Gen 17: 1-14; Col 2: 6-15

Andrew C. Leong Oct 17, 2004 Covenant of Grace OPC, Albuquerque NM Biblical Baptism and Babies Gen 17: 1-14; Col 2: 6-15 Read Gen 17: 1-14; Col 2: 6-15 Before we begin I need to cite my sources and for this exhortation I have borrowed extensively from a collection of sermons and teachings by the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen and a person near and dear to my heart the Rev Jim Whittle (PCA) So if you ever listen to Bahnsen s series on baptism you ll likely say I have heard this before And I mention this not to dodge flak but that you recognize that many if not most of the points this morning have come from minds much more capable than my own this morning you simply get another s product in a different package with someone else s delivery stamp This mornings exhortation is really the fruit of some recent studies of what Baptism is and specifically how it relates to infants My experience has been that many who are associated with or are even members of reformed churches neglect the practice of infant baptism simply because it is not clear to them in Scripture? Perhaps many even practice infant baptism in ignorance; not knowing why it is they do the things they do This morning it is my hope that you might more clearly understand why it is God calls His covenant children to receive the mark of baptism as they did circumcision in the old covenant 1

I do not presume that I will necessarily convince those who are pre-disposed to credo or believers baptism or those who are simply undecided, but I do pray that God might grant insight into His word and give you serious pause to consider or re-consider His call to His children There are many different modes of baptism- some have been baptized in the oceans, rivers or even swimming pools--as I was o When I was in Alaska, a friend of mine and his family were baptized in a lake o There is infant baptism and adult baptism, by immersion, sprinkling, pouring, etc. But what does Baptism mean to you? What do you think about when you consider baptism? In the opening chapters of the NT, John the Baptist appears on the Jordan River calling people to be baptized Now we can certainly debate the mode of baptism and who should be baptized But the first question that should come to our minds is why didn t the people ask John what he meant? Wait a minute John what do you mean by baptize? Hebrews 9:8-10 Context of the old covenant and its worship specifically the priest and his duties we read, By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age) According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot 2

perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation o This is one of the reasons John did not have to explain Writer of Hebrews looks at the OT rituals, system of religion and notes different washings or baptisms which were foreshadows of the reality to come at a time of reformation There were different kinds of baptisms in the OT (people understood what John meant) o Cleansings although indeed bloody o Noah and his family saved through the ark which represented baptism (1 Pet 20-21) o Israel crossing the Red Sea picture of baptism although they never touched the water When Paul thinks of Baptism he thinks of something central, critical to faith and the saving benefits of Christ And this truth proclaimed by baptism and its OT foundation, circumcision have the same inner significance Why did the Jews not ask what baptism meant? Because the meaning of OT circumcision and NT baptism are one in the same Col 2: 6-11 (Read) Focus on vs. 11: In him you also were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead 3

When you were baptized into Christ, you were spiritually circumcised Circumcision is the historical precedent for baptism Christ is the high priest of his people circumcising his people as the OT priest did for covenant children All the benefits of the Christian life are summarized here Christ has circumcised you Paul then shows the benefits: o Spiritual resurrection o Forgiven all of our trespasses no longer alienation o Released from condemnation o God has nailed the death warrant to the cross o Liberated from the rebellious powers of the universe But why circumcision what was its importance, its meaning? o Presupposes the uncleanness of humanity o Cutting away of filth o Incorporation w/ the people of God o But not something simply outward Circumcision is not simply the removal or cutting off of the male genital foreskin but it is a sign that points to a fundamental inner truth Jer 4:4 Lord declares, Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem 4

There is no hope in us, we are sinful and unclean, we are helpless, selfish rebellious creatures and circumcision points to God s work to make us acceptable in his sight No one is saved by human generation biological birth is not sufficient In the same way baptism points to remission of sins It assumes a spiritually polluted condition baptism is a symbol of washing, of cleansing Annanias said to Paul, arise and be baptized -- wash away your sins Circumcision and baptism point to the righteousness by faith as the only way of salvation They both are a testimony that salvation or justification comes only by faith they are not a personal testimony for having saving faith for ones self They are truly the testimony of God to man not man s testimony to God Col 3: 5-15- Putting off the whole of our fallen nature and putting on the new man in Christ who is our new identity What is the sign of this spiritual reality now in the NT? baptism When the OT priest cut the foreskin of the Jewish boy he did not regenerate his heart this is obvious 5

