Baptism

You've been baptized. But do you understand what it means? Baptism is the doorway into membership in the church. It's a public declaration of the washing away of our sin and the beginning of our new life in Christ. But the sacrament that is meant to unite us is often a spring of division instead. All Christians use water to baptize. All invoke the triune name. Beyond that, there's little consensus. Talk about baptism and you're immediately plunged into arguments. Whom should we baptize? What does baptism do? Why even do it at all? Peter Leithart reunifies a church divided by baptism. He recovers the baptismal imagination of the Bible, explaining how baptism works according to Scripture. Then, in conversation with Christian tradition, he shows why baptism is something worth recovering and worth agreeing on.

Peter J. Leithart is president of the Theopolis Institute, a Christian study center and leadership training institute in Birmingham, Alabama. He is author of numerous books, including The End of Protestantism, Deep Exegesis, Delivered from the Elements of the World, and commentaries on 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, and Revelation.