Would I be admitted?

[Albion]

You are speaking to a topic I never brought up.

I was speaking to what you chose to say about it, though.

 

[Josiah]

Why baptize infants, Albion?

Why love infants? The Great Commandment only says to "Love others as I first have loved you." NOTHING there about babies. Or African-Americans. Or American Indians. Or Australians. Or old people. Or Democrats. And is there a single example in the Bible of an African-American being loved? So.... by your rubric, we are forbidden to love babies or African Americans or American Indians or Australians or old people or democrats. I find your premise, absurd.

 

[Josiah]

Polycarp was born in 69 AD. He was a disciple of St. John son of Zebedee. He wrote that he was baptized AS A BABY.

That would be the first specific historic record of a baby being baptized, and it places it at 69 AD (well within the period of the Apostles.


What is the first reference to one being denied baptism because they were a baby? The 16th Century by the Anabaptists. WHY? Because of some verse? Nope, but because babies can't contribute to the own salvation, doing the part they must do. Because the Anabaptists were radical synergists.

So, which practice is earlier? Which is historically within the Age of the Apostles?

 

[Arsenios]

Josiah, what does the Bible say about the unregenerate being baptized? Is there any place where an unsaved person was baptized and then they were given faith by virtue of that baptism?
I am open to being shown that God, in fact, does such a thing.

John 3:22
After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea;
and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
Acts 8:38
They went down both into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch;
and he baptized him.
Acts 16:15
She was baptized,
and her household,
Rom 6:3
As many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death?
1Cor 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free;
and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Gal 3:27
For as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
Titus 3:5
According to his mercy he saved us,
by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Spirit;

Nothing like good ol' cut and paste...

Arsenios

 

[MennoSota]

I reject your rubric that only the history as recorded in the Bible can be true..... It's a silly rubric that you reject and so does everyone else. Oh, and I'd be careful, if I were you: The Bible doesn't support your premise, even here. Consider even the often reference of the Ethiopian in Acts 8 - it doens't say he was a BELIEVER before he was baptized, only that he had been taught and that he requested baptism; I agree he PROBABLY was but the Bible never states such.... so I could use that as an example, but I won't - mostly because your whole premise of the question is absurd.

But using your premise,,,,

Is there any place in the Bible where an unsaved person is DENIED baptism?
Is there any place in the Bible where a person who had not yet celebrated their Xth birthday was DENIED baptism?
Is there any place in the Bible where a person who had not yet chanted the sinner's prayer was DENIED baptism?
Is there any place in the Bible where a Gentile performs a baptism?
Is there any place in the Bible where an American is baptized?
Is there any place in the Bible where a baptism is denied because there wasn't enough water to totally immerse the person?
Is there any place in the Bible where a person came to faith because of Sunday School or VBS or Church Camp?

I think everyone else is seeing how silly your rubric is... the one you violate with every post.... The Bible says GO... Baptize.... Teach. It doesn't say "BUT thou canst not do this unless you can prove from history recorded in the Bible that something will happen as a result. Thou canst not do this unless and until the receiver has first celebrated their xth birthday. Thou canst NOT do this unless the receiver hath first chantedeth the Sinner's Prayer. Thou canst NOT do this unless the reciever hath first received 53 hours of instruction in Baptist theology. Thou canst NOT do this unless there is enough water to immerse the person fully under water. Sorry. Those German synergistic wackedoodle Anabaptists in the 16th Century invented all those restrictions, limitations and prohibitions.... Jesus and the Apostles did not. And the Anabaptists invented them NOT because of anything in Scripture but because they were radical synergists and needed to twist baptism to fit that synergism.



.

I do not see a place where an unsaved person is denied baptism. I see where the unsaved were given John the Baptist baptism of repentance for the Kingdom of Israel. We see the Apostles asking if people received John's baptism or Christian baptism.
Josiah, all we can go by is Sola Scriptura. We cannot make up traditions and claim that God endorses them without any scriptural support. This is the issue we must face head on when discussing baptism.
If you create an unsubstantiated tradition, then you are doing nothing different than Tetzel did when he taught that humans could be sprung from purgatory by giving alms for the building of St Peters Cathedral. Such an action lead to the Reformation.

