Saturday, April 23, 2016

15. Baptism (Lane, Ch 30)

By Laurie Haas

The sacrament of baptism is the outward sign of God’s inward grace. Calvin defines baptism as “the sign of the initiation by which we are received into the society of the church, in order that, engrafted in Christ, we may be reckoned among God’s children.” (Institutes, XV 1, p. 1303.) The emphasis on being received into the church family is demonstrated by baptisms taking place within a worship service. The congregation has a question to answer and a promise to make to the child who is being baptized and to his or her family. In the Book of Order, the minister asks the congregation, “Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture N. and N. by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church?” (p. 406) Baptism is a visible sign that cleanses us from all sin: past, present and future. This is why a person only needs to baptized one time. The waters of baptism must also be accompanied by the Word proclaimed. The water is merely a symbol of Christ’s blood that is sprinkled for an internal cleansing, not a bathing or “removal of filth from the flesh.” (Institutes, XV 2, p. 1305) In baptism we are sealed by the promise and we acknowledge the gift of salvation offered in Christ.


As Calvin states, baptism also engrafts us to Christ as one of God’s children. First, it is important to note that God has claimed us even before we were born. “He promises that he will be our God and the God of our descendants after us [Gen. 17:7].” (Institutes, XV 20, p. 1321) Our response to this love either for us or for our children is a public proclamation of binding us to Christ and his church. In “grafting” ourselves to Christ through baptism, we die to our sinful life and are reborn by the Spirit to the new, righteous living offered in Christ. We acknowledge our dependence on Christ, like the twig needs the roots for nourishment to which it is grafted. We don’t completely drown out our sinful lives in baptism, as we are sinful in nature. “Baptism indeed promises to us the drowning of our Pharaoh [Ex. 14:28] and the mortification of our sin, but not so that it no longer exists or gives us trouble, but only that it may not overcome us.” (Institutes, XV 11, p. 1312)

Regarding the method of Baptism, I think that dying with Christ and being reborn into new life with him is best expressed through full immersion baptism. In the Lutheran tradition, I was sprinkled as an infant. In our PCUSA church, our Senior Pastor cups the water three times and wets the head of child or adult. Although full immersion was practiced by the ancient church as well as some of our contemporary churches today, Calvin allows for the individual church to choose its best practice: sprinkling, pouring or wholly immersing the body. The amount of water is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that we call upon the Holy Spirit to penetrate the hearts and souls of those who desire to respond to the call of Christ on their life. The sole purpose of baptism is to be a testimony to God’s grace for each of us; through which our faith will be sustained, nourished, confirmed and increased.

I have an observation and a question. First, my Director of Student Ministry resigned in December to serve at a local nondenominational church. He has worked in youth ministry for 9 years; his college degree is in graphic design. I just saw pictures of him on Facebook baptizing (full immersion) two high school students. I’m conflicted by this, because I am spending a lot of time and money to prepare for ordination, so that I can baptize people and preside over the Lord’s Supper. He can just go down the street and have the privilege, honor and authority to baptize these young men? (Of course, the early church did not have a Seminary and those followers of Christ baptized anyone and everyone.) It seems to cheapen what I am doing and also ties my hands with other Student Directors. He would never be allowed to do that in our PCUSA church! Are we bound by too many rules and regulations?



My question is related to the “experience” of baptism. Most of our 8th grade Confirmands do not remember their baptism, because it was done when they were infants. In Confirmation, these kids are claiming their faith as their own. I wonder about doing a meaningful and memorable “re-enactment” or “re-dedication” to Christ and the church through a special full immersion ceremony at the beach. I know that it can’t be “baptism” per se, but could it be a recommitment that uses other language and truly creates a memory for them to hang onto as they begin navigating their high school and then college years?

14 comments:

  1. Hi Laurie,
    Thanks for this wonderful summary of Calvin's understanding of Baptism. It is truly an outward sign of the inward reality of the indwelling of Christ. With respect to your question regarding your confirmation classes who do not often remember their own baptism, I would recommend that you look at the PCUSA Book Of Common Worship beginning on pg 477/478. It contains a reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant. This could be adapted for your particular situation. It would both connect the class to their church, remind them of their "growing" relationship with God. It could be a service for anyone in the congregation who wished to participate. In fact it should involve the congregation, not just the confirmation class. What do you think?

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    1. And to follow Rick's advice, I think while you know you are only reaffirming the baptism for your confirmands, they would see it as another baptism and it would really muddy the water of our tradition and belief that one baptism is all that is needed.

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    3. Thanks for the advice on the Book of Order--I plan to take that class this summer! I appreciate the thoughts about not "muddying" the baptism waters too. Since we don't immerse, this wouldn't really feel like our "baptism" but I definitely would have a conversation with our Senior Pastor before I went all rogue at the beach!

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    4. I would tend to agree with Tim here. Even thought you would acknowledge that this is a remember your baptism ceremony, I am not sure that it would be understood that way. It also, in a way, makes it seem like the original baptism wasn't good enough. In my confirmation class, our students write faith statements read to the parents and the parents, in a banquet, read a letter of love and celebration at a luncheon. At this time, we show the baptism pictures and the parents reflect on this and celebrate their faith walk. Very meaningful and upholds the baptism.

