The Evangelical sacrament: baptisma semper reformandum

This study is not an apologetic for the credobaptist or pedobaptist positions, but argues that, as practised today, both forms depart from New Testament baptism, which was an integral part of the process of becoming a Christian. It argues that New Testament baptism was faith-baptism, that the baptism referred to in the various New Testament strata refers to this ‘one baptism’ (of Spirit and water), and that baptism occupied an essential place within the primitive church’s proclamation of the gospel and its mission. Using David Bebbington’s fourfold characteristics of Evangelicalism – crucicentrism, biblicism, conversionism and activism – it shows that New Testament baptism was intimately related to each of these and argues that it should be returned to this place if the church, and especially the Evangelical wing of the church, is to take seriously the necessity that its doctrines and practices should be semper reformandum, always subject to reform.