Wednesday, October 23, 2013

CHURCH AND MULTICULTURALISM IN NAMIBIA

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Since its very  inception  in 1985, Eastside Baptist Church  has embraced the principle  of  being a multi- cultural congregation. In the 1980’s  that was  difficult   to implement,   for   we  then lived under the rule of apartheid. We  lived in culturally segregated areas and  this made it  difficult  for cultures to cross the physical and mental boundaries  that had been created by the government of  the day.  However even in those days  our first pastor, Charles Whitson  made it clear that we were to be an culturally inclusive  congregation.

By means of this article I wish  to re-affirm  this core value, which is also contained in our SOLA 5 set of  core values  (http://www.freegrace.co.za/files/beliefs/Core-Values.pdf) and then make a comment about  the actual challenge of  language and culture  in  our  situation  :

SOLA 5 CORE VALUES  - Article 9 :    RACIAL HARMONY

“God has created all mankind in his own image; all people are of one blood, having descended from Adam [224].  Furthermore, God in Christ has broken down every wall that sin has made to separate us, creating one new humanity in Christ [225].

Therefore we affirm the dignity and human brotherhood of all mankind in addition to the unity of all believers in Christ regardless of race, colour or ethnicity [226].  We will therefore take steps personally and corporately to encourage racial and cultural harmony, expressing this visibly in our communities and churches.

We deny that there is any basis in reason or in the Bible for racial discrimination by any person against other people [227].
[224] Gen 5:1–3; Acts 17:26–28.  [225] Eph 2:13–18.  [226] Col 3:11.  [227] Rev 7:9.

We believe  that  multi - cultural churches  truly glorify  God for  these following reasons:

1.        They  illustrate  the truth that God has created people of all races and ethnicities in his own image (Genesis 1:27).
2.        They illustrate   the truth that Jesus is not a tribal deity, but that He  is the Lord of all races, nations, and ethnicities.
3.        They illustrate  that the blood of Christ  has been shed  for people  “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
4.       They illustrate  more compellingly the aim and power of the cross of Christ to “reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (Ephesians 2:16). 
5.     They expresses more powerfully  the work of the Spirit to unite us in Christ. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).  So also  Galatians  3:28 : “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”, not at all meaning  that  cultures would cease  or that  the difference between men and women would now be obscured- but that all would be united in Christ ! Unity (oneness in Christ)  is the great result of the gospel  according to   Ephesians  2:12-22 ( see also  Eph. 4:1-6)   where we read   that  in Christ  the  dividing wall of hostility is  abolished between  believing  Jews and  believing gentiles.  In Christ, we  are one body, and that body is the church,  and our church is  a local manifestation of that great universal church.
6.     Every culture  can benefit  from the insights  that other cultures  have. No single culture on earth has an absolute monopoly  on  the truth , remembering especially also  that “now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
7.        In  Acts 2 ( Pentecost) the linguistic knot that was tied at Babel  (Genesis  11) was untied when the believers under the influence of the Holy Spirit spoke one common language. Heaven will have one language, and even now  the church should be  that platform on earth where people  work hard to  understand  each other as  we submit to  the common  language of the Bible. 

Here’s the point : If  Christ is our common Lord, and if  unity  is a biblical goal,  should we not  be committed to it  in word and deed

The  Question of Language

At Eastside Baptist Church (as is true for most of our Baptist churches)  we have numerous language groups represented  among us. The language we have adopted  as a means of communication  at Eastside is English. The official language  of the Republic of Namibia is English (Namibian Constitution, Ch. 1 , Art.3). The English language conveniently unites us in our worship. This does not mean that it is always easy. Many a time  persons   have made it known that their freedom in prayer,   and in their understanding,  and in  their  powers of expression   are inhibited by the use of a  language that is not their  mother tongue.    That is understandable. It is always preferable  to worship  in one’s mother tongue or at least in a language  with which one is well conversant.
However, this  is the price one pays for  living in a multi- ethnic, multi -linguistic   environment , and God’s grace is always sufficient  for such  circumstances.

