Tag Archives: children

January 17, 2012

Baptism Last Call

By Pooka

Cover for Item ReviewedContinuing from Sunday’s Baptism Retread, I want to demonstrate this from my own past and that of my kids. My oldest, was “baptized” into a pagan family. She was born to witches and dedicated in accordance with her family’s beliefs. No choice there.

Now we were more honest than Christians at the time as well. We, as parents, determined to raise our daughter with freedom to choose her beliefs by not explicitly indoctrinating her into witchcraft’s creeds or practices. Credo-baptist Christians do not do this with their own – they create a half-way dilemma for their kids in which the dedication and upbringing are Christian, but do not provide for inclusion in the covenant family of God. Essentially, this creates pagans being accepted into the family and church. Does the term Christian-in-name-only come to mind?

The world has the concept of baptism down perfectly. Children born outside the church, to non-Christian families are “baptized” into the religion of their fathers by full acceptance as just what they are; no “of age” requirements or professions of faith required at any point in order to become part of the family or culture or nation.

Once again, it seems most natural to me to think that the position of “believer’s baptism” as the only acceptable view of baptism is backward and unfaithful to the Scripture and God’s revealed system.

For additional reference:

I find that the arguments against paedobaptism are similar to the arguments against paedocommunion. I think that the analyses of PC are fitting where they do not similarly suit PB. Analyses of PB included in these references point toward validating the baptism of infants and young children. So far, it appears that PC isn’t for minor children because of the complexity, obligation and depth of the Lord’s Supper as opposed to baptism.

OPC paedocommunion – a great layout of the scriptural and historical grounds concerning paedocommunion.

PCA paedocommunion – a collection of position papers and statements on the issue.

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January 15, 2012

Baptism Retread

By Pooka

http://www.newlifelamesa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/hero-baptism.jpg

I have a few more thoughts on infant baptism. Stuff I didn’t mention here in three big arguments for covenant baptism.

Primarily, I’d like to discuss this in a way that demonstrates how God’s system permeates even our “godless” society and traditions. Children are remarkably claimed by everything into which they are born, except for One Big Thing which mystifies me to no end. A year ago I was unsettled and unwilling to commit to the idea of infant, or covenant, baptism. It was foreign to me, and didn’t make much sense. I was more than willing to at least explore the idea, being more than aware that my Christian education was lacking in most areas, especially in the Reformed ideas of covenants and sacraments. So I read. And read and read. And then I wrote. And wrote.

Denial of infant baptism actually breaks a pattern that has been running for millenia. I’ll keep it really brief. Children have had no choice in things like birth-parents, family name, Christian name, nationality, race, religion or what’s-for-dinner for as long as children have been around. Why in the world do we come up with the idea that they are not members of the church? The church is not a business that only “hires” people of legal working age. The church has never been a club that “cards” prospective patrons to see if they’re old enough to enter. The church has ever been considered an outpost, a consulate or embassy of God’s kingdom in the world. Therefore, I think it should make sense to baptize infants with the understanding that essentially is corroborated by practices of historical and modern custom and legal matters. Here are some references.

Birth abroad … Citizenship … Family Law Basics

Now, to quell the suspicion that I’m using the World to interpret the Bible in a Christian issue that needs to be resolved, I must refer back to my previous posts and the Word in general to make the claim that there’s no argument here. The Scriptures assume, just as they assume covenants in general, that children born to believing parents (or covenant families) are considered participants in the covenants. Isaac did not have to wait to be the covenant child until Genesis 24. Jacob and Esau did not have to wait until they were “of age” to begin the battle of who would be the continuation of the Promise. The firstborn children of Israel had no say in their survival on the day of the passover when the Lord’s angel came into Egypt and started the holocaust.

