ACTS 2 38

ANALYSIS OF ARTICLE ON BAPTISM

This is an examination of an article by Robert H. Stein, "Baptism and Becoming a Christian in the New Testament, Southern Baptist Theological Journal, vol. 2, Spring 1988, pp. 6-17.

Doctor Stein at the time of writing the article was the Mildred Hogan professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. Dr Stein is widely published and is respected as a distinguished scholar.

We are extracting relevant quotes form Dr. Stein's article in order to present his salient observations on the topic of his article.

The highlighting of certain words in red or yellow are by Dr. Ian A. Fair by way of emphasis.

Dr. Stein begins his article with this statement:

"The purpose of this article is to investigate how baptism is related to the experience of conversion in the New Testament."

He continues by stating the thesis of his study and article:

"In the New Testament, conversion involves five integral related components or aspects, all of which took place at the same time, usually on the same day. These five components are repentance, faith, and confession by the individual, regeneration, or the giving of the Holy Spirit by God, and baptism by representatives of the Christian community."

Dr Stein continues by observing that:

"It should be noted that the individual is the "doer" of the first three components. He/she repents, believes, and confesses. In the other two components, however, the individual is the recipient and is acted upon. He/she receives or is given the Spirit by God and is baptized by the church."

We agree with Dr. Stein in these remarks, only wish to observe that in baptism Paul explains that it is God who is working and the baptized is raised with Jesus through "faith in the working of God" (Col 2:12).

Dr Stein observes:

"...the experience of conversion was understood to involve all five components which normally occurred at the same time. As a result, when one or more of these aspects is missing from a specific passage or conversion account, we should presume that although not mentioned, they are assumed."

Dr. Stein's observation on the above point is extremely significant!

Dr Stein then continues by listing the relationship of several of these components. He observes that:

Faith and Baptism (are) Associated Together
Gal 3:26-26. "It should be noted that Paul uses 'faith' and 'baptism' interchangeably in this passage... Paul neither exalts faith at the expense of baptism not baptism at the expense of faith. They are integrally related, and each assumes the other."

Repentance and Baptism (are) Associated Together
Similarly, the baptism of John intimately associated these two components. (Mk 1:4, Mt 3:2-6, Lk 3:3, Ac 19:4).

Faith and Regeneration (i.e., the Receiving of the Holy Spirit) (are) Associated Together
"Gal 3:2...The assumed answer is that the Galatians received the Spirit, experienced regeneration or were 'born again,' when they believed."

Baptism and Regeneration (i.e., the Receiving of the Holy Spirit) (are) associated Together
"In Titus 3:4 ... 'he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior....' In light of the fact that the readers of Titus had all been baptized and that such a rite clearly had nuances of washing (cf Ac 22:16, 1 Cor 6:11, Eph 5:26), the expression 'washing of rebirth' is best understood as referring tot eh readers' experience of conversion when they were baptized and received the Holy Spirit.... Additional examples of the tie between baptism and regeneration can be found in Acts 9:17-18, 10:44-48, and John 3:3 and 5."

Baptism and Confession (are) Associated Together
"In Acts 22:16 Ananias tells Saul of Tarsus, 'And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'"

Faith and Repentance (are) Associated Together
"Mark 1:14-15."

Repentance, Baptism, and Regeneration (are) Associated Together
"In Acts 2:37-38 Luke states that after Peter's Pentecost sermon the people were 'cut to their heart' and asked Peter and the other apostles, 'What shall we do?' To this Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.... Another example where these three dimensions of the conversion experience are associated together is Acts 11:1-18..."

Faith, Baptism, Regeneration, (and) Repentance are Associated Together
"Acts 19 describes Paul's encounter with certain 'disciples' in the city of Ephesus. The single clearest question that he could think of asking in order to determine if these 'disciples' were Christians was, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' (19:2) When they responded negatively by saying that they had never even heard of the Spirit, he then asked 'Then what baptism did you receive?' (19:3) They replied that they experienced the baptism associated with John the Baptist. Paul then preached to them the Christian message (19:4b), and on hearing this they responded positively, were baptized, 'in the name of the Lord Jesus,' (19:5) and received the Holy Spirit (19:6).

