Hello everyone. Here is a reply to the talks that have been going on about infant baptism vs. believer's baptism. Hopefully it will help answer some questions. This is not to go against to get back at anyone. This is just something I'm posting for people to think about. Hope you read it and learn from it. It's one of the best sermons I've heard on infant baptism.
Reading: Isaiah 44:1-8; Acts 16:25-34
Text: BC 34 (last par.), LD 27
Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ:
One of the points at which Reformed believers and the Reformed church is often challenged by Baptist believers is the matter of infant baptism. Our young people come into contact with young people who are members of a Baptist, Evangelical or Pentecostal church. And these other young people (Baptist) express surprise, even shock, when they find out that we, in the Reformed church, practise infant baptism. They ask: "How can you do that? That's not right. Only believers can be baptized. You've got to come to faith first. And then you can be baptized." And they point out that there is no text anywhere in the Bible that commands us to baptize the children of the church.
What are we going to say?
Are we correct? Is the Reformed Church correct in practising infant baptism? Are we correct when we confess in BC 34 that children of believers ought to be baptized and sealed with the sign of the cov't? Are we correct when we confess in LD 27 that infants belong to the cov't and the congr. just as much as their parents do? That salv. is promised to them no less than to their parents? And that they therefore must be baptized? Are we correct when we say in art. 57 of the CO that the consistory shall ensure that the cov't of God is sealed by baptism to the children of believers as soon as feasible?
Must we maintain that? Yes. We must.
It's not just that children of believers may be baptized. They must be baptized. And it's not that the scr. allow it. The scr. demand it. God, in his revelation, demands that the children of believers be baptized, as soon as feasible.
Is there a specific Bible text I can point to which says: "The children of the church must be baptized?" No, there's not.
Some people will hang a lot on that fact. On the fact that there's no text that demands the baptism of the children of the church. But we shouldn't. For there are other things that Christians do which are not explicitly commanded. E.g., all Christians worship on the first day of the week, on Sunday. Where in the Bible does it command us to worship on the first day of the week? In the time of the OT the 7th day was the holy day, the Sabbath. The 7th day, Saturday, was the day of worship. You'll not find a text which says explicitly: "No longer shall you worship on the 7th day; rather, you shall worship on the first day." It's not there. And yet all Christians realize that the flow of God's revelation and of God's saving activity in history indicates that we are now to gather for worship on the first day, Sunday, the Lord's day, the day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Another example. Where in the Bible do you find a text that says that women are to attend the Lord's supper? You'll not find it. Christ instituted the Lord's supper in the presence of men only. He said to his male disciples, his male followers: Do this in remembrance of me. He didn't tell any women to do it. Not even the women who followed him and were devoted to him. And yet who would ever suggest that the LS is only for the brs. in the church and not the srs? No one. We understand that altho' Christ told his male disc. to celebr. his supper, it is for all his followers, male or female (because of their status).
Another question we must ask is: What is the point of baptism? What does baptism signify and seal? What is it a sign of?
It is a sign of man's promise to God? Or is it a sign of God's promise to man?
It can only be one or the other. Either it is a sign of a person's promise to God, of his faith and commitment to God. Or it is a sign of God's promise, faithfulness, and commitment to man.
Which is it? The latter / is true. Baptism is not a sign of man's promise to God. It is a sign of God's promise to man.
When God promises a person salvation - in other words - when God enters into a cov't with someone (those are one and the same - when God promises someone salvation, then he is, at that point, entering into a cov't with him) then that promise also applies to the children, the descendants of that person. The scr. are clear that when God enters into a cov't with someone, then it's not just with that person, but with his household, his family, his children and grandchildren. The promise of salv. spoken to that person also applies to the children of that person. Christ inst. baptism as the sign of the promise. If the children have the promise, then they must also have the sign of the promise.
That's my theme for this sermon.
THE CHILDREN OF BELIEVERS BELONG TO GOD'S COVENANT; AND SO, THEY MUST ALSO RECEIVE THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT.