 

[MennoSota]

Why love infants? The Great Commandment only says to "Love others as I first have loved you." NOTHING there about babies. Or African-Americans. Or American Indians. Or Australians. Or old people. Or Democrats. And is there a single example in the Bible of an African-American being loved? So.... by your rubric, we are forbidden to love babies or African Americans or American Indians or Australians or old people or democrats. I find your premise, absurd.

You didn't answer the question. You deflected.
Why baptize infants, Josiah?

 

[Arsenios]

All we can go by is Sola Scriptura.
We cannot make up traditions
and claim that God endorses them
without any scriptural support.

Mat 28:19
Whom does Christ command to Baptize ALL the Nations?

Gal 3:27
Are we Baptized INTO Christ?

Please answer according to the Bible here cited...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

You didn't answer the question. You deflected.
Why baptize infants, Josiah?

Do you remember the Orthodox answer to this question Menno?


Arsenios

 

[MennoSota]

John 3:22
After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea;
and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
Acts 8:38
They went down both into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch;
and he baptized him.
Acts 16:15
She was baptized,
and her household,
Rom 6:3
As many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death?
1Cor 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free;
and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Gal 3:27
For as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
Titus 3:5
According to his mercy he saved us,
by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Spirit;

Nothing like good ol' cut and paste...

Arsenios

John 3:22
After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea;
and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
Acts 8:38
They went down both into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch;
and he baptized him.
Acts 16:15
She was baptized,
and her household,
Rom 6:3
As many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death?
1Cor 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free;
and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Gal 3:27
For as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
Titus 3:5
According to his mercy he saved us,
by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Spirit;

Nothing like good ol' cut and paste...

Arsenios

In all the quotes from the epistles, who is the "us"? Is it all humanity or the elect?
In the book of Acts, does the context in any of those passages point to unregenerate people being baptized?
Was the baptism in the gospel before the cross or after the cross?
Arsenios, you know there are different purposes for the baptisms before the cross than the baptisms after the cross... don't you?

 

[MennoSota]

Do you remember the Orthodox answer to this question Menno?


Arsenios

Your answer proves my point. You teach salvation by the work of baptism, apart from grace.

 

[Arsenios]

Arsenios, you know there are different purposes
for the baptisms before the cross
than the baptisms after the cross...
don't you?

How about THESE Baptisms by Christ Himself?

John 3:22
After these things came Jesus and his disciples
into the land of Judaea;
and there He tarried with them,
and He baptized.

Which Baptism do you think Christ Baptized, Menno??

Whom did Jesus COMMAND to Baptize ALL the Nations, Menno??

Are they to Baptize IN His Name?

Now WHO ELSE did Christ Command to Baptize in His Name?

And which Scripture says so?

Arsenios

 

[Pedrito]

==============================================================================================

MennoSota, Post #21: ...We cannot dictate that God must save the infant who is baptized by an ordained minister...

Albion, Post #22: No one here does.

MennoSota, Post #23: Contrary to your assertion there are people here who claim God saved them at their infant baptism...

Albion, Post #24: Quote them for us if you imagine that this ^ is what they said.

No side issues like they received grace at baptism, they become a member of the church, they received the Holy Ghost, they were given the assurance of God's love for them, their sins (up to that point) were forgiven, etc. Nothing like that. Just show us the claim that because they were baptized they were guaranteed eternal life in heaven.

Do other Readers have a feeling of déjà vu, like I do?

==============================================================================================

Me, Post #399 in the “Can babies be conscious of their baptism” thread (regarding infant baptism): Does baptism actually save?

Albion, Post #400 in the same thread: Who said that it saves? And where was that said?

