Baptist Foundations – Believer's Baptism
Romans 6:1-14
Baptist Foundations – Believer’s Baptism
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.[1]
Insistence upon believers’ baptism does not make us Baptists. Neither does our insistence upon immersion as the mode for baptism make us Baptists. However, because we are Baptists we practise baptism as taught in the New Testament. Immersion was clearly the ancient mode of baptism. Scholars, regardless of their denominational affiliation, are united on this point. Moreover, the vast majority of scholars will agree and readily assert that the New Testament restricted the rite of baptism to those of mature age who knowingly chose to identify with the Christ. What is baptism, then? And, how did we arrive at this present point?
Baptism is a necessary qualification for church membership among most communions. Even paedobaptist churches recognise this truth, since they require baptism of infants as a necessary precursor to membership in their churches. There are few exceptions to this general rule.
For instance, the Salvation Army does not consider itself to be a church; therefore, they practise neither baptism nor communion. If one wishes to be baptised, Salvationists will send that one to another communion, encouraging him or her to return after baptism. Quakers, likewise, do not demand baptism for membership. Some Brethren groups, especially those of a hyperdispensational bent, also refuse to practise baptism, believing the ordinance to have been restricted to a previous dispensation. However, every other Christian communion expects that only those who are baptised may be members; those who are unbaptised are refused membership.
From this evidence, it is apparent that the definition of baptism we adopt is essential if we will honour the teaching of Christ the Lord. Mode, candidate and purpose of the rite are of utmost importance, if we will honour the Lord Christ. In order to determine what is pleasing to the Lord, I recommend that we consult His Word. I suppose that I could refer to any of a number of texts, but I will focus this day on the words of the Apostle to the Gentiles as recorded in the letter to the Roman church.
Baptism’s Confession — In the passage under consideration, Paul speaks of baptism. Many commentators, especially if they are of paedobaptist persuasion, insist that the Apostle does not speak of water baptism in this instance. Honesty compels even noted advocates of infant baptism to acknowledge that Paul does indeed speak of baptism in water in this passage, however.
John Stott is a noted scholar and commentator on the New Testament Scriptures. As an Anglican, and hence would not normally be expected to present a view which was either baptistic or sympathetic to Baptist doctrine. In his excellent commentary on Romans, this noted Anglican scholar states concerning the passage under consideration.
Those who ask whether Christian people are free to sin betray their complete ignorance of what their baptism meant. In order to grasp Paul’s argument, three clarifications need to be made about baptism.
First, Baptism means water baptism unless in the context it is stated to the contrary. It is true that the New Testament speaks of other kinds of baptism, for example a baptism ‘with fire’ and a baptism ‘with the Spirit…’ It is safe to say that whenever the terms ‘baptism’ and ‘being baptised’ occur, without mention of the element in which the baptism takes place, the reference is to water baptism…
Secondly, baptism signifies our union with Christ, especially with Christ crucified and risen… [T]o be baptised into Christ means to enter into relationship with him, much as the Israelites were ‘baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,’ that is, into allegiance to him as their leader.
Thirdly, baptism doe not by itself secure what it signifies… [W]e must give the apostle credit for consistency of thought. ‘The baptised’s faith is, of course, taken for granted … not forgotten, nor denied.’ So union with Christ by faith, which is invisibly effected by the Holy Spirit, is visibly signified and sealed by baptism. The essential point Paul is making is that being a Christian involves a personal, vital identification with Jesus Christ, and that this union with him is dramatically set forth in our baptism.[2]
The argument the Apostle presents is pointed. Christian people are not free to sin as they once did because of their relationship to Holy God. It is not that Christians cannot sin, but it is that they cannot sin casually or with impunity. Sin is serious business. The evidence that the Christian cannot sin in a casual manner is predicated upon the baptism of those who are Christians. Consequently, take careful note of the fact that the Apostle assumes that all Christians are baptised. In other words, there would be no such thing as an unbaptised Christian in apostolic theology. An unbaptised Christian would have been a significant anomaly.