All this  does not mean  that we  will not endeavour  to plant future Reformed Baptist  churches  around  a language medium  other than English, whenever this is feasible and desirable to do so.
What we do need to keep in mind however that  we are committed  to maintaining  a culture of  biblical inclusivity  (as outlined above) whatever the choice of language may be.

To illustrate :  In Namibia we have a   great   number  of Afrikaans  speaking Christians.  It appears as if there is a real need for  an Afrikaans speaking Reformed  Baptist Church  in Windhoek, and we are currently looking into  such  a possibility.

What advice do we have for such a  church   within our  framework  committed to  biblical multi- culturalism? One of the dangers with the Afrikaans language  is  that  it might encourage  mono-culturalism, and thus   become exclusive and  introspective, something that we want to avoid at all costs.  Yet, if  the biblical  principle  of  the unity  of the church  is kept before  us at all times , there should be no threat to such a venture.  Thus an  Afrikaans speaking  Reformed Baptist church should work hard to reach all  Afrikaans  speaking people, and not just Afrikaners. In Namibia this would  certainly include the Basters  and the Nama  people. 

As for me,  I am  German born and raised, married to a South African English speaking  woman, serving a multicultural congregation   in the English tongue, conversant in Afrikaans and German  and using  those languages  freely to communicate the gospel and to encourage  Christians of all walks of life.

Joachim Rieck 
October 2013 


Thursday, October 17, 2013

SAVING CHRISTIANS : Why is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa?

Pastors (l-r) Mwashekele , Rieck ,Mbewe 
The article below is reprinted with permission by the author, Pastor Conrad Mbewe  of the Kabwata Baptist Church in Lusaka , Zambia  
The matter  which he addresses  here is vitally important, and he is speaking for all concerned Christians in Africa .
Pastor Mbewe has  recently spoken on this subject  at the Strange Fire Conference  in  the USA. 





Why is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa?


Many explanations have been given for the explosion of the Charismatic movement in Africa. Many have seen this as a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit. Whereas there is probably more than one reason, I want to add my own observation to this for what it is worth. In this blog post, I do not refer to the old conservative form of Pentecostalism once represented by the Assemblies of God churches. I have in mind the current extreme form that is mushrooming literally under every shrub and tree in Africa. How can one explain this phenomenon?

I think that one reason why the Charismatic movement in Africa has been like a wild bushfire is because it has not challenged the African religious worldview but has instead adopted it. It has simply baptised it with Bible verses and Christian words that previously meant something totally different.

The African Spiritual Worldview
Let me explain what I mean. The African spiritual worldview consists of four tiers.

1. God
_________________________
2. Angels and demons
_________________________
3. Ancestral spirits
_________________________
4. Human beings

It is because of this reality that Africans do not question the existence of God, as is the case with many people in the Western world. To an African, God is there. He is the Creator and ultimate Governor and Benefactor of the whole universe.

Rather, in our spiritual worldview, although God is there he is very far away. Between him and us as human beings lie two layers in the spirit world. One is that of angels and demons (i.e. bad angels) and the other—which is even closer to us—is that of the spirits of the departed.

So, although God is a benevolent, loving, and caring Being, unless the beings that dwell in these two layers that lie between him and us are appeased, his blessings cannot reach us. It is, therefore, important to appease the ancestral spirits and defeat the demons. Only after that will God’s blessings come upon us.

This is where in African traditional religions witchdoctors come in. They are the people with the mysterious power to break through these two layers. They tell us what we must do in order to appease the spirits of our forefathers. They also engage the demons for us through their midnight trances, dances, and incense.

So, a person who is beset with perennial illnesses, failing to get a job, failing to find a spouse or to have children, whose business is failing to thrive, etc., simply goes to the witchdoctor who alone has the key to look into the spirit world. He is told that it is either a deceased person or an evil spirit who is frustrating him.