Dr Stein then moves on to his next argument by observing:

"in light of the various examples given above it seems reasonable to conclude that all five of these components (repentance, faith, confession, regeneration, and baptism) were understood by the biblical writers to be involved in the conversion experience. They are inseparable. At times, one or more of them may be omitted, according to the emphasis of the writer, but even if a component is not mentioned it is nevertheless implied and assumed.
This can be seen in Ac 2:38. When Peter responds, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy spirit.' he does not mention the need for faith. Yet certainly it must be assumed that this was also required for conversion."

Dr. Stein's next discussion involves what he identifies as "Salvation" and the Five Components. He list the components and relevant Scriptures. Bold italics mine, IAF):

"Salvation Comes Through Repentance
Second Peter 3:9 '...He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.'"

"Salvation Comes Through Faith
This can be seen in the following passages: (Eph 2:8-9) (Ac 16:31) Jn 3:16-17)"

"Salvation Comes Through Confession
The most famous passage illustrating this is Romans 10:9"

"Salvation Comes Through Regeneration
In Titus 3:5 Paul states that God 'saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit...'"

"Salvation Comes Through Baptism
"...1 Peter 3:21... This verse, which is notoriously difficult for non-sacramentalists, appears to say that salvation comes through baptism. If those reading this passage had experienced a repentance-faith-confession-regeneration-baptism conversion and all these dimensions took place at the same time, this passage is quite understandable, and the attempted interpretation which seek to deny the normal meaning of the term 'baptism' are not necessary.
It should be noted that all five components described in my thesis (repentance, faith, confession, regeneration, baptism) are mentioned in the New Testament as bringing salvation."

Dr. Stein then moves on to discuss the relationship of justification with the five components he has identified, and observes that all five are associated with justification in the New Testament, citing 1 Cor 6:11; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Acts 10; Acts 26:18; and Romans 4:3-8.

When summarizing his arguments, Dr. Stein cites his main thesis for the study:

He adds:

"Conversion to Christianity involved accepting and experiencing this whole package, not just elements of it.
The fact that the Christian community is involved in the experience of conversion guards against the privatization of the conversion experience."

His final arguments relate to the necessity of baptism in the conversion process. Although we might differ with Dr. Stein in the "exceptions" he uses, we are in agreement with his major premise. We will discuss these "exceptions in the conclusion of this survey of his article.

"Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?
    Was baptism necessary for salvation in New the Testament? Is baptism necessary for salvation today? These two questions must be answered separately. (Here we differ with Dr. Stein somewhat!) Either they did not want to repent-believe-confess- Christ and thus did not want to become a Christian (here we agree with Dr. Stein) or they did repent-believe-confess Christ but were physically unable to be baptized. The most famous example of the latter is the thief on the cross (Lk 23:39-43). (This example is not a valid exception since Jesus had not as yet died on the cross, had not yet completed his sacrifice for sin, and thus being baptized into Christ's death and resurrection was not available. The thief on the cross, although a border line case, still fell under the Old Covenant. Christian baptism was not yet n effect!) If the Philippian jailor had died of a heart attack before reaching the waters of baptism on the eventful night, he would have been a second example. (However, he did not die and therefore this is not an exception. An hypothetical case could apply, but the Philippian jailor is not one! We would agree with Dr. Stein in this sense, that should a person be on the point of being baptized but died at that point before being baptized, having believed, repented, and confessed the name of Jesus, that God's grace would most certainly come into effect. However, Dr. stein will shortly argue in agreement with this, that one should not build a theology on exceptions!)
   Yet to establish an understanding of the normal conversion pattern based on extremely rare or unusual experiences is to emphasize the abnormal. In general a person could not be converted to Christianity in the New Testament apart from baptism.... Thus the rejection of baptism was a rejection of the divine program of conversion!
   ....To refuse baptism in the first century was to refuse consciously and willingly what God said should and needed to be done. Such rebellion was damnable...."

