The
following is a fictitious open letter from a father to an infant
daughter on the eve of her baptism. In it, the child's father lays out
the Biblical rationale for covenantal infant baptism.Dearest Ashley,
I am unable to sleep tonight as I think about your big day tomorrow, so I decided to write you a letter. It will be a number of years before you will be able to read and understand this. When you do, I hope it will be an encouragement to you. Although it was only six weeks ago we brought you home from the hospital, what will be done to you tomorrow will be one of the most significant events in your life.
Not
only were your mother and I not raised in Christian homes, but also as
young Christians we did not have any appreciation for infant baptism.
Your mother was baptized when she became a Christian in high school.
Although I was baptized as an infant, my parents at the time did not
have the slightest notion of what that involved. For them it was a
cultural thing. When I became a Christian through the ministry of
Reformed University Fellowship, I thought I should be baptized. The
campus minister, however, showed me that the significance of my baptism
did not depend on my parents or the minister. As long as it was
Christian baptism it was valid. Nevertheless, even though I was not
re-baptized, I did not appreciate the wonder or uniqueness of infant
baptism.
The
rich significance of infant baptism began to dawn on us only as we
prepared for your birth. When Pastor Perkins baptizes you tomorrow
morning, God is declaring that you are a part of the covenant people - a
member of the Church. Your baptism signifies that you stand in a
special relationship to the Lord Jesus
Christ, who by His own baptism identified with His elect people. All
those who are baptized are set apart as belonging to Him. Ashley, every
person stands before God in a covenant relationship. Either he is under
the old covenant made with Adam and must obey God perfectly, or suffer
eternal punishment. Or he is under the covenant of grace through the
Lord Jesus Christ who perfectly kept the first covenant, and by His death paid the penalty for our failure to keep it.
The
Bible teaches that we enter into covenant with Christ in one of two
ways: by profession of faith like Abraham, the Philippian jailer and Mom; or by birth like Ishmael, Isaac, the children of the Philippian jailer
and me. Either way, baptism is God's appointed symbol of membership. It
reminds us that by nature we are dead in our sins and trespasses and
must be regenerated by the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit. As we are
ceremonially cleansed, we are placed in covenantal union with Christ. By
your baptism Ashley, God lays claim on you and obligates you to keep
His covenant. You keep His covenant as you believe in Christ as Savior
and seek to please Him by keeping His commandments.
Does
your baptism guarantee that you will be renewed by the Holy Spirit? No,
it doesn't. Of course, Mom and I pray that you are already regenerated
and will grow up never knowing a day that you were not trusting in
Christ alone for your salvation. But only God can grant you a new heart.
Sweetheart, if you have been renewed, it will show itself in your
faith, love and obedience. If not, your baptism will be a constant
reminder of God's mercy in providing a Savior and of your need to repent
and believe. Then, if you were to continue in unbelief, your baptism
would be a witness against you that you were a covenant breaker and your
condemnation would be all the more severe.
At
this point you may wonder, "What is the use of baptism?" Paul
anticipates this question in Romans 9:4,5 as he shows the benefits of
covenant membership of the old covenant people. Actually, he begins to
answer the question in Romans 3:1-4, "What is the benefit of being a Jew?"
Paul says that one important privilege is the possession of God's Word.
However, he temporarily abandons the discussion of Israel's benefits
until he has dealt in detail with the true method of salvation. In
Chapter 9 he returns to discuss God's covenant benefits that belonged to
Israel. After having expressed his great burden for their conversion,
Paul lists their privileges. First, they were members of the covenant
community "kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, ... whose
are the father's." Further, they were the sons of God "to whom belong
the adoption." As such they enjoyed
the physical evidences of God's presence, "the glory." Moreover, God
had bound Himself to them in contractual agreements by the "the
covenants." They had the special revelation of God's Word, His worship,
and the promise of pardon with the gift of the Holy Spirit, "the giving
of the law and the temple service and the promises." And best of all,
the Savior would descend from them and come for them, "from whom is the
Christ according to the flesh."
Ashley, as a child of the covenant, these benefits are yours. You belong to the true Israel, which is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are declared to be a daughter of God, so we teach you to sing "Jesus
loves me." You live in a supernatural environment. Christ by His Spirit
is in our home where we live not by bread alone but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God. You will see what it means to live by
faith, and you will learn how God provides for us as we pray with and
for you and teach you to pray. We will remind you regularly that God has
obligated himself to be your God, thus you are to believe in Christ and
obey. We will teach you the Scriptures. You will worship at home and
with the church on the Lord's Day. You will learn God's promises and
will be taught to heed their conditions. Therefore, we will discipline
you so that sin might be uprooted from your heart and you will learn to
obey.
For
these reasons, we will take vows and make promises to God when you are
baptized tomorrow morning. By our vows we claim the promise of the
covenant on your behalf and Mom and I acknowledge our responsibility to
raise you according to the covenant. All of this is wrapped up in
baptism. As God pictures your union with Christ through cleansing, He
assures us that He has made His covenant with you as well as with us and
that He will work through His covenant in administering His salvation.
It is now quite late. I must try to sleep. I love you, my precious little one. But what is even more wonderful, God loves you.
Love, Papa
Love, Papa