Sometimes the enemy is a person who is alive. However, the reason why this living individual seems to have a mysterious hold over your life is because he has plugged into those two layers (of either dead ancestors or evil spirits) and you have not. With the help of a powerful witchdoctor you can outsmart him in those two layers, and the blessings of God can once again begin to flow into your life.

Whichever way, the power of the witchdoctor is not in explaining truth but in mindless frenzy. His grip upon the popular mind is his eerie mysteriousness and his capacity to knock you out of your senses and then pronounce you delivered. Of course, this is never done by benevolence. You pay for his services.

The Charismatic Movement’s Rendition
I do not mean to be unkind, but what the modern Charismatic movement in Africa has done is to simply take this entire erroneous superstructure of African religious worldview and baptise it with wrongly applied Bible verses and Christian language. The only difference is that the layer of dead ancestors and evil spirits is now one hotchpotch of confusion. This is why the nonsense of demons becoming spirit husbands and wives, and wrecking havoc in marriages, is taken for granted! This is also why the heresy of generation curses has become so popular. In our minds, bad luck can be passed on from that layer of dead ancestors.

In the African Charismatic circles, the “man of God” has replaced the witchdoctor. He is the one who oozes with mysterious power that enables him to break through those two impregnable layers, which us lesser mortals cannot penetrate. So, when blessings are not flowing our way despite our prayers, we make a beeline to his quarters or his church for help. This explains the throngs in these circles. The crowds are not looking for someone to explain to them the way to find pardon with God. No! They want the “man of God” to pray for them.

This also explains the stranglehold that “men of God” have on the minds of their devotees in these circles. In the Evangelicalism of a former generation “men of God” were primarily preachers of the word of God, but in the new setup they are primarily priests who enter the inner sanctuaries to bring down blessings to us.

This also explains why the answer to almost any problem that you take to these “men of God” is “deliverance” and “breakthrough”. God wants to bless you, but you need to break through these impregnable layers before those blessings can reach you. The prayers of the “man of God” will bring deliverance because at the overnight prayer meeting or on the hill he will bring about a breakthrough. Who can doubt that these two phrases have become the key words of this movement?

This also explains why prayer in the modern Charismatic movement in Africa is literally a fight. In fact, the people praying are called "prayer warriors". Although they begin by addressing God, within the first few seconds they divert from God and begin to fight the spirits in these impregnable layers with their bare knuckles. The language is almost always, "We bind every unclean spirit in Jesus' name! We loose the Spirit that breaks the yoke in Jesus' name!" 

The "prayer warriors" scream at the top of their voices and chant the name of Jesus. They sweat as they put up a gallant fight with these spirits, straining every muscle of their beings until they prevail (so they think). That is when they reach through to God and his blessings begin to flow. This is nothing more than the African traditional religious worldview sprinkled with a thin layer of Christianity.

Notice also how teaching is not the strength of the modern Charismatic movement in Africa. Its chief proponents survive on a few, well-worn, tortured verses: “By his stripes we are healed,” “We are not the tail but the head,” etc. There is absolutely no effort to properly exegete Scripture. Rather, by chanting phrases and making people drop under some trance, in witchdoctor fashion, they are holding sway over the popular mind. The people love it and are paying for it! The “men of God” are becoming stinking rich as the crowds just keep on coming.

This is not Christianity
What worries me is that this is so obvious that I am wondering why we are not seeing this. Or if we are, why we are not warning Christians against this. For the love of crowds, we have allowed African traditional religion to enter the church through the back door. Like the Arabian camel, it has since kicked out the truth. This is why I am not excited by the multiplication of churches—or ministries—under this banner.

We need to sound the warning that this is not Christianity. I know that this approach is filling our church buildings and classrooms to overflowing, until we have to multiply church services in order to accommodate the crowds. But this is not Christianity. It does not lead to heaven. It is a thin coating over the religion that has been on African soil for time immemorial, which Christianity was meant to replace. We have lost the Christian faith while we are holding the Bible in our hands and using some of its words. This is really sad.