Let us now follow the flow of God's revelation and see that this is so.
The place to start is Gen. 17:7. Here God est. the cov't of grace with Abraham.
[ Gen. 17:7 ]
The basic principle of God's cov't is set down here. Nl., that God est. his cov't with Father Abr'm and his descendants. Not just with Abraham, but also with his children.
In the OT we see that the children belonged to the people of God. In Dt. 29 when Moses, on behalf of God, renewed the covenant with Israel before they entered the PL, then the children were there as well - at that cov't renewal ceremony.
[ Dt. 29:1; 10-13 ]
[ Josh. 8:35 ]
It's clear. In the OT the children belonged. The promises of the cov't were for them as well.
But someone will say: "That's just the point. You're talking about the OT now. In the OT the children belonged to the cov't. But in the NT, it's all different. Now the child first has to come to faith himself. Then he can be baptized."
Why is it different? Why should that change? Where's the scriptural proof that in the NT the children no longer belong to the cov't until they themselves come to faith? Where's the evidence for this discontinuity between the old and the new? There's no proof for that. As a matter of fact, the scr. are clear that nothing has changed in this respect. Rather than discontinuity there is continuity. In the NT as well, the children belong to the cov't. They too have the promise of salvation thru the blood of Christ.
When the mothers of Israel bro't their infants to the Lord Jesus, what did the Lord do? He took them in his arms and blessed them. He said: "To such as these belongs the KOH." They belonged to the congregation of the people of God. Their status was: citizens of God's Kingdom.
What did Peter say about the children of Israel on the day of Pentecost - Acts 2? In his sermon he had forcefully convicted the Jews of their sin and preached to them the gospel of Christ. Then the Jews said: "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said: "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forg. of your sins; and you shall rec. the Holy Spirit". Then he went on to say: "For the promise is to you and to your children". Peter made no distinction between the adults and their children. He said: "The promise of the forgiveness of sins thru the blood of Christ and the promise of the Holy Spirit who works faith is for you - adults - and for your children."
In the NT as well the promise goes out not only to adults who are able to make a confession of faith. It also goes out to their children. Believers and their children. When parents believe, their children as well are taken up into the cov't of God. When God, working faith in the heart of the parents, draws them into a covenant relationship with him, then he draws their children in along with them.
The unity we have with Christ is described in terms of a vine. It's organic. Christ is the vine; we are the branches; the babies are twigs: twigs attached to the branches which are attached to the vine (which is Christ). So the children are attached to Christ.
Remember that Peter was speaking to Jews in Acts 2. Imagine if he had said to the Jews: "What shall you do? Well, you must repent and be baptized for the forg. of sins; and you will rec. the gift of the HS. For the promise is to you. "As for you children, however, you see, they are no longer in the cov't. They used to be. Before the Lord Jesus died, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and poured out his HS. But they're not any longer. Your children no longer belong to God's cov't and congr. "The promise is not to them. It used to be, but that's all changed now. Now they have to come to faith first. Then they'll be back in the cov't."
If Peter had said that, do you think that 3,000 of them would have been baptized that day? They would have said: "See you later. Keep your new religion. We're sticking with the old. At least our children, our families have a place in the old religion. I see that this new religion you are promoting has got no place for children."
The children clearly belong to God's cov't in the NT. They rec. the promises of salvation no less than the adults.
And the rest of the NT is consistent with this. Remember Cornelius, the Gentile centurion? And angel appeared to him and told him to send for a man called Peter. He said that this Peter would declare to him, Cornelius, a message by which he would be saved, he and all his household. (Acts 11:14) The gift of salvation would be not only for him, for Corn., but for his household. Salvation would enter his household that day. His wife and children would be taken up in it as well. God would extend his cov't with all of its promises of salvation to the whole household of Corn.
Same in Acts 16. Paul was preaching in Philippi. A woman called Lydia heard the preaching. The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what Paul was saying. She believed. And then (16:15) she was baptized, she and her household. All the members of her household.