In every case of children I can think of, none had to prove themselves or hit a certain age before they were anointed or circumcised or sprinkled. Children were partakers of the covenants of God as soon as they entered into the world. The fact that there was this mysterious baptism thing in the New Testament really doesn’t come to bear on the children:

  1. They didn’t need to be included in the revision of being called out: They inherited whatever was going to happen, regardless, because they were children.
  2. Baptism was simply a modal shift from circumcision, not an entirely new practice that completely wiped out all past meaning and practices from the times of the Patriarchs. In fact, Baptism wasn’t even an entirely new idea in the first place. What people apparently are all worked up over was nothing more than the most obvious and poignant means of “setting apart” or “cutting off” seen in circumcision. Baptism, sprinkling, anointing and other means of marking the one who belonged to the covenant all made it into the omnibus version of applying God’s promises in word and touch – baptism.
  3. They weren’t the main actors! Those in the New Testament were primarily conversant adults because they were required to interact with Jesus and His apostles on the level at which the Scriptures speak. And those adults were automatically responsible for those children.
  4. Jesus gave it to them, without mention of their age or eligibility: Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)

Finally, we who are believers in the doctrine of election, of God’s sovereignty, all should be convinced that it is God’s work and choice that we have become His children and that we were not really given the option to turn to Him for our salvation. He dragged us, kicking and screaming, from our place at the brink of hell into His courts where we may enjoy Him forever. What more could help us to understand that His children are as much in our place as we are? More so, for we were afar off, but our children, born into our Christian families and churches are not so far off, are they?

I hope that helps.

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November 18, 2011

How To Get That Old Time Religion

By Pooka

Based on yesterday’s LONG post, here’s a shorter one.

Remember this part?

A few weeks ago, I put up a little bit about how painful it must have been to be one of the convicted Pharisees at Peters Big Sermon at Pentecost (I should rename the post “Cut To The Heart Thrice“). Think about this:

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Those Pharisees were almost certainly thinking of what they had done to their families! When Peter said this (emphasis mine):

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

We know what happened:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Look again at Peter’s response:

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.”

Imagine their response to Peter. Here, I’ll help.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved

But think about this. If I’m right and the Pharisees were deeply grieved in their awareness of the vast curse they’d brought upon their families, how much more the impact on their souls when Peter gave them the absolution they so needed to hear. They changed radically because the seeds were already planted. Their lineage (think Abraham and how important that theme means) was saved! That is, if you understand the covenantal undergirding of this exchange between Peter and the Jews.

Now,

Think about this: We can best understand how Christ saved us by this very same covenantal perspective. How can He save us if there is no such thing as the covenant that Adam broke, Abraham received, Moses continued, Prophets and Judges and Kings and Priests maintained and returned to year after year? It’s The One Thing that best explains all this. God imputed Christ’s righteousness to His Children! He has died for us and our children – all those God has chosen for His Son.

Now how do we deny the same thing for our children? They’re God’s to do with as He pleases. According to the Bible and its covenants He pleases to have them brought to the sacraments of our church and to be a part of the covenant community.

How did Moses think about the prediction God gave him at the end of his days?

Then the Lord appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent. And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?’ And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

Maybe he was a covenant type? I wonder what he thought about the demise of Israel?

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November 17, 2011

Let’s Presuppose A Few Things

By Pooka

Courthouse

Part 3. The first two in this line of thoughts on covenants, community and our relationships are here: Anti-Covenant and Individualism  and I Might Just Need To Be A We

At first, this may appear to be more of a formal apology for Covenant Theology, but bear with me. Also, I’m quite sure this has all been said before, so I can’t claim any originality here. That’s safer anyway since any time we deny the last 2,000 years of church history, we’re claiming that our current religion is the only one that is Christian throughout all history. Scary thought, eh? And what I’m about to discuss reaches back just a bit farther than Tertullian or Irenaeus or even Pentecost. Maybe a few thousand years past that. This is long, but I hope it has good returns. And I hope I’ve portrayed this accurately and understandably.

This doctrine of covenants is not pure theology. It’s not a tight, air-less doctrine that we can take or leave and not be deeply affected by the ramifications of the choice. It is hugely important. Once the barrier of modern presupposition is torn down, the other conflicts will start to resolve themselves fairly easily. That’s my own experience, at least.