The religion of the Bible does not teach a God who is so far away from us that unless some powerful humans come in and give us a breakthrough he cannot bless us. No! The Bible teaches a God who is near us. The only barrier between God and us is our sin, and Jesus has dealt with that by his death on the cross.

When we pray, we are in the throne room of divine grace talking directly to God. We do not need to address demons and ancestral spirits before we break through to him. We do not need to chant and jump around like witchdoctors around their fire under the midnight moonlight. God is our heavenly Father. Only our sin can hinder our prayers.

Listen! Angels and demons exist, but they are not an impregnable spiritual strata that needs someone reeking with anointing to breakthrough their layer before we can access God’s blessing. They are simply beings that either carry out God’s commands or the devil’s commands. They are not between God and us!

Finally, we do not need “men of God” to lay hands on us every Sunday (or at Friday overnight prayer meetings, or on hills in the outskirts of our cities) in order for us to know God’s blessings. There is only one Mediator between God and us—it is the man, Christ Jesus. All others are imposters and must be rejected with the contempt they deserve. 

[Included afterwards: Many individuals and organisations that run websites and blogs have asked me for permission to repost this article. Permission is granted, as long as due acknowledgement is made of the author and original blog post. Thank you for your interest in getting the word out!]

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Saving Christians from Liberal Theology

        
“If the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)

I want to make something very clear from the outset. My current series of blogs entitled “Saving Christians from…” is not motivated by a spirit of fear or negativism. I am a Christian in the Reformed mould,  which means that I believe in the absolute sovereignty of God and in the present reign of Jesus who is in the process of subduing this world for His own glory. I do not embrace a negative eschatology (no … I am not post millennial!) but I am absolutely convinced  about the final outcome: "Jesus shall reign wherever the sun does its successive journeys run." 

Yet, at the same time I am also called of God to be an under- shepherd with the duty to preach and teach His Word and to warn His flock on earth concerning all sorts of heretical teachers and deceitful tendencies which threaten to take them away from the gospel truth as it is in Jesus. I write of course from a Namibian perspective. 


In this blog I want to write about an ideological/philosophical movement that affects Namibians, and it is broadly termed ‘Liberalism’ (from the Latin liberalis). Liberalism is primarily a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality and mostly rooted in the French Revolution (1789). Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally they support ideas such as free and fair elections, civil rights, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, free trade, and private property. Now, in and of itself there is nothing wrong with these ideals. In fact, Christians would welcome these ideals. Freedom is after all a Christian core value! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free! (Gal 5:1) 

However, here is the problem as I see it. The French Revolution not only stood for freedom from all sorts of burdensome   constraints imposed by kings, rulers and the Roman Catholic church, but the French Revolution in its quest for liberty also sought to divest itself of God and the Scriptures! It clearly threw out the baby with the bathwater and in that process the French Revolution became the exporter of pure humanism, which is a deeply flawed system. 

Liberalism then, being a worldview,  has  also   exported itself into the context of theology. As a result we speak today of ‘Liberal theology’ and of ‘Liberation Theology’ and of 'Progressive Christianity[1] and of religious ‘Modernism’ and ‘Post Modernism’. Religious liberalism is indeed   a multifaceted phenomenon, but the common denominator is, that it seeks to ‘liberate’ Christianity from the authority of Christ and the written Word of Christ.  Now, if Christ is not a real King,  and His Word not a real and true word, then what do we have?  The net  effect, I would argue, is that our Namibian Christianity has become ‘toothless’ and powerless. Sitting recently in the company  of  a group of politicians   I was told that they did not see the church  as an  effective  agent for change in Namibia.  

