Crucial Questions No. 11 “What is Baptism?” by R.C. Sproul
ISBN: 978-1-56769-260-0
Dr. Sproul has written a number of booklets in a series entitled “Crucial Questions”. These are designed to answer a number of questions concerning important topics from a Reformed theological perspective. Some of these include “What is the Trinity?” and “Who is Jesus?” the one I am reviewing is on the subject of baptism.
This booklet on baptism is around 70 pages long and is broken up into six chapters addressing such aspects as “Baptism and Salvation” to “The case for Infant Baptism”. The booklet is meant to be an overview and introduction to the subject, again, from the view of Reformed theology but does address issues related to Roman Catholicism and even Baptist theology.
I need to say that while I don’t agree with Dr. Sproul’s views on baptism (he mentions at one point that baptism is not necessary for salvation which I disagree with) I have enjoyed reading this booklet. The booklet is well written and has a very pleasing format and while I know that Dr. Sproul is a brilliant theologian who could have written this booklet with a lot of technical jargon he didn’t and that I appreciate. I don’t agree with many of the conclusions but I do think there’s a lot in the booklet that’s helpful and insightful.
One example comes from a discussion of the Greek word eis. I found Dr. Sproul’s comments to be helpful and even though I didn’t learn anything new about the word it was presented in a new light with new illustrations.
Another reason I enjoyed reading this booklet was for his discussion on infant baptism. I don’t hold to this practice but I did find it helpful to have someone who believes in infant baptism explain it and give some reasons why they believe it.
In the end, anyone who is looking to research what others believe about baptism (especially from the Reformed view) really should pick this booklet up, it’s a must have, simple, understandable, and for me it enjoyable to read as well.
