Baptism and Holy Communion: the Sacraments

Episcopalian conformation class asks this question on the first night: what is a sacrament?  The answer is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace.  Roman Catholic catechism teaches that they are rites in which God is uniquely active.  If a sacrament is a sign or symbol, what makes them different from other symbols?  What is this invisible Grace and why is it important?  How is God uniquely active in these rites?  

Grace is the gift of God that we receive that includes not just our Justification by faith in Christ alone in His atoning and propitiating death and resurrection, not just our Sanctification through our Baptism and subsequent participation in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and in hearing the Word preached correctly, but the action of the Holy Spirit entering our minds and hearts as we participate in these activities.  The richness and depth of the sacraments is lost in the terse answers supplied in these catechisms.  My slightly less brief paragraph falls exceedingly short of conveying the importance of the sacraments.  Let’s look at them more closely.

Baptism is the first of the two Biblically supported sacraments.  All Christian denominations practice Baptism of some sort, but not all believe that the same theology is behind it.  Many doctrines of the church come into play here, so I will focus on the Reformed position.  Covenant theology and the idea of Sacrament are important components of this issue. 

There are two basic schools of Baptism: Paedobaptism and Credobaptism.  The nutshell version of this division is that Paedobaptism is infant Baptism and Credobaptism is adult or believers’ Baptism.  But the issue is far deeper and goes the very root of the question, “What is a sacrament?” What is important to understand is that the reformed do not view sacraments as mere ordinances of the church.  Sacraments are the visible and current avenues of the believer receiving those doses of Grace throughout our lives that transform and Sanctify us to His Holy Name.  We also receive Grace through the weekly hearing of the Gospel preached correctly and the administering of His Holy Communion.  Baptism in this context is the Covenant seal of Grace upon a soul, on the child of a believer, into the Body of Christ, His church.   Is Baptism necessary?  Absolutely!  Baptism is the Covenant seal of Jesus, fulfilling the Covenant with Abraham.  Baptism is the new circumcision through Christ.  The words of Baptism say that it marks you as Christ’s own forever.  Men and women both have access to this new circumcision, to the seal of this New Covenant.  In Baptism, we accompany Christ in his death and resurrection through the water ritual that seals His Covenant with us.  God does all of the work in Baptism, regardless of the age of the person being Baptized.  The action is by the Grace of God alone acting through the Holy Spirit to seal us into the Covenant of Abraham renewed and fulfilled by Jesus, the Christ.  What greater demonstration of God’s Grace is there than infant Baptism!

After Baptism, we are immersed in the weekly preaching of the Word correctly and the administration of Holy Communion, by which we are Sanctified over the course of our lives.  Notice that God provides everything to us.  We listen and we receive.  God did everything for Justification, and, get this, He does everything for Sanctification as well!  My God, how great is Your Grace!

Let’s contrast this with Credobaptism for a moment.  The idea behind the believers’ Baptism is that a person must be of the age of accountability, usually 12 or 13, so that he understands what he is doing.  In these circles of Credobaptism, there will be some conditions set forth for Baptism.  You may have to attend certain classes, classes that in Paedobaptist churches are associated with catechism or confirmation.  The irony is that we expect our adults to come as little children to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and then don’t allow our little children to participate in the Kingdom of Heaven.  

An argument is made that a child is unable to understand the purpose of Baptism and therefore cannot participate in the sacrament.  The reformed take issue with this statement on two grounds.  First, Baptism is a sacrament.  All of the action of a sacrament is by virtue of the Holy Spirit acting alone through Grace.  Therefore, this view of Baptism relegates Baptism to a mere office of the church on level footing with marriage or ordination.  It is important, but only in a symbolic way.  Secondly, the idea becomes Arminian, that is, we have to participate in the action.  This is no longer the wholly sufficient result of Christ’s Resurrection and Grace acting through the Holy Spirit.  Credobaptism, thought of in these terms, actually diminishes Justification by attacking the sufficiency of the resurrection.

