The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. Psalm 121:6
Truth is absolute, to be sure, but it is more like a circle than a square. It is multi-dimensional; it is not flat.
What is the “three-dimensional” truth about baptism? Baptismal regeneration? If three-dimensional, then it’s “both and” rather than “either or”. Even so, it’s helpful to think about what baptism is not. Truth may be more like a circle than a square, but it’s a circle with edges.
Baptism is not an ordinance. Baptism is a sacrament.
Baptism is not something we do for God. Baptism is something God does for us.
“Baptism…now saves you.” (1 Peter 3:21) Baptism is not salvific ipso facto. It is Christ who saves us ipso facto.
We are not saved by the sacrament of baptism. We are saved through the sacrament of baptism.
In the case of infants, baptism is not a promise to be fulfilled in the future. Baptism actually delivers the promise which a nurtured faith clings to.
Baptism is not a corporate experience. Baptism is a personal experience. “I baptize you…”
Baptism is not majic. Its benefit is not ex opere operato. Many who have been baptized will be lost.
