Ask the Pastor: Repentance and Baptism; Nephilim and the Sons of God;
  the Seven Letters
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist
  Q: I'm a Lutheran. I've been studying  baptism and one question that keeps
occurring when I'm talking to other Christians comes from Peter saying in
Acts 2:38--39, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you." How do you witness
to them without sounding like you are contradicting yourself and mixing Law
and Gospel? How do you explain this passage to the person who believes he
must repent with the mouth in order to be baptized?
  A: Here, Peter has already proclaimed the Law. To "repent" is much more
than saying "I'm sorry" to God. It is a "turning away" from sin and a
"turning toward" God. As such, it is only accomplished by the Holy Spirit
working in someone's life. Repentance is an act of faith, not an act of one
on his way to faith. Therefore, it is not a good work. Instead, it is both
acknowledging the sin of which we are accused and acknowledging the Savior
who rescues us from that sin. Peter is saying, in effect, "Act like one who
believes that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is risen and is your Savior."
One of the first acts the believer would then initiate is to ask to be
baptized, that he might share in the fullness of God's blessings in Christ
Jesus.
  Q: In Genesis 6,who are the "sons of God" and what are the "Nephilim"?
  A: Some say that the "sons of God" were spirit beings. Others think
they were the righteous people living at that time, who fell into sin,
intermarried with the heathen, and whose offspring then departed from the way
of the Lord. Throughout history, pagan kings have often staked claim upon
their thrones based upon claims that they are descended from such creatures.
  Whichever they were, their offspring were the Nephilim (the Fallen Ones).
Evidently, they were revered as heroes by men but seen by God as spiritually
unjust. Their heirs (spiritually and by size, if not biologically) are seen
in Numbers 13:31--43. They were of giant stature and seemingly possessed
great might in battle. Of the latter Nephilim, perhaps Goliath may have been
a final vestige.
  Q: How do the letters to the seven churches in Revelation relate to
churches today?
  A: Since seven is often used as a number of completion, holiness,
perfection, and judgment as well as of the fullness of God's interaction with
his creation, with mankind, and with the Church, we can look at the seven
letters as summing up all God sees when he looks at Christian congregations.
Thus, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly.
  That the letters are not just intended each for the individual church that
is addressed is evident first of all because all are preserved in the context
of the Revelation. Even more so, notice how Christ refers back in each letter
to the vision John had just had of Him, yet each church only gets a "part" of
the vision. You have to read all seven to "reassemble" the total vision of
the Lord as revealed to John.
  Notice how each letter then ends with a warning to heed what the Spirit
says "to the churches." Thus, each letter to a church is also a letter to all
churches. Indeed, these do apply to all of us. Some may not at a certain
time, but all Christendom finds itself included, at least in part, in the
totality of the seven letters. Maybe the Nicolaitans are no longer the
problem, but heresy in one form or another is a chronic problem in the
Church. So also all the other sins and sinners mentioned---in one form or
another, these all continue to plague us.
  So also the promises are valid under the same conditions: We are saved when
we believe and cannot be lost if we do not throw away our salvation.
  To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327
or send email to askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
  Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri
and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."