Listen again to the text. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
[Romans 6:1-11]
In baptism, the one baptised makes a confession. It is as though they were acting out the drama of salvation in three tenses—past, present and future. In the text, Paul speaks of our identification with Christ in His death, of our burial with Him and of our resurrection to walk in newness of life.
Consider what the Apostle has just said concerning the foundation of our faith. He has taught that in baptism an individual openly confesses his or her faith that Jesus died, was buried and raised to life. Similarly, the baptismal candidate states that he has accepted the sacrifice of Christ as His substitute and likewise looks to the risen Saviour as the one who now justifies him. We who are baptised have been united with Christ in His death and we shall also be united with Him in a resurrection like His.
Paul then speaks of our present condition. He says that in baptism we openly confess that we accept the biblical argument that our old self was crucified with Christ in order that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Just so, having died with Christ, we confess our faith that we will also live with Him. In baptism, each of us as Christians confessed our faith which teaches that through believing in the Son of God we admit that our old self was dead, but that because we accepted the sacrifice of Jesus the Son of God and believe that He has risen to set us free, we also believe that we are no longer condemned.
Listen to this argument presented in the Ephesian encyclical. You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them [Ephesians 2:1-10].
Our condition was marked by death and a propensity to sin. We were, in fact, slaves to sin. Having believed Christ the Lord, we were set free, and this was an evidence of His mercy and grace. Listen to another portion of this same Ephesian letter.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth [Ephesians 1:3-10]. This is our present baptismal confession.
In baptism, we looked back to the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ our Lord. In baptism, we each confessed that we identified personally with His sacrifice and in the hope arising from His resurrection. Similarly, we looked forward to the hope of the resurrection when we were baptised. In the fifth verse, Paul writes, if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. The baptismal candidate testifies to the Christian hope that though we should be called to pass from this life, we know that He shall raise us as He promised.
The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works [Titus 2:11-14].
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words [1 Thessalonians 4:13-18].
Your baptism is a powerful confession of your understanding of the Good News of Christ the Lord. It embraces God’s plan to provide His Son as a Saviour from before the creation of the world to the day when He shall appear again to call to Himself all His redeemed people. Each time we witness baptism as commanded in the Word of God we witness a powerful preaching of the Gospel of Christ.
I do not wish to be rude, nor do I particularly wish to be crude, but I wonder how dripping water from a cup pictures these truths? I marvel that anyone could think that through making the sign of the cross with a wet finger they portray these rich and powerful confessions? I wonder how sprinkling a few drops of water on the forehead can present the biblical confession? This is the basis for our assertion that baptism which fails to picture our faith is no baptism at all. The baptism which pictures our Faith, and that baptism which is taught in the Word of God, is immersion of one who has believed into water and then raising them again from that same water. Immersion and only immersion of the believer can be considered baptism.
Baptism’s Demands — Baptism demands that those who will honour God must be baptised according to the biblical model and according to biblical teaching. Those who have faith in the Son of God are called to honour Him through obedience to His teaching. There is not one instance of an unbaptised Christian in the whole of the Word of God. There is not one instance of an infant baptised in the whole of the Word of God. There is not one instance of an individual baptised in order to secure salvation in the whole of the Bible. There is not one instance of sprinkling or pouring as a rite called baptism. Because so many religious organisations today practise an unbiblical rite which they call baptism, it is necessary that I address these errors briefly.
The very words, baptise or baptism, speak of immersion or submersion. Baptise is not a translation of the Greek term, it is a transliteration of the Greek word bavptw. If you ask why this should be, it is because the translators of the King James Version assured James that they would not translate words which would threaten the practise of the Church of England nor change the meaning of words which had entered the language of the Church. Consequently, ejkklhsiva was translated as church, instead of assembly or congregation. This would permit the retention of the teaching of a state church into which people were born. Assembly would threaten that view by permitting the concept of a believer’s congregation. Similarly, Baptivzw and bavptw were simply transliterated as baptise instead of translated by immerse or submerse, which is the meaning of the words.