When we baptize an adult today- we do nothing to the heart of the individual o May wash /rinse the body with water but it does nothing to wash the heart o Circumcision and baptism are symbols of a reality which must be internalized o Rom 6: 3-6 What has happened to Christ has spiritually happened to us newness of life o Paul says baptism points to the putting to death of the sinful nature and points to the resurrection/newness of life o What did circumcision point to? The need to put away old sinful nature, need for cleansing and the renewel that comes by the grace of God What baptism symbolizes, circumcision symbolized in the OT Central to this however, is our union with Christ through baptism But the instrument of this is not baptism but rather faith Col 2: 12 Baptismal waters do not accomplish salvation; they are not the instrument; only the symbol The true instrument is faith and the object is God s ability to raise the dead Rom 10:9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom 4:11 Paul discusses the significance of circumcision as he sees it tied to the righteousness of faith 6

Circumcision calls for cleansing; new life by faith that saves us by God s grace Baptism calls for the need of cleansing, new life through faith that saves us by the grace of God When Paul thinks of baptism he very naturally thinks of circumcision because both have the same basis Let s look at the origin of circumcision? o Gen 17: 9-14 (read) o We think of ourselves as living in the new covenant which we do o But all of God s covenants are brought to fulfillment in the new covenant o New is but the flowering of what was planted in the old o Seed of Abrahamic covenant is in full blossom in the new covenant Luke 1: 54-55 Mary sees the birth of the Messiah as the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham John 8 Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus s own day Acts 3: 25-26 (read) o God is living up to the promise he has made to the patriarchs Abrahamic covenant continues today we enjoy its benefits we are the recipients of its promises As we look at Gen 17, I want you to notice the nature of this covenant o Vs. 7: everlasting cov will not cease to be in effect o Vs. 13: everlasting cov thus, the principles of the Abrahamic cov are always valid and cont in the New Cov 7

Consider this, with whom did God make this covenant with? o 3 Recipients Gen 17:2 between me and you Gen 17:7 and your offspring after you Gen 17:9 (read) Gen 17: 4-6 and a multitude of nations How could Abe be a father of a multitude of nations? Promise to the gentiles to those who were far off that they too would be blessed o But the covenant was only for those whom God would call, not Ishmael or Esau nor even some of Jacob s children o Rom 9: 6 For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel o It is not the children of the flesh but the children of the promise who are the true Israel o Acts 2: 37 39 (READ!) o Why be baptized? You, your children, all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself! Do you understand the significance of this? Peter says the promise is to you, your children, and all who are far off whom the Lord our God calls to himself o This is exactly what Abraham was told in Gen 17! And yes God even commanded the circumcision of people/children who he perfectly well knew would not be true believers o Ishmael as a part of Abraham s household was circumcised yet he was cast out (we discussed this in Roger s Sunday school class) 8

o Does that mean that Ishmael s circumcision was of no account or empty? No, Ishmael was born in sin just as we are. And the only hope for Ishmael and us is that God would cut off the filth of our nature and grant us new hearts and lives Circumcision is the testimony to the saving work of God as the only hope mankind has so it is with baptism as well Many people are baptized in the church who do not have faith, who are not right with God hypocrites See this in Heb 6:1-6 Acts 8: Simon the magician who believed and was baptized yet about whom we later read You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity How could Peter say this? Baptism is not a testimony to saving faith, it is a testimony that God saves by faith It is not my personal expression to God, its Gods expression to me! Think about it salvation, revelation, the history of redemption what are these truths 9

but the most gracious condescension of a holy God to a wicked and rebellious people It is God s work, His testimony to us; not our work nor our testimony to him Rom 11: 34-35 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. So why do we baptize babies? o Simply put because the NT tells us to do so Now I know some may likely contend that the NT never cites a single example of an infant being baptized? True, but Scripture never says only those who are repentant and believing are to be baptized! Recognize this as well beloved, had our Lord in the NT changed the nature of the OT covenant (which he very well could have done) to no longer be applied to infants and little children but solely to repentant believers o Why do we not first see this change clearly manifest in Scripture? o The Jews railed against Christ as he brought forward the true interpretation of the law of God, righteousness of faith, the incorporation of the Gentiles in God s kingdom Yet we never read in the pages of Scripture the slightest mention or even concern that now the children of the covenant would be excluded 10