Let me make the claim about this presupposition thing. There’s all sorts of discussion about presuppositional hermeneutics and theology. And it is absolutely correct to presuppose there are presuppositions required in the study of the Word. Which presupposition, or assumption if you will, is correct is vital, of course. And here’s the basic premise: The Bible is not speaking in the context of the 21st Century, modernity, the Reformation or even back in the days of Augustine. The Bible’s context is the Biblical eras. Get that and you’re on your way to 1st base.

Next, the Bible itself is filled with assumptions. Do you know the importance of Boaz heading out to the city gate when he’s checking on the status of Ruth’s availability? The Bible doesn’t add a footnote or aside comment to plumb the depths of this significant event. It assumes the reader knows what’s going on. The history and cultural importance of what’s going on at the city gate amongst the elders of the community is far more than what some consider just a civil affairs court setting.  Lot’s story was another one with that gate thing going on. But let’s put all that in the back of our minds. We’ve got to go deeper to make better sense of this.

The Bible assumes Covenant Theology. Really. No joke. It assumes the stuff I’ve been writing about in the last few days. We’ve heard all the debate over baptism, the Lord’s Table and Israel’s future so many times. There are conflicts that are so persistent they’ve lasted hundreds of years. I think they’re more heated today than ever. And it’s because, primarily, we have lost the sense of community and covenantal relationships that are assumed in the Bible.

Look at this language:

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.

When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

And then look at this list: And Your Children and Household

Everybody wonders or fights over these sorts of passages. The Covenant guys extrapolate a connection to things like baptism of infants and the Baptist guys extrapolate the non-existence of infants. All sorts of ideas come up to try to explain this. Sometimes, I wonder if some of the Covenant guys are just as disrespectful of the text as the Baptists when trying to explain their position through use of household and your children. Does the Bible explain what is meant by these sorts of terms? No, not any more than with the gate-court thing in Ruth or Genesis.

Here’s why it’s confusing in the New Testament: When these terms are used, they’re repetition of Old Testament Language. And no, that’s not to “bring” the Old Testament way of thinking back to these Jews of the first century. It was to remind them of the significance of events past that correlate to current events. In all that was changing around in the New Covenant, there was going to be some conflict. Pharisaical law, gentile inclusion, realized forgiveness and justification, missionary trips, diaspora – all these things were new and scary and confusing. People needed to, get this, hear that everything hadn’t just stopped or fundamentally altered!

Peter and his fellow apostles were using this language because the Jews understood it. This means that we cannot presuppose our own 21st century opinion, which is grounded not in the Scriptures but in modern, pagan, non-covenantal thinking. We must look at this language as the Jews did. That’s why we don’t get an explanation in the Bible about what gate-courts, households and your children mean. And that’s why we don’t get a greater development of what the Table and Baptism mean right out of the text. It’s in there, absolutely, but in a, wait for it… presupposition.

I’ll say it again. This is all so hard because we aren’t looking in the right place. The Bible started out its narrative in the context of covenants – relational, promise-keeping, life-sharing, trust-bearing covenants. We are the ones who have changed over the millennia, not the Bible and not at the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ whose birthday celebration we are fast approaching. We have lost the perspective the Jews had.

I’m not calling for a return to Judaism or tossing our technology so we can wear robes to tear each time we’re cut to the heart. I’m not interested in raking dust for a few measly rows of fava beans and wheat sheaves. I like my Pollo Loco too much and I’d much rather have easy access to the last 2,000 years of theology right here on my infernal machines. I’m calling for us to look at Scripture in the historical, cultural frame in which it’s set. No helicopters in Revelation. No civil affairs court for the young moabitess. No ditching of infants until they’re old enough to say they believe.

Side comment: Refusing baptism of our kids is telling them that they are no different from the other kids across the block (the ones who have Wiccan parents right over there). We’re destroying their identity in a Christian family! No sacraments = no sense of being in the family of God.

A few weeks ago, I put up a little bit about how painful it must have been to be one of the convicted Pharisees at Peters Big Sermon at Pentecost (I should rename the post “Cut To The Heart Thrice“). Think about this:

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Those Pharisees were almost certainly thinking of what they had done to their families! When Peter said this (emphasis mine):

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

We know what happened:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Now look again at Peter’s response:

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.”

