Baptising Babies [Acts 16:9-15]

Michael del Rio, Sunday 20 May 2007

Stephen Lawhead, the Christian science and historical fiction author writes in one of his novels “Unless the pilgrim carry with him the thing he seeks, he will not find it when he arrives.” This morning we are considering the importance and significance of baptism, and these words suggest something of what I believe baptism means. In receiving this sign of the covenant, this mark upon us, we are beginning a journey, the significance of which may not be realised for many years, yet the invisible mark of which upon us may be the very catalyst that leads to that understanding in later life.

The story we have heard read this morning relates to the conversion and baptism of Lydia, the Apostle Paul’s first convert to Christianity in Europe. I’d like us to spend a few minutes reflecting on this story this morning and on the wider significance of the idea of household baptism. In particular I want us to think about the purpose and effect of baptism, the reason for baptising infants and our responsibilities towards the baptised in our care.

Lydia, a worshipper of God

Lydia is a gentile believer. She’s not a Jew, but she believes in the one true God. She has faith in the Old Testament sense and trusts in the God of the Jews. But this belief and trust in God is not complete because she doesn’t yet know of Jesus, nor has she been baptised into His Church.

However, her sudden acceptance of this new teaching that Paul has brought to Macedonia is not just the swaying of her heart by persuasive speech. Rather, we are told ‘The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.’

So, faith is not simply a matter of choice. It is the Lord, acting by His Spirit upon our wills, who enables us to respond in faith to the message of Christ. This is what we in the Church call grace- God’s free gift to His people of salvation- the ability to accept by faith what we cannot earn by our actions.

Lydia’s response to the message which she has received by grace, and accepted by faith, is to be baptised. But not her alone… ‘she and her household were baptised’. And who are her household? Well, they would have included her family, her dependants and her servants.

Baptism Today

Now, why is this story significant for us today? Well, it’s one of those occasions in the New Testament when baptism is applied not simply to the person who professes faith, but to their whole household. We don’t know whether there were any babies in this household, but there may well have been infants unable to profess faith for themselves. However, the wider significance of these ‘household baptisms’ is that they support the idea that the New Covenant between God and His people, the outward and visible sign of which is baptism, works in much the same way as the Old Covenant between God and Israel, the outward and visible sign of which was circumcision in the flesh.

Under the Old Covenant all male children were circumcised on the eighth day. Every male within a Jewish household had to be circumcised, whether they were of the Jewish race or not. The sign of circumcision was a way of setting apart the people of God from surrounding nations. It was a mark in the flesh which ‘branded’ them if you like, as holy, or distinct. But, circumcision of the flesh did not guarantee a person’s salvation as there are numerous occasions in the Old Testament where covenant breakers are punished and where a distinction is made between physical circumcision and circumcision of the heart (i.e. a genuine conversion experience).

In the New Covenant (i.e. Christianity), baptism quickly replaces circumcision. At the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, just before this story we are looking at this morning, the Church leaders decide that circumcision is no longer necessary. Just as circumcision was applied to every male child of a Jewish household, so too baptism seems to have been applied to every member (both male and female) of a Christian household. Thus this sign of the covenant becomes the mark of holiness, that is ‘being set aside for God’. Once again it is not a guarantee of our salvation, but it does confer the blessings of the covenant community upon all the baptised (child or adult). Furthermore, if we raise our children in accordance with Jesus’ teaching then we can have confidence that in due time they will come to faith.

And so in coming here this morning we have gathered to witness the baptism of these children as a sign that they are being welcomed into the community of the church fellowship. Parents, godparents and church members alike, have a duty to ensure that these children are given every opportunity to grow into faith and, that in due time, they should be able to make a public profession of their own acceptance of the faith when they come for confirmation. This point of personal conversion is the same as what was referred to in the Old Testament as ‘the circumcision of the heart’. It is this acceptance by grace, through faith, of Christ into our lives that is the guarantee of our own salvation.