Many years ago a 20th century prophet A.W. Tozer (1897 – 1963) wrote an essay entitled “The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches“. In  this essay  he  wrote:

"The present position of Christ in the … churches may be likened to that of a king in a limited, constitutional monarchy. The king…. is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a flag or a national anthem. He is lauded, feted and supported, but his real authority is small. Nominally he is head over all, but in every crisis someone else makes the decisions. On formal occasions he appears in his royal attire to deliver the tame, colorless speech put into his mouth by the real rulers of the country. The whole thing may be no more than good-natured make-believe, but it is rooted in antiquity, it is a lot of fun and no one wants to give it up."

Here is my application:  The Namibian Church ought to be very concerned about the waning authority of Christ and His Word (the Bible) in every church and denomination. This is how we know that the authority of Christ and the Bible is slipping in our churches :

1. The waning authority of Christ in the modern (new) churches:
Here reference is made to the churches that have sprung up comparatively recently (i.e. in the late 20th century ) 
  •  Much of church leadership is not Christ centered but man centered. It is men and women with big titles (Reverend , Bishop , Apostle) that rule the church by their own authority , and not under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ . 
  • Much of church worship is not Christ centered but man centered.                  Many Namibian churches engage in no serious attempt to make the Word of God known to their congregations. Much of what is called ‘preaching’ is based on the imitation of messages preached by American mega church leaders and worse still, the imitation of the American health- wealth and prosperity teachers. Messages resemble ‘motivational speaking’ characterized by modern business gurus, and ‘pop psychology’, which is a rehash of Dr. Phil and Oprah Winfrey and the likes , dressed up in Christian language.  Most often it is not Christ and His word proclaimed that attracts people to the church. It is music and innovative stage productions that draw people who want to be entertained. In Namibia, endless choir items, liturgical dances etc. tend to crowd out the place of the preached word. In many Namibian churches you will find no systematic and public reading of the Bible in worship, but you will find plenty of testimonies that glorify men and not God. 
2. The waning authority of Christ in the (old) mainline churches 
There is yet another form of the waning authority of Christ and His Word in the Namibian churches, and it relates mainly to the historic mainline churches. 
Some of the old mainline churches  tend to buy into the 'new and innovative  seeker sensitive Christian  fashions'  that abound in American churches like  Willow Creek and Saddleback. These are all cheap substitutes for the  true life of the church which consists in  godly wrestling with the Scriptures from the pulpit  and  in prayer. Both of these disciplines are fading  as innovation wins the day. 

My point has been that liberal theology destroys the heart of the biblical gospel by tampering with Christ and by tampering with the authority of the Bible. Here are some specific things I have seen  and heard : 
  • “the Bible is not the Word of God – the Bible becomes the Word of God as it encounters me”. This is  a position known as Neo-orthodoxy. It is not a very common teaching in Namibia  but it is there. Neo –Orthodoxy teaches that the Bible is a medium of revelation, while orthodoxy believes it is revelation. To the neo-orthodox theologian, revelation depends on the experience (or personal interpretation) of each individual. The Bible only “becomes” the Word of God when God uses its words to point someone to Christ. The details of the Bible are not as important as having a life-changing encounter with Jesus. Our comment is that this is not the historic position of the church which has always held that the Bible is the Word of God. The Word of God IS true whether I believe it or not. It stands outside of myself and it has the authority to judge me, whether I experience that fact or not. 
  • Another contemporary challenge to mainline Christian churches is the Jesus Seminar, which has some popular adherents in South Africa and Namibia. Some of the teachings of the Jesus Seminar include : Jesus of Nazareth’s mother's name was Mary, and he had a human father whose name may not have been Joseph;  Jesus practiced faith healing without the use of ancient medicine or magic, relieving afflictions we now consider psychosomatic;  He did not walk on water, feed the multitude with loaves and fishes, change water into wine or raise Lazarus from the dead; Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem and crucified by the Romans. He was executed as a public nuisance, not for claiming to be the Son of God;  The empty tomb is a fiction – Jesus was not raised bodily from the dead. Belief in the resurrection is based on the visionary experiences of Paul, Peter and Mary. 
Clearly, such an undermining of Christ and of the clear words of Christ in the Bible in the name of what is commonly called ‘scholarship’ and ‘academic integrity’ and ‘the new hermeneutic‘ can devastate the faith of many a simple believer, and many such believers have therefore begun to leave such churches where these things are being taught. 