That’s reaching all the way back to things like:

They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.

The OT said this in Deuteronomy 12:

Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

Here’s what changed when Christ fulfilled the Law, died in our place and rose again: I’ll grossly paraphrase this:

Be careful to believe this good news I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

Nowhere is the concept of covenants, community and our relationships altered in the New Testament. It’s ratified by simply not changing the language.

End of story? We have to look at the Bible and realize that our presuppositions that make us unwilling to include our children in sacraments, unwilling to include them in worship are modern insertions to the Scriptures. Also, equally important are the concepts of family solidarity, congregation solidarity, discipline, submission, faithfulness and loyalty to our heads, elders and rulers. These things are assumed to be normal in the Scripture even more than they are overtly commanded. Dropping the concept of covenantal theology kills more than just National Israel’s future and sprinkling babies. It can kill our faith, folks – by confusing the message and hiding the promises God has made to us (and our children).

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October 24, 2011

Why My Kid Can’t Read Twilight Books

By Pooka
First, an analogy about analogies.

When you play baseball, a solid hit, square on the ball, will get the ball going somewhere. The ball is airborne, good to go. Except there are some problems still waiting before you can count a score. It’s easy to predict where a good solid hit is going. A fielder can be pretty sure about catching the ball. And you can be pretty sure that if the fielder catches it out of the air, you’re out. And while the ball is in the air, the rest of the field can arrange itself to optimize taking down the whole offense. Yes, the batter might get a home-run, but that’s not the only possibility.

A grounder has plenty of good and bad properties as well. Which is all just to say that analogies break down and don’t always work right, but they’re tools and need to be employed properly. And, on top of that so does any attempt to explain something.

So here is today’s quick thought.

Look. My problem is not that Harry Potter, or (even more) Twilight are bad to read. They sure have plenty to call bad and less that could be considered actually good. But so doAnne Rice, Louis L’Amour, Douglass Adams, Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein and many more (just a perspective from my own library). You pick one and I’m sure I can find something wrong with it.

The problem is that a 10-year-old is not a critical reader. She is consuming what she reads in a manner that accepts what is presented. The book, for her, is formative. She doesn’t see it as a deposit of information to be considered. It should be fairly easy to figure out it’s worse if you back up a few years and have an early reader around 7 or 8 pick up Potter or Twilight.

If you’re going to impose a “world” on a child’s imagination, why-ever would you choose anything but the REAL WORLD? Or at least a representation of the REAL WORLD. So that means 1. Bible or 2. Bible. or 3. What I’m proposing: reading that at least has the necessary dichotomies and correct relations to minimize the corruption of the little brain that’s sucking up the information. If it’s a fantasy, is the good truly GOOD? Is the evil discernably EVIL? Is there a judgement on what to do about both? Are the characters portrayed as good actually morally decent? Are the situations clear or misleading? Is the child’s sense of right and wrong going to be blurred or distorted?

I’m not here advocating a legalistic or paranoid approach to what our children read. I’m not saying that (though it’s probably really good to prioritize) the Bible is the only thing a kid should read until they’re of age. Of age? That sounds a bit… maybe of a prejudiced, even legalistic concept, doesn’t it? No. I’m saying that, out of prudence and care for our children, unless we want to spend as much time combating their reading impression as they are reading the stuff, we should be very critical. Fight off the draw of a pagan worldview by delaying the exposure.

Now if, because of this we come to the conclusion that we’re “delaying the inevitable,” I must conclude we are wrong. Dead wrong. It’s not delaying the inevitable at all. By excluding some of the evil that our kids can consume, we are limiting the formative pagan information they consume. In 10 years, my now 20-year-old is not going to be anywhere near as susceptible to the lies. I’m not saying she won’t buy them; I’m saying she will be able (by God’s grace) to discern because she has a much more matured mind.

Look, read the books. Have a great time. Adults should have the necessary faculties to read Potter and stop at the entertainment part. They hopefully have enough sense to realize the authors’ attempt to portray her world as the real world and the characters as her version of good. The adults should be able to toss that falsehood or file away their “learned lesson” for future use in discernment. Try to get a kid to do that.

