Baptism

What is baptism?

Baptism is the ceremony which shows the world and the church that we are part of God’s community. When we are baptised, we are washed or immersed in water. This church has been talking about revitalisation – when God is revitalising a church there will be many baptisms.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  (Acts 2: 38)

Why do we baptise?

We baptise people because we are obedient to Jesus. In Matthew 28 he said to his followers, “…, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28: 19 - 20). So, every Christian church baptises people.

There’s a lot of symbolism involved. For example, in the book of Acts it says that baptism is the sign that the sins of believers have been washed away. (Acts 22:16)

Here’s a couple of other things that baptism teaches us:

It is a seal or guarantee that God keeps his promises to those who have faith in him. (Romans 4:11)

It is a sign of Spirit baptism. (Acts 10:44-48)

Spirit baptism? I had always thought that Spirit baptism and water baptism are two different things.

Yes, that’s right, they aren’t identical, but baptism does still point to the fact that being saved is a baptism, a drenching in the Holy Spirit.

New Testament baptism also symbolises our death and resurrection with Jesus, doesn’t it?

That’s right, Paul teaches that in Romans 6:4.

One important thing that baptism signifies the reality that when we believe we become part of God’s family. That is, we become part of his new covenant people. (See Genesis 17, Romans 4, and Hebrews 8).

What is required of you when you come to be baptised?

 I’m going to answer that question by quoting from an Anglican catechism[1] which says: “Two things are required: repentance, in which I turn away from sin; and faith, in which I turn to Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord and trust the promises that God makes to me in this sacrament. (Psalm 51:3-6, 13-17; Mark 1:14-15; Acts 2:37-38)”  (Packer, 2020), 57.

With everything you have said about what the Bible teaches about baptism, it just doesn’t seem biblical to baptise babies. Why do some churches baptise infants?

That’s a fair question, if we need to repent and have faith, how can a church baptise the children of believing parents? It comes down to the idea of God’s people being part of his covenant community.

Churches that baptise infants or children believe that God graciously includes children of believers in his covenant family. They say that just as the sign and seal of Abraham’s faith (circumcision) was applied to his sons and to his household, so the sign and seal of faith in Jesus (baptism) should be applied to the children of those who believe in Jesus. Churches that baptise infants cannot believe that their children would be left out of a more excellent and better covenant. (Hebrews 8:6).

An Anglican catechism says baptism is “sign of God’s promise that [children] are embraced in the covenant community of Christ’s Church. Those who in faith and repentance present infants to be baptised vow to raise them in the knowledge and fear of the Lord, with the expectation that they will one day profess full Christian faith as their own.”

Where did this idea come from?

This idea flows from the biblical understanding that God is a King who makes covenants with his people.

God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham and all his descendants is crucial to this point of view. (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 15; Genesis 17).

When God commanded Abraham to be marked with the sign of the covenant, he commanded that all the males in Abraham’s household, including his son Ishmael, to be marked with the sign of the covenant, which was circumcision. Abraham had faith and so his whole household became part of the covenant community. (Genesis 17).

How is that relevant to baptism?

In Romans 4 and Galatians 3:7-9, we are taught that all who have faith in Jesus are descendants of Abraham. Churches that baptise infants say that our children are part of God’s family just as Abraham’s children were part of God’s covenant family. Infant baptism is seen as a promise that when the covenant conditions of repentance and faith are met, God’s blessings will apply. (Chappel, 2006), 15.

Are there any other parts of the bible that support infant baptism?

Yes, in the New Testament, whole households are baptised, just as all of Abraham’s household were circumcised. (Acts 16:30 – 31; Acts 10:47-48; Acts 16:15; 1 Corinthians 1:16).

In fact, “… when we read the New Testament accounts of baptism, every person identified as having a household present at his or her conversion also had the entire household baptised.” (Chappel, 2006),17.This was the days before birth control, so it seems very unlikely that no babies were present in all those household baptisms.

The household baptisms are interesting. Are they the only evidence you have?