Yet Albion himself had already stated in Post #280 in that thread (in reply to my question regarding the fate of a baby that dies after being baptised): They are saved.

And that simply means that people having that belief and who were baptised as infants, naturally "claim God saved them at their infant baptism".

So I now quote Albion’s own words in that Post #280, in response to his request in Post #24 above – a request that is stated in a such way as to imply that no-one (including he himself) has ever made such a statement.

==============================================================================================

Once again, I suggest that the hoops through which Baby Baptisers find themselves having to jump, should act as triggers to other Readers – triggers for them to question the foundations on which those particular doctrines and practices are based.

==============================================================================================

 

[MennoSota]

How about THESE Baptisms by Christ Himself?

John 3:22
After these things came Jesus and his disciples
into the land of Judaea;
and there He tarried with them,
and He baptized.

Which Baptism do you think Christ Baptized, Menno...??

Arsenios

The baptism Jesus disciples did before the cross was repentance for the Kingdom of Israel, not baptism for the salvation of the soul.
There are different types of baptism shown in the Bible, Arsenios. The baptism at Pentacost is much different than John the Baptist's baptism as well as the disciples baptism before the cross.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

==============================================================================================

Once again, I suggest that the hoops through which Baby Baptisers find themselves having to jump, should act as triggers to other Readers – triggers for them to question the foundations on which those particular doctrines and practices are based.[/color]

==============================================================================================

Dispensing with the irrelevant (as the points weren't addressed to me), here's what triggered me to question the foundations on which "baptism is a symbol in which God does not act" doctrines and practices are based:

"Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

"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." (Acts 2:38)

"And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway." (Acts 16:33 - see commentary below)

It may of course be said that the expression evidently implies the same persons who are instructed in Acts 16:32, but it cannot be said that the phrase may not include any other members of the household.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/egt/acts/16.htm

"And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16)

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death..." (Romans 6:3-4a)

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. 3:27)

"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. " (Colossians 2:11-12)

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior..." (Titus 3:4-6, emphasis mine)

"Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21)

No hoops, just scriptural study.

 

[Arsenios]

Dispensing with the irrelevant (as the points weren't addressed to me), here's what triggered me to question the foundations on which "baptism is a symbol in which God does not act" doctrines and practices are based:

"Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)

"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." (Acts 2:38)

"And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway." (Acts 16:33 - see commentary below)


"And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16)

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death..." (Romans 6:3-4a)

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. 3:27)

"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. " (Colossians 2:11-12)

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior..." (Titus 3:4-6, emphasis mine)

"Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21)

No hoops, just scriptural study.

What he said!

A.

 

[Arsenios]

The baptism Jesus disciples did before the cross was repentance for the Kingdom of Israel, not baptism for the salvation of the soul.
There are different types of baptism shown in the Bible, Arsenios. The baptism at Pentacost is much different than John the Baptist's baptism as well as the disciples baptism before the cross.

So was Jesus merely baptizing John's Baptism??

Tell me, what do you understand by by the washing of regeneration in Titus?

Arsenios

 

[MennoSota]

So was Jesus merely baptizing John's Baptism??

Tell me, what do you understand by by the washing of regeneration in Titus?

Arsenios

Jesus didn't baptize anyone. Jesus disciples baptized people. Jesus had not yet ransomed the elect. That baptism was a symbol that a person wanted to change their actions. It did not symbolize they had been immersed into Christ Jesus.

 

[MennoSota]

So was Jesus merely baptizing John's Baptism??

Tell me, what do you understand by by the washing of regeneration in Titus?

Arsenios

Through the Washing of Regeneration

Resource by*

John Piper

*

Scripture:*Titus 3:1–8*** Topic:*Regeneration

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Notice the word*regeneration*in verse 5: “He [that is, God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of*regeneration*and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”*Regeneration*is another way of speaking about the*new birth*or the*second birth*or being*born again. So that is our focus again today. The new birth. Or: regeneration.

