Q. 95. To whom is Baptism to be administered?
A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible Church, till they profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members of the visible Church are to be baptized.
“Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” (Acts 2:38-39)
“In the Waters of baptism we are reminded that we are not born in a vacuum, nor do we journey entirely alone (although loneliness is often part of the burden). Being reborn, being made alive, involves being born into a community. So there are strings attached to this adventure.” - Alan W. Jones, Journey into Christ
The apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:13, “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.” It’s an interesting verse to look at because of its language.
There’s movement here. People who are being saved leave one place and journey to another. Only, according to Paul’s language, it isn’t the travelers who make the arrangements and undertake the journey. Someone else, God, picks the travelers up and drops them down in their new location, the Kingdom of God which God has prepared for them now and into eternity. It’s all about crossing a border, but it isn’t like any other border crossing we’ve ever experienced. The difference is that, in the case of God’s border crossing, the traveler has little to do with it. It’s God’s initiative, from beginning to end.
We could never make the journey on our own. We depend on the good offices of others to bring us there. When Presbyterians speak of baptism as a covenant, we emphasize the multiple commitments involved. First and most basic, there is God's commitment to us. Then there are the commitments the community of faith makes to us. Finally, are the commitments we make to God, to our children, and to the church. That is why we echo Calvin's own two-sided treatment of baptism's gracious character when it says:
Baptism enacts and seals what the Word proclaims: God's redeeming grace offered to all people. Baptism is God's gift of grace and also God's summons to respond to that grace. Baptism calls to repentance, to faithfulness, and to discipleship. Baptism gives the church its identity and commissions the church for ministry to the world.
Together, infant and adult baptism convey a fuller meaning for baptism than either exclusively, alone. The obedient response of faith is highlighted in adult baptism – persons confessing their allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior while receiving forgiveness of sins and new life. In infant baptism, God’s loving, sovereign initiative in extending the covenant of grace to believers and their children is demonstrated. Infants are loved by God and adopted into God’s covenant family – helpless and weak as they are. When parents and the church congregation make vows to nurture the child and raise the child to come to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the whole people of God as the Christian community are responsibly binding themselves to the infant as “fellow heirs” and “sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6; cf. Gal. 3:29). Baptism “once received continues for all of life, and is a perpetual sealing of our adoption.” – Donald K. McKim, Introducing the Reformed Faith, p. 139.
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning Psalm: 78:40-72
Evening Psalm: 141
Jeremiah 17:5-10, 14-18
Philippians 4:1-13
John 12:27-36
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