Recovering the Evangelical Sacrament

The subject of baptism continues to be of considerable interest--though it frequently appears within broader studies of sacraments, liturgy, worship, and ecumenical studies, and within confessional bounds: credobaptist or paedobaptist--yet it is rarely discussed by Evangelicals. This book, however, is neither an apologetic for credobaptism nor paedobaptism; rather Cross believes that, as practiced today, both forms are a departure from New Testament baptism, which, he maintains, was an integral part of becoming a Christian and part of the proclaimed gospel. He argues that the &quote;one baptism&quote; of Ephesians 4:5 is conversion-baptism and that the baptism referred to in the various New Testament strata refers to this &quote;one baptism&quote; (of Spirit and water). The study sets out the case for this interpretation and contends that in key passages &quote;baptism&quote; is an example of synecdoche. The case is then made for a sacramental interpretation of baptism from a thoroughgoing Evangelical perspective. Cross concludes with reflections on the necessity of baptismal reform and the relevance of a return to conversion-baptism for the contemporary church in a post-Christian, post-Christendom, mission setting.