"...Baptism..."
I Peter 3:20b-21
by
Barksdale M. Pullen, III
I. Introduction
The passage we have before us is really a crucial one for
the Christian, for in it we have the apostle Peter writing on the
very foundation of the Christian faith, the work and person of
Christ. Peter then goes on in the passage to explain how that
work of Christ applies to us; through Baptism. If you have your
Bible please turn with me to I Peter chapter three, and follow
along as I re-read verses twenty and twenty-one:
II. Exposition
Passage: I Peter 3:20-21
"...in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved
through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you,
not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for
a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ..."
Prayer
Peter has been writing about the work of Christ and now
turns his attention to Baptism. Baptism is a confusing term used
in the Bible, because it has two meanings; (i) the supernatural
work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of a person, and (ii)
the physical act of the sacrament. This morning I would like to
look at the meaning of Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and concentrate
on the meaning of the Sacrament of Baptism, which we both
witnessed and participated in this morning with Maxwell Parrish
and his parents. By studying the origin and meaning of the
Sacrament we can more fully understand the Sacrament, and we will
execute our responsibilities more effectively.
1. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Before we can look at the Sacrament, we must first
understand the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist says
of Christ in Mark 1:7, "After me will come one more powerful than
I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. I baptize
you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." and
Paul says of this work in Titus 3:5, "he saved us, not because of
righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved
us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our
Savior." Baptism by the Holy Spirit is the supernatural work of
the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of a person's heart to believe
and accept the work of Christ, and marks us out of this world as
people who belong to God, which is a gift from God, because of His
mercy. (Repeat) It is very important to understand the
difference between Baptism of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to the
actual Sacrament of Baptism. The Sacrament of Baptism is not
necessary for salvation, as we see from the example of the thief
on the cross found in Luke 23:39-43, and Romans 6:4. but the
baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation, for the
Holy Spirit gives us the ability to believe and accept the work
and person of Christ. This is what is meant in our passage when it
says, "not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to
God for a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ..." , we are not saved by an act, but rather by true, real
faith in God, and His Son Jesus Christ. We see from an appeal, or
more accurately a pledge, that it is God who gives us the faith,
so therefore it naturally should be God who enables us to drawn
near to Him. We are able to appeal to God, because it is God that
has given us a clear conscience. We do not know when this
supernatural act happens to a person, but when you truly accept
Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, then you have indeed been
baptized by the Holy Spirit. As we are about to see, and have
already witnessed this morning, the Sacrament of Baptism is the
representation of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Sacrament of Baptism
We will deal with three parts of the Sacrament of Baptism;
1. the meaning of the Sacrament, ii. the responsibilities of the
Sacrament, and iii. the administration of the sacrament.
A. Meaning of Baptism
Before we deal with the question of infant or adult
baptism, let us explore the meaning of the Sacrament first. In
the Presbyterian system our theology is covenantal. Which means
that we believe that God operates with His people through
covenants, or contracts, such as with Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden, Noah and the promise never to destroy the world by a
flood which was symbolized by the Rainbow, Abraham and the
Covenant of Grace which was signified by the sign circumcision,
and that these contracts are valid and binding, because we deal
with at God who is perfect and does not change. The covenant that
God made with Abraham in found in Gen 17:7, which says, "I will
establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and
you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to
be your God and the God of your descendants after you." and in
Gen 22:18, which says, "...and through your seed all nations on
earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Behind this
simple statement is a great deal. To be a people of God meant
that you obeyed the commands of God, as set down in the Ten
Commandments; it meant you worshiped God as He prescribed through
His messengers the prophets, it meant you offered sacrifices for
the forgiveness of sins, or violation of the Law, you committed
against God. This promise also points ahead to Christ, the one
through whom all the nations are blessed through His resurrection.
The sign of this covenant is found in verses nine through fourteen
where God speaks to Abraham, "Then God said to Abraham, 'As for
you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you
for the generations to come. This is my covenant, the covenant
you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You
are to undergo circumcision and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you....Any uncircumcised male, who has not
been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he
has broken my covenant.'" The act of circumcision represented at
least three things; i. That those who were circumcised were the
people of God, ii. those who were circumcised had a faith in God,
or their parents had such faith, and iii. those who were
circumcised had a belief in the coming of the Messiah, or their
parents had such a belief. This same covenant that God made with
Abraham has not been revoked, but rather it has been fulfilled in
Christ, which enables Paul to write in Gal 3:29, "If you belong to
Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." and leads Peter to say in Acts 2:31-39, "Seeing what was
ahead.....-for whom the Lord our God will call." The covenant is
the same, the form has changed, but the essence remains the same.
The meaning of the Sacrament of Baptism is this: it is the sign
and seal of the symbolic expression of the descent of the Holy
Spirit, i. calling this person to be part of the people of God,
ii. to have a faith in God, and iii. to believe in the reality of
the Messiah, who is Jesus.[Repeat]
Let us now turn our attention to the question of adult and
infant baptism, which we witnessed and participated in this
morning with Maxwell Parrish. For the adult who is baptized, they
themselves mark themselves out to be a member of the people of
God, confess to believe in God, and belief in Jesus as their
personal Lord and Savior. Parallel to the adult who underwent
circumcision. Whenever an adult was brought into the people of
Israel, he was circumcised, and taught the faith.
