Selected Scriptures

March 5, 2017

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

Download the bulletin.

Download the Kids’ Korner.

The sermon starts at 15:50 in the audio file.

Or, Questions for Credo Baptism

For a couple reasons we’re going to have to wait another week to find out what the seven ugly cows symbolize in Genesis 41. This morning I’m going to teach about baptism, and that is because of timing and because of some fire in my bones. These are relevant things for our worship, and now is a good time to talk about them.

One reason for talking about baptism today is that I intended to talk about baptism two Sundays ago, on the Lord’s Day before the marriage seminar. I’d been brainstorming for a while about preaching about the relationship between liturgy and marriage for the morning service of the seminar, and I’d also observed that Genesis 41 is fiddy-seven verses long, justifying a two-part study. Rather than cover half the chapter and then wait two weeks I thought a one-part-something would fit. I was planning to preach on baptism.

It turns out that Jim preached that morning since I was gone, then we talked about spouses and worship, and so I could get back to Genesis 41 today without fear of splitting up the study, but I will next week.

Baptism is a subject that has come up in a couple ways recently. Since our liturgy leans toward the Reformed, even Presbyterian direction, we have some more covenantal types paying us attention. The question comes up, “Will you baptize our babies?” or, “Will you accept that I was baptized as a baby?” The elders have talked about it at a couple of our meetings and we think the answer is No. We won’t baptize babies nor do we think it’s right. Why? It’s a reasonable question.

At the same time we are baptizing younger kids, some younger than perhaps everyone is comfortable with. We have another baptism scheduled for Resurrection Sunday evening, six weeks from today. So what do we expect when it comes to a child’s profession of faith? Maybe if we work through those questions it will help parents disciple their children in regard to professing their faith in Christ in baptism.

So let’s work through why we’re credo not paedo baptizers and then talk about the initial, foundational credo that should be professed.

Credo NOT Paedo

Credo is a Latin verb translated “I believe” or even “I confess.” The creeds and confessions in church history, such as The Apostles’ Creed (which begins, Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,), are called “creeds” because they are a statement of what someone believes.

Paedo is a Latin noun for “child,” but in this discussion it usually refers to an infant, a newborn baby.

Credo-baptizters (such as Baptists) baptize based on one’s belief in Christian doctrine and paedo-baptizers (such as Lutherans, Presbyterians, Christian Reformed, Methodists, and of course, Catholics) baptize based on one’s birth to Christian parents.

Both sides agree that when the gospel is preached to a man for the first time, and that man repents of his sin and turns from his false worship to put his faith in Jesus Christ, he should be baptized. First generation converts—who are necessarily old enough to know what is happening—must be baptized as part of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18).

The question comes when that Christian has kids. Those kids are born into a what is now a Christian home, and should those children be raised as unbelievers? Paul told the parents in the church in Ephesus to raise their kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). In other words, fathers should raise believers. Christian parents should raise worshippers. Christian parents should not let their child wander in spiritual indecision until sometime when he can make his informed decision. Fathers are to inform the minds and consciences of their sons and daughters by the Word and among the church. But not all credo-baptists have been so dutiful.

One very reasonable cri[...]