"Pacifism Is A Luxury Paid For By Warriors"

Reads a USMC bumper sticker.

The following is a dialogue I had with an absolute pacifist in response to his article that was published in a church newsletter. The first section was published in the same newsletter...
  

The Kingdom that Christ said was at hand

With the arrival of Christ the kingdom of God was preached to the Jews. The Law and the Prophets having ended with John the Baptist's ministry. (Lk. 16:16) The kingdom of God is a spiritual Kingdom ruled by Christ, the true David. Christ said this Kingdom was at hand, not afar off. The gospel of the kingdom is that "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15)
  
The earthly kingdom of Israel is not "the Kingdom of God." The Jews of Christ's day misunderstood this as many do today by looking for an earthly kingdom of God in downtown geographic Jerusalem in the future.

The Christian's Relationship To The Mosaic Law, by Philip Mauro

The Gentile Believer and The Law

  
We have said that the experience of the "wretched man" of Romans 7 is not the normal experience of a converted Gentile. It is, nevertheless, a sad fact that it may (and often does) become the abnormal experience of converted Gentiles, who, through ignorance of the great gospel truths revealed in Romans, or through the influence of Judaizing teachers and legal systems of theology, fall from their standing in grace, and seek justification, or the gift of the Spirit, through law-works. Hence the solemn warning of Galatians 5:4: "You are deprived of all effect from Christ, whosoever in law are being justified; you are fallen from grace." For as there were in Paul's day, so are there now, many who desire "to be of the law, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."

Different Views on Law & Grace

The Bounds of Orthodoxy

The two heresies associated with two extreme views of the law’s role in the lives of Christians need to be avoided. These extremes are called legalism and antinomianism.
  
Legalism – This position asserts that people can earn their way into the kingdom of God through the performance of actions that please God.
  
Antinomianism – The word literally means anti-law. This position maintains that people can sin all they want and still be saved.

A Case for Believer's Baptism

Believer's Baptism (Credobaptism) versus Infant Baptism (Paedobaptism)
 
Throughout the New Testament water baptism follows evidence of repentance and faith in its teaching and examples. (ex. Matt. 28:18-20; Lk. 3:3-8; Mk. 1:4; Acts 2:38) Water baptism is called the baptism of repentance. It seems clear that infants cannot demonstrate the evidence of repentance and faith in order to be baptized.

To A Thousand Generations by Douglas Wilson - A Baptist Response

Last year I read a few books on the subject of baptism. Two were recommended. One was Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ by Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright. I was more than happy to read this book for a couple of reasons: 1) I thoroughly enjoyed another book in the NAC Studies in Bible and Theology series on the indwelling Spirit, and 2) I had enjoyed another book co-authored by Thomas Shreiner and AB Caneday on warning passages in scripture.
   
The other book was To A Thousand Generations, infant baptism - covenant mercy for the people of God, by Douglas Wilson. This book was recommended by a paedobaptist friend. I expressed my reservation about reading anything from Federal Vision folks like Wilson. But, my paedo friend assured me that the book did not contain any hint of Federal Vision theology. So, I agreed to give it a fair read.