Listen to the following entries from technical works readily available to anyone willing to study the issue, and which have been studied by virtually every student who has ever attended a Bible school or seminary.
bavptw occurs only four times (twice in John 13:26, and also in Luke 16:24 and Revelation 19:13), and only with the meaning “dip.” baptivzw is a technical term for baptism, and in all the Gospels it occurs chiefly in the account of John’s baptism, in particular that of Jesus. But while in Matthew it occurs outside chapter three only at 28:19 (the command to baptise), its use in the other Gospels is more widespread. Nevertheless, it refers to John’s baptism… In Acts baptivzw is almost always used of Christian baptism (eighteen out of twenty-one passages; three refer to John’s baptism).[3]
Baptivzw …dip, immerse, mid. dip oneself … (in non-Christian lit. also ‘plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm,’ etc.[4]
baptismov", ou`, oJ dipping …[5]
bavptw fut. bavyw; 1 aor. e[baya; pf. pass. ptc. bebammevno" (this form Epict. 2, 9, 20 of the experience [to; pavqo"] that causes a {Ellhn to become a jIoudai`o").
1. dip, dip in ti; someth…; a[kron tou` daktuvlou u{dato" the tip of the finger in water… The dat. may also be used (e[bayen tw`/ u{dati 4 Km 8:15 v.l.) ibid. v.l.; iJmavtion bebammevnon ai{mati Rv 19:13 (the text is quite uncertain; v.l. rJerantismevnon, perirerammevnon, ejrrammevnon s. rJantivzw, perirraivnw, rJaivnw) a garment dipped in blood (but s. 2 below).
2. dip into dye … dye; in this case Rv 19:13 means a garment dyed in blood …*[6]
By dipping one who believes and confesses that Christ the Lord died because of his sins and that He was raised from the dead for the justification of those who believe, we practise baptism as taught in the Word of God. Baptism is a confession, and therefore we neither baptise in order to make one a Christian nor to make one a member of the church. Only those who are baptised may unite with a church, joining with other fellow believers who have submitted to the command of God.
As a people of the Book, we cannot accept as baptism that act which is practised in an effort to secure faith. This teaching that baptism is essential to salvation is known among theologians as baptismal regeneration. Throughout the passage before us, faith is assumed as the condition for baptism and not as the result of baptism. Only those who have believed are suitable candidates for baptism. Baptism demands that an individual exercise faith in Christ, understanding that He died because of their sin and that He has raised from the dead for their justification before God. Just as faith is always assumed to lead to baptism, so baptism always assumes faith for its validity.[7]
William L. Flemington, Principal of Wesley House at Cambridge University, writes of this issue of baptism restricted to believers. From the frequency with which this baptism follows upon “hearing” or “receiving the word” and “believing,” the rite would seem, as it were, to embody the kerygma, and to represent the believer’s response to, and acceptance of the gospel message.[8] In other words, the Bible consistently presents the position that baptism is a conscious preaching of the kerygma—the Gospel. This preaching is done as representation of the believer’s response to and acceptance of the Gospel message.
Among those holding to the concept of baptismal regeneration are the Roman Catholic Church, some High Church Anglicans, and Lutherans.[9] In addition to this, some Pentecostal groups, the Disciples of Christ and most of the denomination known as the Churches of Christ hold to the teaching of baptismal regeneration. We would need to rewrite the Bible and change our very Faith in order to seek comity with such groups. We can accept neither their practise nor their message conveyed through their acts. Instead, Christian love compels us to call all such individuals to faith in the Son of God, and obedience to His command that those who have believed—and only those who have believed—are to obey Him by submitting to baptism.
You understand, as well, why we cannot accept the baptism of infants, since they cannot exercise faith in Christ and cannot grasp the issues of sin and its consequences. Those who argue that infants do believe must find a means to demonstrate the basis for their statement. The Bible knows of no such argument. Baptism which obeys the biblical teaching is restricted to those of sufficiently mature age to believe and to confess their belief through the act of baptism. You who were baptised as infants are called to make a choice for yourself. This is not so much a rejection of your parents’ intent as it is fulfilment of the teaching and love and prayers they invested in you.
