We have high regard for many of our friends who are proponents of Covenant Theology, but we have differing views on baptism. As it has been explained to me, they believe infant baptism is a sign of God bestowing His name and a covenant of salvation on the child, even though he is not yet a believer in Jesus Christ. My question is...what happened to the covenant in the event those children don't become followers of Christ? God cannot renege on His promise. I've never heard a biblical answer to that question.
We can look to many Scriptures that point to baptism as a sign of the new covenant to those who repent and become disciples of Christ and as an actual profession of faith. It is a beautiful picture of a believer's union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, the "inauguration ceremony for the new person in Christ," as my Geneva Study Bible note says. The baptism of one who can give genuine testimony of becoming a "new creature" in Christ is an great source of encouragement and joy to the body of believers. The church should not jettison this biblical instruction.
http://www.biblelighthouse.com/sacraments/baptism-ot.htm
ReplyDeleteThere's a start. If we take the things in the old testament that Paul explicitly tells us were baptisms, then infants were baptized in the old testament, thus it's the norm. I've never heard a biblical reason for thinking that the new, allegedly better covenant requires an IQ test. Doesn't the parable of the sower and the warnings in Hebrews answer the question about what happened to baptized kids (or adults) who fall away? I would make the assertion that apostasy is REAL. They had to fall away from something. Anyone who is not faithful to their baptism has apostatized. I guess I don't see a problem.
Thanks for your response, Jeremy, but I don't see that you answered my question about the breaking of the covenant. Certainly there are apostates who fall away no matter what form of baptism is used (and I might add that believers' baptism is often performed without a clear testimony of faith...but that's another subject). Out of curiosity, does your church perform believers' baptisms for adult converts?
ReplyDeleteJeannette,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote,
"My question is...what happened to the covenant in the event those children don't become followers of Christ?"
The answer is, Nothing. The covenant that God makes with the recipient of baptism (infant/child) remains in effect whether or not they believe. Thus, for the rebellious person who was raised in the church, the covenant that God made with them in baptism stands as a witness against them condemning them for their lack of faith.
We see evidence of this all throughout the Old Testament. God made a covenant with Jacob and Esau through the sign of circumcision yet only one, Jacob, believed the promises of God. Esau's circumcision testifies to God's covenant promises and to Esau's rejection of those promises. Similarly God made a covenant with the Israelites through circumcision yet they wandered in the Promised Land because they 'heard the message but it did not benefit them, because they did not believe' (Hebrews 4:2 read the entire chapter for context and 3:12-18).
We can talk more off line.
Thanks for the explanation, Dave. My intent was not to begin a debate. I have considered the view of Covenant Theology, but I remain convinced that the explicit teaching of the Scriptures is that baptism is a profession of faith of the new creation in Christ.
ReplyDelete