You’re not going to save the kid, you’re going to at best minimize some of the worst but it’s sure going to be better than letting them develop their own twisted worldview based on fiction that is so easily installed in their youth. GIGO is STILL a valid truth regarding the human mind.Gandalf v. Balrog

I can recommend additional reading at TruthxChange: The Muggles Protest

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May 4, 2011

We don't deserve all this

By Pooka

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve mustered up anything to write about. There are dozens of topics and issues mulling around in here, all worthy of coverage, some even really important. There’s just no forming up enough to get it together. Well, I have something, actually.

How God has worked out many, many things over the last 37 years.

I look on my pagan life – years, not distant enough, of denying the God of the Bible His right place as sovereign of all things – as the preparation and set-up of that which would come in 2003. Being a good Calvinist, I can’t see how everything just “worked out” the way it did prior to my becoming property of the King of Kings. I always was, just not in the validated, personal, realized way that is only reached by acceptance, submission, repentance and baptism. The Holy Spirit hadn’t flipped the switch that connected me to the kingdom.

I fell in love with a girl. She was absolutely the worst possible choice for me. A Christian kid, too young and too good for me. A witch should stick to his own kind. But God didn’t have that in mind. He drew me right to this perfect match out of the blue. A friend of a friend, letters, a couple of phone-calls and suddenly we were together, in the middle of a bunch of messes from parents to baby-on-the-way. No job, no future, nothing but this man and woman together with their heads spinning. That’s just the start. But the end state was Anika praying for me and God answering her prayer.

From the first time I pondered marriage and kids, I’ve wanted a daughter. Never had much interest in a son. Might be a result of my un-man qualities like despising organized sport, chest-beating, all-things competitive, whatever. So God gave me one. And this daughter was/is the most amazing one. She was the hardest thing I’d ever encountered in twenty two years of life. Molly’s arrival, I think, began the process that broke my back. When Anika and I got Molly, we got a package of life that was incredibly intelligent, capable, endlessly amazing, and beautiful. Only God could have stuffed so much into this brand-new person who suddenly came under our stewardship.

And God worked His redemptive theme right into my life through the arrival of Molly. She wouldn’t have had a Daddy if it hadn’t been for a moment of absolute insanity, a split-second of decision for which I cannot claim credit. God gave us the desire to keep her. That’s how it has to have worked. She needed a family. Sickly sinners don’t make decisions like that on their own.

Then Roen came. Roen had a very messed up leg when she was born. And she needed surgery right away to fix it up. but God put doctors and parents in place for repair work and love this little girl needed; who didn’t deserve a stitch of the hardship she got. And she walks now, bouncy and silly as if there had never been a problem. There’s a scar and a little bit of funny shape to that leg. A reminder of how valuable life is to God, and how He shows mercy and grace on the lame, broken, dysfunctional sinners in this world. Even before Roen met Christ, before I met Him, God was repairing damage, giving life.

Then Gwendollyn came. Almost didn’t. Gwen came out blue and purple, her life nearly snuffed before she opened her eyes the first time because of the tangled mess of cord. But again, the Lord had mercy. She breaths today by God’s goodness and grace. And God has added to her blessing a mind that is tuned to capture His creation in amazing pictures and other art.

And Joscelin. By the Grace of God, this surprise baby wasn’t safe from the curse of this fallen place. But through the capable, loving hands of a crowd of people, God assembled a resolution that turned a girl from isolation, a life scarred by autism into a beautiful, hope-filled, beam of sunshine who talks and hugs and helps and loves.

And to them, all four, He has given His Son. Jesus died for them and they know it. My girls belong to Christ’s church and have a place reserved for them in the new Heaven and Earth.

So I got just what I wanted. Four of them. And they’re, each one, nothing less than God’s grace and bountiful generosity wrapped in flesh and bone. I couldn’t have asked Him for them – couldn’t pray, couldn’t trust or believe. But that didn’t matter so much, because God works His will regardless of people’s opinion.

