Today's Reading
Job: in his initial response to suffering, Job seemed to simply question, "Why?" All the while, he maintained his innocence. He seems to turn a corner today, getting a bit frustrated with his "friends" who keep trying to add guilt to Job's woes. Job even gets direct with God: "23 Tell me, what have I done wrong?
Show me my rebellion and my sin.
24 Why do you turn away from me?
Why do you treat me as your enemy?" Eliphaz comes back with his second speech, a further accusation that it must be sin causing Job's problems.
1 Corinthians: "Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength." That didn't mean much to me when I was younger. I understand it more and more. What about you?
Psalms: it is often in my trials that I am reminded -- my only hope is in God. Then my heart is able to settle down and I can rest.
Proverbs: ultimately our lives are in God's hands. He is faithful with us and accomplishes His plans.
What are you grateful for today?
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1Corin 15:29 - What does this mean, being Baptised for the dead??? Sound like something the Mormons do...
ReplyDeleteWell, Chewie, you are right (as I understand) that this is a practice in Mormon churches. There is, however, no other Scripture to validate the practice and much on which to base arguments against it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, take note that we often look upon the New Testament churches as "having it all together." The fact that Paul, the great Apostle, was writing letters to these churches and that the letters are now part of the Bible makes us automatically place these churches on a lofty perch.
No so! In fact, just from this letter, we have seen that the Corinth church had a whole bushel of messes going on. They were divisive, arrogant, abusive of spiritual gifts, unloving and tolerant of immorality in their midst.
Also true is the fact that their doctrine was immature at best. We have the entire Bible to help us weigh out sound doctrine. They had awareness of our Old Testament (though they were not Jews) and bits and pieces of what would become the New Testament. Their belief systems were developing as they went along -- that's why they needed Apostles like Paul and teachers like Apollos to keep them straight.
Therefore, it's very possible that, having heard much about baptism, some of them were figuring that a person had to be baptized to be saved. Could they then "save" the people they loved by being baptized on their behalf? Again, no other place in the Bible validates the idea. Paul mentions their practice, though. He uses it to make a logical case for his argument about Christ's resurrection. He doesn't say anything specifically for or against their practice because -- in this case -- it's not the subject he was talking about.
In other places, though -- lots of them -- he teaches about salvation by grace through faith alone.
I hope that helps.
Yes, thank you Sam.
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