Text: Titus 3:3-8
Grace and peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, When I was in seminary, my professor Micheal Rogness said, “One thing that we need to accept as Lutheran pastors is that our kids will always lose arguments to Baptist kids regarding the age of Baptism.” The case is simple and appears to be convincing “There are never any babies baptized within the Bible”. For if you can’t provide evidence that Baby John was baptized at three months, then this means that Jesus’ followers wouldn’t baptize babies. The problem with this argument is that it completely ignores what the Bible actually does say about Baptism. Point number #1- There seems only to be one passage in the entire New Testament, which ties Baptism to a particular age. The passage of note is Colossians 2:11-12 which says “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 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.” The reason that this verse is so important is because it connects Baptism to the Old Testament act of Circumcision. We know from the days of Abraham that Circumcision took place at eight days old (there is no argument from anyone regarding that matter). Circumcision was the means throughout the Old Testament by which God made children recipients of the promises of his kingdom. So the connection between Circumcision and Baptism points us towards the truth that God’s promises can be received by those even at eight days old. We must also note that the history of the earliest followers of Jesus takes place in the Book of Acts. On three separate occasions within Acts, whole households were baptized: Acts 16:15- Lydia and members of her household , Acts 16:33- The family of Phillipian jailer, and Acts 18:8- the entire family of the synagogue leader Crispus. It stands to reason that very, young children or even babies would have been included in these entire households. What is noteworthy about the tales from Acts as described my friend Cliff Hanson is “The only people who demonstrate faith are the heads of households—they have faith and are baptized, but the rest of the members of the household (presumably children) are baptized with not one word mentioned about their belief or lack thereof[1].” Point number #2- There is never one example given from within the pages of the New Testament telling someone not to baptize someone else (nada, zip, zilch). “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit,”-Matthew 28:19. “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call.’”-Acts 2:38-39 Using phrases like “all nations” which presumably would include children and “every one of you” would seem to speak to the audience of God’s promise. So the simplest response when someone says “There are no babies baptized in the Bible” is to only reply that “There is not one example from within the entire scriptures where someone is said to be too “young” or some other discriminating factor to not receive Baptism. Ulitmately, the burden of proof rests on those who wish to withhold God’s grace from the entire world ,not on those who wish to extend it. So this Biblical background on Infant Baptism leads into an important question of “Why is Infant Baptism so important?” One of the great teachers in Church history is Saint Augustine of Hippo. You know a church father has made it big when the TV show The Simpsons references him[2]. Augustine’s most famous work is Confessions. One of the main things that Augustine writes about within Confessions is his behavior as a baby. Augustine recalled his life as a baby, by looking out onto other babies that he encountered. Augustine says the defining trait of “infancy” is how one views the world. As an infant, everything in the world is centers around seeing your “needs” and your “wants” met. When Augustine would not get something that he wanted as an infant, he would “cry”. Augustine’s attitude as an infant was no different than the attitude of Adam and Eve within The Garden as his individual desires become placed at the center of creation. People tend to only think of babies as “cute” or “ignorant”, yet what Augustine realizes is that a baby is just as selfish as the most wretched of adults. Augustine understood the spiritual truth that human nature does not become sinful over time (due to bad influences), human nature is born sinful. To which we recall King David’s words in the 51st Psalm “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me[3]”. The excuse that many people make to not baptize infants is that one needs to be aware or posess knowledge about their sins to be guilty of them. These people tend to think about God’s judgment like the legal system does in doling out sentences for children and adults differently depending on their level of age or understanding. The Bible never distinguishes though some being more guilty than others. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”-Romans 3:23 So if infants sin then infants need forgiveness of sins. This is precisely why infants need Baptism. Yet we often cannot grasp how Baptism actually works, where mere water brings forth God’s grace. We might wonder how can water do such great things[4]? Plenty of people wondered such a thing when Luther wrote his Catechism. The crucial thing though is not the water; water is just water. When water becomes connected with the promises of God’s word only then does it become life-giving water[5]. A famous conversation takes place between Jesus and Nicodemus within the 3rdchapter of John’s Gospel regarding the meaning of being “born-again[6]”. Nicodemus could not understand the discussion. Nicodemus couldn’t grasp how he could be “born-again”, when he was old. The best translation of this passage is “born from above[7]”. The promises of Baptism are such that they serve as a reminder that we participate about as much in our spiritual birth as we do within our natural birth. The other question is can infants possess Faith (especially if Baptism requires faith)? We believe that Faith is required for salvation. The scriptures say so in numerous places[8]. The scriptures in Matthew 18 also cite “very young children[9]” as examples of Faith. Many people can’t grasp the disconnect, as they think of Faith as being purely “What we know”. For if Faith is dependent on our knowledge to be valid then the mentally handicapped along with those who have lost their mental capacities cannot possess it[10]. We cannot separate the way we think about Baptism from the way that we understand salvation. People misunderstand Baptism when it’s thought to be something that we do. The important thing from within the scriptures is that they never describe Baptism as our personal confession of Faith. Baptism is “The act of being buried with Christ into his death”- Romans 6. Baptism is “The washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit”- Titus 3 Baptism is the act which “now saves you”- 1 Peter 3. The scriptures describe Baptism continually as something that God does for us, not the other way around. The scriptures describe Baptism in such a way that God is always the actor, and we are always the audience. If Baptism is God’s activity rather than our own than age or mental status is irrelevant. I have a friend whose name is Ben. Ben grew up in a church that would have never baptized someone less than say six years old. Ben goes off to Bethel College where he hears perhaps the best argument for Infant Baptism that “Infant Baptism is the purest expression of the Gospel”. An infant can do nothing to receive the Gospel. Ben was forced to rethink his position after hearing this argument. The truth about all baptisms, whether they take place at the hospital right after birth or on one's deathbed at age 110, is that all Baptisms are Infant Baptisms[11]. Baptism is a reception of a promise. The promise is given to forgiveness after you spend years of your life astray. The promise of Baptism is such that it assures us that God sustains our faith even if we cannot begin to explain it. Tonight we reflect on the meaning of Baptism as given by Luther’s Catechism. What is Baptism[12]? Baptism is not merely the act of getting a baby wet. Baptism is the act of giving everlasting salvation to all who believe what Christ has promised. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved;” - Mark 16:16 Baptism is the great Christian hope. Luther saw one’s Baptism as being the very central event in the Christian’s life. Luther saw Baptism’s meaning as being the act by which God draws us back to his arms after we run off every conceivable way in the other direction. Baptism is the ulitmate expression of God’s relationship to his children. Amen [1] Hanson is the Pastor at Faith Lutheran in Isanti, Minnesota. Hanson’s article is from the March 2015 newsletter entitled “Lutherans Anonymous #2: Why does your church baptize babies?” [2] The Simpsons episode is from season 7 entitled “Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doddily”. [3] Psalm 51:5 [4] The section of Luther’s Small Catechism for tonight is part four on Baptism. Luther addresses this issue by considering four questions surrounding Baptism including “How can water do such great things?” Augsburg Publishing House/Fortress Press. 1979. [5] h/t to Saint Martin on this one. [6] John 3:1-15. [7] The Greek term for “again” would be the same as the Greek term for “above”. Considering that the person with whom Jesus was having this conversation in Nicodemus was known as one of the most spiritual men in all of Israel, it would seem the phrasing has more to do with justification( above) rather than sanctification (again). [8] John 3:18, and John 3:36 just to cite a couple examples. [9] Matthew 18:2-5 [10] This is so important. [11] Point is made by Hanson which I expand a bit. [12] Luther’s first question from the Baptism portion of Small Catechism Comments are closed.
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