1.27.08 Manuscript: Baptism: Infant, Adult, or not at all

Matthew 28:18-20

Baptism is one of the two Sacraments that the United Methodist Church celebrates. The other being Holy Communion. These are the two acts of worship that came directly from Christ's instruction to his followers. Other denominations celebrate and recognize other elements of worship as Sacramental. For instance, the Catholic Church, who by far recognizes the most Sacraments, considers a wedding ceremony a Sacrament.

Baptism in the Old Testament signified repentance and purification. Cleansing physically and spiritually by the use of water was an important reminder of our need for God's grace in our lives to forgive our sins and to make us pure. It was also an important reminder that God COULD and WOULD not forget his people, but stood ready to accept them from whatever they had stepped into.

Baptism in the New Testament is a hot topic for theological discussion. I believe, and I hope can communicate, that the UMC's view on baptism is a distinct but also inclusive one. For us, the amount of water is not important, it is what God does for us through our obedience of baptism that is important. Therefore, we accept and practice all three forms of baptism: sprinkling, pouring and immersion.

The central meaning of baptism, to which all denominations agree, is that Baptism unites all believers together. It is the central means by which people are "incorporated into Christ's holy church". Everyone shares the same experience. And that which unites us also gives us an identity. Our identity as baptized believers are as people who are obedient to the commands of Christ, a people who have denied themselves, and a people who are willing to share in the responsibilities of the church as a family member.

The second meaning of baptism which we all seem to agree upon is that it is an act of obedience. Now that may seem trivial from the outside, but obedience is one of the main ingredient's God uses to grow us. I ran across a short quote I wanted to share with you that really gets at the heart of the matter.

Albert Edward Day writes in The Captivating Presence that, "Obedience is indispensable. Not to a static code, however helpful it may be at times. But obedience to God, who is present with us in every situation and is speaking to us all the time. Every obedience, however small (if any obedience is ever small) quickens our sensitivity to him and our capacity to understand him and so makes more real our sense of his presence.

In my own words, obedience does for us what the car defroster does for our windows. It allows us to see more clearly which only helps us in many ways when we drive.

Now unfortunately, that is where we come to the end of the line in terms of total agreement. Everything beyond this point of church membership is up for grabs. For instance, the UMC does not believe that baptism is a necessary step for salvation. Remember the thief that died on a cross next to Jesus' cross. He asked Jesus to "remember me when you come into your kingdom." And Jesus responded, "Surely I tell you that today you will be with me in paradise." There was no time or even possibility for baptism, but Jesus' words are clear. This man's eternal destination is determined by his faith in Jesus and not by an act of baptism. Now, for those of us not on death's doorstep, we are most definitely called to baptism as an act of obedience and as an act of uniting with the body of believers.



Acts 2:32-41

When in a person's life that Baptism takes place is an important point of discussion that we should address. The passage in Acts is a clear indication that the early church practiced baptism after a person believed. In this particular instance, about 3,000 were added to the early church in one day. And this makes perfect since. The people were hearing the word of God, the Holy Spirit stirring their hearts, and they were coming to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The natural response would be to follow the teachings of Christ which were being shared by the Apostle's. Matter of fact, that is exactly what the new believers were doing. So, they believed, were baptized and immediately included in the fellowship of believers. Completely normal and natural response. The UMC affirms that after a conversion experience, baptism is a natural and normal and most appropriate. For in it, a believer is "incorporated into Christ's holy church" which we all need to be a part of in order to put on the mind of Christ.

Let me ask you an important question. Who brought this about? Who is to "credit" for those coming into the faith that day? It was the work of the Holy Spirit. And this is an important distinction for us to remember as we delve deeper into this question about Baptism.

Remember from the second week of October, we spoke about Prevenient Grace. We said it our language which describes God's work in our lives before we come to faith in Christ. It is God working in our lives through parents, friends, circumstances, hardships and joys. It is God working to woo us toward him. It is God taking the first step toward us so that we can accept all the God has done for us.

Hold that thought...

Acts 16:25-34

God's grace working in our life well before we can ever know, understand, or accept it for ourselves. But it is real and one of the most important parts in our journey with God. So, how do we signify this in our worship? How can we celebrate, honor, and testify to what God is doing in our lives? In the UMC tradition, we do this through the Sacrament of Baptism.

The above text is one of the passages used to set as a standard for infant baptism. The passage tells us that the "entire" household was baptized. That would seem to allude to the fact that men, women as well as children were included in the waters of baptism. And so, couple this fact with the Wesleyan theological stance on grace, and we come to the infant baptism. When an infant is baptized, we are not trying to wash off some sinful nature of the child or her/his parents. When parents and entire families bring children for baptism, they are affirming that God is working in their lives even before they can know, understand, or accept God's love for themselves. They are affirming that one of the most important parts of our faith journey is the involvement of the child with a body of believers who can help raise the child in the faith. And just as important, the congregation is affirming that they will do whatever it takes to make sure the child has the opportunity to one day confirm the grace that is at work in their lives from conception to the grave.