In another article I would like to comment on the latest fad within the broader realm  of liberal theology - Post modernism, which builds on much that I have said here, and which needs a more thorough treatment. 

Conclusion : Saving Namibian Christians from Liberalism 

The matter at hand is extremely serious, and it shows in our society. Liberal theology in its many forms is deeply subversive, undermining the foundations of the historical Christian faith, and “if the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) 
The big problem with liberalism , both of the new and the old kind is that it robs us of the authority of Christ and His word, and  the question is  again - if we have no biblical Christ and no sufficient word, then what do we have?

We observe the impact that liberalism and neo- liberal ideas have on the church. We see how it lowers the spiritual temperature of the churches. We see it in the way in which our churches have very little real impact upon our society. We observe therefore that the standard response of churches who no longer believe in the authority of Christ and the sufficiency of His Word,  is to get churches involved in social projects that have an appearance of relevance in the community.  Nobody despises soup kitchens and the clothing the poor and the looking after orphans and widows. These are indeed the out-workings of a biblical faith, but this is not the core activity of the church. It flows from the core activity of the church, which is the preaching of the gospel, with conviction, clarity and utter confidence that Jesus will change the heart of the man or woman who will look to Him and believe in Him. 

Our churches are not primarily social clubs or social welfare organisations. Churches are life- saving stations where sinners are mended and healed to be offered up for service to this broken world in the Name of Jesus our King! 
And our service always begins with the Word of God. 

May God deliver us from liberal theology that detaches our hearts from Christ and His Word. 






[1] Progressive Christianity, a 20th-century theology of contemporary Protestant Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity with a strong emphasis on social justice or care for the poor and the oppressed and environmental stewardship of the Earth.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

SAVING CHRISTIANS FROM A FALSE VIEW OF BAPTISM


"Go therefore  and make disciples  of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching  them to observe all that I have commanded you.” 
(Matthew  28:19,20)

“Brothers , what shall we do ? And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  (Acts  2:38)

“Do you not know  that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus have been baptised into His death? We were buried therefore with Him  by His baptism into death, in order that , just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” 
(Romans  6:3-4)

Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be to the person baptized a sign of fellowship with Christ in his death and resurrection, of being grafted into him, of remission of sins, and of giving up oneself to God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.”  
(1689 Baptist Confession of Faith)

This series of blog postings  is intended to draw attention to  teachings  and practices  in the church in Namibia  that undermine the  progress of the gospel in Namibia.  In this exercise I am not attempting   to draw out  splinters  from  my brother’s eye, whilst having a log in my own.  My desire  is to let  the Scriptures judge us, and in this process  I too need to be self -critical  rather than judgmental.

This is the second blog posting  in my series,  “Saving Christians from…”.

Last  week my blog was entitled,  “Saving Christians from Joyce Meyer”.  Joyce Meyer is  a well known American  prosperity teacher,  with a world- wide influence.   Having  studied  the “Word of faith movement” or  what is commonly known also  as  “prosperity teaching “  for  at least 25 years, I  with many others  have come to the conclusion  that this  movement seriously undermines the gospel  and therefore  the  historical Christian  faith here in Namibia and in the world.  This is not to say  that Joyce Meyer  has not helped people  – but  she is not a gospel woman. She is a  ‘pop psychologist’ dressing her message in Christian language. In this she is not  unlike the media guru,  Oprah Winfrey.

