What's Your Perspective?

Several years ago I had an experience as a flight instructor that reminded me of the importance of perspective.  I was giving a "check ride" (a flight evaluation) to a fellow pilot in a simulator.  We normally had two students being evaluated at a time but on this occasion, there was another instructor filling in as a seat support for the captain's position.  So the student was the first officer and he was getting all the attention, and on this particular day, he was not performing up to the highest standards.  In one of the most difficult scenarios he was struggling with the engine out sequence and we had to repeat the event twice before I felt that he demonstrated proficiency.

During the debrief for the first officer I stressed the importance of being prepared for all scenarios in the actual aircraft for the very reason that if indeed something went wrong, there would be no chance to make a reset and do it again like we had done in the simulator.  After all, aircraft can be very unforgiving at times.  He was apologetic and compliant and I felt he had made a rededication to proficiency at all times.  But, while I was debriefing the student I noticed that the other instructor I had worked with that day stayed behind and was pacing about outside the debriefing room, looking in at me a couple of times with concern and consternation.  He had a different perspective on the student's performance and thought he should have been failed and brought back in for remedial training.  After conferring with the other instructor I decided to go to the manager to get his perspective of what he would have done.

The perspective of the manager was very similar to the other instructor and I began to see the reason why.  We all had previously been military pilots before we joined the ranks of civilian aviation.  The fellow instructor that day had been a Marine fighter pilot, the manager had been a Navy fighter pilot and a fighter squadron commanding officer, and I had been a Navy anti-submarine pilot.  Both the fighter pilots had been trained to be very aggressive in their approach to aviation, and this came through in their perspective as instructors.  I too had the same basic primary flight training but applied that training to a land-based multi-engine turboprop aircraft, which was very similar to the type of aviation we now flew in our current civilian jobs.  The student that day had been a civilian pilot which may have contributed to his difficulty in engine-out training.  Each of our perspectives was shaped by our experiences and we all came to different conclusions at that time.

Our perspectives in life are like this and heavily influenced by our conditioning and backgrounds.  We all have different personalities and priorities as some people are introverts and others extroverts.  Some want instant results and others need to consider every angle.  There are differences in age and technology, who would consider walking a mile to ask a friend a question if we could simply pick up a phone and call them?  Who even would keep a landline now that we have cell phones?  There are differences in perspectives from gender, male, and female, and from dads and moms, grandparents and grandchildren.  There are people who love woodworking and those who love reading books on philosophy.  Some people have the perspective that we must always be aggressive in defending our freedom in our country because "freedom isn't free".  Other people believe that war and fighting are inherently evil, and that aggression just provokes more aggression, but if we could all just love one another it would foster love in return.

Those of us who hold a Christian perspective come into our faith with the same diversity of perspectives of experiences, priorities, desires, beliefs, talents, development, gender, and even family conditioning, traditions, and loyalties.  The big question we need to ask is what is God's perspective?  To ask this we see the flip side of the coin in the question of what is our perspective?  And are we putting our perspectives ahead of God's, or are we putting his perspectives ahead of ours?  Even more, which doctrine of God do we believe is the most important?  Is the chief doctrine the grace of God, or the truth of God, and are these being affected by our own perspectives and biases?

Christians have an obligation to know the truth of God as he truly is, and not just as we prefer him to be.  We often need our own perspectives to be examined as we all are finite.  Our perspectives are limited and we need to always compare them to the truth of the Bible.  To know this truth we must first establish the truth of truth itself from which we can then compare any other truth.  From a truth perspective, we can teach all doctrines of Scripture and not let our perspectives and priorities become greater than God's perspectives and priorities.  Christian leaders in particular must proclaim God's truth for the health and sanctification of the church in our secularistic culture.

