Bicycle Radio NZ - Continuing my Christian journey

Today's episode covers:

• A few adventures as an early Christian
• Some of the people I've met along the way
• The perils of modern "Christianity"
• Evangelism while excited and enthusiastic compared to how I share the gospel now

Bicycle Radio NZ - Monday, June 6th 2012 (episode 10) (right click to save)

I will continue to continue with my Christian story in subsequent episodes.

The Glory Test (Baptism and Salvation)

I've come across a number of blogs recently where the writers claim that water baptism by immersion is necessary for salvation.  Here is my brief response to this false doctrine:


"If we are saved by faith, then we are saved by faith when we believe, not when we get baptized, otherwise we are not saved by faith" - from www.carm.org 


Faith has been the way people are saved (even in the Old Testament)

• Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness Romans 4:3 
• ...the righteous shall live by his faith 
  Habakkuk 2:4
• You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you 
• Isaiah 26:3
• ...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved Romans 10:9-10

Salvation is a work of God, not man.  Only He has the power to change someone from the inside.  Because of this, only God should receive the glory for salvation. 


The false doctrine of baptismal regeneration tries to steal glory from God by making salvation a ritual performed by and dependent upon man. 


This "glory test" is usually a good test of the validity of doctrine.


You can read more about baptism and salvation here:
http://carm.org/is-baptism-necessary-salvation

Willingly Trapped

We are all willingly trapped within our own view of the world.  That doesn't mean that we can't see another's point of view, though we are quite likely to think them foolish.

Faith void of reason is foolish.  God is reasonable and gives us reason enough to trust Him.  See what He has to say in His word before arrogantly judging Him as unreasonable.


It is where faith intersects with reason that we find truth and reality.