On the faith of children and baptizing them
Disclaimer: this is a theological post. And it's a parenting post.
I became a Christian when I was 6. My Dad was a church-goer at the time and in Sunday School I heard about Jesus - the friend who would never leave you and who you had to know to get to heaven. I was desperate to know him and must have prayed about 50 times for him to 'come into my heart' (just in case it didn't work the previous time). Thus began my fledgling faith. In my early teens I heard about baptism and decided to 'take the plunge' to publically demonstrate that faith. All rather simple, really.
So it came a real shock to me to go to university and discover how many things Christians thought differently about. One of those topics was that of infant baptism. Not having been born into a Christian family or worshipped at a paedo-baptist church - I had never come across the idea of baptizing ones' kids, and I remember it seeming a really strange thought to me. My boyfriend at the time and his patient, kind Mom supplied me with books which explained how adults could be baptized, but so could children born into believing families.
I am not sure I was fully persuaded at the time, but the rationale was something like this: God has always promised to work in and through families. He has created covenant communities from the time of Abraham. In the Old Testament, he gave circumcision as an outward sign that the family was one 'of faith'. Obviously the physical act done in infancy didn't guarantee that the person would, in adulthood, have a 'circumcised heart' (one set aside for God) - but at the very least it showed that the parents believed that the SAME promises which they had clung to for salvation would avail for the next generation too. In a world of short-time offers where the technology of today is outdated by tomorrow, or even in the ancient world when the political situation of today could radically change in a short time - it was no small thing (and it is no small thing), to proclaim that you believe that there is an ETERNAL God who offers a LONG-TERM promise of salvation which is not a "one-time-offer" for just you. The promise is for your children too. And so, the argument goes, baptism fulfils that role in the New Covenant. The new believers in Acts who responded to the message of Jesus were told that "The promise (of forgiveness) is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:39). And so we see new believers "and their whole households" being baptized.
I wouldn't say I bought into it fully, but I could see the link. In the years that followed I landed up attending, and then working in, the Church of England. The C of E, like the Presbyterian church, baptizes the children of believers as well as adults who come to faith. I'd already been baptized (so didn't need to do it again), and didn't have children (so it wasn't an issue) - so it was just something that was part of the "order of the church" which I accepted without too many qualms, and didn't think about it for years...
.... Until now. Because now we attend a Baptist church (despite the fact that it is a Baptist church), and now we have children. And when our children were born we took the option which was available to us: dedicating our children to the Lord. Which we did, with great joy. If we'd been in the church of England, we would have baptized them. But we're not. And we want to submit and participate in the community we're in. So no big deal.
But just recently someone was asking me about infant baptism, and I discovered for the first time that I now have PERSONAL feelings on it. I think I understand the argument for infant baptism a little better now, and here's why:
Baptising your children sort of presumes that from birth they are included in the family of Faith. Dedicating them indicates that we as children plan to raise them in the Lord's ways, and hope and pray that in time they will choose to join the family of Faith. But as I consider the way we are raising our children - I must confess that I treat them as if they are ALREADY believers. I don't hope that one day my children will COME to know Jesus. I hope and pray that they will know him more and more. Perhaps this will come as a sudden day when they personally appropriate their faith, a day of 'conversion', so to speak. But perhaps it will just be a continuation of the work which has already begun in them.
Because, dear friends, I am FULLY PERSUADED that the Holy Spirit is at work and alive in my children. Teg is almost four, and has not prayed a "sinners prayer" or had an official moment of "coming to faith", but my sweet little girl somehow knows and understands things which Scripture says are 'spiritually discerned'. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says: The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When Peter had his "aha" moment of realizing who Jesus was, Jesus said to him "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 16:17). 1 Corinthians 12:3 says "no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit."
And so it is with UTTER AMAZEMENT that I watch my daughter connect the dots and show insight on things which I could not possibly teach her. Yes, I teach her the Bible - but there are many people who know the Bible who do not know Jesus. This little girl KNOWS Jesus. When her Daddy prays for her and her brother and the little one unborn to "love and serve Jesus all their lives", she corrects him and says "Oh you don't have to pray for me Daddy, I already love and serve Jesus." She is concerned for the lost. She worries about the college boys that live next door who are not kind to each other. She took it upon herself to wash my feet as Jesus did. And I stand in awe of it, because the things she says and sometimes does are so clearly the work of God in her....
And so now I understand a little better why we could have baptized her. It would have been an outward sign that we trusted that God would be at work in our little one. And He is. Oh, He is. Obviously the water didn't do it (because there isn't any at a dedication). But if there had been water involved, this is what it would have been pointing to.
I became a Christian when I was 6. My Dad was a church-goer at the time and in Sunday School I heard about Jesus - the friend who would never leave you and who you had to know to get to heaven. I was desperate to know him and must have prayed about 50 times for him to 'come into my heart' (just in case it didn't work the previous time). Thus began my fledgling faith. In my early teens I heard about baptism and decided to 'take the plunge' to publically demonstrate that faith. All rather simple, really.
So it came a real shock to me to go to university and discover how many things Christians thought differently about. One of those topics was that of infant baptism. Not having been born into a Christian family or worshipped at a paedo-baptist church - I had never come across the idea of baptizing ones' kids, and I remember it seeming a really strange thought to me. My boyfriend at the time and his patient, kind Mom supplied me with books which explained how adults could be baptized, but so could children born into believing families.