Infant baptism also corresponds to circumcision as well, and
this is not a new doctrine. Irenaeus, an early church father from
around 100 A.D., mentions infant baptism. The case of infant
baptism is not explicit, but rather implied, and there is nothing
wrong with this type of argument. For example, the Doctrine of
the Trinity is no where explicitly explained, but rather when we
look at all the data from Scripture we formulate the Doctrine of
the Trinity; it is implied. And also with the Lord's Supper. At
the Lord's Supper only men were present in the room. Are we to
assume that women are not to partake of the supper, of course
not. It is implied that all believers are to partake of the
Lord's Supper. So is the case with infant Baptism. It is an
implied doctrine, not explicit. I believe that it has been shown
that the rite of baptism corresponds with the rite of
circumcision. When we baptize an infant, we baptize that infant
with practically the same understanding of circumcision. The
infant is a child of God, by virtue of his/her believing parents,
or parent, as we see from the Old Testament in Abraham and Issac
in Genesis 21:1-4, and from the New Testament in Acts 16:15, where
entire households were baptized when the parents accepted Christ.
The parents promise to bring their child up in the belief of the
Triune God, and the parents promise to teach the child to believe
in the reality of Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. We
pray that one day when the child reaches an age of accountability
he/she will profess for themselves a true belief in Christ Jesus
as their personal Lord and Savior. So that they can say as Luther
said, "At least I have been Baptized". The covenant is fulfilled,
the form has changed, but the essence remains the same.
B. Responsibilities of Baptism
But what are our responsibilities associated with this
promise; the responsibilities of the parents, and of the church.
The first thing we need to remember is that we took a oath before
God the Almighty, and we will be held accountable for this oath.
More specifically, what are the responsibilities of the parent?
First the parents or parent must profess their belief in the
Triune God we serve, and then they must make a decision to have
their child baptized (Eph 6). The decision must not occur by
pressure or tradition, but by prayer and study by the parents. The
parents then promise to bring their child up in the 'instruction
and discipline(or admonition) of the Lord'. Just as the parents
have the responsibility to provide clothing, food, and shelter for
the child, they also have a responsibility to provide for the
spiritual well-being of their child, the instruction of the Lord.
The parents have a responsibly to teach their child the knowledge
of the Lord. Many resources are available. There are children's
Bibles, and story and devotional books; there is the church Sunday
School, which begins here at six months; there are retreat centers
and church camps, and now there are home videos of Biblical
stories, to name a few of the resources available. But it must be
remembered that it is first the parent's responsibility, not the
church's or anyone else's! Let us remember the warning of Hosea
in Hosea 4:6, where the prophet warned the people, "My people are
destroyed for a lack of knowledge, Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also will will reject you from being my priest. Since
you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your
children." Turning to the second part of the promise, what does it
mean when you promise to bring your child up in the discipline of
the Lord. The Book of Proverbs should be read by every parent
regularly. For in this Book we have the wisdom of the Lord
applying to many different situations, including discipline.
Discipline can take many forms, and the parents will ultimately
have to decide how best to handle discipline. There are several
ways that are stressed in the Book of Proverbs, from 'the rod', to
words of encouragement and rebuke. There are also many resources
available in this area as well- members who children you admire,
especially our elders if they have children, for this is a
requirement of their office; there are also books and tapes by Dr.
Dobsen, and others help to explain ways of discipline for your
child. Perhaps the most effective way of instruction and
discipline of the Lord for your child, is your own example to your
children as parents and Christians.
What are the responsibilities of the church? You too were
asked a question, to promise to help in the spiritual nurture of
this child. It is our responsibility to help guide the child, by
providing the opportunities in the church for the child to become
involved. We need Sunday School teachers, Youth Group Advisors,
Chairpersons for Seasonal pageants, and adults who will listen. We
also have a responsibility to offer advice to the parents. We
must be careful not to interfere in the parents primary
responsibility of rearing this child, but we must be sensitive to
when it is appropriate to lend some advice in a Christian manner.
We also need to realize as a church, that our responsibility to
nurture the children does not end at such and such an age. Paul
exhorted the church of Corinth to build up one another, and to
bear one another's burdens continually. For the single or the
adults who do not have any children, here is your obligation to
the Covenant, to help and encourage one another. We continue to
be infants in the Word, no matter of our age. We need to remember
our responsibilities to one another as well.
C. Administration of the Sacrament of Baptism
Let us look briefly at the administration of the Sacrament
of Baptism. First as we see from the Great Commission in Matt 28,
the Sacrament must be administered by an elder, and in the name of
God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We see from
passages such as Acts 10:47, Ezek 36:25, and Ps 51:2, that water
must be the element used in the Sacrament. But as to the question
of the mode of baptism, there is some disagreement. We, as
Presbyterians, will accept sprinkling, pouring, or immersion as
valid modes of baptism, but we feel that there is strong Biblical
evidence for sprinkling, and pouring. First from Biblical
passages such as from Ezek 36:25, where God says to Israel, "I
will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will
cleanse you from all your iniquities and from all your idols."
Second we also believe that the sacrament should represent the
reality it symbolizes. We see from passages such as Matt 3:16; Mk
1:10, that the Spirit descended upon Jesus, and from Acts 2:18 the
Spirit descended upon the people at Pentecost. Therefore we
believe that pouring, or sprinkling more accurately represents
what has happened, the Spirit descending down upon the His people.
III. Conclusion/Application
In Baptism, our children are publicly identified with the
Triune God we serve, based on the faith of the parents, and you
and the church together have accepted the responsibility to
provide for the spiritual nourishment, discipline and instruction
of our children in the Lord, and to enable our children one day to
make their own confession of faith before God, marking their
membership in the Kingdom of God, and His Covenant of Grace. This
is a beautiful occasion, and a wonderful sign of God's everlasting
love and grace. May the Lord God Almighty make your child's
Baptism a wonderful and memorable event for you, your family, your
loved ones, and our church.
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