Free Essay Example. Baptizing a Polygamist

When God made man and woman, he envisioned that for each man, there is a woman for him. As stipulated in the Bible through the story of creation in the book of Genesis, God removed a rib from Adam to create Eve, who was going to be his companion. From this bible story, it is clear that a man should only have one wife as God intended at the beginning of time (Gen 2:24). In the case study, there are several issues projected, including the issue of Polygamyamy among Christians. This is expressed through the Indians who accepted the idea of becoming Christians, but their culture and social norms allow Polygamyamy. However, Born and raised Christians, are forbidden to be polygamous even though in the Bible, several patriarchs had more than one wife. In the Bible, Exodus 21:10 instructed that when a person marries another wife, he should make sure that he is in a position to provide for the second wife (Goldfeder, 2013). This verse is one of the verses that address the issue of Polygamyamy for Christians, but it strictly doesn't allow Christians to be polygamous. This is because, from the book of Romans 7:2-3, an individual that marries another woman commits adultery.

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And to the Ten Commandments given to Moses during the exodus, adultery was a sin before the eyes of the Lord. Nonetheless, Exodus 21:10 tries to help certain social structures that before practicPolygamyamy. The Bible tells us that "Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called" 1 Corinthians 7:20. Hence, relating this verse to the issue in the case, it posits that since the Indians are already polygamous people and at the time, they were being called to God. Therefore, trying to change their way of life based on the Christian way of life doesn't concur with the teachings from the Bible. Judging from the intricacies of marriage, which in Christianity is a lifelong promise. Christianity advocates for Christian witnesses to keep their promises no matter what. Since these Indian families have already made promises to take care of another woman (wife), they should heed their promise. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, "Let all that you do be done in love," and when a man takes away his affection and care from a wife that depends on him, it is never an act of love (Goldfeder, 2013).

Another issue that is created from the case study is baptism. Ephesians 2: 8-9 posits that salvation is by grace, albeit belief in Jesus Christ. Salvation is never a matter of not doing something other than the failure of believing in Jesus Christ. Romans 6: 3-7 establishes that baptism is a manifestation of a person accepting the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as a way of paying for our sins (Massey, 2020). All baptized Christians have been baptized into the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, through his death, we are buried with him through baptism and then rise with him to live through the Glory of the Father God, enabling us to walk in newness of life. When Christ Jesus comes back, and we are reunited with Him, we would all be in his likeness as we were in his likeness through his death, letting our old self crucified and the body of sin be done away with. Therefore, baptism isn't the end, and one should have an endless commitment and a compulsive drive to do well and be done with sin. In the case of the Indian families where controversy lay in whether to baptize them or not, these people can be baptized and receive Christ as the savior of their lives. Baptism reflects on the issue of being saved from the shackles of sin. However, these Indian families cannot be leaders of the church as the book of 1 Timothy 3:2 says, "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife." Moreover, the Indian husband should be advised that now he has accepted Christ and Christianity as his way of life, he should not have another wife but the one or ones he already has (Massey, 2020). The other wives to the husband can also be baptized and be saved as grace is for all.

Conversely, another issue that emanates from the case study where the fate of the Indian families is not known. Would they leave their other wives to stay with one wife, or what would become of them? On the issue of Polygamyamy, some directives condePolygamyamy as it is a manifestation of adultery even to people who were non-Christians before. This means that once the polygamous people accept Christ as the savior of their lives, they are expected to leave all the other wives and stay with one true wife. As stipulated in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that no adulterer or fornicator, in this case, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Consequently, in the same book, when a sinner accepts Christ, they should leave their sinful ways, and, in this case, the Indians should do away wiPolygamyamy (Massey, 2020). On the same issue, for a sinner to be a true Christian, they need to confess their faith in Jesus Christ, Acts 8:37-38, otherwise, wouldn't mean anything in baptism. 1 Corinthians 6:11 establishes that all sinners, including adulterers fornicators and, in this case, polygamists, can be sanctified. However, after being sanctified, like all sins, the new individual should avert from siPolygamyamy), Luke 3:8. Romans 7:1-3 says that a man's true wife is the first wife, and the rest are just women living with him in adultery. Therefore, to be a true Christian, all other wives should be dropped, and a man remains with one wife.

This case provides a dilemma in both parties were the same scripture postulates different directives that are opposites. However, in an attempt to assist with the issue, as Christians who accept everyone, sinners, and saved, we should first accept the Indians as they are and be thankful for their acceptance to be saved and accept Jesus Christ Luke 15:10 (Du Preez, 2005). Consequently, as in Romans 10:13, anyone who calls the name of the Lord will be saved. The Indians have called upon the name of tLordord through the mission, signaling that they want to be saved. This answers the question of whether a polygamous person can be baptized (Owusu, 2007). On the issue of leaving their way of life or not, Indians are accustomed to having many wives. Before the mission, we could not expect them to be monogamous because they had not known about Jesus Christ and his teachings. For polygamous families, they should be left to live as they have been used to because they made a promise while entering into the contract of marriage with the other wives 1 Corinthians 16:14 (Du Preez, 2005). However, other men and women that are not married at the time of their salvation, they should accept monogamy Polygamy is sin. Baptized individuals should be able to live in the newness of life, leaving their sinful ways, Romans 6:4.

References

Du Preez, R. A. (2005). Does the Bible Really Support Polygamy? Here We Stand Evaluating New Trends in the Church, 601-620.

Goldfeder, M. (2013). The story of JewiPolygamyamy. Colum. J. Gender & L., 26, 234.

Massey, J. (2020). What does the Bible say about Polygamy? Retrieved from: http://www.scripturessay.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-polygamy/

Owusu, S. (2007). Towards a theology of marriage polygamy. Retrieved from: https://directionjournal.org/36/2/towards-theology-of-marriage-and.html