Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Infants can and do Believe

[14] And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. [15] But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant, [16] and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read,
" 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise'?"

[17] And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. Matthew 21:14-17 (ESV)


I don’t know how one reads this passage and isn’t convinced of the ability for infants to believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ. Of course it is fitting that those who are indignant of indignant baptism are the ones who most strikingly resemble the Pharisees. Faith and confession are always from God. In my opinion the fact that these children and infants confessed Jesus is far less a miracle than that I as a jaded adult believe. All faith is a miraculous intervention of God. If you don’t believe that, then you haven’t contemplated faith much, or you simply just don’t really believe now do you?
This is what strikes me of baptists most, they think they have faith, but what they confuse for faith, is barely the surface of what faith is. I’m not saying they don’t have faith, though I do often wonder what faith it is that denies the grace of God to those Jesus had such compassion for. What I am saying is, that what they call faith, and what they describe as faith, is hardly the sum total of faith.

(I purposely spell baptist with a small b, so as not to leave out Calvary Chapelites, Pentecostals, Campbellites, other “non denominationals” and other assorted followers of antichristian theologies. And to avoid confusing them with John the Baptist.)

4 comments:

Steve Martin said...

Why don't you just quit beating around the bush and say what you really think!!!

LOL!!!

Excellent, Bror. Excellent.

PS- Don't you think it is a trick of the devil, that those who don't believe that baptism does anything are called 'baptists'?

Bror Erickson said...

Yes I do, and I met one yesterday who actually thought his denomination was named after John the Baptist. I thought, well he prepared the way, but if you want to stay with him fine, Glad I'm not a baptist but a Christian.

Brigitte said...

I'm linking.

Steve Martin said...

I heard a 'radio pastor' give a rundown (on his program) of all the denominations and what they believed, and he said that "Baptists place a strong emphasis on...baptism."

I about ran my car off the road.


(got your message last night - I worked the closing shift last night at work and couldn't call ya back)