This Sunday night Murrieta Valley Church will host a debate between Gene Cook, Jr. (Narrow Mind Radio) and Paul Manata (Triablogue). The debate topic is: “Who Should Be Baptized?” Gene will argue that only professing believers should be baptized, and Paul will argue that believers and their family including infants should be baptized.
This debate will prove to be very informative and edifying to the congregation of MVC and all those who attend. Although no one may be convinced to change their view of baptism, all will come away with a better understanding of why our brothers and sisters disagree on this issue. Many Baptist and Presbys get uncomfortable around each other because of this issue. Even though it is true that they both can’t be right so someone is wrong concerning a very important doctrine, they still agree on more doctrine than not.
Someone once said, “Knowledge is power.” I pray that this debate will empower the Reformed community will grow closer and be able to unite in their efforts of preaching the biblical Gospel. Our brothers who put together the “Together for the Gospel” conferences have the right attitude, we need to openly unite our Reformed congregations and no longer let a few issues divide us.
So our strategy is to go ahead and confront this divisive issue head-on. Lets debate it, learn from each other, understand our differences — and move forward. FRIENDS CAN DISAGREE AND STILL BE FRIENDS. Especially if those friends are reformed in their doctrine and their motives are fueled by a desire to be biblical and to glorify God in all things.
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Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
If the Presbys win, do they get to baptize your kids?
If you win, do you get to dunk the Presbys?
Either way, sounds like a win/win.
This will be a interesting debate. The White vs Shishko debate is now available through A&O Ministries, and will make a nice companion for this upcoming debate.
My real divergence from either camp is the view of efficacy in baptism. The forms are really secondary to the more immediate matter of just what baptism is and just what it does. This mostly takes a back seat in the discussion.
As far as the two positions, well credo-baptists, and I am one, often hold that baptism is so important, that without it the believers position with Christ is actually threatened. Most credo-baptists are Arminian, and have no clue as to what it signifies. Of Calvinists, at least those I have talked to, most tend to believe that infant baptism must carry with it the baggage of baptismal-regeneration. In doing so they often destroy the meaning of regeneration for themselves, making regeneration an outcome of faith. In this paedos are much closer to the passive content of regeneration, than many credos.
It will be interesting listening. But I hope it doesn’t go on for three hours.
I am a PCA Presby that agrees with the Reformed Baptist position. I don’t talk about that at Church although my pastor and good friend debate it occasionally. There just aren’t any reformed Baptist near me……..
What time is the debate?
Looking forward to it.
Go Paul!
“Of Calvinists, at least those I have talked to, most tend to believe that infant baptism must carry with it the baggage of baptismal-regeneration.”
lordodamanor, I hope you learned what Calvinists really believe because what you just said isn’t what OPC or any other Presbyterian believes.
I forgot all about this debate! Is there a way to hear it now that it is already over?
So who won? Was it a slam-dunk?
“Should we baptize unregenerate babies just because their parents are believers?”
LOL, I am all for infant baptism but the way that question was posed I don’t think anybody would say “Yup!”.
I am about to listen to the debate.