We have talked about what the new birth is. And we have talked about why it is necessary. And in the last message in this series, we talked about how it happens. Today we continue that question:*How does God bring about the new birth?*But first, there are some very important new signals here about what it is and why we need it. Consider one of each.

New Signals About the New Birth

Consider an unusual signal about what the new birth is. The word for*regeneration*in verse 5 (“[God] saved us . . . by the washing of*regeneration” [palingenesias*in Greek]) is used only one other place in the entire Bible, namely,*Matthew 19:28. Jesus says to the twelve apostles, “Truly, I say to you, in*the new world*(a very loose translation of “in the regeneration” [Greek*en te palingenesia]) when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” This a reference to the rebirth of the creation. It’s like saying “in the new heavens and the new earth” that Isaiah spoke about in*Isaiah 65:17*and*66:22.

1) The Regeneration of All Creation

Jesus conceives of the new birth as something that will happen to all creation, not just human beings. Humans are not the only beings that are fallen and defiled and disordered. The whole creation is. Why is that? The answer is that, when human beings sinned at the very beginning, God made all creation a visible display of the horrors of sin. Disease, degeneration, natural disasters—these are all part of the visual, audible, touchable images of the moral outrage that sin entered the world and pervades the world.

The most important passage in the Bible about this is*Romans 8:20-23. And it’s important for this sermon because it confirms and clarifies what Jesus said about the creation undergoing a “new birth”—the “regeneration.”

The creation [All of it! Not just the people.] was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, [namely, God, since only God can subject the creation to futility*in hope] in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [There will be a great renewal someday and it will happen so that creation joins the children of God in their glorious renewal.] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. [There’s the imagery of new birth, just like Jesus said.] And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

So if we put it all together, the picture seems to be something like this: God’s purpose is that the entire creation be born again. That is, the whole universe will replace its futility and corruption and disease and degeneration and disasters with a whole new order—a new heaven and a new earth. This will be the great, universal regeneration. The great, universal new birth.

When Paul uses this word in*Titus 3:5, he wants us to see that our new birth is a part of that. The newness we have by virtue of our regeneration now is the firstfruits of the greater newness we will have when our bodies are made new as a part of the universe being made new. Paul said in*Romans 8:23, “We . . . who have the*firstfruits*of the Spirit [because we have been born again by the Spirit] groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

So when you think of your new birth, think of it as the first installment of what is coming. Your body and the whole world will one day take part in this regeneration. God’s final purpose is not spiritually renewed souls inhabiting decrepit bodies in a disease and disaster ravaged world. His purpose is a renewed world with renewed bodies and renewed souls that take all our renewed senses and make them a means of enjoying and praising God.

When you hear the word*regeneration*in*Titus 3:5, hear it that big. “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” When he says in verse 7 that the aim of the new birth is “that being justified by his grace we might become*heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” he means heirs of everything included in that eternal life—new heavens, new earth, new body, new perfected relationships, new sinless sight of all that is good and glorious, and new capacities for a kind of pleasure in God that will exceed all your dreams.

That’s the unusual signal of what the new birth is: It’s the first installment of the final, universal regeneration of the universe.

2) Why We Need This Regeneration

Then there is a clear signal*why*we need this regeneration. It’s found in verse 3: “We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” That is not a description of the material creation. That’s a description of the human heart. Those are all*moral*evils, not physical evils. Foolish. Disobedient. Led astray. Slaves to sinful pleasures. Malice. Envy. Hated and hating. We are all in there somewhere.

The reason we need regeneration is that God will not welcome such hearts into his new creation. As Jesus said, unless we are born again, we will not see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). This is why all of us must be born again.

 

[MennoSota]

The Meaning of Grace: But God . . .

Then comes one of the most precious phrases in the Bible (verse 4): “But . . . God.” We were foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to sinful pleasures, malicious, envious, hated and hating.*But . . . God . . .*“But*when the goodness and loving kindness of*Godappeared, he [God!] saved us.”

