Reflections on baptism

Why the practice of baptizing the young children of believers should be maintained

1. Baptism is a sign that points to the new birth. It points to our union with Christ—when we are born again, we die with him in our sinful nature, and we are raised with him as new people. Baptism points to the washing of regeneration and the removal of the “body of flesh.” Baptism is the New Testament rite that points to this heart-transaction. In the Old Testament, circumcision was the rite that pointed to the same inward reality (Colossians 2:11-14).
2. Peter uses the same covenant language in his Pentecost sermon, calling hearers to believe and be baptized (Acts 2:37-39), that God uses at the institution of circumcision (Genesis 15:6, 17:7-10; Romans 4:3, 9-12). The only difference is the specific New Testament invitation to “all who are far off,” suggesting an inclusion believers from all nations, together with believers among Israel, into the people of God.
3. Biblical commands to parents to raise their children in the faith are the same from the Old Testament (Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:4-7, 11:19; Psalm 78:4; Proverbs 22:6) to the New Testament (Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:15).

Why the freedom of conscience ought to be given to parents to delay the baptism of their children until after a profession of faith

1. It is a sin to violate your conscience, even if the action itself is good (Romans 14:23). While we have a responsibility to inform our consciences by God’s word (Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 2:15), not all things in scripture are equally clear. The greater sin is to neglect the ordinance entirely.
2. The children in question are children of the covenant already because of their membership in a family who are in community with a church and worship there regularly (Romans 3:1-2), a family among whom the gospel is held in high regard and passed down to children (2 Timothy 1:5, 3:14-15). Baptism does not make them children of the covenant.

Why all Christians should recognize the baptism of infants as valid regardless of their persuasion on the question

1. Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, prayed for his disciples and for the Christians who would follow them. He prays among other things that the relationships between all Christians would be characterized by the unity of fellowship that exists between the Father and the Son (John 17:20-21).
2. This unity Jesus prays for is set in the context of mission. We are to be unified, "so that the world may believe" the Father sent him (John 17:21).
3. When the body of Christ is divided between so many denominations, then the mission of the church (Matthew 28:19-20) suffers in a variety of ways, the most significant of which are community outreach and evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development.

A eulogy for a relative

Hello,

My name is Chuck Anderson. I’m D——’s nephew. The reason I’m here this morning to honor C—— is because S—— asked me to say a few words on the family’s behalf.

I didn’t know C—— as well as I might have liked. But as all of you know, there are a few things about her that become immediately apparent when you meet her. She loved her family. And she was faithful to her family and to her church right to the end.

I’ve heard it said a lot that funerals are as much for the living as they are for the departed. In that regard, there are a few things that C——’s life illustrates for us that we need to walk away with today.

The first thing we know about C—— is that she loved her family. She loved her sisters and she loved her children. This reminds me of a passage in the Gospels where Jesus asks

Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

God loves to fill the world with sign posts that point to who he is. (We’ve all seen another one today at the Lord's table—Jesus tells us to remember his work on the cross when he says “this is my body, this is my blood, given for you!") Jesus knows the world is filled with evil—he knows that if you and I look in our hearts we will find sin and selfishness. But in spite of that reality that exists in all of us, C—— loved her children and she loved her sisters. She loved her family. How much more, then, does God love you?

The second thing we know about C—— is that she was faithful—faithful to her family and to her church right to the end. My mother told me that before she passed away, C—— pulled aunt S—— aside and had her promise to take good care of uncle D——. And I know that she loved her church and if her health had allowed, she would have been very active right to the end. The question is, then, what produces faithfulness? The answer is hope. Romans 5 says “Since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” where do we find hope? In our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a passage in 1 Corinthians 15 that talks about Jesus’s resurrection—we’ve just celebrated his resurrection at Easter. The apostle says that because of Jesus’ resurrection, the saying is true that says

Death is swallowed up in Victory!
O death where is your victory?
O death where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is our hope: even though the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Even while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Death is hard, and the separation that comes with the death of a loved one hurts. So know that it is okay to feel that. But take heart—Jesus has defeated death. Death is dead. Jesus is risen. If you and I trust in him, we will surely be raised with him too.

Jesus says “Now is the favorable time, now is the day of salvation.” He says "Come to me all who are weary and burdened." Bring your mourning to Jesus. He will help you bear it. And whether you’ve trusted in Jesus as long as you can remember, or never at all, let us find hope in him today.

Let’s pray.

---

Date: 9 April 2013
Location: St Joseph's Church, Lakeland, FL
Event: C——'s Funeral

Theology breakfast

Re-posted from CCPC College: Theology breakfast

This year, I'm going to attempt to read some puritans. I love the puritans in part because they were careful theologians--teaching the whole bible accurately and passionately defined their movement. But they were also careful pastors. If they understood just one thing, it was that they were undeserving recipients of God's personal kindness, and they saw it as their mission to communicate this good news to people.

In February, I'll be reading a book called The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes. Sibbes (1577-1635) was a Puritan pastor in England who was a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and preacher to an influential association of lawyers in London. Sibbes' work has influenced a wide range of evangelicals to the present, including John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Spurgeon wrote this about Him: "Sibbes never wastes the student's time; he scatters pearls and diamonds with both hands."

The Bruised Reed is an exposition of the verse Isaiah 42:3 (and Matthew 12:20) that says "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice." The point is that Jesus cares about us. Jesus won't break us and he won't put us out.

And here's something I'd like to try--I'd like to challenge you to read it along with me. if you're interested, you're invited to join me for breakfast on Tuesday mornings. I'd like to get the church office, but this week, we'll do Chickfila. Ordinarily, unless you bring food there won't be any actual food at Theology Breakfast. The fast in question that we're breaking is our fast of theology.

The tentative plan: this Tuesday if you want, we'll meet at Chickfila at 6am. That's assuming, of course, that you have classes or work at 7:30 or 8:00. When we meet, we'll read a selection of A Bruised Reed together for about 50 minutes then talk for a few minutes about what we read.

What: Theology Breakfast
When: 6am
Where: Chickfila, South Florida Ave.

Next steps: if you're interested, let me know you'll be there. If the time and day are bad, I'm flexible, let me know a morning and time that works.

If you'd like to get a copy of The Bruised Reed, you can find them here:
Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed, Puritan Paperbacks (Amazon.com, PDF, ePub)

The right way to a city of habitation

“What Christ said to Peter is as applicable to some providences in which we are now concerned as it was to that particular action: ‘What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter’ (John 13:7). All the dark, intricate, puzzling providences at which we were sometimes so offended, and sometimes amazed, which we could neither reconcile with the promise nor with each other, nay, which we so unjustly censured and bitterly bewailed, as if they had fallen out quite against our happiness, we shall then see to be to us, as the difficult passage through the wilderness was to Israel, ‘the right way to a city of habitation’ (Psalm 107:7).”

Excerpt from: John Flavel, “Introduction,” The Mystery of Providence.