This week I   want  look at the subject of  ‘false baptisms’. I know that this term sounds a little clumsy. Here is what I mean. Baptism is frequently  administered  in our country  as a  ‘saving ordinance’.  Namibian Christians   from  all  kinds of denominations   believe that  ‘baptism’  is  the pathway to heaven. They would not  put it like that, but they act like that.  I have had  people approach me  over many years  with  requests  for  baptism,  which I believe were based more on superstition than biblical  warrant.

Let me begin with ourselves – the Baptists, and include here also  the Charismatics and Pentecostals, since they generally follow the  practice of   what has been  often termed here as  “adult baptism” (Afrikaans – “groot doop”).  There was a time in the early nineties  when American Baptist missionaries  in Namibia  determined  their church growth statistics  by ‘baptisms’. I understand the logic  behind this - after all, every believer should also be baptized,  but the problem is that in many ways  baptism then   became synonymous  with conversion.

The biblical view is that  while baptism is strongly linked to conversion, it follows conversion. Baptism  is the sign and symbol  that we have been converted, but in and of itself it  has no  saving power. Christ alone  saves, and  Christ commands that those who have been saved should be baptized thereafter !   

In certain areas  of our country,  Baptist churches, as a result of  this false emphasis, practice   the adult equivalent of the Roman Catholic baptism    whereby a baptized child becomes a Christian. This is called ‘baptismal regeneration’. Certain denominations  not strongly represented in Namibia (e.g. the Church of Christ)  believe and practice baptismal regeneration.  We  should  not only strongly disagree with such a practice, we should call it a heresy!  The point is that  this  emphasis  on baptism substitutes  the biblical  emphasis  for genuine repentance  and conversion before  baptism is administered.
Another variation of this practice  in Baptist circles is where  baptism is preceded  by a  shallow, superficial, mechanistic  confession (often based on the four spiritual laws) , followed by a quick baptism which leaves  the subject as  unconverted as the chair they are sitting on! I believe that  many  Baptists in America have suffered from  this syndrome, the result  which has produced  huge  nominalism in the church. So much then for the Baptists!

What about the  Paedo Baptists?  They   are those who practice infant baptism as opposed to  ‘believer’s baptism  (which may include the baptism of believing children). The major  denominations in Namibia  in this category are Lutheran, Catholic, Anglican, Methodist  and  the  Dutch Reformed grouping of churches.

In my opinion  these  denominations find themselves  in  an equally  difficult  dilemma. The very nature  of  infant baptism opens  a huge door for  compromising the gospel. No matter  how  seriously the best of  our paedo- Baptist brethren  take the faith of  the parents who dedicate their little ones sincerely  to the Lord, in the sure and certain knowledge that they will be granted  eternal life, and this  upon the  covenantal  faithfulness of God  (all true!)   - in practice this is not how it actually works out.  I know, for I myself have  been the product  of this system, and  God  saved me  through  the evangelistic gospel preaching of a paedo – Baptist pastor of the Church of England in South Africa (CESA), whereupon I was  baptized 2 years later in a Baptist Church.  

My  Lutheran and Dutch Reformed colleagues  often complain of  huge nominalism in their  churches. Their sheep are  not acting like  sheep. This has an enormous impact upon the vitality and spiritual strength of their churches. In my opinion, their  practice of infant baptism significantly contributes to  this problem, for the covenantal view associated  with their baptisms  is  regarded as  more important than the biblical imperative   to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ !

What is the problem here?  It is once again a false view of baptism  and it is killing the church by degrees, because  the  churches are being  populated by goats and not by sheep!  If my analysis is correct, this  means that a great majority of Namibian Christianity is  afflicted  by  a false view on the efficacy  of  baptism.  

I believe in  the holy ordinance  of baptism with all my heart - but if  the  Bible  and our Confession of Faith is  clear  on this matter (and they are), then  my prayer is this : 
Sovereign Lord, graciously save our nation from false views of baptism“.   Amen.

ON THE PURPOSE AND USE OF THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE CHURCH

  In the last century, particularly in the in the 1980’s and 90’s the subject of spiritual gifts was hotly debated. John Wimber (1934-1997)...