Ben Webb

Water Baptism:
A Mid-Acts Dispensational Viewpoint

Introduction | Prelude | Table of Contents

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Introduction

Today, during this present "dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph.3:2), Uncircumcised Gentiles are saved through the fall of Israel, as Paul states in Romans 11:11. Yet no Old Testament prophecy ever even hinted at such a possibility. Instead, prophecy consistently portrays the sanctification of Gentiles as taking place through the exaltation of Israel, rather than through her fall (see Is.2:1-4, 27:13, 61:6-9, Ezek.3:4-7, Micah 4:1-3, Zech.8:20-23, Zech.14:16, etc.).

Nor was such a possibility implied even in the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John (see, for example, Mt. 10:5-7; compare Ezek. 3:4-7). As a result, from the standpoint of prophecy, the salvation of uncircumcised Gentiles today is a true "mystery", as the apostle Paul states in passages such as Ro. 11:25, Eph. 3:1-6, and Col. 1:25-27.

It is therefore the mid-Acts Dispensational view that because Old Testament prophecies have temporarily ceased (1 Cor. 13:8), water baptism is no longer necessary (see 1 Cor.1:17; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:5); although it was absolutely required at one time for believers in the house of Israel (Mk.16:16; Acts 2:38). While some churches actually recognize the fact that belivers in the previous dispensation were required to be baptized, many of them still fail to understand the "mystery" that Paul speaks of. Consequently, they still allow (or maybe even require) their members to be baptized today. Others also fail to acknowledge that prophecy has temporarily ceased today, thereby relegating Paul's statement in 1 Cor. 13:8 to a future time. This study, then, will explore the purpose behind Old Testament baptism, and the reason why mid-Acts Dispensationalists believe it is no longer relevant.