Had Christ subjected His life, death and resurrection to a vote, it would’ve been unanimously rejected. Nobody consulted with God about the atonement. And so, in a little-bitty way, neither did the Lord need my request or anything else from me to give this gift. Like salvation. I didn’t ask for it, I tripped over it when God put it in front of me. Now? I want it every day. Savor the reminder every Sunday and feast with my Savior at His table. Relish the memory of my baptism.

We don’t deserve all this. We can’t repay it. My girls have a Christ-loving home, however imperfect it is (dismally, most of the time), not because of their parents, but because of the Lord. We are all healthy and alive not because of our care for ourselves, but because of Him.

  • Economy crashed? I have a job that sticks.
  • Ran out of money? He drove me right into a second job.
  • He led us through all sorts of confusion and the misleading modern world to a church that honors Him and teaches the Truth.
  • He has preserved us through hurricanes.
  • He has kept us warm and safe in a blizzard after wrecking our car on the highway.
  • He has saved our lives by parents, Christians, doctors and soldiers more than a few times.
  • We’ve been kept safe in planes and ships and cars. From dogs and weapons and thugs and disease.
  • He has held our family together through long separations, war, hopelessness and helplessness. For about 15 years now, we’ve grown as a family. No attrition.
  • My kids are surviving public school. They have been protected day in and out from the sickly stench of drugs, immorality, vulgarity and God-hating culture. An unhappy side effect is that reminder that we’re still sorely messed up and still in dire need of a Savior, even if He has shielded us from the extremities of Sodom.

Yeah, today is my birthday. I don’t deserve any of this. Gifts throughout the year, every year, have come down from On High. By God’s grace, I’m here. Rich beyond all measure.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! – Romans 7:25

And… If you survived the really long read, here’s a treat that can only be enjoyed once in a lifetime:

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February 14, 2011

Three Big Arguments For Covenant Baptism

By Pooka

My buddy at church asked a great question today. So I’m gonna do a final post on Baptism to do a better job of answering him. I hope this comes out making sense and is of value to someone.

1.  It’s already true whether we like it or not!

Children in a family headed by either both or one believing parent are by their temporal disposition in the covenant. They are, unlike the children of unbelievers, being raised in the church under the Word of God. Therein they are receiving the Law and the Gospel, the training in righteousness, the fear and admonition of the Lord as if they really are a part of the covenant community. They have the benefit of being raised in the church, the covenant people of God and to perceive or treat them as anything other than actually as part of the visible covenant people of God is to be inconsistent with all of our teaching.

How can we hold our children to the Law and Gospel warnings and promises consistently if we cannot honestly warn and promise them? It’s a logic problem! And if it makes sense that our children do partake in the covenant community, then they should be initiated into that community. The Church Visible should claim her own as soon as they can be claimed and waste no time doing so.

2. It is integral to our corporate identity!

Baptizing our children is commensurate with upholding the idea of a covenant people. Visibly, tangibly giving our children to God and so to the Church through this ceremonial cleansing and identification puts us all under oath to do just what God has commanded for our spiritual government. Parents are to raise their children and the church is to guard her people for the Lord. We have marching orders from God to do so. Just as the church has membership to provide for accountability, believer to elder and vice-versa, baptism puts an entire family into the sphere of membership.

To fail to baptize our children is to deny the total package of the sovereignty of God. His law and Gospel are applicable to all who are in His church. When we come to worship on Sunday, we are corporately involved in preparation, confession, absolution, exhortation, , intercession and benediction. Can we say that the entirety of worship is wasted on young ears? If we say it’s worthy for all ages to come, let’s embrace them fully. Children in the covenant underlines the vitality of the high view of the Church as God’s minister of the entire covenant.

I wanna make clear first: This is not a big old apologetic of scholasticalisticity. I’m putting out what really hits me about the value and place of Household Baptism. By the way, I think we get too hung up on “Infant Baptism”. That’s not the model in the Bible. It’s Household Baptism from the OT to the NT, which includes infants. Anyway, Here you go:

3. It makes their place real and secure!

Baptizing our children sets them on the path to belief and repentance from the beginning. In baptism there is the tangible application of cleansing and identification that they can know, from their earliest memory. It connects them, personally with the body of Christ from the start. It is a means of demonstrating the gravity and importance of setting foot in the church. It also gives them a seal of belonging. They belong. I don’t think this can be stressed enough. They aren’t just told they belong, something very significant has been done, under the solemn administration of the Church of Christ, under God’s very cognizance, to bring them into the protection and grace of God’s people!

