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God’s revelation of
Himself in creation is a wondrous complexity of awesome mystery and
intricacy. Each of us tries to fit the pieces of the puzzle together
the best we can. Sometimes our picture of reality may be quite close
to the mark. At other times, we may be totally wrong. Sometimes,
once we get an idea in our heads, it can awfully difficult to shake
out, no matter how wrong-headed it may be. Psychologists have
noticed that human beings tend to see just what they expect to see.
In one experiment, subjects were given random patterns of dots and
told to look for hidden pictures. Even though in reality there were
no pictures, most people still thought they found some. Even more
surprisingly, a significant number of people continued to see the
pictures, even when they were told no such picture existed! It is
very difficult to shake ourselves free from preconceived
ideas.
This trait of seeing
only what we expect to see can be quite serious when it comes to
Bible study. Some people are so convinced that they already KNOW
what the Bible says that it can never tell them anything new. There
is a tendency to read into passages exactly those meanings we
expect to find (and being sinful human beings this usually means an
interpretation that conveniently lets us off the hook). But if we
want to grow in our faith and learn how please and serve our Lord
better, we must allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves. We
must learn to submit even our preconceived ideas to the authority of
God’s Word.
One example of how
difficult this struggle can be was my own failure to adequately
interpret certain passages on baptism. For years, since I already
KNEW what these passages had to mean, I simply interpreted them
according to my own presuppositions. I never did ask myself whether
those presuppositions were correct. I just started with my own
theology and then read that theology into the passage. It was only
when was forced to reexamine those passages from a completely
different perspective that I saw things had never before seen. And
as a result I had to make some very big changes in not only my
understanding of baptism, but my practice as well.
I was studying
Colossians 2:11-12 in my personal devotions: "And in Him, you were
also circumcised with a circumcision made without human hands, in
the removal of the body of flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
having been buried with Christ in baptism, in which you which you
were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God,
Who raised Him from the dead..." Several things seem to leap out at
me from the text. First, circumcision is here used as a symbol of
regeneration. The "removal of the body of flesh" refers to the death
of our old nature and the creation of our new one (see 2 Cor 5:17).
The circumcision of Christ was His being "cut off" at His
crucifixion. He died in our place. We are spiritually circumcised
when the benefits of His death are applied to us through the death
of our old nature (see Rms 6:1ff).
Now here is where
the text begins to get interesting. If you leave out the qualifying
material and connect the main thoughts from both verses, the passage
seems to equate baptism with circumcision; i.e., "you were also
circumcised... having been buried with Christ in baptism." Thus our
circumcision occurred at baptism. But for a Baptist, this was a
little hard to swallow. If this baptism refers to water baptism then
one would only experience regeneration when one received water
baptism. Thus salvation would not be of grace, but would also
require a work (i.e., baptism). But since salvation is not a result
of works, but according to God’s grace, the baptism here cannot
refer to water baptism. It must refer to some other baptism. What
other baptism is there? The only other baptism is Spirit
baptism. Charismatics and Pentecostals make Spirit baptism an
unusual event that some, but not all believers experience. In
reality Spirit baptism is simply another way of figuratively
speaking about regeneration. We are baptized into Christ (Rms 6:3)
when we become Christians. Thus Spirit baptism and circumcision are
both figurative ways of speaking about the same event;
regeneration.
Now it begins to get
sticky. If water baptism is a symbol of Holy Spirit baptism and both
are symbols of regeneration then that would lend support to the
Covenant theology doctrine that equates Old Testament circumcision
with New Testament Baptism. The Old Testament was the shadow, the
New Testament the fulfillment. Circumcision foreshadowed the
penalty of sin (i.e., being cut off, death) and the
willingness of the Messiah to bear that penalty for us. Now that the
Messiah has come and has borne that penalty, it is no longer
appropriate for us to bear the sign of the old covenant.
For example, the Old
Testament obliges God’s people to celebrate Passover in remembrance
of the Lord’s deliverance from the tyranny of Egypt. Yet Passover
itself is but a shadow of the Lord’s own first-born Lamb suffering
and dying for His people. Now that Christ has come, we no longer
celebrate Passover but rather the Lord’s Supper instead. The simple
meal of wine and bread is the new symbol of the Lord’s deliverance
of His people.
Thus in the same
way, now that the Messiah has come, it is no longer proper to use
circumcision as a symbol of entrance into the covenant. We have a
new symbol, baptism. In the Old Testament, the promise of the
fullness of the Spirit was yet future. Now it is a reality. When the
Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, He entered into human hearts,
converting dead fleshly beings into spiritually alive new creations
(2 Cor 5:17). Thus water baptism is a replacement for
circumcision.