So, you might ask the question, well if we don’t believe that baptism actually saves, why do we bother with it at all? There are several points to be considered in response to that question:

1. When we baptise a child we are welcoming them through an outward and visible sign into the community of faith, and making a vow before God that we will raise this child in the knowledge and love of Him.

2. We are asking God to recognise this child as His own, so that until the child reaches an age of majority and personal responsibility, they may be treated as and recognised as full members of the church fellowship, until such time as they may outwardly profess or reject faith.

3. As Christians we believe that all human beings receive some benefits from being created in the image of God- we call this ‘common grace’. We all live under the warmth of the sun, enjoy the breeze on the seashore, and eat the fruits of the earth. However, we also believe that those who are welcomed into the covenant community, or the fellowship of the church family, receive other benefits from being called children of God. Jesus Himself rebuked His disciples when they tried to prevent parents from bringing their children to Him for a blessing. Jesus said that the Kingdom belonged to such as these (i.e. children).

We don’t believe there is any magical change derived from the ceremony of baptism, but we do believe that as an act of obedience to the teaching of Scripture, we should receive baptism as an outward and visible sign of the promises of God.

Saving Grace

Many Christians reject the baptism of those not able to make a decision to follow Christ for themselves. But baptism, in our understanding, is merely the beginning of a journey in which we entrust ourselves and our family to the mercy of God. We baptise our children, even those too young to recognise the significance of this sacrament, because we believe that in doing so we are seeking God’s saving grace for our children. We are asking Him to work in a special way to bring those raised in our care to a saving faith. Circumcision was a mark in the flesh which no male child in a Jewish household could fail to recognise. It was a daily reminder that he was a child of the covenant. The mark of baptism is not so permanently visible, and yet it functions in the same way.

When we choose to baptise our children we are making a promise to God and if we fail to keep our end of the bargain, then that promise becomes as much a testimony against us as failing to seek baptism at all. The sacraments are both a sign and a warning. Baptism and Holy Communion are signs of the special and unique relationship which believers and their offspring have with the living God. Earlier on in the Book of Acts we are told that at the end of his sermon on the Day of Pentecost Peter says “Repent and be baptised…. [and then] For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him.” This mirrors God’s promise in the Old Testament to Abraham that He would “establish [His]… covenant between Abraham and Himself, and Abraham’s offspring throughout all generations” (Genesis 17:7).

However, just as the sacraments are signs of the strength of the bond between God and us, if wrongly used they can become signs of God’s righteous judgement against us. In the Old Testament God demanded that His people keep the rules and regulations of His covenant on pain of punishment. In the New Covenant we possess a new kind of freedom in Christ, but for those guilty of apostasy (i.e. rejecting and denying Christ) these signs of the covenant are a mark of judgement.

However, the good news is that in receiving the sacraments with a right attitude we are committing our way to God and seeking His grace. God is faithful and promises to meet our needs if we place our trust in Him.

So, we baptise children not because we want to convey a message of false security, i.e. you’re baptised therefore you’re alright… heaven is assured. Rather, we baptise children because we believe that the promises of God are both for ourselves and our children, and that as long as our children grow up in the faith which we ourselves profess, then all the promises of God belong to them too.

But all of this places a tremendous emphasis on the way in which we raise our children. It’s often said in education that ‘parents are the first educators of their children’. If we present to our offspring a model of godly living, and faithful proclamation of the gospel in word and deed, then we can receive prayerful assurance that they will grow up in the Lord. So many times I have heard parents testify that they have continued to pray for their children even when their children seemed to be in rebellion and rejecting the gospel. And so many times those same children have realised the error of their ways and returned to the fold. God responds to our prayers and if we accept the signs of the covenant we are asking for His help in a very special and unique way.

Conclusion

And so, let me conclude this morning by saying that baptism is an outward and visible sign that we are making a commitment for ourselves and for our household to the way of God. It is not a magical ceremony which conveys instant salvation upon us or our children. Rather, it is a sign that we are taking the promises of God seriously and that we wish His aid to raise our family in the faith so that in due time they may come to know and love Him for themselves, and enjoy His presence forever in His eternal Kingdom.