What a woe it must be for children to be excluded from the fullest relationship with true Israel. I’m sure it isn’t often considered or carefully, but seriously think of how we can provoke our children to wrath by telling them they belong by preaching and teaching, calling for confession and then forgiving all within the confines of the Church of Christ and then with the other hand proclaiming that they are still outsiders, to be identified with the gentiles who carry on in the world without a clue about Christ and His work of redemption.

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February 10, 2011

But as for me and my house…

By Pooka

Part 3 of who knows how many…

Previously I wrote No Hope For Our Children?
And before that Rings… A Look At Baptism
And a fairly big list of resources from Blogorrhea

I don’t believe there really is a one-shot that kills either the paedo/oiko or the credo positions. That is, other than the utter silence of the New Testament where there should be bells, whistles and flashing lights to point us to how dispensation or administration of the covenant have changed to individual believers only. Comprehensively taken though, I am convinced the Scriptures offer no option but household baptism. Here are some important things from my studies.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. – Joshua 24:15

Of all of them, Joshua 24 seems to have the power to stop us in our tracks. It is probably one of the most popular short passages for Christians. We find it on the wall in many, many Christian homes. Has anyone thought of the implications of “as for me and my house” in all its depth?

Contrast that with the language of Peter dealing with Cornelius in Acts 10. Look at how Cornelius’ household is mentioned. And then

And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ — Acts 11:13-14

What does it mean for me and my house to serve the Lord? Really? For a Baptist is it not a half-truth, weakly whispered in guilty admission, that we are saying our children are identical with the heathen who know not God even though we impose upon them the law and gospel of a Christian society? For most families in most churches, children are part but not part of the Church, Christ’s body! They witness the outworkings of Scripture and the faithful followers of Christ every day and yet positionally are not within that fold! For me, and I’ve held a particular love for Joshua 24:15 since Christ called me in 2003, it has become inconceivable that we could include children as if they were but never actually realize them as disciples and members of the covenant family.

Look at them, Christians, at your children who are clearly not of this world and say there is nothing different, that even without the credo-paedo conflict our children really aren’t set apart? Now if you agree that we can’t say that, then I must lovingly ask you: which administration honors, does justice, to the special place our children have in Christ’s body? I’m not going out for pragmatism or tradition alone here. I’m calling for a holistic look at Scripture to seek out which makes more sense.

Elect Schmelect! That’s not the point! It’s not an automatic assumption that our kids are regenerate just because they’re in a Christian family and church. It’s because of the fact that they are entitled to and, yes given, access to the Shepherd’s fold, the sanctuary and discipleship of the Body of Christ that we should baptize them. They’re altogether in a different world than the children of unbelievers. They are Christ’s for all eternity or until the day they turn from him, ignoring the threat, and the wrath of God is ultimately declared, which is the other side of baptism.

Can anyone deny that my kids are different? They know the Scriptures and Gospel and know of God at a minimum just by the tutelage they have received from my Wife, me and our church. In this case, my kids confess as well, all four of them, that Christ is their Savior and that they turned from their sin and trust in Him for salvation, but that’s not where the rubber meets the road in this discussion.

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. -Genesis 35:2

The day Christ came to our household was the day Anika returned to the faith in which she was raised and was restored in her relationship with her Lord. This was some time before I was brought to my knees. We’re a 1 Corinthians 7:13 family, if you will. I believe household baptism is correct partially just because of this! But there is no doubt that Joshua 24:15 really came to concrete terms in our family when I believed. And our children are/were marked out, claimed in the process. The household dynamic changed. I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say the family, the home, was uprooted to a new place, spiritually speaking.  

