Marbaniang, Domenic

Take for instance the case of your neighbor or a friend that you know is not a believer in Christ. What is the difference between you as a believer and the other? The constitutionalist would say that there is a constitutional or ontological difference: the unbeliever’s spirit is dead, or the unbeliever’s nature is totally wicked (though he may sometimes seem to be doing good), while your spirit has been made alive or recreated and you have been imparted a divine nature. Thus, there is a constitutional difference between you and the unbeliever. The non-constitutionalist, on the other hand, will say that there is no constitutional difference between the two of you; the only difference is faith, which in the believer is present, but in the unbeliever is absent. Christ and the Spirit indwell us by faith (Eph.3:17; 2:22). Faith is epistemic condition, involving free choice; it is not an ontic property related to nature and being. Now, the presence of doubts at times doesn’t...

Infant Baptism is still practiced in many churches with the hope that it saves the infant from original sin. THE THEOLOGY OF NEW BIRTH OR REGENERATION The term “born again” has been a central term among Evangelicals and the Pentecostal/Charismatics. However, it has also generated a number of controversies among Christians who desire to understand the nature of their salvation in Christ. In this paper, we will try to highlight and evaluate some of the various teachings on the new birth and attempt at an examination of the same in the light of scriptures. Baptismal Regeneration The doctrine of baptismal regeneration teaches that a person is “born-again” or is spiritual born anew through baptism. The affirmers of this doctrine usually find scriptural proof for this doctrine in passages such as John 3:5 and Titus 3:5 where the terms “water” and “washing”, with reference to regeneration, are interpreted as meaning baptism. This doctrine is upheld mainly within Catholicism. According to The ...