Dr. Stein proposes some Consequences of Separating the Five Components of Conversion:

    "The cardinal problem with most views on baptism today is that the five components integrally associated with conversion in the New Testament are now separated in time. Roman Catholic theology recognizes that regeneration and baptism belong together. (By introducing the doctrine of "original sin" - IAF) ... (Roman Catholic theology)... divorces baptism and regeneration from the human experience - repentance, faith, confession. Thus it seriously deviates from the New Testament pattern.
    Lutheran theology also recognizes that baptism and regeneration belong together. Like Roman Catholic theology it believes in baptismal regeneration...As a result of its support of infant baptism, it argues that God supernaturally gives the gift of faith (fides infantilis) to the infant being baptized....it (Lutheran theology) still deviates from the New Testament understanding because it divorces repentance and confession from the other components of conversion.
    Reformed theology deviates even more significantly from the New Testament pattern in that it separates baptism from all the other components of conversion. Based on the doctrines of predestination and divine election, baptism is seen as a 'seal' of covenant grace and identifies the recipients of infant baptism as members of the body of Christ.
    Baptist theology also deviates (Dr. Stein's own conclusion!) from the New Testament pattern. Although repentance, faith, confession, regeneration are associated with baptism, baptism is separated in time from these four components. Thus baptism is an act which witnesses to a prior experience of repentance, faith, confession, and regeneration. As a result such passages as Romans 6:4, 1 Peter 3:21, Titus 3:5, John 3:3ff., and others, which associate baptism with the experience of conversion, are embarrassing to many Baptists and often received strained exegesis at their hands.

Some Closing Observations by Dr. Ian A. Fair

	1.	We are in complete agreement with Dr. Stein's approach and support his primary thesis which we include here for clarity: "In the New Testament, conversion involves five integral related components or aspects, all of which took place at the same time, usually on the same day. These five components are repentance, faith, and confession by the individual, regeneration, or the giving of the Holy Spirit by God, and baptism by representatives of the Christian community."
	2.	We also support Dr. Stein's closing observations: "Thus the rejection of baptism was a rejection of the divine program of conversion! ....To refuse baptism in the first century was to refuse consciously and willingly what God said should and needed to be done. Such rebellion was damnable...."
	3.	We agree with Dr. Stein, although feel that Dr. Stein has somewhat fallen into his own trap: "Yet to establish an understanding of the normal conversion pattern based on extremely rare or unusual experiences is to emphasize the abnormal. In general a person could not be converted to Christianity in the New Testament apart from baptism.... " We are of the opinion that to cite such cases as the Thief on the Cross and the possible death of the Philippian Jailor is misleading since the Thief on the Cross fell under the Mosaic system and not he Christian system, albeit only by a few hours, and the Philippian Jailor did not die on the way to the cross. We agree that to argue a theology from the extreme examples is not sound theology, and should be handled as aberrations form the normal. We are of the opinion that a true believer who dies on the way to baptism, or the person who is simply not able to appropriately believe and repent should be left to the grace of God and should not factor into the primary basis of conversion as defined by Dr. Stein.
	4.	Dr. Stein errs in differentiating the present time from the New Testament times. His argument that the people in the New Testament had the advantage of not being confused in that they had the Apostolic preaching to guide them clearly while we do not and are faced with confusing arguments is misinformed! We have a very clear Apostolic message in the New Testament, just as clear a message as the people in New Testament times. Furthermore, we have in one place, the New Testament, the full Apostolic message whereas in New Testament times as cited by Dr. Stein, they did not have the completed New Testament, only isolated occasions of Apostolic preaching. We have no excuse for not understanding clearly the Apostolic preaching, and Dr. stein has clearly and successfully presented the Apostolic proclamation regarding Christian conversion.
	5.	In spite of the above critical observations we believe Dr. Stein has presented an excellent theology of Christian conversion.