Shorter Catechism Q. 94
Q. 94. What is baptism?
A. Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.
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“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:19–20 ESV)
“And Peter said to them, “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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”” (Acts 2:38 ESV)
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3–4 ESV)
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Baptism is a subject often roiled in controversy. And as controversies usually do, we may find ourselves too mentally tired to care. That would be a mistake. While no one ought to enjoy a controversy for controversy-sake, the reason baptism causes such disagreement is that many Christians have rightly sensed something very important is at stake in the right understanding of what Jesus commanded us to do (Mt 28:19). In other words, sincere Christians debate baptism because they love the Lord and are eager to obey him.
But in the varied range of opinions about baptism, not all can be right. So what is the truly sound understanding of baptism? In this lesson (Q.94) and the next (Q.95) we will distill the Bible’s teaching on baptism with a view toward proper practice of it.
First, what is baptism? It is a sacrament, a holy thing, appointed by God for our spiritual benefit.
Second, what happens at baptism? There is a symbolic act of cleansing, by the means of applying water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the act of washing or cleansing was often done by sprinkling (Lev 14:51; Num 8:7, 19:18; 19:21; Ezek 36:25; also Heb 9:19; 10:22). The meaning of the Greek word for baptism (βαπτίζω) in the New Testament is sensitive to its context. Sometimes there is a great deal of water involved, as when John the Baptist performed baptism in the river Jordan. Sometimes it involves a great deal less water, as when the Pharisees washed their hands when they returned from the marketplace. In Mark 7:4 the Greek word for the Pharisees’ ceremonial washing of their hands is βαπτίζω, baptism! Thus the NT uses the word baptism (βαπτίζω) in various ways, sometimes involving a large amount of water, and other times involving a very small amount of water, ceremonially applied. In other words, it would be inaccurate to insist that New Testament baptism must always involves immersion. The Bible simply does not support that view. We are wise to require in the act of baptism nothing more than a gesture of washing with water. Sometimes there will be a lot of water. That is fine. Sometimes not. And that is fine, too. It is not the water that washes sins away, but what is meant by the water.
Third, what is the meaning of baptism? One of the main differences of opinions about baptism is just exactly what is being said and by whom. Jesus commanded baptism to be done “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” because the Triune God is making a statement in the sacrament of baptism. One of the Baptists’ chief objections against infant baptism (next lesson) is that baptism is professing believer’s testimony of his or her faith. Since infants cannot confess faith, they argue, baptism should be withheld from infants. But the Reformed (we are Reformed) insist on infant baptism. Why? It is because baptism is not done in the name of the one being baptized, but in the Triune name of our God. When I write a letter, I do not sign off with another’s name. The letter is my statement, my communication, and my signature ends it. So in baptism. Baptism is not man’s statement to God, but God’s promise to man. His statement, his name. His promises, his name.
So, then, what is God saying in baptism? Baptism signifies and seals “our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.” If baptism is man’s statement to God when his faith is strong, it does not help him at all when he is struggling with faith, sin, and the various trials of life that weaken his faith. Baptism (if it was indeed only man’s statement to God) will then only serve to remind the faith which was once strong, but is no more. But Paul teaches otherwise in Rom 6:3–4. For Paul baptism calls into mind the death and resurrection of Christ, and all that he has accomplished for us in them. Thus in Romans 6, as Paul begins to reflect upon Christians’ struggle with sin, he says we ought to remember what baptism signifies. And when we do, baptism will draw out faith from our heart just when our faith is being assaulted by the world, the devil, and the flesh. Thus baptism reminds us we have been ingrafted into Christ. We were once strangers to Christ but God has joined us to his Son. We are not supporting Jesus, but he is supporting us. Baptism reminds us we stand in the covenant of grace, where there is mercy, and no longer in the covenant of works, where there is only justice against sin. Baptism also reminds us we are engaged to be the Lord’s, that we belong to him, that we must live worthily of him.
The difference is stark. The Reformed / Presbyterian view of baptism is to see it as a “means of grace” God graciously gives to weak and struggling believers. As often as we think of our baptism, we remember God’s gracious promise to us in Christ, and are stirred to joyful obedience. But in the Baptist view of baptism, the focus is first and foremost on man. But that seems to fly against the consistent tenor of the Bible to exalt God and his works over man and his works. Besides, I like the God of the Reformed faith much better. He knows that I am weak, and reaches out to me in my weakness through baptism.