willing, become a father soon. I then realized that it was important for me (us) to decide whether our children would be baptized, how we would raise them, how we would view them, etc.

I then started talking with my current chaplain/pastor/mentor (SBC), read a fair amount of popular systematic theologies and other works on baptism specifically, and considered that topic more and more. I almost became a fully convinced Baptist but in reality never made up my mind.

We eventually got married and we moved to our first duty station together (I am in the Navy) and had to find a church. This was honestly a difficult time for us because we had a long distance relationship and had never been members of a church together. So we went to a few different PCA and SBC churches. One PCA pastor helpfully pointed me to a book called "Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored" and was gracious enough to have us in his home to discuss the matter. He explained that the real issue was Covenant Theology and he convinced me of that truth. Eventually, however, we settled down at a SBC church plant because of the friendships we had made.

I kept reading on the topic of CT, however, and discussed the topic with various pastors and friends more and more as our daughters birth grew ever closer. I than became a convinced paedobaptist and closed on the WCF view of the covenant. This was especially hard for us because we had less than a year left in our city before we would have to move. So we had to decide whether it would be right to keep our convictions to ourselves (or else be removed from the church for not upholding the church covenant) and wait to have our daughter baptized when we move, or if we were going to change churches with such a short time left in the area.

So we ended up changing churches, and God has been faithful. Ultimately I was convicted of my position through reading how OT prophecies concerning the NC spoke of the NC. It was clear to me that there was much more continuity than my Baptist brothers would concede, especially in the case of our children's covenant standing.

 

[Dachaser]

I think that all of our churches need to reform to some extent, and just curious, does the SBC allow for closed or open communion?

 

[Deleted member 7239]

I think that all of our churches need to reform to some extent, and just curious, does the SBC allow for closed or open communion?

The SBC varies, but the one I used to go to only allowed baptized believers to partake the Lords Supper.

 

[Dachaser]

The SBC varies, but the one I used to go to only allowed baptized believers to partake the Lords Supper.

I think that is the traditional Baptist position, but my church allows for one to partake of communion as long as is saved, and is not in a state of rebellion against God, in the sense of having unrepentant sinning going on at the time.