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  2. Nice job summarizing the section on Baptism. The idea that forcibly struck me was that in Baptism we are forgiven for all sins past and present, but not for "original sin" which is a corruption of our innate nature. (Or am I reading this correctly?)

    To answer your question, I think doing a dramatic "re-dedication" is a great idea. I have been to two, both of which involved dipping of the hand in a bowl of water. It was nothing like going to the beach and getting totally immersed. I must say though that total immersion does make me a bit uncomfortable. Probably because it so closely resembles the actual act of Baptism. If it were me I would want to be very clear that this is NOT a second Baptism.

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    1. I read it the same way. Original sin sticks. We can never cleanse ourselves completely, which is why we need a Savior. It's almost like it is our original sin that keeps us tethered to Christ.

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  3. Nice summery of this part of the institutes on baptism with all its theology, covenant and beauty. I am totally on board with Calvin and the Reformed understanding of this sacrament. I would encourage you to hold to the tradition and not sell yourself short on your call. The PCUSA is wonderful and faithful church that takes the training of her pastors very seriously. I think it's a shame that the tradition up the street has so very little education for its leadership.

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    1. Thanks Tim. I agree with you. It does kind of sting, to see it be given away so willy-nilly.

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  4. Laurie,
    Thank you for your well thought out post.
    Recognizing that we are all part of God's plan, and that our authority to baptize is not by our Master's Degree or the Presbyterian Church's ordination but, by the power of God.. through us. It is a hurdle for me as I struggle through my courses, but... for whatever reason the Lord has asked me to walk this path and others walk a different way.
    I work (volunteer) beside hospital chaplains who do not have an MDIV and are not ordained, who by God's grace have been hired and are on staff as chaplains, why am I required to attain the degree and ordination when others do not? I am not sure, and when I have inquired, there are no clear answers...
    I only mention this so you might know that I am in your boat to some extent and am prayerfully working through my own momentary bouts of angst as I ... struggle through the course work and hoops set before me. Remember,we are instruments of the Lord and that where you are is part of the plan ... where others are and how they are there and baptizing is also part of the plan. Sometimes this is hard to swallow... just know you are not alone in the struggle..

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    1. I love school and believe that education is one of God's gifts. I know folks feel called to preach and act in the church without the background, but I would feel as if I cheapened God's call for me if I would do that, so I don't spend a great deal of time fretting it. I do, however, think it is important to emphasize the importance of education in our tradition, the high expectations of our ruling body and the deep commitment of our pastors to learn the faith. While there is certainly value in those who feel drawn by the holy spirit, there is also great risk at misinterpreting that call. Looking at the lives of the saints who went before, understanding the nuances of our scriptures and retracing the theology of our founders is one of our greatest blessings.

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  5. Laurie:
    You have raised some serious concerns that truly meets exploration. I agree with you that: "Baptism is a visible sign that cleanses us from all sin: past, present and future." It must therefore be done only once. When it comes to ordination in our Presbyterian family, it is a "big deal" not only for the church authorities and the tradition, but also for some "die hard" Presbyterians.
    There are some members of the church who would rather stay away from a non-M Div. non ordained Pastor. This is so to the extent that some stay away from Commissioned Ruling Elder with Pastoral responsibilities as the PCUSA calls them. Yet, some of the same people condemn those who have no formal education and "scattered" all over the place doing what you and I have to struggle through many years of instructions and exams to be allowed to do, some would definitely reject them.
    But what is going on is that the "unschooled" spend time to study the bible and memorize it to the extent that they "mesmerize" listeners whether they rightly interpret the text or not.
    Such people do not only have the right to do what they do but they also have lots of followers.
    I read an argument that Lydia because she was a merchant, she could not have been with any children from her household, even though the bible makes it clear that she was baptized with her household. How do you/we as seminarians/ordained pastors with chains of degrees argue this? What do we know about this? How do we use this to justify or reject infant baptism?
    God has a plan and purpose for us.

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  6. Non-denominational churches usually lack job security and pension plans, if that's any consolation. There are, of course, other pros and cons (see http://www.christianforums.com/threads/what-does-%C2%93non-denominational%C2%94-mean-to-you-pros-and-cons.7513996/)

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  7. Laurie,

    What a great discussion! Thank you so much for your post. You did an excellent job discussing the chapter and providing some interesting questions regarding baptism.

    In regard to full immersion, I think the full dipping of the body is very meaningful, but I think dipping or sprinkling is likewise meaningful. I love the image of the water - water I would drink - pouring from the ewer into the basin. I love seeing the basin move to the center of the chancel for the occasion and I love how the newly baptized - infant or adult - will walk with the pastor down the aisle of the church.

    The other 2 questions, I addressed in earlier blogs, but I would reiterate that I would be very wary of taking kids down for a full-immersion experience even if it is a "remember" your baptism experience as I think it would be confused and undermine the original baptism. Just because you understand it and preach it, does not mean that it will not be misunderstood. I explained above how we highlight the baptism, and I saw a couple other ways to remember your baptism that are not essentially a baptismal practice.

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