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Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up  /  Chapter 8: What Baptism Meant to the Early Christians  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
David argues evangelicals replaced baptism-as-rebirth marker with the altar call, noting altar calls arose in the 18th–19th centuries and were “virtually unknown” earlier; when you compare the New Testament examples he lists (Pentecost, the eunuch, Cornelius, the Philippian jailer) with modern conversion practices, what do you think we gain and lose spiritually by tying the “fixed day and hour” of rebirth to an altar call rather than to baptism?
Another way to ask: David says evangelicals replaced baptism-as-new-birth with the altar call, which became common much later in history. Compared to New Testament conversion stories, what do we gain and lose by marking the moment of new birth with an altar call instead of baptism?

Direct Answer Based on David Bercot’s teaching, tying the “fixed day and hour” to an altar call may give evangelicals a clear moment of decision, but it risks disconnecting conversion from the New Testament and early-Christian pattern where baptism marked entry, forgiveness, and new birth. What we may lose is the church’s expectation that baptism is the normal initiation into remission of sins and regeneration.

Support from Transcript:

  • David says evangelicals “recognize the need for some type of initiation ceremony,” but have “rejected the historical ceremony of the baptismal rebirth” and developed “the altar call.”
  • Pentecost: Peter did not invite them to “walk up to the front… and invite Jesus,” but said, “Repent, and… be baptized… for the remission of sins.”
  • Ethiopian eunuch: after hearing the gospel, Philip “immediately baptized him.”
  • Cornelius: after the Spirit’s outpouring, “the first thing that Peter did was to baptize Cornelius and his family.”
  • Philippian jailer: no altar call; “immediately he and all his family were baptized.”
  • He notes altar calls are from “revival movements of the 18th and 19th centuries” and “virtually unknown” before.
Discussion Follow-ups If baptism replaced the altar call as the main marker, what would happen to assurance, discipleship expectations, and the church’s sense of initiation? What safeguards would prevent baptism from becoming a mere tradition with no repentance?

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