- Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ~ Matthew 28:19 (NLT)
- Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." ~ Acts 2:38-39 (TNIV)
- Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. ~ Romans 6:3-4 (NLT)
- And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ~ Galatians 3:27 (NLT)
- There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism... ~ Ephesians 4:5 (NLT)
- And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 3:21 (NLT)
A teacher who has been important in my life is a man named Donald Frisk. He gives a good introduction to the idea of sacraments. His writing is specific to the context of the Evangelical Covenant Church (the church body of which I am a part, see note #1 below) but what he writes easily applies to all Protestant churches. He says:
One of the temptations of the Believer's Church is to become preoccupied with spiritual experience for its own sake. Because emphasis is placed on the consciously appropriated grace of God and on the immediacy of personal relationships in the believing fellowship, it is easy for religious experience to become a primary concern. We may find ourselves speaking more about our experience than about the Gospel which makes the experience possible. The Good news which we have to proclaim is not what happened to us (wonderful though that may be) but that Jesus Christ died for sinners and was raised for their justification.Here are some of the key ideas that we keep in mind when we talk about sacraments:
In the preamble of the Constitution of the Evangelical Covenant Church two important statements are juxtaposed. The one says that we cherish "the reality of a fellowship of believers which recognizes but transcends theological differences." The sentence implies recognition of the presence of Christ in the experience of the members of the fellowship. It also recognizes the diversity of ways in which Christ is perceived among those who truly believe in him. We are persuaded that the fellowship is enriched and its awareness of the power and grace of Christ is deepened through sharing its experiences of him. But the Church does not find its center in spiritual experience. When the Church is "gathered," it is not gathered around its testimony but around the Gospel. Its center is always the Word of God.
The second statement proclaims that we cherish "the belief in baptism and the Lord's supper as divinely ordained sacraments of the Church." These words direct attention away from experience as such to the sacraments which, together with the Word of which they are sacramental signs, speak unambiguously of Christ's atoning death and resurrection.
The sacraments are signs or symbols which point beyond themselves. They are symbols not of our human experience, but of the Gospel. In every sacrament there is the sign and the thing signified; there is the natural referent (the visible ceremonial action with its common, everyday elements such as water or bread) and the divine referent (the gracious action of God in his Son for our redemption). In this sense a true sacrament, is, as Augustine said, verbum visible, that is the Word made visible in the action of the Church, just as the Word is made audible in the preaching of the Church.
In God's Eternal Plan of Salvation, Waldenström(2) takes up the question of the Sacraments and devotes several paragraphs to their proper understanding as he sees it. His concern is to avoid two extremes. The one is to attribute to the sacraments a quasi-magical power by which they, automatically, bestow salvation upon those who receive them. The other extreme is to think of the sacraments as mere signs or bare tokens which are simply reminders of spiritual reality or the expressions of our own faith.
With respect to baptism, Waldenström rejects every claim that it is efficacious ex opere operato, that is, by virtue of having been performed. That would reduce baptism to magic and equate the act with regeneration. But Waldenström also rejects the other extreme -- that baptism is merely a witness which we make to our acceptance of Christ. While there is an element of witness in all baptism, that is not its essential meaning, Waldenström contends. Avoiding both extremes he sees baptism as a symbolic action of the Church through which the grace of God which was made available at Calvary is made present to our faith...
Waldenström's view has its focus on the close and inseparable association of the Sacraments and the Word. The Sacraments are ways in which the message of the Gospel is brought to bear on individual lives (Acts 2:38; 1 peter 3:21). Like the Word they are "means of grace," channels through which God seeks to communicate himself (Ephesians 5:25-27). They persuasively re-present Christ in his Church. Like the Word they must be received in faith, for there can be no communication of saving grace apart from the Holy Spirit who quickens response to it.(3)
- They are given to us by Christ.
- They focus more on what Christ does than our own faith experience.
- They are not magical.
- They are mystery.
- They are means of grace.
- They work in harmony with the Word and the Holy Spirit.
- They are received by faith.
We probably need to point out that there is no magic in Christianity. Faith in Christ can never be reduced to a formula to manipulate the spirit world. Some might be tempted to say that if we read our Bibles for a certain amount of time everyday and if we pray in such and such a way, then God will have to respond and bless us. Likewise, they might say that if you get baptized properly and have the Lord's Supper every day -- week -- or month that such action will automatically make you a better Christian.
Those are formulas that go with a quasi-magic mindset. And this is not at all what we're saying when we describe the sacraments as a mystery. Mystery and magic are not the same thing.
