Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology) [Hardcover]

Thomas R. Schreiner (Editor), Shawn Wright (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007 | Series: New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology (Book 2)

Is believer’s baptism the clear teaching of the New Testament Scriptures? What are the historical and theological challenges to believer’s baptism? What are the practical applications for believer’s baptism today? Volume two in the NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY STUDIES IN BIBLE & THEOLOGY (NACSBT) series for pastors, advanced Bible students, and other deeply committed laypersons addresses these compelling questions.

Indeed, Believer’s Baptism begins with the belief that believer’s baptism (as opposed to infant baptism or other faith proclaiming methods) is the clear teaching of the New Testament. Along the way, the argument is supported by written contributions from Andreas Kostenberger, Robert Stein, Thomas Schreiner, Stephen Wellum, Steve McKinion, Jonathan Rainbow, Shawn Wright, and Mark Dever.

Users will find this an excellent extension of the long-respected NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas R. Schreiner is the James Buchanan Harrison New Testament professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He also serves as preaching pastor at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville and has written a number of nationally published books and articles. Schreiner and his wife have four children.

Shawn Wright is assistant professor of Church History at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and also serves as one of the pastors at Clifton Baptist Church. Wright and his wife have five sons.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: B&H Academic; annotated edition edition (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805432493
• ISBN-13: 978-0805432497
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Study on Baptism March 3, 2007

By Roy Ingle VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this book with great skepticism. I assumed that the book would be nothing more than a book defending the Southern Baptist position on baptism namely that believer's alone should be baptized (which I agree with by the way) but would not interact much with those who disagree except in passing. This is not the case with this book.

BELIEVER'S BAPTISM does a good job of first of all laying a solid biblical and theological foundation for believer's baptism and then does a good job of defending it against those who would disagree from both contemporary and from historical theologians who argue for infant baptism. Furthermore, the book allows a few chapters to be given for presenting arguments for infant baptism and for the Restoration movement view that baptism is essential for salvation. The book does not present baptism merely as a token Christian memorial but a very important biblical topic.

The chapters are not very long and the book can be easily read in just a couple of hours. While there are some theological terms thrown here and there, overall the book is an easy read and the plus is that it is full of Scripture. Overall I enjoyed this book and gladly recommend it to you all to study.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Biblical Interaction with various views of Baptism March 10, 2007

By Carl A. Dixon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Another reviewer said this book can be read in 2 hours!!! I read academic books all the time and that reviewer must be an amazing speed reader. I have really been edified by this book. It explains the various views of baptism very fairly. I am not a Baptist but do believe in believers baptism. This book confirmed me in my view of Baptism and completely eliminated any intimitation of other views. The various scholars deal respectfully with all views of baptism throughout church history and then contrast them with good biblical exegesis. I doubt if many will be able to read the book in two hours - or even some of the chapters in two hours - but this will be a forever resourse on the subject of believers baptism.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledgable Baptists May 21, 2007

By Puritan Covenanter

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is great in the face of diverse understandings concerning the doctrine of baptism. The book deals with historical writings and Covenantal Paedo baptist theology. It discusses the historical theologies of the Early Church Fathers and the arguments during the time of the Luther, Zwingli, and the Anabaptists. Another thing it discusses with clarity is the continuity / discontinuity issues between the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. The book is very gracious to all believers in Christ proclaiming our unity in the body of Christ. It also lifts baptism to a higher level than just an ordinance by claiming it is also a means of grace.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, Well-Written Study of Baptism October 25, 2009

By Lynn Kraker

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a well-written study of baptism, but it does not succeed in disproving infant baptism. The spirit in which it is written is very Christ-like. It focuses largely on the covenantal theology of Reformed and Presbyterian churches. In the end it fails to show that the Abrahamic covenant ended at the cross. This is a very important consideration. The concept of baptism being the sign of the NEW covenant of Jeremiah 31, although consistent with Baptist theology, is essentially unfounded. [...]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work that creates important questions June 27, 2008

By J. Todd Clippard

Format:Hardcover

This is a marvelous study of the subject of baptism written for the pew member, the scholar, and everyone in between. It is written by Baptists for Baptists to encourage a return among the Baptist people to a biblical position on the purpose and result of baptism, namely, that baptism brings the forgiveness of sins to those who submit to it in faithful obedience to the gospel message.

I hope this book finds a wide circulation among its intended audience and others who sincerely desire to know what the Bible teaches on this vital subject.

33 of 47 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars One-sided book, even for a Southern Baptist reader November 3, 2007

By Chris Fenner

Format:Hardcover

I am a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and I normally admire the level of scholarship that happens here (this book was written in part by SBTS professors), especially in the area of theology. I was also raised as a Southern Baptist and I believe that believer's baptism (credobaptism) is the most likely depiction of what the Scriptures intended, so I bought this book fully anticipating what is stated on the back cover: "destined to be a classic," "scholarly, ... without demeaning those with whom they disagree," "unquestionably the best volume on a theology of baptism," etc. To be sure, the authors are respected theologians who are well equipped to handle the subject, and they cite many other important works during their discussion. The first few chapters form a logical, systematic review of every instance of baptism in the NT (these are the best chapters of the book and the most useful). They also give a great deal of space to discussing and responding to reformed/covenantal paedobaptism, though always in view of how it disagrees with the credobaptist view.

Unfortunately, even in light of my respect for the seminary and my appreciation for believer's baptism, I don't think the book is worthy of its hype. The biggest problem is that it seems biased and even pretentious at times, even in spite of the authors' stated intentions to the contrary. Obviously, the cover presents the book as a case for believer's baptism, which is exactly what I was looking to buy. However, rather than presenting an unbiased, scientific examination of the Scriptures and historical evidence and then deciding upon the evidence that credobaptism is the most appropriate interpretation, the authors often fall into the trap of reading their strong convictions into their argument.... I was dismayed at the number of times the authors precede their citations with words like "(this author) wrongly states," "rightly claims," "correctly asserts," etc., which demonstrates that the authors present their position as the one by which all others should be judged. No one can fault them for having strong convictions on a subject, or stating a case and defending it, but their methods leave much to be desired, and this type of writing is simply inappropriate for a scholarly work. This is not an analytical, biblical theology of baptism which culminates in a case for credobaptism nearly as much as it is a pointed response to those with whom they disagree.

Aside from the clear credobaptism vs. reformed paedobaptism sparring that permeates the book, it also lacks depth in a few areas. Its discussion of some confusing and oft-disputed passages (such as I Cor. 15:29, baptism on behalf of the dead) is very brief. In all fairness, the author clearly states that he has no intent of canvassing the various views on the passage and directs readers to another book, but his reason is that he doesn't believe it changes "the view argued for in this essay" (credobaptism). I guess this goes back to my argument in the previous paragraph that the authors tend to use the Scriptures to defend their pre-determined belief, but I also mention it to point out that the book can't be a "classic" or "the best volume" if it defers its toughest interpretations to other books. In many respects, this book is not nearly as thorough as other books on the subject.

All of the above is to say this: if a person is seeking a strong defense for credobaptism, then this book is a good tool. In fact, this review might not have been so harsh if the book had been clearly labeled "a defense against paedobaptism" on the front cover. However, if a person is seeking an honest, open, unbiased, thorough review of the evidence (which may or may not lead to a particular view), this book will not fit the bill, as its better parts (and there are good parts) are muddied by a sense of condescension. Read more ›