Josh Benner

Author: the Josh Benner Blog

  • The case for believer’s baptism

    The case for believer’s baptism

    Baptism is a subject that has a rich tradition within the church and which has, at times, been the source of heated division. 

    The importance of baptism is almost universally agreed upon within Christendom. But from that common starting point, churches have diverged on nearly every aspect of baptism. Questions which have been at the forefront of the historical debate have included: 
    Who can be baptized? 

    Is it for believers or for believers and their children? 

    Who can do the baptizing? 

    Does it have to be an ordained minister or can others from within the church or the biological family baptize? 

    How should the baptism be administered?

    Should a person be dunked in water? Or sprinkled with water? Or should water be poured? 

    Is there special about the water itself?

    The first church I ever attended was a Presbyterian Church and someone had taken a trip to Israel and this church had water that was from the River Jordan. The pastor always poured a little bit into the baptismal. 

    What is said during baptism? 

    I read a story earlier this year about a Catholic Priest who realized that he had said the wrong words for over 20 years. He was supposed to say “I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” 

    What he actually said was “We baptize you.” 

    In the eyes of the Catholic Church, those baptisms are not considered valid. 

    Is there any formal preparation for the baptism? 

    Throughout history, some churches have had various requirements such as fasting, or confirmation classes before being baptized. 

    What does the baptism signify? 

    Is it the cause of our being born again? Does it wash away sin? 

    What happens spiritually when a person is baptized? 

    Does it save us? Does it help save us? Do we receive the Holy Spirit in baptism? 

    What does someone wear during a baptism? 

    In some churches, people wear white. In the early church, there are accounts of people being baptized naked! 

    Is baptism necessary for salvation? 

    And there are many other questions. 

    Just about the only thing that all churches agree on is that baptism involves water. 

    GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

    I want to begin with a couple of general comments on baptism. 

    Baptism is important.

    At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, the risen Jesus commanded his disciples to: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

    Baptism is important to Jesus and it should be important to his Church. 

    At the church I pastor, we teach and practice believer’s baptism – sometimes also called credobaptism. Credo comes from the Latin word for believe. That is the idea that in order to be baptized, a person must give a profession of faith that Jesus Christ is their Lord and savior in whom they have placed their faith. 

    The other major side of the baptism discussion are churches who practice infant baptism. I know many people in this church were raised in churches that practice infant baptism. 

    The believer’s or infant baptism discussion is an important subject. While we don’t teach infant baptism, there are churches that do who are faithfully preaching the gospel who love Jesus, who love the Word of God. There are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who agree on the importance of baptism but disagree not on if but when it should be done. 

    And while I affirm believer’s baptism, I can sincerely respect the arguments for infant baptism. 

    I read those arguments, and it’s not like I come away thinking “well how could someone believe that?” I don’t think it involves in crazy leaps studying your Bible to come down on that side.

    No, they have legitimate points, but I think the Biblical reasons for believer’s baptism are simply stronger. 

    CHURCH INTERVIEW STORY 

    I’ll tell this quick story. A few years ago, before we had ever interviewed with this church, I interviewed at another church and the subject of baptism came up. They too believed in believer’s baptism but as people started talking, some of them were really mocking the idea of infant baptism and churches who practice it. 

    I didn’t appreciate that. 

    I do think that disagreements on that subject should be done in a Spirit of grace and respect within the church. 

    It wasn’t the only factor but when that church invited me to candidate to be their pastor, I turned them down. 

    In this post, I want to make the case for mwhy I favor believer’s baptism. Again this is an expansive debate and I can’t begin to answer every aspect of the baptism discussion in one blog post, but I think this is a helpful starting point. 

    THE CASE FOR BELIEVER’S BAPTISM

    Why should we believer believer’s baptism? 

    There is not one single text in the Bible which explicitly calls for the baptism of newborns.

    I’ll say that again. 

    There is no text in the Bible which explicitly says that babies ought to be baptized or for that matter, that anyone who cannot profess to believe in the gospel should be baptized. . 

    Our passage this morning comes from the Book of Acts and it’s an important passage because it takes place on Pentecost. That’s the day that the Holy Spirit was first poured out on the disciples and the new followers of Jesus. 

    I often talk about the ordering of the life, death, resurrection of Jesus. But then after that, you have his ascension, when he ascended into heaven. That’s in Acts chapter 1. And then you have Pentecost which is when the Spirit was poured out on the Church in our passage in Acts 2. 