Let's look briefly at how baptism strengthens our faith. Perhaps the easiest way to explain it is to draw a parallel between baptism and the proclamation of God's Word. In the reading of Scripture, or in the preaching of it, we hear with our ears. These words then proceed to our minds and our imaginations where they are imprinted and are available for future reference. The Holy Spirit uses these imprinted words and ideas to change how we see ourselves and our world. Our behavior adjusts accordingly.
In baptism we experience the Word through the sensation of touch. The Word of God is communicated to us as the water washes us. These sensations proceed to our minds and our imaginations where they are imprinted and are available for future reference. The Holy Spirit uses these imprinted sensations to change how we see ourselves and our world. Our behavior adjusts accordingly.
As with the proclamation of the Word, in baptism we are not necessarily fully aware of what is happening -- even with adults. Through the years, day in and day out, like the movement of the tides, we return over and over again to the significance of the sacrament.
What is that significance? Scripture, while not trying to give us a systematic theology of baptism, does provide us with great insight as to the meaning and importance of it. Here are some of the basic ideas(4):
- In baptism we become participants in the death of Christ and in the newness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5)
- In baptism we are incorporated into his Name. (Acts 19:5; Matthew 28:19)
- In baptism we are united with Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
- In baptism we are preparing ourselves to hear more of the Gospel. (Luke 7:29-30)
- In baptism we are incorporated into Christ's body, the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2:41)
- In baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; John 3:5; Titus 3:5)
- In baptism we have a sign of repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11)
- In baptism we are washed (Acts 22:16; Titus 3:5)
Sometimes I encounter a problem during my day which requires me to do some math or to construct a complex sentence in English. At first it seems too hard. But then I remember that on a hot evening in June of 1974, I walked across the platform and the principal handed me my high school diploma. I have been trained in math. I have had a lot of language instruction. I know how to think! I am a high school graduate! That's who I am!
So I stop and with renewed confidence figure out the problem. I do so in light of the preparation I have received and with the confidence given to me by my diploma. Baptism functions in a similar way. We live each moment and struggle through each problem aware of our status as baptized Christians. The big difference is that in high school (or college!) we are awarded a diploma based on our own achievements. In baptism we are awarded a diploma, so to speak, based on Christ's achievements. Yet, we claim his status as our own through baptism and live our lives as baptized people. By the grace of God I can do this! I am a baptized Christian! That's who I am!
Some people come from church traditions which practice the baptism of infants. Occasionally those people feel slighted because they cannot remember their own baptismal experience. They were just too young to remember. But the actual recollection of the moment is not as important as having that moment as the ongoing reference point. Living out your baptism is more important than have a lucid memory of it. Even those who were baptized as infants can own the moment as their own and can let it define their lives.
Martin Luther wrote:
Although the ceremony itself is soon over, the thing it signifies continues until we die, yes, even until we rise on the last day. For as long as we live we are continually doing that which baptism signifies. That is, we die and rise again... For our whole life should be baptism and the fulfilling of the sign or sacrament.(5)In other words, in baptism we have more than an experience with water. We have the framework for living life as a Christian. We wake up each morning and we say to ourselves, "Wow, another great day to serve the Lord! How am I going to live out my baptism today?"
SECTION #17 NOTES
1) The Evangelical Covenant Church is a relatively small North American denomination with "roots in historical Christianity as it emerged in the Protestant Reformation, in the biblical instruction of the Lutheran State Church of Sweden, and in the great spiritual awakenings of the nineteenth century." Online: covchurch.org
(2) Paul Petter Waldenström, 1838-1917, Swedish theologian. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Petter_Waldenström
(3) Donald C. Frisk, Covenant Affirmations: This We Believe (Chicago, Covenant Publications, 1981, 2003), pp. 134-135.
(4) I am relying heavily on the list that Frisk provides, p. 136.
(5) Martin Luther, The Babylonian Captivity, 3.24-26.
SECTION #17 ASSIGNMENT
I know that some of these questions are really hard and will require a lot of thinking to come up with good answers. I am intentionally stretching your minds. That is the point of the exercise.
1. I used some really unusual words in the section today. Pick three words that you have not heard before and write a proper definition for each. (6 points possible)
2. Why do you think that baptism is only done once and is not a repeated act? Look over the material again and come to a conclusion based on what was presented. The more developed the answer the more points you can earn. (14 points possible)
3. Describe a baptism where you have been present. Explain what happens in as much detail as you can remember. (10 points possible)
4. Sometimes we treat sacred actions as magic. What do you think I mean by that statement? What is the difference between treating sacraments as magic and treating them as mystery? (10 points possible)
Again, email your essay to me at bboydston@piu.edu. Write your answers in the email itself -- or if you use a word processor, copy and paste the answers into the email. Make sure that your name, the name which you used to register for this class, appears at the top of the work.
I will respond to you as soon as possible. Do not wait for a response from me before you start working on your next assignment.
