Expert: Eleanor Edwards - 7/2/2008

Question
QUESTION: I am a Methodist and most of the doctrines of Methodist are in line with the teaching of the Bible. As a person who has not gone for deep study, may I know what are doctrinal problems that I need to look out for?

ANSWER: Hi Tan,
Great question. I think you'll find that there are many different 'doctrinal problems' that will arise as you meet and chat with people from a different denomination to yourself. Rather than worrying about these differences, I would encourage you to focus on what you have in common with someone of a different denomination.

Decide what your core values are, those on which you can not and must not change your mind. If a person also agrees with these core values, you can be confident that it is OK to put aside other differences of doctrine.

To give you an example of what I mean by this, I believe in the Trinity. I believe that Jesus is God but He is also the son of God and as God's son, he became a man. Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again and is now in heaven. I believe that Jesus died on the cross so that I might have eternal life with God. I believe that Jesus gave me the Holy Spirit to live inside me and help me. I believe that God did all these things because He loves me. I believe He did all these things for the whole world. I believe that all of the bible is from God and whilst there is much of it I don't understand, it is all true.

These are my core beliefs and I will not be persuaded to change my mind about these beliefs. If someone comes to me with a difference of opinion, we would have to agree to disagree as these are non-negotiable for me.

There are doctrines which are less clear cut and less easy to understand. For example, I personally do not believe in the idea of unconditional election which the Calvinists believe in. When we take the bread and wine during communion, I do not believe it turns into pieces of Jesus' actual body and His blood as a Catholic does. I don't really agree with infant baptism like the Anglicans. These are things that I personally don't agree with but if someone else believes these things but shares the same core beliefs as me, I have no problem with accepting them as a fellow believer.

I personally feel that we as body of believers spend far too much time arguing and disagreeing. Instead of debating what we do and don't agree on, we should put all of our energy into living a life that shows the love of Jesus to the people around us. Too many people will never read a bible. We are the only 'bible' they will read and it is our job as Jesus' ambassadors to make the most of every opportunity to share His love.

I appreciate that this doesn't directly answer your question but my prayer for you is that it will encourage and empower you to be the salt and light Jesus asked us to be in His sermon on the mount:

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:13-16

May God bless you Tan as you strive to live every day for Him and if you have any further questions, please feel free to get in touch.
In His love,
Eleanor
eleanor@eleanoredwards.co.uk

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Romans 10:9-10


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Is baptism through sprinkling of water or pouring appropriate?

Answer
Hi Tan,
My understanding of how baptism was conducted in the New Testament is that people were fully immersed in water. Matthew chapter 3 describes Jesus' baptism:

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Look closely at verse 16 'As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.'

This clearly indicates that Jesus was baptised by being fully immersed in water. If he had had his head sprinkled with water or water poured over his head, he would not have had to have come out of the water as is described in verse 16.

So to answer your question, I personally believe that neither sprinkling nor pouring of water is more appropriate.

Baptism does not save a person. It does not matter if you were baptized by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling - if you have not first trusted in Christ for salvation, baptism (no matter the method) is meaningless and useless.

Water baptism by immersion is a step of obedience to be done after salvation as a public profession of faith in Christ and identification with Him. Infant baptism does not fit the Biblical definition of baptism or the Biblical method of baptism. If Christian parents wish to dedicate their child to Christ, then a baby dedication service is entirely appropriate. However, even if infants are dedicated to the Lord, when they grow up they will still have to make a personal decision to believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

All that said, as we have discussed before, I wouldn't fall out with someone over how they choose to be baptized. I believe infant baptism to be unbiblical and as such, have chosen not to baptise any of my three young children. However, I would far rather find out whether someone has a relationship with Jesus and work together to learn more how we can live a life that will show Jesus' love to other people.

As I may have shared with you before, I believe that God wants to empower the church in the 21st century to stop arguing over differences and instead start living life as salt and light to the world.

I can't apologise if I shared this verse with you before. It's one of my favourites (although very challenging!)
Matthew 5:13-16:
"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."

I love these verses and they're what I aspire to every day.

Thank you again for your question.
In His love,
Eleanor
eleanor@eleanoredwards.co.uk

Romans 12:1-2
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."