The
movie OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? popularized the Appalachian hymn DOWN TO THE
WATER TO PRAY, with its celebration of baptism. Incredibly, the movie’s
protagonist (George Clooney) dismissed baptism, scoffing at the notion of
eternal life, and saying he had bigger fish to fry. Hardly!
We have scheduled baptism for Resurrection Sunday,
April 12, as part of our Easter service. The early Christians always celebrated baptism at Easter because it so dramatically
depicts the resurrection. Those being baptized are lowered into a watery
grave, and then raised up to live out their new lives in obedience to Christ.
What is
baptism? Is it an act that gets you heaven’s eternal reward (as the character
in the movie claimed)? Is it something which must be done to infants to keep
them from hell in case they die? Is it like a kindergarten graduation ceremony
or a birthday party to make someone feel special? Baptism is often
misunderstood and underappreciated by the Church, even by us Baptists who carry
its namesake (the 2008 Baptist Hymnal, for example, lists but two baptism
hymns!).
The earliest
generation of Christians offered baptism only to believers. They tested the new
convert, they explained salvation to them, and only then were they baptized.
Early
Christians were understandably concerned about the salvation of their infants,
especially since infant mortality rates were so high. Early in the history of
Christianity, there arose a pervasive misunderstanding of baptism which led
people to think that baptism confers a saving grace on the person being
baptized; this led them to infant baptism. This view depended on the dubious
interpretation that baptism is the New Testament equivalent of circumcision.
Israelite baby boys were “born into the covenant” by virtue of their descent
from Abraham, and parents circumcised them to demonstrate their allegiance to
God. The coming of Christ and the New Covenant put an end to this. Children are
not born “in Christ” or into the New Covenant. A person can only be born again
in Christ through faith. This is why Baptists baptize only believers, and
assert that babies (and those with mental disabilities) are already in a state
of grace until they reach a certain maturity (“age of accountability”).
Churches that
practice infant baptism do so in order that the parents might demonstrate their
own faith, and promise to raise the child in the nurture of the church. For
Baptists, this is the essential meaning of baby dedication. Biblical baptism says
nothing about other people’s faith. Rather, baptism is about the faith of the
one being baptized. Baptists offer parents the opportunity to dedicate their
babies to the Lord as an expression of the parents’ faith.
During the Middle Ages, there was an essential
unity of Church and State. Every person in the king’s realm practiced the
king’s religion. In Christian states, everyone (or nearly everyone) was
baptized, whether or not they were believers. Everyone claimed to be a
Christian simply because they were baptized, even if they lived like the devil.
This practice was profoundly contrary to Jesus’ command to go, make believers,
and then baptize them (Matt 28:18-20).
As
Christians had better access to the Bible in
their own language, the Baptist movement emerged. The core issue that
distinguished Baptists from others was the “Believer’s Church,” and that only
those who have professed a genuine faith belong to God’s Church. For
this doctrine, Baptists were regularly persecuted (even in America during and
after colonial days; see the image of Obadiah Holmes being whipped for his
Baptist faith). Some were actually drowned as a mock re-baptism. Baptists were
so convinced that only believers should be baptized that they were willing to
die for their doctrine.
For our part,
Baptists believe that the first urgency—the first order of business for a new
follower of Jesus, is to obey his command to be baptized. Baptism is not
optional. Nor is it to be deferred for the sake of one's personal feelings or
preferences. If one fails to be obedient to this first command, what is the
point of following Jesus at all?
Yet, baptism
is not something which saves. Rather, the person who is already saved is called
to be baptized. That is, baptism is for those who have already decided to
follow Jesus. Indeed, baptism is a person's declaration to the world: "I
am a Christian. I follow Jesus. I pledge my life and devotion to him." As
such, baptism is not a private event. It is a public event, to be undertaken
before many witnesses.
Moreover,
baptism is a multifaceted symbol: 1) the washing away of sins through faith in
Christ; 2) the death and burial of the old life, and the beginning of the new
life; and 3) the placement of a person into the family of God, the Church.
If you are
already a believer but have not received believer's baptism, we invite you to
come down to the river to follow Christ in baptism.
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