Using John the Baptist as an example of the meaning of Baptism, or Jesus Himself for that matter, is a difficult proposition. The reason is simple. John never once Baptized a person after the Resurrection. In fact, John wrote to Jesus to ask if Jesus were truly the Messiah just before he was executed.  The point of Jesus’ Baptism, then, was to receive the sacrament as an example to us that this was the new Circumcision.  Jesus, as the first member of the world yet to come, has to participate in this sacrament in order to be counted as a member in His human state.  The imputation Christ’s righteousness does not work unless Jesus has set up the conditions for us in His own life that seal the deal for us. 

The first and most important issue is the Covenant of Adam. Adam broke the Law Covenant and one important mission of Jesus' life was to become the one and only keeper of the Law Covenant. The second was to establish a New Covenant in Him. There are references galore throughout the Synoptics in which Jesus refers to this new covenant in Him. Start with the Last Supper and the words he spoke over the wine. The point is that in these two missions, He needed to fulfill the Old Covenant for us and establish the New Covenant in Him. In the OT, we have the sacrificial system of the Jews that Jesus ends. In its place, he gives us new sacraments.

Circumcision was the sign of the Covenant with Abraham. Read Genesis 12-18. This goes over the whole story of Abraham. It is through Abraham's seed (Jesus) that Gentiles are grafted into the Abrahamic Covenant. Now read Galatians 3. Focus on verses 23-29. Paul states very plainly that the church inherits the promise to Abraham. In this promise, there is no male or female. All are one in Christ. So, how is the Covenant of Abraham sealed? By circumcision. How is the New Covenant of Jesus sealed? By Baptism. The parallel is quite clear. Every Reformed confession of faith from Calvin's Institutes to the Canons of Dort has emphasized this relationship and confirmed the principle of Paedobaptism.

Historically, Credobaptism is the new kid on the block. Therefore, the burden of proof falls on that side. Credobaptists have to talk down 16 centuries of church history as heretical. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't wash with me unless the proof is overwhelming. And it just isn't. Paul twice baptizes whole households. While infants and children are not specifically mentioned, neither are they specifically excluded. I understand that arguments from the negative are problematic, but it is important to understand that the weakness of the PaedoBaptist argument is carried by the Credobaptist argument as well, thus negating the issue. The Bible does not ANYWHERE forbid infant Baptism.

At the end of the day, this is not a soteriology issue.  Baptism does not render Salvation.  Because of this much disagreement remains on the issue.  First of all, Salvation occurs at Judgment Day. We have Justification and Sanctification for this world. Whether we skip to Salvation at death or on the final day is not a problem for us in this world, but Salvation is a judgment verdict.  Credobaptists do NOT think that Baptism ensures Salvation, neither side does that. Both sides agree, however, that Baptism is essential. The theology behind the Baptism for credobaptists is different. For one, Baptism really isn't a sacrament. For the other, paedobaptists, Baptism IS a sacrament and a Covenant seal.  It is possible to be sealed into a Covenant and receive the rewards of this world through that covenant, but fail to receive Salvation despite Baptism.  Arguably, this has been the case for many Jews who have been circumcised and received the benefits of national Israel without being received into the Kingdom of God.  The Pharisees have to be considered in this category.  This is not a repudiation of the perseverance of the Saints.  This is a rather a confirmation of the doctrine of election.  Baptism is necessary, but Baptism does not confer Salvation.

Holy Communion is the sacrament by which we receive the Grace of God in a Covenant Renewal Ceremony.  The violence done to the Lord’s Supper in modern Evangelical circles is horrifying.  There is no ceremony and no Grace.  We are given bread and grape juice (Christian Liberty is coming soon to a post near you!) and told to go off by ourselves and commune with God on our own.  There is no corporate renewal of the Covenant of Abraham.  There is no demonstration of God’s Grace to His people.  Instead, we are told to go inside ourselves and commune with God.  This is no less an invitation for as many personal heresies are there are people in the room.  This is Pelagianism and this is heresy.

In conclusion, I commend this book to your edification on Baptism.  It does a great job of discussing Covenant Theology and its relationship to Baptism.

--Troll--