Beloved the Jews had been practicing circumcision for over 2000 years the covenantal sign given to God s people and yes God s children, does it not make a point that there is no mention of their reaction to such a change had it occurred? Furthermore, there is no example of a child repenting, believing and being baptized either No one denies the necessity for adults-those not incorporated into the covenant-not raised in a Christian household- to be baptized This is why we see: o Repent and be baptized o Believe and be baptized o We need to preach and teach this--it is true! Those who are adults and are able must do it Did you know that in the OT the first people to be baptized were adults also o Abraham o Israel in the wilderness under Joshua Just as households were circumcised in the Old covenant-- in the New it is households as well that are baptized o When spoken of in the NT, it doesn t say because everyone in the household repented and believed no, it was because they were members of a Christian household o Lydia (Acts 16:15) After she was baptized, and her whole household as well, she urged us saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay 11

o Philipian jailer (Acts16: 31-33) Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds (remember an earthquake had just occurred); and he was baptized at once, he and all his family o Stephanas (1 Cor 1: 16) I did baptize the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else) Undoubtedly some will say, There is no mention of infants in the household o True, but that is not the point the point is the household was baptized on the basis of the believing parent Did you know that there is no reference in the new testament of women participating in the Lord s supper? o But any reasonable Christian recognizes their participation in the supper why? o There is no text re: the supper that mentions women are to be included o But we do cite a text that is in the context of our union in Christ o Gal 3 :28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. What does it say in 1 Cor 7: 12-14 (READ!) o Children/non believing spouse are set apart, clean, holy, consecrated on the basis of the believing parent/spouse! Does circumcision or baptism guarantee salvation? Absolutely not! 12

Children of believers may not be truly believers but they are set apart, distinguished from the world Bahnsen uses the illustration of a special bottle of champagne that he and his wife had saved for a special occasion when it came time to open it, it tasted bitter and was just plain bad. o Sometimes in God s providence even our children may be like that bottle of champagne consecrated set apart but nevertheless gone bad o But this is not to be mentioned lightly those children of believing parent(s) who grow up to reject and rebel against the Lord their God; their condemnation will be all the greater o To whom much has been given, much is required One final note perhaps you are wondering, well ok, maybe I can see some of your points but really how does a child benefit from baptism, what good is it to sprinkle some water over their forehead and say some words o I think we can see how in the early 21 st century we have lost the sense of corporate realities and symbolic measures o Well, the Bible says it is greatly important o READ: Luke 18: 15-17 (parallel is Mark 10: 13-16) Parents were bringing their children (text says infants) to Jesus that he might touch them Disciples evidently did not see how any good could come from this Come on Jesus you are a busy Man, we don t have time for this, who cares about these little kids, we have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with Jesus tells the disciples, you are absolutely wrong! Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God 13

I think I can safely infer this from the text it wasn t the children alone who were being held back from Christ; it was their parents as well o Was it the faith of the infants/children drawing them to Christ? Perhaps o Yet I would suggest that it was the parents who undoubtedly recognized the value of Christ s blessing that their children belonged to Him o Its not the parents Jesus holds to his breast, it s the children o And it s not because of the innocence of the children that Christ makes his reply to the disciples o It is the children s helpless dependence, absolute passivity to come to faith apart from God s sovereign work o This is what our Lord says is the role model of what it is to be in the kingdom of God Have you considered how is it possible that children are not a part of the kingdom of God; yet serve as an example of who and how to belong in His kingdom We always want to make children come into the kingdom of God on the model of an adult, but Jesus says the kingdom of God is entered after the model of a child. We baptize our babies because the Bible tells us to for such is the kingdom of heaven. Amen. 14