Now if this is true,
then the question arises, to whom then should this symbol be
applied? Covenant theology insists that God deals with peoples, not
just individuals. Covenant theology teaches that God is pleased to
work within families. Peter said on the day of Pentecost that the
promise of regeneration and participation in God’s divine family
were "for you and your children and for... as many as the Lord our
God shall call to Himself... (Acts 2:39)."
In the Old Covenant,
the symbol of participation in the covenant (i.e., circumcision) was
applied to every male child on the eighth day. This did not mean
that every individual Hebrew child was saved, only that the child
had a portion in the covenant. If the child grew up and rejected the
covenant, he was "cut off" and the symbol of blessing became a
symbol of cursing. Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is
expected." The Jews paid a heavy price for their apostasy and
rebellion. The mark of the Covenant could either be a blessing or a
curse depending upon whether it was followed up by faith.
Thus I came to see
that in the same way, Baptism as a symbol should be applied to the
children of believing members of the church. God’s covenant is not
just for individuals, but for families as well. The sign of the
covenant is a promise by God that He will remain faithful to His
Word. No, it does not mean that every baptized infant is saved (just
as no Baptist would ever say that every person who professes faith
and is baptized is necessarily saved).
The significance of
this came home to me when I was pastoring a Baptist church some
years ago. When Baptist children hit their early teen years, usually
some sort of "revival" breaks out in the youth group and most of the
teens will get "saved" in a fairly short period of time. They then
come forward for baptism. In this case, as a number of young people
were baptized, one teenage girl from a believing family also came
forward. The girl though sweet in spirit suffered from emotional and
learning difficulties. We worked with her for weeks, catechizing and
instructing and going over the plan of salvation. No matter how hard
we tried, she was never able to verbalize an unprompted, coherent
confession of faith. Without that confession, though, as a
conscientious Baptist Pastor, I was unable to baptize her. Needless
to say, that caused her, her family and a number of others in the
church a great deal of heartburn. Couldn’t I just bend the rules a
little bit?
No, I could not. But
the dilemma she faced would not go away. What was her status before
God? Is she always to be excluded from the blessings of the Covenant
because she had learning disabilities? What about all those people
who lack the mental or physical capacity to profess faith? Are they
God’s rejects? What is their relationship to the Church? I didn’t
have an answer then.
Now though I see
that God works in families. That young girl did have a portion in
the Covenant and should have been baptized as a child. It is good,
right and proper that the children of believing parents be given the
sign of blessing. Now 1 Corinthians 7:14 makes sense: "For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the
unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for
otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy."
This verse is very hard to understand from a Baptist’s perspective,
but makes perfect sense to those who hold to Covenant baptism. The
children of even one believing parent are holy; not that they are
not sinners by nature, but rather holy in the sense of being under
the blessings of the Covenant. Covenant children have believing
parents who teach them God’s law and commandments and provide models
of Christ-like love and character. They are under the care of a
Christian church that helps nurture and encourage them. They grow up
hearing the gospel as a normal part of their lives.
Does this mean that
all Covenant children are saved? Not necessarily; their baptism is
to be a constant reminder that they have been given great blessings.
But God must still work in their hearts, granting repentance,
regenerating their hearts and giving them saving faith. If they turn
away and reject these blessings, their condemnation, if possible,
is worse than that of a heathen child.
"For if we go on
sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying
expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume
the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies
without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much
severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled
under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of
covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of
grace. For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’
And, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to
fall into the hands of the living God... (Hebs
10:26ff)"
Thus baptism
replaces circumcision as the sign of participation in the New
Covenant and my children have a portion in God’s great and wondrous
salvation! I have a responsibility to teach, train, disciple and
nurture them. By God’s grace, I can expect my children to come to
saving faith at a very young age. I can expect to see the results of
a regenerate heart even in toddlers. While all children are
conceived in iniquity and have a sinful nature, I expect our
gracious Lord to remember His covenant, grant them repentance and
give them saving faith. Thus I treat my children as believers who
need to be loved and taught our holy religion, not as pagan
interlopers in my home. And, as each of my children has come to the
age of reason, each has been able to give a credible testimony of
saving faith in Christ and evidence of a regenerate heart. God keeps
His Covenant!
Of course there is
much more to Covenant baptism than what this one brief paper can
detail. But it lays down the foundation for learning to see things
in Scripture that our experiences have blinded us to. God is
sovereign. He has made a covenant with His people. Baptism is the
sign of that covenant and replaces circumcision. Our children have a
portion in that covenant. And therefore they have the right of
baptism. |