This is the same amazing sequence that we saw in*Ephesians 2:3-5: “[We were] carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.*But God,*being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” We were dead,*but God*made us alive. This is the meaning of grace. The dead can do nothing to make themselves live.*But God*. . .

That’s what we have here in*Titus 3:3-5. We were slaves to desires and pleasures that were so powerful we could not taste and see that the Lord was good. So far as our ability to know and trust and love God was concerned, we were dead.*But . . . God.*Verse 4-5: “Butwhen the goodness and loving kindness of*God*our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

How Does the New Birth Happen?

So we turn now to today’s question:*How*does God do it? How does the new birth happen? Just like we saw in the words of Jesus in John 3, Paul describes regeneration as a*cleansing*and a*renewing. At the end of*Titus 3:5, Paul says that God saved us “by the*washing*of regeneration and*renewal*of the Holy Spirit.” Regeneration is a kind of*washing. And regeneration is a kind of*renewal.

Recall that Jesus said in*John 3:5, “Unless one is born of*water*and the*Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” So in John 3, you have*born of water and the Spirit. And in Titus 3, you have*washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.

My argument in John 3*was that this language of water and Spirit came from*Ezekiel 36:25-27*where God promises his people,

I will sprinkle clean*water*on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. . . . And I will put*my Spirit*within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.

Jesus was saying that the time of the new covenant promises has arrived. Ezekiel’s promise is coming to pass by the Spirit in connection with me. The Spirit gives life (John 6:63). And I am the way the truth and the life (John 14:6). And when the Spirit connects you to me by faith you experience a new birth. And there are at least two ways to look at it:*cleansing*from all that is past and*renewal*for all that is future.
Both*Clean*and*New

So when Paul says here in verse 5 that God “saved us . . . by the*washing*of regeneration and*renewal*of the Holy Spirit,” he means roughly the same thing: The promises of the new covenant have arrived. The beginning of the kingdom of God is here. The final universal “regeneration” has begun. And your new birth is a cleansing from all the sin that you have ever committed; and it is the creation of a new nature by the Holy Spirit.

You are still you after the new birth. But there are two changes: You are clean, and you are new. That is what it means to be born again, regenerated.

How did God bring that about?

What Paul wants to emphasize here is that it is owing to the way God is, not owing to what we have done—even done in righteousness. Verses 4 and 5 give three descriptions of the way God is and puts this in contrast to anything we might try to do to be born again. “But when the*goodness*and*loving kindness*of God our Savior appeared, he saved us,*not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own*mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Salvation is the big overarching idea in this text (verse 5: “he saved us”). But the specific way he does it is regeneration. And Paul traces both of them back to God’s “goodness,” his “loving kindness” (verse 4), and his “mercy” (verse 5). This is Paul’s ultimate answer to how God regenerates sinners. God is good. God is loving. God is merciful.

1) By the Kindness of God

If you are born again—if you were wakened from spiritual death, and given eyes to see, and ears to hear, and a spiritual sense to taste that Jesus is supremely satisfying, and a heart to trust him—it is owing to the kindness of God. That key first word in verse 4 (chrestotes) means*kindness*or*goodness. Paul uses it in*Ephesians 2:7: “[God made us alive] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in*kindnesstoward us in Christ Jesus.”

God loves to lavish kindness on us. The bigger your conception of God, the more amazing this is. God is the creator of the universe. He holds the galaxies in being. He governs everything that happens in the world, down to the fall of a bird and the change in your hair color. He is infinitely strong and wise and holy and just. And Paul says, he is kind. And because of this kindness we were born again. Let your very existence as a Christian tell you every hour of every day: God is kind to you.

2) By the Philanthropy of God

The second way Paul describes what God is like is translated in the ESV “loving kindness.” The word is*philanthropia*from which we get our word*philanthropy. Love of humanity. This is not a common word for the love of God. In fact, it only occurs here in the New Testament. Paul says that God’s heart inclines to do humanity’s good. He is in the highest sense a philanthropist. So Paul is saying, if you are born again, it happened because of God’s inclination to bless humanity.