    In Acts 2:14-36, the Apostle Peter gives his Pentecost sermon. In that sermon, Peter is talking about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his exaltation which was prophesied in the Old Testament. Peter also talks of how the Old Testament looked to a time when God’s Spirit would be given to God’s people. 

    Verse 37 picks up with people’s response to Peter. 

    37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

    The people are asking how they should respond to the gospel that Peter has just preached

    38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

    REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED. 

    That order is important. 

    It’s not be baptized and then maybe in a few years, you’ll hopefully repent. 

    Now the Book of Acts chronicles the activities of the early church and the pattern we see in Acts is that a response of faith precedes baptism. 

    Acts 8:12-13, the Apostle Philip has preached the gospel and people have believed: 

    12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip.

    Acts 9:18, following the conversion of the man we know as the Apostle Paul: 

    18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized

    In Acts 19:4-5, the Apostle Paul is sharing the gospel in Ephesus: 

    And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

    And there are other examples but that’s the pattern and I would argue that’s always the pattern in the Bible. 

    A person has faith, believes in the gospel and baptism is a response to the inward faith. 

    At Pentecost, Peter said to repent and be baptized. 

    True repentance is something that we do because of faith. Repentance is looking to our sinfulness and turning from that. That requires both faith and awareness of our sins. 

    WHAT ABOUT HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS? 

    One of the common arguments for infant baptism is that in the Book of Acts, there are household baptisms. There are four such household baptisms in Acts and we hear one referenced in First Corinthians. In those passages, a person comes to faith and they are baptized and the passage mentions that their household was too. 

    The argument assumes that there must have also been babies in some of those homes and so that is demonstrating infant baptism. 

    None of those passages specifically say that there were infants or children. A person could counter argue, that those passages also don’t say that there weren’t any children or infants. 

    That’s true. But I think the more significant point when considering household baptisms is the fact that none of the passages point to one person coming to faith and the rest of their family also getting baptized against their will as unrepentant and unregenerate nonbelievers. 

    I’ll show what I mean. 

    In Acts 16, we learn about a Philippian jailer who asks Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved. 

    Acts 16:30-31: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

    So does that mean if this man comes to faith, his entire household will also come to faith? 

    Is the text saying that if this man believes, then his whole family will believe because he believed? 

    No. 

    Next couple of verses: 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family (Acts 16:32-33).

    A person could still look at this and argue that the whole household got baptized because the father became a Christian. 

    But the key is verse 34: 

    34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. 

    The most plausible interpretation is that his household believed and that was the source of their rejoicing. It was not because he had a family of unrepentant people who opposed the gospel who received a no faith baptism that they’re rejoicing in a gospel that they don’t believe in. 

    Acts 18:8 talks of the household of a man named Crispus being baptized. 

     8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

    Once again, the passage says that his household was baptized but it also said that his entire household had believed in the gospel. 

    That’s the pattern that we see in Acts. In our primary text of Acts 2:41, we see believers responding to the gospel in faith: ​ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 

    Acts 10 talks of the household of Cornelius coming to faith and as a response to that faith, they are baptized. 

    Acts 10:46-48: they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

    In 1 Corinthians 1:16, Paul mentions having baptized the household of Stephanus. 

    But then later in the letter, Paul talks of the faith of the family of Stephanus when he says in 1 Corinthians 16:15: 

    15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—

    Acts 16 talks of a woman named Lydia coming to faith and being baptized along with her household. That is the one text where there is not quite as much elaboration but given the pattern we’ve seen elsewhere, I think the best argument is that her household was baptized because her household were believers in the gospel. 

    I return to my premise from the beginning that there is not one single text in the Bible which definitively points to infant baptism.  

    Even the household baptism passages point to household being baptized after having responded to the gospel by faith. 

    All of the passages we’ve discussed I would argue point to a consistent pattern in the New Testament of having faith in the gospel and being baptized as a result of that faith.

    Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share and subscribe!

  • Sermon: Pride and Prejudice – Galatians 5:25-6:5

    We are called to love our neighbor and to bear one another’s burdens. In this passage, these commands are contrasted by two things which are destructive to our relationships: envy and pride.

