Introduction

Not long ago, one of our members told me that she wished we were more like the other Christians out there. The comment was made in the context of tension in family relationships because of Reformed and Presbyterian beliefs and practices. I sometimes feel that way too. Can't we all agree with each other in the larger Body of Christ and live in harmony? We look around us and it seems to us that our Presbyterian beliefs and practices are a part of a small minority. EVERYBODY seems to believe and do differently than we do. That can be wearisome at times.

One of the areas where we differ significantly from a large portion of Bible-believing, American Christianity is in our doctrine of Baptism. We differ from the average, non-Presbyterian, Evangelical in three ways.

1. We believe that the Bible teaches that baptism is a sacrament through which God identifies himself with the one being baptized and the one being baptized becomes part of the Body of Christ, which in this case is the Visible Church.

2. We believe that the Bible teaches that those who confess Christ and have never been baptized are to be baptized and so are their children.

3. We believe that the Bible teaches that the proper mode of baptism is to have water poured or sprinkled on the one being baptized by a minister of the gospel in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As we look at our position and see it as the minority position today, I want to assure you that that is a recent development. The Church through the centuries has understood baptism essentially as we do.

As we prepare to baptized little Sophia Ozasa, also known as Pip, I want us to consider the rightness, the duty, the privilege, and the blessing of baptizing a child. I usually do that by starting with the Old Testament. Today, I want to do things a little differently and focus on what the New Testament says concerning the baptism of children

I. Actual Baptisms Recorded in the New Testament (11x)

A. Jews – Acts 2:37-41 – in response to apostolic preaching.

B. Samaritans – Acts 8:12-17 – in response to Philip's preaching.

C. The Ethiopian Eunuch – Acts 8:35-38 – in response to Philip's exposition of Isaiah 53.

D. Paul – Acts 9:18 – in response to Jesus's confronting him.

E. Cornelius's household – Acts 10:44-48 – in response to Peter's preaching.

F. Lydia's household – Acts 16:13-15 – in response to Paul's preaching.

G. The Philippian Jailer's household – Acts 16:30-34 – in response to Paul and Silas's singing.

H. The Corinthians – Acts 18:8 – in response to Paul's preaching.

I. John's disciples in Ephesus – Acts 19:1-7 – in response to Paul's preaching.

J. Crispus and Gaius – 1 Cor. 1:14 – in response to Paul's preaching

K. Stephanas's household – 1 Cor. 1:16 – in response to Paul's preaching.

{Of the 11 baptism, four are household baptisms.}

II. How Should We Understand These Four References to "Household" Baptism?

A. First, we have to understand what the term household means.

Gen. 17:23 – So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.

1. A household in the Bible included all who were related by blood or adoption who were dependent on a patriarch or matriarch.

2. A household in the Bible also included servants.

B. Thus, when Luke and Paul say that so and so's household was baptized, they mean that every class of people belonging to that household would have been baptized.

1. Regardless of age – old and young.

2. Regardless of status within the household – blood relatives or slaves.

C. These baptisms tell us at least three things.

1. There is no reference to the faith of the household members.

a. In fact, in the case of the Philippian jailer (31-34), Luke seems to go out of his way not to mention their faith.

b. "Believe" in 31 is singular despite the fact members of his household were present with him.

c. After the jailer washes their wounds, Luke says "having believed (perfect active participle nominative singular)," 34.

d. Luke says nothing at all about his family's believing – they may or may not have believed.

2. It is possible that young children and infants were part of these households.

3. At the very least these baptisms tell us that God works through families.

D. These baptisms do not prove that children and infants are to be baptized.

1. It is impossible to say that they were part of these households, though probable.

2. These baptisms are consistent with children and infants being baptized.

E. Let me ask you this: does the Bible say anywhere that babies must not be baptized?

1. Some point to Acts as proof that babies should not be baptized.

Acts 2:38 – Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

a. Notice the context of Peter's statement: the men who were present in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost asked Peter what they should do.

Acts 2:37 – Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

b. So, that is the category of people who Peter is talking to: unbaptized adults who had come to faith in Jesus Christ.

2. The truth is the Bible doesn't forbid the baptizing of babies – it doesn't explicitly command either.

3. Even though the Bible doesn't explicitly command so, it does firmly so.

III. The Bible teaches that children of believers should be baptized by equating the significance of baptism with the significance of circumcision.

A. The children of believers were part of the Visible Church in the OT – they will be gathered at the coming of the Messiah.

Joel 2:15-16 – Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room.

B. The sign that they were part of the Visible Church was circumcision.

Gen. 17:9-14 – And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

1. An example of the importance of applying this sign to the children is given in the life of Moses.

Ex. 4:24-26 – And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!"—because of the circumcision.