Then he says something absolutely essential and Christ-exalting. He says in verse 4 that this kindness and this humanity-blessing inclination “appeared.” “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior*appeared, he saved us . . . through the washing of regeneration.” What does that mean? The kindness and love of God*appeared. It means that if they simply stay there in the being of God and don’t come down and take human form among us, they would save nobody.

Jesus: The Appearing of God’s Kindness and Philanthropy

How did they appear? How did the kindness and love of God appear? The answer is found in noticing the fact that God is called “our Savior” in verse 4 (“the kindness of God*our Savior*appeared”). And Jesus is called “our Savior” in verse 6: “Whom [that is, the Spirit] he [God] poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ*our Savior.” In other words, God “our Savior” appeared in the person of Christ “our Savior.” Jesus is the appearing of the goodness and love of God.

This means that our regeneration is owing to the historical work of Christ. We have seen this over and over. New birth is not a vague spiritual change disconnected from history. It is an objective historical act of the Spirit of God connecting us by faith to the historical, incarnate—the appearing—Lord Jesus so that the life he now has as the crucified and risen Savior has become our life because we are united to him. New birth happens because Jesus came into the world as the kindness and love of God and died for sins and rose again.

3) By the Mercy of God, Not Our Deeds

We close by mentioning the third aspect of God’s nature that explains our new birth, and by mentioning the opposite, which would be to explain it by our own deeds. Verse 5: “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but*according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration.”

Mercy. If you are born again, you owe it to the mercy of God. God is merciful. We didn’t deserve to be born again. We were hard and resistant and spiritually dead. God would have been just to pass us by. “But God, being rich in mercy . . . even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5). We owe our new life—our new birth—to mercy.

Not Our Best Works and Best Motives

God is kind. God is loving toward humanity. God is merciful. That is how we were born again. God did it. Paul could have left it like that. Only positive statements. But he didn’t. He said in verse 5, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness.” He knows our tendencies. We tend to think that if something good happens to us, it must be because we did something good. Paul knows this about us. And he warns.

When it comes to salvation through the new birth, don’t think that way. Notice carefully, he does not say: This salvation was not owing to works done in legalism. He says: This salvation—this new birth—is not owing to*works done in righteousness. Not only your worst works and worst motives, but even your best works and best motives are excluded. They didn’t make you regenerate; they don’t cause you to stay regenerate. Staying regenerate causes them.

Not Baptism

This is one reason why I do not think the “washing of regeneration” in verse 5 refers to baptism. Whether circumcision in the old covenant or baptism in the new covenant—it is not good things we do that causes us to be born again. The kindness of God. The love of God. The absolutely free mercy of God explains our new birth. Not circumcision. Not baptism. Not any works done by us in righteousness. New birth comes and brings righteous deeds with it, not the other way around.

Gladly Submit to God’s Mercy

May God give you eyes to see that nothing could make you humbler and nothing could make you happier than the truth that you have born again, not because of anything you did, but because of the mercy of God. Submit to that, and be glad.

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/through-the-washing-of-regeneration

 

[Arsenios]

Jesus didn't baptize anyone.

Joh_3:22
After these things
came Jesus and His disciples
into the land of Judaea;

and there He tarried with them,
and baptized.

After these things Jesus and His disciples came to the Land of Judea...
And He tarried with them there...
And He Baptized...

Scripture says Jesus Baptized in Judea...
Where He was tarrying with His Disciples...

Baptized is 3rd person singular, so it does not say THEY baptized...
It says He Baptized...

Thank you for the great John Piper sermon...
It is flawed, but great nonetheless...

Looks like I finally asked you the right question!
At the end, he opts for NOT calling the "Washing of Regeneration" Baptism...
But he does see it as the Christian parallel to Jewish Circumcision...

Baptism is the fulfillment of Circumcision...
As Christ is the Fulfillment of the Law of Moses...
As the Resurrection if the Fulfillment of Pascha...


Arsenios