    Sermon manuscript

  • Famine and feast – Luke 22:19-20

    Throughout the Bible, we see agricultural language. From creation in a garden to man’s expulsion and curse where they face famine and draught. Great festivals of the Old Testament which celebrate harvests and revolve around food. Several of the parables of Jesus invoke agricultural language and in the last supper, Jesus takes the dietary staple of bread, and the fruit of the vine and compares them to his body and blood which are given for our sins.

    Sermon manuscript

  • Sermon: Heaven and the temple – Revelation 21:9-27

    So many things that happen in life are underwhelming and don’t live up to the hype. And perhaps the disappointment of the world influence our expectations of heaven. Heaven is not an internal church service, nor is it spending the rest of time on a cloud in a robe, playing the harp. Heaven is a perfect restoration of a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. It is the presence of God.

    Sermon manuscript

  • An empty tomb in a graveyard of false prophets

    An empty tomb in a graveyard of false prophets

    An empty tomb in a graveyard of false prophets and gurus. 

    In Saudi Arabia, 270 miles from Mecca is the Tomb of Mohammed where the founder of Islam is buried. It’s viewed as a sacred landmark in the Muslim world. It’s customary for Muslims to visit this tomb when they take their pilgrimage to Mecca. 

    When Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism died, his body was cremated and the ashes were divided among various clans. Wars were fought over relics which had belonged to the Buddha. There are temples which claim to have remains of Buddha such as strands of hair, teeth, and other bones. 

    There’s a shrine to Confucious in China where the philosopher is buried. 

    Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism is buried in wester Illinois. 

    But there is no sacred place where we can go to in order to visit the remains of Jesus. 

    The founders of other religious movements lived and died. But Christianity lives and dies on the belief in a savior who lived and died and lives. 

    If the tomb was empty, if Jesus rose from the dead, then the gospel is true. And that means everything. 

    The Bible points to the resurrection as a real event in real human history, in real time and space. That it’s not some fairytale we tell ourselves. That it’s not some myth. 

    A risen Jesus has far-ranging implications. If Jesus rose from the dead, that means he is who he said he is and that we should have faith in him and trust in him for the forgiveness of sins that he promised. 

    But all of that hinges on the truth of the resurrection. It’s a razor’s edge.  It happened, or it didn’t. There’s no gray area. 


    The late church historian Jaroslav Pelikan said “If Christ is risen, then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, then nothing else matters.” 

    And really, that quote is a great summary of our passage this morning from 1 Corinthians 15. 

    It is the resurrection that makes Christianity, Christianity. It is the resurrection that makes the gospel the gospel. 

    The challenge of the resurrection 

    In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is making a historical argument for the resurrection. In verses 3-5, Paul says:

    Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

    Jesus died, and was raised, he appeared to Cephas – that’s another name for the Apostle Peter – and then to the rest of the apostles. That these men were witnesses to the risen Jesus. 

    In verse 6, Paul says: Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive

    Paul is defending the truth of the resurrection. 

    In verses 12-13, Paul says: 

    Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

    So what’s going on there? 

    It appears that some people in Paul’s audience wanted to consider themselves Christians without believing in a bodily resurrection. But for those who wanted to undermine the possibility of a resurrection, they were professing a faith which ultimately did them no good. 

    If Christ is risen, then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, then nothing else matters. 

    We believe in a living savior, not simply in a moralizing teacher. 

    Paul will also address this idea if we move a little bit further. Down to verse 16, when he says: For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

    The resurrection in a postmodern world

    In our modern day, the resurrection is hard to believe. But it was also a hard thing for people to believe in the first century. 

    Yes, we know more about certain things than people in the first century knew. But they understood death. 

    Probably better than the average person today does. They were more closely connected to it. People lived shorter lives. They died where they lived, not in a hospital. Funerals were not with the deceased having been embalmed, with their hair and makeup done to look lifelike. 

    They were confronted with death for what it really was. 

    And resurrection was not the hope of the average person living in the first century Greco-Roman world. 

    Most people believed in a duality of body and soul. They saw the body as bad. Death was seen as the soul being freed from the body. 

    Jewish people comprised about 10 percent of the Roman world at this time. They generally believed in a resurrection, but their view was that this would happen at the end of time, not in the middle of history. 

    And so both then and now, the resurrection challenges worldviews. 

    Our world is postmodern. Many people like to treat faith as if it’s relative. We like to act as though whatever someone believes about God can be true, we don’t like to tell people that they’re wrong, that it’s all equally valid. We do that because we think it sounds open minded. 