A fellow-elder, the late Rev. Jim Wells writes of an incident during his training for the Bachelor of Arts degree at St. Jeromes College, University of Waterloo. Some of my professors were priests, nuns and Roman Catholic theologians. During one class, I asked about baptism and the teacher (an ex-priest) said, “The official position of the Roman Catholic Church on baptism is that the New Testament model is the baptism of adults by total immersion.” I replied, “Why then do you baptise infants by sprinkling?” The answer was, “Tradition—it is hard to break tradition.”[10]
In a remarkable admission, a Catholic priest, Father Antony J. Wilhelm, C.S.P., writes, baptism can … be given by immersing a person in water while saying the words—the ordinary way it was done in the early centuries. He moreover admits that Baptism requires a conversion and a profession of faith.[11]
Listen carefully to the following points on the implications arising from a biblical view of baptism. The author, Dr. Alfred Kuen, was a professor at the State Teachers Training College in Strasbourg, France.
The baptism of believers constitutes a church of confessing Christians. All the members of the primitive churches were baptised; only those who had believed and had confessed Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord were baptised. Therefore, the early churches were composed of only believers. The churches of the masses adhere to infant baptism, which admits as members all the new-born babes of Christendom.
The testimonies in favour of biblical baptism argue in favour of the church of professing believers. The Reformers, many theologians, and eminent members of multitudinist churches favour the baptism of believers and affirm that it was the only method practised in the early church. Thus, they approve the principle of membership practised in the free churches and repudiate the one used in the multitudinist churches to which they belong. To support their thesis, the paedobaptists call on the Old Testament, tradition and the peace of the church rather than on doctrine and the apostolic tradition.
The biblical significance of baptism can be reconciled only with the churches of professing believers. The significance of baptism as seen in the epistles implies union with Christ of the one baptised: he is dead, buried, and risen with Him; he is purified from his former sins; he puts off the old man and puts on Christ; he passes into a new world with Him. Infant baptism signifies nothing of this. The churches of believers where baptism can retain its initial meaning remain in the apostolic tradition.
The multitudinist church can justify itself only by the theory of baptismal regeneration. In order to be composed of regenerate members, according to the apostolic tradition, many multitudinist churches have conferred on baptism the virtue of bestowing the new birth on the child who receives it. The theory of baptismal regeneration is not a Bible doctrine.
The administering of baptism only to those who are fully aware of its significance leads to the forming of churches of believers. The practise of baptism as one finds it in churches of believers gives to the ceremony its original value, that of a conscious and valid promise, the outer and visible expression of an inner experience, the manifestation of a decision, a testimony, a sermon, an examination of one’s faith, an act of obedience.
The biblical observance of Holy Communion is possible only in the church of professing believers. In the primitive church only believers who persevered in the doctrine of the apostles and in a life conforming to the Word of God partook of the Holy Communion. It was like “partaking of the Body of Christ,” so it was unthinkable that nonbelievers, those who were not “in Christ,” should partake of the bread and the wine. Since all church members are exhorted to partake of Holy Communion, one can only conclude that the church was a church of believers. The churches of the masses admit to holy communion all who have become members by infant baptism and confirmation, whether they are converted or not, whether their lives are consistent or not with the faith that has been taught them. The assembly admitted to communion is thus not limited to the ekklesia, but to the denomination or, in certain cases, to an ecumenical intercommunion.[12]
Baptism’s Restrictions — When I teach, as I do, from the Word of God, I am bound by what God has caused to be written therein. I am not at liberty to change His Word, altering it to fit the preconceptions of this dying world or changing it to permit others to feel good about their disobedience. Some, even some among us, would alter the practise of the Word of God. They don’t wish to appear offensive to sincere individuals who were baptised as infants or who were baptised by some mode other than immersion.
We have together studied the Word of God, however, discovering that baptism cannot be performed for an unsaved individual. Likewise, we discovered that baptism cannot be performed for an infant. Neither can baptism be performed by a mode other than that which pictures the death, burial and resurrection both of Christ and of the one who exercises faith in Christ. Baptism is a picture of faith possessed, performed for those of mature age who understand what they confess.
