9.24.24

This week is family Sunday and we are focusing on a more kid-friendly, shortened service followed by a meal (meal sign ups can be found on the newsletter page).

This week we will be baptizing and dedicating any babies that parents desire to (and if you’re still interested, talk to Alan). Baptism itself has its roots in the Old Testament, where God made a covenant with Abraham, and gave him a sign of that covenant, circumcision. Remember, we have talked about a covenant as being a legally binding relationship between two parties. It was God’s promise to be our personal, intimate God, and for us to be his treasured people. But his people broke that covenant, unable and unwilling to follow God. And so God issued a certificate of divorce for his people. Yes, our God is a divorced person, having dismissed his people for their spiritual unfaithfulness.

As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, God envisioned a new covenant coming. A covenant that would be unbreakable, because God himself promised to fulfill both his end of the bargain as well as ours. He would demand holiness and allegiance to him. And he would fulfill the obedience of his people by becoming one of us himself. And so in Jesus, we have a new covenantal relationship with God. God promises to be our personal, intimate God, and we are forever his beloved people.

And the sign of this new covenant is baptism. Like the covenant it replaces, the sign of water baptism replaces the old cutting of the flesh sign of circumcision. And while the New Testament is silent on the issue of baptizing babies (thus, the difference of opinion on the matter), we do have the biblical pattern to look at. The sign of the old covenant was to be applied to his people and their male children at 8 days of age. In fact, it wasn’t an option, it was a requirement. It was to be applied in advance of any personal response on the part of the child, as the parents were claiming God’s covenantal promises in hopeful anticipation of what God would do in and through that child.

In addition, both signs signified the same thing: the washing or cutting away of the “filth” of our hearts. And both are signs of the parents claiming God’s covenantal promises in advance. One of the biggest misunderstandings of baptism in general, is that many have come to see it as “our” sign of commitment to God. But the Bible is clear, both under the old covenant as well as the new, that circumcision and baptism are God’s signs of covenantal faithfulness to us. If you see baptism as “my sign” of commitment to God, then clearly it would be unavailable to infants until they make their own profession of faith.

At City Church, we recognize that baptizing babies - while biblical- may be a difficult for some to embrace. And so we offer child dedication as well. Both are dedications, while baptism specifically claims the parent’s covenantal promises on behalf of their child.