There is more evidence. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he says that the child of a believing spouse is “holy”. (1 Corinthians 7:14). So, the child is presumably to be regarded as a Christian until he or she is old enough to decide for themselves.

There are a couple of other passages that support infant baptism. First, in 1 Corinthians 10:2 Paul interprets the crossing of the Red Sea by the nation of Israel in a mystical way. In that passage, he states that “all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea…” This passage shows that the idea of including children in a communal baptism is not foreign to the New Testament. Second, in Colossians 2:11 – 12 there is a link made between baptism and circumcision.

I’ve seen people baptised in rivers, pools, the ocean, and we have a clam shell at Epiphany. How should we Baptise?

Baptism must involve water. The New Testament imagery is much better represented by baptism by immersion. If a baby is baptised, we should have as much water as possible. (Sprinkling was originally for sickly babies).

But shouldn’t baptism always be by immersion?

Some churches think so, and they teach that the Greek word baptidzo always meant submersion in water. However, in the Bible the word that is usually translated as baptism can also be translated as washings. (See Luke 11:38). In addition, we should note that when Israel was baptised into Moses, (1 Corinthians 10:2) it was the Egyptians who experienced full immersion, not Israel. So, sometimes churches baptise by pouring or even sprinkling water.

What happens at a baptism service?

Because baptism is entering the covenant community, it should be celebrated at a normal church service on a Sunday. The person being baptised, or his or her parent(s), sponsors and the church all have promises to make.

You have said faith is essential, what kind of faith?

It is essential that the person being baptised, or at least one of the parents, can confess the Apostle’s creed and is growing in Christ by participating in Sunday worship regularly. In other words, the person being baptised, or a parent, must trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection to put them right with God and demonstrate a lifestyle of following Jesus Christ.

What kinds of differences might there be between a church that baptises children because they believe that God counts their children as part of his covenant community and one that does not?

There are some differences. If children are part of the covenant community, then we will prayerfully teach them the faith. We will teach them what we believe and why we believe it, how to pray, how to worship, how to serve. At the very least, we will make sure that they are part of their new community, the local church by attending Sunday worship faithfully. We trust that in time, they will say publicly, “Yes, I do believe, I do understand the faith, I do trust in Jesus.”

In a Baptist church, we might try and get kids to ‘make a decision’ for Jesus, because we assume that our children are not Christians until they choose to become Christians.

What if a baptised child walks away from the church?

Sadly, sometimes baptised children walk away from the faith, at least for a time. If this happens, our hearts break and we pray and pray that God will soften their hearts, and that Jesus will rescue the lost sheep. If they do come back, they will need to repent and confess, just as we do when we sin. If they were never confirmed, we would expect them to confirm their faith publicly at this time.

I feel like kids miss out if they are baptised as babies. Baptism is so much fun!

This should encourage us to celebrate when someone confirms their baptism. In this church when someone says “Yes, I trust in Jesus and I am ready to confirm my baptismal vows,” we get to call in the bishop. Our bishop lays hands on the person and anoints him or her with oil. We pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill and anoint him or her, and we pray for God’s gifts and fruit in the person’s life.

When can someone be confirmed?

When they have repented and trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and are following him. The bishop will expect the candidate to know the Lord’s prayer, the Ten commandments, understand the Apostle’s creed and be participating in the spiritual rhythms of the church.

That sounds like a lot.

One of the problems in the modern church is that we have neglected the Christian education of our children. In the past young people spend up to a year preparing for their confirmation with a church leader. Families and churches need to prioritise teaching our youngsters the faith.

References:

Chappel, B. (2006). Why do we baptise Infants? Phillipsburg: P&R.

Packer, J. (2020). To be a Christian An Anglican Catechism. Wheaton: Crossway.

Richard, G. M. (2019). Baptism Answers to Common Questions. Ann Arbor, Michagen, U.S.A: Ligonier Ministries.

Sproul, R. (2011). What is Baptism? North Mankato, USA: Reformation Trust Publishing.

[1] A catechism is a question-and-answer tool designed to teach the Christian faith.