Harbor Presbyterian Church - Carmel Valley

 

THE BEAUTY OF BAPTISM

 At Harbor we baptize 1) adults who come to faith in Christ and 2) the children of believers.  The practice of baptizing children and infants is often misunderstood.  Why have a child undergo something they aren't even aware of?  Should't we wait until they can understand and remember such a signficant event?  These are great questions - they actually point us to the beautiful meaning & siginificance of baptism.

 

The simple act of sprinkling water on a child's head "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" is a beautiful moment where that child's story is connected to God's great story of redemption and grace.  What does this mean?

 

1) God's Story is a Covenant Story - Baptism points us to the heart of God's story: his covenant promises.  From beginning to end, the bible tells us of God's promise to cleanse his people from sin and give them new hearts. Baptism is a picture of the cross and resurrection - the climax of the story - where God fulfilled his covenant promises of forgiveness and cleansing (Rom. 6:1-4; Titus 3:5).

 

2) God's Story is a Picture Story - God has always given his people visible pictures of his promises to confirm their reality and his faithfulness to keep them.  In the OT, he gave his people circumcision and Passover and in the NT, he give us baptism and the Lord's Supper. (Col. 2:11-12).  Circumcision in the OT and baptism in the NT are the marks of entrance into God's covenant community.

 

3) God's Story is a Family Story - The Bible tells us that God's covenant family (the church) is made up of individuals and households (Gen. 17:9-11,  Acts 16:15, 32-33, 18:8, 1 Cor. 1:16, 7:12-14).  God's covenant promises are passed along through family generations (Acts 2:38-39). In baptism, our children are received into God's covenant family.

 

4) God's Story is Story of Grace - Baptism reminds us that it is nothing we do that saves.  We do nothing in baptism but receive the water and the promise.  Often baptism is seen as our act of commitment and dedication.  In fact, the bible emphasizes that baptism points us to God's commitment and dedication to us. (Col. 2:11-12).

"Baptism is primarily God's speaking to us, not us to him. It is there that he signifies and seals an operation of grace that he performs in the context of a community that he has established." (Bierma, The Case for Covenatal Infant Baptism, p. 245)

 

5) God's Story is the Most Important Story - Baptsim also calls for a lifelong response to God's covenant grace.  As we remember our baptism and remind our children of theirs we and they are constantly called to faith.  The water of baptism symbolizes the water of cleansing for those who believe but for those who turn away in unbelief the water symoblizes the reality of judgment.  So, baptism is a life-long gracious warning to us to cling to Jesus and his work alone in living faith. (1 Cor. 10:1-13).

 

Common Questions Regarding Infant Baptism

 

Q: What difference does it make if my child is or isn't baptized?

 

• When baptized, your child has a life-long visible picture of the promises and obligations of the gospel - i.e. wedding ring

 

• When baptized, your child is given a life-long sign pointing to the gospel.

 

• When baptized, your child is given a life-long seal confirming the gospel promises for him/her.

 

• When baptized, your child is received into the church community. The church community makes a solemn promise to assist you in discipling your child in the gospel.

 

Q: Are children addressed/treated as inside or outside the covenant community?

 

• Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), ³ SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.
• Colossians 3:20 ²⁰ Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 7:14 ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

 

Q: What is the difference between the Presbyterian practice of infant baptism and the practice of other denominations?

 

A lot of the misunderstanding about infant baptism comes about because different traditions approach and understand baptism very differently. Other churches that pracitce infant baptism seek to connect the moment of baptism to God's mysterious work of regeneration.  Presbyterians look to the covenant story as the backdrop of how we best understand baptism, children and the church.  In this story, the sacraments/pictures of the covenant don't save or regenerate automatically - rather, they point us to life-long faith in the One who saves: Jesus.

 

Q: What about the need for my child to profess their faith publicly and to remember their conversion?

Many argue that since every child needs to conciously profess their faith in Christ as a signicant milestone in owning their own faith, baptism should be withheld until that time. At Harbor, we recognize the importance for every child to make a profession of faith and to honor that profession with significance.  We believe that the more appropriate expression of this is the child's welcome to the Lord's Supper.   All of our children are encouraged to go through the communicants process whereby our children make a profession of faith and are received as full members of the church in their own right.

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