2. The NT links the significance of circumcision with that of baptism (they mean the same thing), Col. 2:11-13.

a. Spiritual circumcision is accomplished by spiritual baptism.

Col. 2:11-13 – In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses….

b. Notice that there is a circumcision that still needs to happen to those who are truly Jews – accomplished by baptism.

Rom. 2:28-29 – For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

c. In the OT, one becomes a child of Abraham according to the covenant God made with him through circumcision, but in the NT that happens through baptism.

Gal. 3:26-29 – For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

3. Circumcision and baptism mean essentially the same thing – therefore, the same types of people that should have been circumcised in the OT are eligible for baptism under the teaching of the NT.

a. Believers circumcision/baptism for those who are coming from outside the Visible Church.

b. Covenantal circumcision/baptism for those coming from inside the Visible Church on the strength of the parents' profession of faith.

c. Technically, they are both covenantal.

IV. Responsibilities That Accompany Baptism: Parents

A. The doctrine of infant baptism must not be held in isolation from the responsibilities that accompany this practice.

B. Baptism carries with it certain obligations and duties on the part of Christian parents and the church as a whole.

C. Since children are members of the visible church and part of the covenant community, parents must raise their children up to believe in Christ, to obey his Word and be faithful to God's covenant.

D. People who have their children baptized because of tradition and do not raise their children in the Christian faith are guilty of mocking God's ordinance, taking the name of God in vain and treating baptism as a magic superstition.

E. Baptism is the starting point of Christian discipleship (Mt. 28:19-20).

1. So, the practice of Reformed churches is for parents to make a vow before God (at the baptism of their child) to bring up their son or daughter in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

a. It is important to realize that the doctrine of covenant headship and the wonderful promises of God related to the children of believers all presuppose that the children of believers do not automatically become faithful Christians.

b. That parents have a sobering responsibility to live the faith before their children and diligently teach their children the whole counsel of God.

2. When parents are bad examples and neglect family worship, attend a mediocre church, miss public worship for frivolous reasons, are not careful about the education of their children, they should not be surprised when their children reject the faith.

F. Infant baptism must be rooted in the covenant faithfulness, not only on the part of God, but also on the part of the parents.

Dt. 6:1-6 – Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, ²that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. ³Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—'a land flowing with milk and honey.' ⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ⁵You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

1. Believing parents are commanded to observe the law (Dt. 6:1), fear the Lord (6:2), keep all of God's statutes (6:2) and be careful to observe them (6:3).

2. Baptized children need to grow up in explicitly Christian homes where Christ is first in all things.

3. Parents are to love God with all their hearts (6:5) and must diligently learn God's Word and place it in their hearts (6:6).

4. They in turn are to pass their total devotion to God to their covenant children.

Ps. 103:17-18 – But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, ¹⁸ To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

5. Every time the parents in a church observe a baptism it ought to remind them of their solemn duty to their children before God.

G. God has chosen the agency of parenthood to convey the blessings of Christ to covenant children.

H. God blesses the children of faithful parents because:

1. He promises to do so.

2. Faithful parents are the normal means by which children are taught the "sum of saving knowledge."

3. Christian parents must exhibit the truth of the gospel before the eyes of their children every day.

V. The Responsibilities That Accompany Baptism: Church

A. The baptism of children is an ordinance with important parental responsibilities.

1. Baptized children still have sinful natures and thus must be diligently taught, catechized and disciplined to fear and love the Lord.

2. The training of these baptized children is necessary for us to obey God's promises – for covenant continuity between generations and godly dominion over creation.

3. Discipline and instruction are the ordinary means used by the Holy Spirit to cause devotion to God in covenant children.

B. The church as a whole also has responsibilities toward baptized children and their parents.

1. The elders are to provide leadership and training so that parents have the tools necessary to raise up a godly seed.

2. The congregation as a whole are to show an interest in the development of the child with sincerity.

3. The pastor, elders, and all church members are to pray for covenant children and are to encourage them and the parents to fulfill their vows.

a. Paul instructed older women who have a lot of sanctified experience to teach young women "to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands" (Tit. 2:4-5).

b. The church's future is dependent on our precious covenant children.

c. We must not neglect our responsibilities to these members of the covenant.

Conclusion

Let me end with this quote from William Hendriksen, "The very heart of Christian nurture is this: to bring the heart of the child to the heart of his Savior."

Parents, it is your duty before God to do whatever you can to influence your children in the gospel. One of the dumbest things a parent can say or believe is that he is supposed to let his children decide for themselves who they are and what they believe. If you as a parent do that, I guarantee you, you will be the only person in the entire world acting that way toward your children.

"The very heart of Christian nurture is this: to bring the heart of the child to the heart of his Savior." Amen

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