    Even though really, it’s intellectually lazy.

    But life and death are not relative. They’re absolute. 

    The resurrection of Jesus happened or it didn’t. It’s a fact or history or it’s a lie of history. There is no middle ground. 

    And so again, if people wanted to hold to the idea that no one can be raised from the dead, not even Jesus. And if you believe that, then Jesus does you no good.

    Wanting to be a cultural Christian who doesn’t have faith does you no good. It’s the resurrection that matters. 

    A person could ask, “Couldn’t you still take Christianity for its moral teachings?”

    No. 

    It would be like an electrical grid with wires coming from a substation, connected to lines, coming into your house, but there’s no power plant at the other end of the grid. 

    Believing in a Jesus who didn’t raise from the dead does about as much good as flipping a light switch that has no power. 

    Christmas and easter

    Every year at Christmas time, I see some people who decide to take on this religious crusade where they complain about people and businesses, and commercials saying “happy holidays.” They say “we need to keep Christ in Christmas.” 

    The bigger issue is that we need to keep the resurrection in Easter. 

    And as the passage continues, Paul will talk about the consequences of an unrisen Messiah. 

    The consequences of an unrisen Messiah

    Verse 14: if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 

    Strong wording. If there is no resurrection, then Christianity is predicated on a lie. If Christ is not risen, we have misrepresented and misunderstood God. 

    Verse 15: We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

    That’s no small matter. If Christ is not risen, we’ve placed our hope in the wrong savior, we’re living for the wrong salvation. 

    It would be like going to a different country that has different laws. And you’re familiar with American laws, but not the laws of this other country. You can try to assert your rights or how you think things should be. 

    But the government of that country doesn’t care what you think about their laws. Their laws are not based around your agreement with them. 

    They’re bigger and stronger than you are. The hope of eternal life is not whatever we say it is. 

    We can’t even control our own physical life, let alone our eternal life. We have limitations. We have fears. Because we know how frail and vulnerable we are. It’s why we go into our basement when there’s a tornado warning. It’s why we wear seatbelts when we’re in the car. Because we know we don’t have control. 

    Yet when it comes to eternal life, many want to act like they can just decree whatever they want it to be and reality will just conform to opinions. 

    The gospel points us to hope because it is faith in one who died and rose and who promises eternal life.  

    Moving to verse 17: 

     And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

    If Christ is not raised, then we’ve put the hope of the atonement of our sins in one who hasn’t done it. Jesus cannot just be a moral teacher when he said he brought forgiveness. 

    Sometimes a person thinks that they have something that’s really valuable. 

    I love the History Channel show: Pawn Stars. And sometimes you’ll see a person on that show and they think they have something that is really valuable. 

    And an expert comes in and examines it. And you learn that it’s really worthless. 

    That’s what the gospel is reduced to if Jesus didn’t raise from the dead. The resurrection is everything. And there’s no neutrality when it comes to faith in that. 

    It would be like throwing down your money to make a purchase and they examine the bills and tell you it’s counterfeit. You thought you had something of value, now you don’t. 

    1 Corinthians 15 verse 18: Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 

    If Christ is not risen, Christians are worthy of pity because we wasted our time for nothing. 

    That is the razor’s edge on which the gospel rests. It’s either the most important truth that can be known and the resurrection is the most important event in human history or it’s all meaningless. 

    The resurrection and meaning

    What does the resurrection mean in your life? 

    Again, it’s easy to be a cultural Christian. You’re not an atheist, you live in America which does have a rich religious heritage, there are things about Christianity that you appreciate, and you’re a nice person, and so you check that box. 

    But is the resurrection your rock? Is it real to you? 

    Because the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first Easter is not just some nice story that we tell ourselves. 

    The resurrection points us to meaning in life. It’s to live for Christ and to the glory of God. 

    The resurrection points us to hope. Because we have a savior who lives, and who has promised to make all things new, to make all things right, to one day wipe away every tear, to forgive us our sins. 

    The resurrection points us to life. Both to what true life is like and what eternal life is like in the presence of God. 

    The resurrection points us to truth. Not just to truth, but to the greatest truth that can be known. Not just to truth, but to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. 

    That we live in a fallen world where there is sin and death but that we have a savior who has overcome death. 

    If Christ is risen, then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, then nothing else matters.