When we call for all who share our services to obey the Lord Christ, we do so because we are convinced that churches cannot grow through compromise of the Word of God or through accommodating those who dissent from the clear teachings of that Word. We endeavour to meet individuals where they are, but we insist that individuals aim for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus [cf. Philippians 3:14]. God blesses our church so long as we are biblical sound, seeking to honour Him and to obey His command. When, as a church or as individuals, we begin to compromise and accommodate, we will sacrifice that blessing and shortly cease to grow.
Above all else, baptism demands obedience to Christ the Lord. Even in the Great Commission which He gave to His disciples is this evident. As Matthew concludes His Evangel, he writes: Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [Matthew 28:18-20]. Baptism is an act of obedience to Christ who asked, Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you [Luke 6:46]? How will you answer this challenge?
One claiming to be a Christian, and who has failed to be baptised, fits into one of the following categories.
Ignorance—that is, they have never been taught about baptism. Though they read the Bible, they read through cultural lenses, having been told that they were baptised when they were babies and that such an act is sufficient.
Pride, also, proves to be an issue for many people. Time has passed since their conversion and they have been involved with the church, yet they know that despite the common perception they are unbaptised. They are embarrassed to confess that they have been disobedient for such a long time.
Indifference to the teachings of the Word of God identifies many people. They simply do not want to be bothered by the call to submit to obedience to the Lord Christ. They don’t have a place in their busy schedule to honour Him. I pray that none among us this day are indifferent.
Defiance may be the reason some are yet unbaptised. They are rebellious, refusing to obey the clear command of the Word of God. Examination of the life of such individuals will almost invariably reveal secret sin reigning in their life. To be baptised would only raise their hypocrisy a notch should they come to give a testimony of their faith in Christ the Lord.
Unregenerate people are not eager to be baptised. Such individuals are not Christians. They attend church, partake of communion (against the teaching of the Word), but have no wish to make a public confession of Christ because they do not wish to be identified with obedience to Him.
I confess that I struggle to find another reason anyone could give to refuse obedience to Christ the Lord and His call to baptism for those who are disciples. Either those refusing baptism are ignorant, proud, indifferent, defiant or unregenerate. You must challenge your own heart if you are unbaptised and give the reason why you will not obey the Lord Christ.
You who wait for baptism, what argument can be given for your disobedience. We are compelled by the New Testament to call you to obey Christ the Lord. Any individual who believes God would have him or her be part of this congregation should not hesitate, but rather count it a privilege to be baptised as Jesus and His disciples were baptised. Then, you can become active in this living, growing congregation. Do not cling to the past, but instead face forward to the future, walking with Christ and honouring His call.
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[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Ó 2001, Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.
[2] John Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 1994) 173-4
[3] G. R. Beasley-Murray, in Colin Brown (ed.), The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1975) 145
[4] William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1957) 131
[5] Arndt and Gingrich, op. cit., 132
[6] ibid.
[7] Douglas Moo, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle to the Romans (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI 1996) 366
[8] W. F. Flemington, in George Arthur Buttrick, Thomas Samuel Kepler, John Knox, Herbert Gordon May, Samuel Terrien, and Emory Stevens Bucke (eds.), The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible , Volume 1, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN 1962) 349
[9] cf. G. W. Bromiley in Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Everett F. Harrison, Roland K. Harrison, William Sanford LaSor, and Edgar W. Smith, Jr. (eds.) The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volume 1 (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI 1979) 428 - 429
[10] Rev. James Allan Wells, Is Baptism by Immersion Important?, tract published by the Evangelical Committee of the Baptist Union of Western Canada, Calgary, AB, nd
[11] Anthony J. Wilhelm, C.S.P., Christ Among Us: A Modern Presentation of the Catholic Faith (Newman Press, New York, 1967) 177, 182
[12] Alfred F. Kuen, I Will build My Church (Moody, Chicago, 1971) 256-257
[13] Douglas Moo, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle to the Romans (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI 1996) 366
[14] W. F. Flemington, in George Arthur Buttrick, Thomas Samuel Kepler, John Knox, Herbert Gordon May, Samuel Terrien, and Emory Stevens Bucke (eds.), The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible , Volume 1, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN 1962) 349