Matthew A. Paulson (Reformed Protestant) wrote the following:
Of course,
new Christians came into the church and they left their sinfulness and rituals
behind, (1 Cor. 6:10-11). (Matthew A. Paulson, Breaking the Mormon Code: A
Critique of Mormon Scholarship Regarding Classical Christian Theology and the
Book of Mormon [Livermore, Calif.: WingSpan Press, 2006, 2009], 116)
It is hilarious (though not
surprising) that Paulson would reference a text that explicitly teaches baptism
being a ritual performed by Christians, and not just that, but one that
teaches baptismal regeneration:
Paul himself ties justification to
baptism. This is evident, for example, in 1 Corinthians:
You were washed, you
were sanctified, you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor 6:11)
In this verse, Paul makes a direct
connection between being “washed” [apolouō] and being “justified” [dikaioō]”
(1 Cor 6:11). Some commentators dispute a baptismal reading, insisting that the
language is simply intended as a metaphor rather than an allusion to ritual
immersion. This is unlikely. First, not only does the New Testament indicate
that baptism was widely practiced in the early church, we know that the ritual
had an important place in the communal life at Corinth. Its significance was
apparently so well established that it became the basis of quarrels that Paul
felt forced to address at the very outset of this epistle (cf. 1 Cor 1;11-17).
Second, the language of 1 Corinthians 6:11 uses terminology employed in other
Pauline texts where baptism is in view. Believers are said to be “washed . .
. in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” language which
envokes the baptism controversy Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 1, which
specifically swirls around the “name” into which believers have been “baptized”
(1 Cor 1:13-14). In addition, the washing described in 1 Corinthians 6:11 is
also associated with the “Spirit,” who is identified with baptism later in the
same epistle: “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into
one body” (1 Cor 12:13). As other interpreters recognize, 1 Corinthians 6 even
goes on to use the language of “members” (1 Cor 6:15), anticipating the discussion
of Christians as “members” of Christ’s body later in the letter (cf. 1 Cor
12:14-27). Given these connections to baptismal passages, to insist that the
language of washing involves a mere metaphor seems like special pleading.
Finally, physical baptism is linked to spiritual washing in other texts (cf.
Acts 22:16; Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5; Heb 10:22). First Corinthians 6 is thus best
read as an early Pauline expression of this theology.
Paul also talks about baptism in
other places where justification is in view . . .we noted Paul’s teaching that
“whoever has died is justified [dedikaiōtai] from sin”
(Rom 6:7 NRSV, slightly adapted . . . this “justifying death” appears related
to baptism:
What then are we to say? Should we
continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who
died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have
been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore
we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might
walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united
with him in a death like this, we will certainly be united with him in a
resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with
him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer
be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is justified from
sin. (Rom 6:1-7 NRSV, slightly adapted)
This is an extremely significant
passage, for it shows that baptism not only causes one to be “in Christ” but
that Paul also views the sacrament in terms of co-crucifixion and
justification. For Paul, baptism justifies because it is a real
participation in the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (Brant
Pitre, Michael P. Barber, and John A. Kincaid, Paul A New Covenant Jew:
Rethinking Pauline Theology [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2019], 202-3,
emphasis in bold added)
It should be noted that Paulson contradicts himself elsewhere in his book:
Do Peterson
and Ricks know that the Christian church have rituals and teaches the necessity
of rebirth? (Paulson, Breaking the Mormon Code, 195)
Further Reading:
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