Brothers and Sisters, baptism is the pre-requisite to this Table. If you are baptized into the Triune Name, we welcome you this morning to partake of this meal. You are members of a new world. Here at Providence we believe that even baptized infants are called to this table. When they are able to eat at the family table at home, we also invite them to eat at the family table at Church. What kind of family would this be without the sounds of little babes? This is an all inclusive party. Young and Old, Spiritually mature and spiritually young, come and taste and see that Yahweh feeds His own.
Calvin on I Corinthians 12
I am rather inclined, however, to understand him as referring to the Supper, as he makes mention of drinking, for I haev no doubt that he intended to make an allusion to the similitude of the sign.–John Calvin on I Corinthians 12:13
Baptism as Medicine or Means?
Roman Catholicism treats baptism as a medicine; baptism has this intrinsic power to heal, but the Reformers said the sacraments are not medicine, it is means. A sacrament is the outward sign, water, conjoined to the work of the Spirit. It is water plus the Spirit equals the sign of the sacraments. This is precisely why the sacraments are efficacious: because the Spirit works through the signs, and thus seals its reality.
Review of Infant Baptism: What Christian Parents Should Know by John P. Sartelle
My Background
Sartelle’s little book had been on my shelf for years. One day I decided to pick it up and work my way through it in an hour or so taking notes along the way. Having read many books pro and contra infant baptism, I was curious about Sartelle’s approach to the topic (though I had my suspicions)
The book published in 1985 offers some helpful insights into the unfortunate fact that Protestants do not know why they baptize their babies. Even though infant baptism is the majority position in the Church of Christ today, one cannot help but feel pity for naive paedobaptists who are confronted by zealous Baptists with what appears to be “clear evidence” against baptizing babies.
My understanding of infant baptism before becoming a Presbyterian and even in my first couple of years as a Presbyterian was that there was only one line of defense for infant baptism, which came from the circumcision/baptism connection of Colossians and perhaps a random reference to the Gospels where Jesus addresses little ones, and of course, a quick reference to I Corinthians 7:14 where Paul calls children of covenant parents, holy. In my seminary days, Richard Pratt’s lecture Why we Baptized Children opened up new doors of understanding infant baptism. But it was not until I read Lewis Bevens Schenck’s The Presbyterian Doctrine of Children in the Covenant that my eyes were opened to a diversity of arguments and differing opinions on the efficacy of baptism, the role of baptism in the life of the Church, the vast contrast between southern and northern Presbyterians on baptismal regeneration; add to that, the peculiar Kuyperian language of presumptive regeneration, and then with the rise of Federal Visionism, we have the development of Calvinian (to use Nevin’s language) high sacramentology. With all this said, for the baptists or the young paedobaptist converts who are attempting to understand Reformed sacramental theology, the task ahead is great indeed.
General Book Review
Personal context aside, Sartelle falls into the traditional southern Presbyterian camp. His emphases on circumcision as the Old Covenant sign and baptism as a the New Covenant sign is a standard connection in the Reformed tradition. Further, he notes that God has a special affection for the covenant household, as expressed throughout the Old and New Testaments. God, he writes, ” has always had a special regard for the families of His people (13).”
Significant to Sartelle’s argument is the continuity between covenants. According to Sartelle “every doctrine taught in the New Testament has its roots in the Old (11).” Further, noting the circumcision/baptism fulfillment theme, the author concludes that “we follow in the footsteps of Abraham circumcising Isaac when we bring our children to be baptized (11).”
The latter part of the book answers some common questions about infant baptism. Does infant baptism save? What about a child raised in a non-Christian home? The author addresses and answers several other questions.
Conclusion
Sartelle’s book offers a standard introduction to paedobaptism. For the credobaptist who has never heard of why the Reformed Presbyterian tradition baptize infants, this is a good introduction, which can be read in 30 minutes.
Would I recommend this book?
It all depends who is asking. This particular understanding of infant baptism represents a very specific group of Reformed paedobaptists. As long as the reader knows that there are differing views, this is a fine giveaway to those interested in the subject.
What other books would you recommend?
As follow-ups, I would recommend Gregg Strawbridge’s A Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism & Why We Baptize Babies by Mark Horne
Exhortation: Weekly Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
Brothers and sisters, in our exhortations we come this morning to the Lord’s Supper. I think this is a good place to park for a few weeks before we move on to other aspects of our liturgy. While most people are agreed with the necessity of the preached Word, very few evangelical churches in our culture give much attention to the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
If you have visited with us for a short while, you have noticed that we celebrate the Lord’ Supper weekly. We do this because the Lord commands us to break bread every time we meet.[1] The Apostle Paul thought the Lord’s Supper was so significant that he spends an extended part of I Corinthians dealing with this issue. The Feast Christ spreads for us is the centerpiece to true spirituality.[2] It is the culmination of celebration. Just as there can be no feast without food, there can be no faithful liturgy without bread and wine. This is why it is imperative that we not forsake this God-given means of nurture to the body. There are other times when we can sit together simply for teaching and singing songs of praise, but the Lord’s Day is set aside for us to come to together and eat together as a family. Continue reading “Exhortation: Weekly Celebration of the Lord’s Supper”
Infant Faith
In my sermon this past week I argued that John’s leaping in the womb (Luke 1) is a sure sign that God does not need a certain IQ before He can grant faith. He works even in the unborn (brethos). This also proves that God recognizes those in utero as persons. So yes, baptized infants do have faith; a faith given from above. Leithart observes in his book Baptized Body that infants learn to respond to their mother’s voice even before birth. They are able to quickly distinguish between strangers and members of the family. Leithart asks: “If infants trust and distrust human persons, why can’t they trust in God?” Behind certain assumptions about infant faith is the idea that infants must express their faith through certain theological truths, implying that only those of a certain age of maturity can do this, but the Scriptures never require that all faith is expressed in the same manner. The faith of a down syndrome child is differently expressed than the faith of a healthy adult. Leithart also adds that another assumption is that God is less available to an infant than to other humans. But God’s work of grace is not dependent on intellect or certain verbal abilities. Covenant infants mature in their faith just as new adult converts mature in their new faith.
Religion and Society
Some in the Reformed world insist in divorcing religion from society. This view of the world minimizes the importance of baptism in the life of the Church. Baptism not only marks entrance into the Body, but it is also a political declaration. It says that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God. Accepting membership in the Church means accepting God’s claims for the world and how we are called to live in the world. As Leithart observes: “Christians who baptize babies implictly confess that religion and society are inseparable.”
New Identity
Baptism gives us a new identity. Leithart observes that “a non-priest becomes a priest through the rite of ordination, a single man becomes a husband through the wedding ceremony, a public citizen gains public authority by inauguration,” so too the rite of baptism makes an individual a new person. Having received a new name and a new identity, he is called to a new future.
Inner vs. Outer Man
The point, as Leithart observes, is not that there is no distinction between “inner and outer.” The idea is that there is no “impermeable membrane between my inner life and outer life.” What happens within us come to outer expression and what happens on the outside “affects my inner man.” Leithart concludes: “These are two dimensions of one united human life.”
Repenting of our Questions
Leithart is one of those who dares reconsider in light of Scriptures the traditional Westminsterian understanding of baptism and its efficacy. For Leithart, there is much work to be done, especially when it comes to the questions we ask concerning baptism. He writes that “before we can progress in providing answers to our questions on baptism, we have to repent of our questions.”
Where do these bad questions come from? Leithart concludes that it is “largely a product of modern individualism.”