The Difference is Faith

We live in times where there is a great amount of confusion and discussion regarding baptism. What does baptism do, if anything? What does baptism mean? Our Confession of Faith teaches that baptism is “a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of [the person’s] giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life.” The fact of the matter is that believing these things are being signed and sealed to these boys this evening is either the height of arrogance and presumption or it is simple, humble faith. But how can we tell the difference? The different is faith. Faith is resting in and receiving the promises of God in Scripture. This means that it is not faith to believe that God will give you wings if you jump from the top of the Sears tower. It is actually great arrogance and pride because God has promised you no such thing. What has God promised us regarding our children? We have already seen in Mark’s gospel that Jesus rebukes the disciples and exhorts the children to be brought to him. Not only must they be brought, but all who wish to enter the kingdom, must come as little children. In Acts 2:38-39 Peter exhorts the crowd, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” The promise is to you and to your children. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul says that the child of at least one believing parent is not unclean but rather holy, set apart to God. But this is the same God who revealed himself to Abraham saying, “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Gen. 17:7-8) God is a covenantal God who has promised to be our God and the God of our children. This is why David may say with confidence that Yahweh was his God from his mother’s womb, and that he trusted the Lord from his mother’s breasts (Ps. 22:9-10). There is nothing magical in this sacrament; there is nothing magical in this water. If that were the case, evangelism would be best done with a fire hose and a megaphone. What is powerful is the mighty Word of God. God promises that the children of believers are his. He promises to be our God and to be the God of our children. Either we believe this whole-heartily and rejoice in it or we doubt it and set up various safeguards like down playing what baptism means or delaying baptism until we think we can peer into the heart of our child. But that is not faith; it is unbelief. The promises of God are to us and to our children. God is a God to us and for us and for our children. We believe this and therefore we come now to publicly proclaim this fact. Our children are not our own, but they have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing automatic about this; there is nothing magical about this. It is all by faith in the powerful promises of God and the working of his Spirit. And because we believe that God’s word is true, we believe that God has already claimed these children as his own. These children must grow up in this faith and learn to cling to Jesus every day of their lives. But we begin with grace. We love him because he first loved us; and you must teach your sons the same. They must love the Lord Jesus because he has first loved them. Therefore believe your God and his Word and rejoice.