I believe the truth of God must be our highest priority in this way to prioritize all doctrines correctly.  Truth can guide us in understanding even the grace of God, which so often becomes the priority in a broken world.  If we make love our primary perspective then the truth of God can be lost as we can become like the world in its philanthropy and humanitarianism.  And the world can be very unforgiving at times.  But with truth as our priority, the grace of Christ can never be lost as it is the truth of the gospel.  We need to continually ask what God's truth is therefore so that we can evaluate our perspective to his, and so that we can bring the whole truth of Christ into the world.

The truth of God also brings a transformation from our sinful nature and helps us from falling into any self-righteousness as it always appeals to Christ's humility and righteousness.  This truth-centeredness glorifies God for Christ is the one who is true at all times.  He is the one who declares in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes unto the Father, except through me."  The truth of God always includes the grace of Christ to the glory of God, and this is why I believe truth is the priority.

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

The discussion of baptism can challenge us with some deep questions about our faith.  With as many questions that are presented, there may be as many different answers from various people.  I believe the differences in perspectives lie primarily in understanding the purpose of baptism as we understand it from the Bible.  The purpose isn’t that clear though because there are several assumptions that have to be made for differing perspectives.  It's also important to remember that this is a secondary doctrine in the faith as it is not essential to the faith itself, and many devout Christians hold differing perspectives with conviction.

The three primary positions I've understood that different denominations hold are baptismal regeneration, baptism as a sign of a person's faith, and baptism as a sign of the covenant of grace.  The first position of baptismal regeneration I disagree with wholeheartedly as the Bible is not ambiguous on this, it clearly does not teach any regeneration that occurs from baptism.  Catholic tradition can lead people to believe that regeneration takes place, but this is not the teachings from the Bible.

Regarding the second and third positions, I changed my position many years ago from baptism being a sign of a person's faith to one that signifies God's covenant of grace.  Baptist denominations primarily hold baptism as an ordinance and as the sign of faith, as a believer's baptism.  Many other Christian denominations hold baptism as the sign of the covenant.  The covenantal position I believe is most consistent with the purpose of baptism and is most consistent with the OT giving of the sign of the covenant in Abraham.  The male children received the sign of circumcision, which was a permanent and physical sign to them that they were to be set apart as God’s elect.  Circumcision was the sign of the covenant that Abraham first received when he was called to become the father of the people of God. 

When we come to the NT we see many changes because we are now a part of the "new covenant" as Jesus described.   In Luke 22:20 Jesus said, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."  Even more, the sacrifices of bulls and goats were discontinued because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  In Hebrews 8:13 we read, "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete.  And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."  As we also know God promised that Abraham would be the father of many nations, Gen. 17:4, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations."  This describes how Israel would not be the only nation to receive the covenant of grace.

The new covenant is not proclaimed to just one nation but to all nations.  And the sign of this new covenant was no longer circumcision but baptism, and it is not just to the male children but to the females as well.  Receiving the sign of the covenant in the NT is consistent with the pattern and principle of the people of faith in the OT.  But the key point is that it is the sign of the “new covenant” and not the old.  

This then affirms that the sign of the new covenant is also to be given to adults when they are converted, and not just to children.  But a question remains, is the sign of the new covenant to be administered as an act of faith of the parents or the children?  When Christian parents have children, they are to baptize them as a sign of the new covenant, and in keeping with the covenant obligations to God for their children, just like in the OT.    

The new covenant is radically different from the covenant in the OT in that the Messiah has now come.  And the baptism of Jesus was a sign of his obligation with the Jewish community to prepare for the new covenant.  He was not being washed from sin but he was identifying with his own identity as the Messiah, ushering in the new covenant, and giving an example for his fellow countrymen.   

So why then was Jesus baptized?  Jesus was identifying in his humanity as the Messiah and the Mediator of the new covenant, and submitting in all his human obedience and faith to receive this sign.  We do know that Jesus was leading by example to receive the sign of the new covenant, and that he was not receiving a believer's baptism.  Baptism is the sign of the new covenant, and even Jesus accepted this sign.