I am not sure I was fully persuaded at the time, but the rationale was something like this: God has always promised to work in and through families. He has created covenant communities from the time of Abraham. In the Old Testament, he gave circumcision as an outward sign that the family was one 'of faith'. Obviously the physical act done in infancy didn't guarantee that the person would, in adulthood, have a 'circumcised heart' (one set aside for God) - but at the very least it showed that the parents believed that the SAME promises which they had clung to for salvation would avail for the next generation too. In a world of short-time offers where the technology of today is outdated by tomorrow, or even in the ancient world when the political situation of today could radically change in a short time - it was no small thing (and it is no small thing), to proclaim that you believe that there is an ETERNAL God who offers a LONG-TERM promise of salvation which is not a "one-time-offer" for just you. The promise is for your children too. And so, the argument goes, baptism fulfils that role in the New Covenant. The new believers in Acts who responded to the message of Jesus were told that "The promise (of forgiveness) is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:39). And so we see new believers "and their whole households" being baptized.
I wouldn't say I bought into it fully, but I could see the link. In the years that followed I landed up attending, and then working in, the Church of England. The C of E, like the Presbyterian church, baptizes the children of believers as well as adults who come to faith. I'd already been baptized (so didn't need to do it again), and didn't have children (so it wasn't an issue) - so it was just something that was part of the "order of the church" which I accepted without too many qualms, and didn't think about it for years...
.... Until now. Because now we attend a Baptist church (despite the fact that it is a Baptist church), and now we have children. And when our children were born we took the option which was available to us: dedicating our children to the Lord. Which we did, with great joy. If we'd been in the church of England, we would have baptized them. But we're not. And we want to submit and participate in the community we're in. So no big deal.
But just recently someone was asking me about infant baptism, and I discovered for the first time that I now have PERSONAL feelings on it. I think I understand the argument for infant baptism a little better now, and here's why:
Baptising your children sort of presumes that from birth they are included in the family of Faith. Dedicating them indicates that we as children plan to raise them in the Lord's ways, and hope and pray that in time they will choose to join the family of Faith. But as I consider the way we are raising our children - I must confess that I treat them as if they are ALREADY believers. I don't hope that one day my children will COME to know Jesus. I hope and pray that they will know him more and more. Perhaps this will come as a sudden day when they personally appropriate their faith, a day of 'conversion', so to speak. But perhaps it will just be a continuation of the work which has already begun in them.
Because, dear friends, I am FULLY PERSUADED that the Holy Spirit is at work and alive in my children. Teg is almost four, and has not prayed a "sinners prayer" or had an official moment of "coming to faith", but my sweet little girl somehow knows and understands things which Scripture says are 'spiritually discerned'. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says: The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When Peter had his "aha" moment of realizing who Jesus was, Jesus said to him "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 16:17). 1 Corinthians 12:3 says "no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit."
And so it is with UTTER AMAZEMENT that I watch my daughter connect the dots and show insight on things which I could not possibly teach her. Yes, I teach her the Bible - but there are many people who know the Bible who do not know Jesus. This little girl KNOWS Jesus. When her Daddy prays for her and her brother and the little one unborn to "love and serve Jesus all their lives", she corrects him and says "Oh you don't have to pray for me Daddy, I already love and serve Jesus." She is concerned for the lost. She worries about the college boys that live next door who are not kind to each other. She took it upon herself to wash my feet as Jesus did. And I stand in awe of it, because the things she says and sometimes does are so clearly the work of God in her....
And so now I understand a little better why we could have baptized her. It would have been an outward sign that we trusted that God would be at work in our little one. And He is. Oh, He is. Obviously the water didn't do it (because there isn't any at a dedication). But if there had been water involved, this is what it would have been pointing to.
posted by Bronwyn at 2:05 pm
5 Comments:
Good post Bronwyn, especially re the sudden PERSONAL feelings about the issue.
=)
Such a compelling post, Bronwyn. My background is definitely of the "you have a moment of conversion and then you get baptized," but now that we have children, what you wrote makes a lot of sense to me. It also makes me feel a little less guilty for letting Steve bring Steven up to participate in communion a few weeks ago (although granted, maybe we should try to explain it to him better than a whispered conversation in the moment). Definitely some good food for thought.
First, let me say just how blessed you are to have a child who loves the Lord! I'm so happy for you.
Beyond that, I can identify with your feelings on child baptism. I was raised somewhat Baptist, but my parents took us to a Presbyterian church when I was a teenager, and the infant baptism thing was something I never understood, either. We had both Charlie and Ariel dedicated at our (non-denominational) church after they were born, and I'm very happy with that decision. I dislike the use of the word "baptism" in reference to infants, because the Bible makes no reference of baptizing infants, and I think it detracts from the word to say an infant is baptized. Still, I don't look down on those who "baptize" their children, and I don't think it's a harmful thing (unless they start thinking that the act itself is what saves the child, no matter what decisions the child makes later in life!).
Regardless, thanks for the post, and continue to praise God for His work in your children. He is obviously using you and Jeremy in their lives.
Oh you made me teary my friend. I want to be fully persuaded that God is at work in my kiddies - I think I see it in one of my big ones and not yet in the other. Can we be fully persuaded???
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