Further on in Acts 16 - read about the Phil. jailer. v.31 Paul said to him: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." V. 33 - "... and he was baptized, with all his family."
Paul mentions in 1 Cor. 1:16 that he had baptized the household of Stephanas.
What's the point? The point is that as far as how far into a family the covenant extends, there is no difference b'w the OT and the NT. In the OT God made his cov't with Abr. and his household, his children. In the NT God est. his cov't with believers and their households, their children.
Someone will say: "Well, it could be that in all of these household baptism in the NT there were no children. "It could be that there were only mature adults who themselves first chose for Christ, and then, on the basis of their faith, were baptized."
Well, yes, it is possible. Altho' it would be a little difficult to believe. We read of 4 household baptisms - Corn., Lydia, the jailer and Stephanas. A little hard to believe that not a single one of these 4 people would have had young children in their families.
But anyway, that's not really the point. The point is that the same expression is used in the NT as in the OT. God est. his cov't with Abraham and his household in the OT. God est. his cov't with believers and their household in NT.
To say that the children are not allowed to be baptized goes against the way God works in history. The scope of God's dealings with man in history is ever broadening. In the OT, God has his cov't only with one nation. In the NT, it goes out to the gentiles. To all the nations of the earth. If God broadens and extends the cov't from the Old to the New, could we expect that he would at the same time narrow it to such a great extent as to exclude the children, those whom he had included in the Old? Not likely.
And so we don't need to have a text to command us to baptize the children. If, somewhere, Paul had written: "Do not baptize only the adults who come to faith; baptize their children as well;" people would have said: "Well, of course. What's your point? We know that. We know that the children of believers also belong to God's cov't. Why ever are you telling us that?"
The basic principle of the cov't - nl., that God est. his covenant with believing parents and their children - is still there in the NT. And it's b'c that abiding principle of the eternal cov't of grace simply carries on from the old into the new that you don't find a command in the NT to baptize the children. Everyone knew that.
The united testimony of the Scr. is clear: The children belong. They belong to God's cov't. They belong to the church. God promises salvation by the blood of Christ to them no less than to the adults.
And if they have the promise of the cov't, then they must also have the sign of the cov't. They must also be baptized. They must also rec. the sign and seal of the cov't. That visible confirmation of the promises God made to them.
By means of baptism, they are visibly grafted into the church. They are distinguished, set apart from the children of unbelievers.
Their great status is that they belong to the church, to the covenant community, to the kingdom of heaven. That is your status: children / young people.
But, as you know, responsibility comes with status. You have the responsibility to live as those who are different from the children of unbelievers. Every covenant has two parts: a promise and an obligation. God has promised you salvation thru the blood of Christ. But then you must believe that. You must believe the promise of God. Accept the Saviour Jesus Christ whom he has given for you. Accept your status as children of God's cov't. And rejoice in it.
Like the children of Isaiah 44.
In Is. 44 God promised the Jews that he was going to pour out his Spirit upon their desc. And his blessing upon their offspring (children). He said: Your desc., your children, are going to spring up like grass. They are going to be like poplar trees, gently swaying in the breeze along the streams of water.
They will say: "I belong to the LORD". Another will call himself by the name of Jacob - "I belong to the church, to the people of God." A third will write the LORD's Name on his hand so that all can see that he belongs to the LORD. Another will say: "My last name is Israel. I belong to the cov't people of God."
Be like that, children, young people. Be proud of who you are. Be proud that you belong to the LORD. That you belong to his cov't. That you are a member of his church. That you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. That you are attached to the vine which is Christ.
Don't be ashamed of that. It's something to be proud about. And to be thankful for.
Let's all say. "I am the LORD's" Old and young, we are the LORD's. We are the people of God. We belong to him.
He has promised us wonderful things. Forg. of sins by the blood of Christ. Renewal of life by the work of the HS.
That's what God has promised to each of us. Not just the adults. That promise goes equally to the children.
Embrace the promise, young and old. The promise God made firm and guaranteed to each of us by holy baptism. Amen.
