Dear Friends,This Sunday, we have the privilege and the blessing to witness a baptism. Whenever we have a baptism, it is not only an excellent time to reflect on our own baptism, but also upon God's amazing grace to us in Christ and God's wonderful covenant love to households.In preparation for this sacrament, let's take time to reflect on what we believe about baptism and why it is important. One of the best resources for this is the Westminster Confession of Faith which serves as our doctrinal standard on what we believe the Bible teaches about baptism.Chapter 28 of the Confession
- Baptism is a sacrament of the new testament that was ordained by Jesus Christ.
- Baptism serves as a sign of our visible membership with body of Christ.
- Baptism is a covenant sign.
- Baptism is not only for those that profess faith in and obedience to Christ, but also for the infants of one, or both, believing parents.
- Baptism is not efficacious. In other words, the act of water being poured onto you does not save you. It is only the work of the Holy Spirit working grace into the heart of a person that saves.
There is a TON of confusion about baptism - what it means and what it does. Even faithful, Bible believing people and denominations disagree on baptism. But we must remember that the sacraments are one of the marks that Jesus has given to the church to set us apart from the world. Baptism is a visible sign of an invisible grace that God works in our hearts and lives.As this child is baptized this Sunday, reflect on your own baptism and praise God for His Amazing Grace! Please see below for some excellent video resources on Infant Baptism.See you Sunday!by His grace and to His praise,Wilson |
