It is Just so Refreshing.....

[SolaDude]

Just thought I would share that my New Path was so refreshing from one primary standpoint: the liberation of my mind....to be able to think with previous shackles removed is so wonderful. Whether reading scripture or listening to ministers of any kind, the freeing of the mind is something that one cannot really articulate well, but instead just "feel" it. To look back at yourself and see yourself in that packed bondage and then just feel the unpacking and just breathe....is such a great feeling of freedom and salvation.

As an example,

BEFORE: the ridiculous view of water baptism by the cofC...a legalistic view based in baptismal regeneration (which of course, they deny)....esp w/r/t the fact that you're not a Christian before the baptism, only after, even though before the baptism you became a believer. As I look back on it now, a water baptism obviously was considered the gospel of God itself or the most important part of it, rather than a response to it.

AFTER: an understanding of grace, of faith, of coming to faith, of saving faith.....and a baptismal ceremony that does not act as a mystical substitution of what happened on the cross.....but rather celebrates and proclaims to the world what Christ did for us on the cross and that His Holy Spirit plunged us into His death, burial, and resurrection when we came to faith. I never understood how there could be a "hybrid" believer which the cofC by necessity really was creating....that is one who truly believed in Christ yet was not considered a Christian until the dunk. So just before going into the water, you have a believer yet a "non-Christian"....in other words, a hybrid of a believer and a non-believer....yet no such hybrid exists in scripture.....one is either a believer or not, a child of God or not.....and it is so simple to understand that baptism, as a sacrament or ordinance, is only for Christians, reserved for them only....it is not contemplated to be something a non-believer (i.e., a non-Christian) or a hybrid "believer who is still a non-Christian" would do to then be able to be pronounced "a Christian".

Just wondering if anyone else would like to share any such refreshing "Before" and "After" changes in belief??

[FinallyFree]

I totally agree with what you said. The CofC turns baptism into some sort of magical thing, and that is why you have so many rebaptisms because people feel they did not get it right.

[Cootie Brown]

xxxxxx

[Shrubbery]

SolaDude, I've had a similar freeing experience wrt to baptism (and many other topics!). Last night I was studying infant baptism and the arguments made for that. A lot of it totally made sense to me. If I had studied that 20 years ago, I probably would never have fallen into the coC trap. Of course, now I'm covered either way, having been sprinkled as a baby and immersed as an adult. I'm "safe" right? Oh wait, except that I also have to follow the rest of the gospel, which includes the entire blueprint of the NT.

Anyway, freeing my mind of the coC shackles has really helped me in my Bible studies. I'm seeing more of the big picture now, and it's awesome. Things that never made sense in the coC make perfect sense when looking at the entire promise of God.

[KLP]

it seems there is some grappling here with what exactly is baptism

I would recommend reading the grace centered document on unbaptized believers. It helped me rethink some of the topics around salvation and baptism into a different relationship.

http://www.gracecentered.com/Are_unbapt ... s_lost.pdf

[Ivy]

I totally agree with what you said. The CofC turns baptism into some sort of magical thing, and that is why you have so many rebaptisms because people feel they did not get it right.

YES!! I can still get upset if I see a baptism (rare these days....maybe on a movie) and some body part doesn't go under the water.

[Ivy]

My magical moment of freedom came when I realized all religions are based on manmade myths.

My last baptism was by a United Pentecostal preacher. That one finally worked.

[Cootie Brown]

xxxxxx

[agricola]

My magical moment of freedom came when I realized all religions are based on manmade myths.

Cootie you can share your own New Path in a new thread. WITHIN someone else's thread, this is the support only forum.

[Cootie Brown]

Okay, no problem I deleted my post and other posts I made that aren't supportive.