For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. -Genesis 18:19

Here, what is different from our day? If anything, there’s a dearth of command and doing, as per this passage, in Christian households today. We often fail miserably at our God-given position of teachers in regards to our families. We are leaving it to the church, the church actually having the temerity (or is it weakness?) to claim responsibility for sole source of Christian discipleship of children while we parents ensure our kids are well-adjusted citizens, educated and properly socialized, in the world of unbelievers.

For real! Should we not take back this responsibility to command and indoctrinate our children? Should not the church as our oversight demand it of us? What better way than through God’s public and solemn (and joyous), powerful claiming of His own? More churches should be what they really are — Administration of God’s covenant. Church holds the keys! Baptize my kids, then! Hold me to God’s promises and commands! And hold them too! We need this oversight in the Lord.

The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. – John 4:53

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6

Who held onto the hope that I would believe? In 1993 when I stepped from God’s house into the curse of witchcraft, did anyone cling to the promise that comes from Proverbs 22? And did they have faith like the father in John 4? Isn’t that correlative to all this? If the child must be trained up, should he not have a stamp of ownership? Perhaps a seal? Maybe that promise could be physically (visual, tactile) applied in the right forum? Sounds like Baptism. Sounds like the ordinance is more than just a command. It’s part-and-parcel to belonging to the visible body of Christ.

Remember this old Gaither hymn? We used to sing it all the time when I was a kid. Salem Baptist Church in Colorado Springs. Loved this one:

The Family of God

      I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God,
      I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
      Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
      For I’m part of the family,
      The Family of God

You will notice we say “brother and sister” ’round here,
It’s because we’re a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.

      Chorus

From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I’m not worthy to be here, but praise God! I belong!

      Chorus

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February 8, 2011

No Hope For Our Children?

By Pooka

Another in my process into the Reformed Faith or Covenant Theology or Household Baptism (a.k.a. Paedo Baptism). Again, props to a great source on all this; thanks, RubeRad. Previous post related is Rings here at LAH.

I think this is a simple line of logic. Makes clear sense to me, anyway. It’s hard, but faith is built on hard rocks and difficult depths.

There are three positions to take

  1. All babies and others who cannot respond to the outward preaching of the Gospel will go to heaven.
  2. Some babies and others who cannot respond to the outward preaching of the Gospel will go to heaven.
  3. No babies and others who cannot respond to the outward preaching of the Gospel will go to heaven.

I’m going to take option 2 based on demonstrations in history (bible): Some children are/were saved Genesis 7, Hebrews 11, Joshua 2:18, Psalm 103:17, Acts 2:38-39, 16:31, Titus 1:6. Some were not saved: Eli’s sons: 1 Samuel 2:12,  Absalom and Esau. Some may argue that there was an age of accountability in these examples. I wonder, since we’re all known before our birth Psalm 139. God doesn’t, in my understanding of Scripture, make decisions based on looking forward to our decisions.

David’s statement about his infant son who has died in 2 Sam 12: “I will go to him, but he won’t return to me.” is not clear, but is used as classic proof for infant salvation.

wcf 10.3 covers Effectual Calling. God is pleased to call to Himself, failing in no way, all people He has chosen. He doesn’t make mistakes, nor is there a “blanket” call to all people amongst whom only a portion respond. There is the call of the Gospel to all people and there is the Effectual Call of God to His elect.

I believe it is very important to think of this calling out of the elect as a lifetime process. Someone who is called to repentance and faith in Christ later in life is to be considered elect. They may not believe but they are elect from the get-go, right? Say they are born and baptised into a believing, churched family yet do not come to the family of God until they are middle-aged. Should not their baptism be of great value? Can they not look back allllll the looooong way back to their baptism and see there, in hindsight the engagement ring and promise that was sealed unto them many years ago and then appreciate all the more God’s promises?

Conversely, a child not baptised but born to a family that is faithful and churched, though coming to saving faith in Christ at middle-age is still saved, baptised when converted. But at what loss? I think, though baptism doesn’t play a part in salvation (it’s not salvific) is it not sad that this person was decidedly different in upbringing from the first? In what I’ve been coming to appreciate about the integral part that baptism and the church play in the family from cradle to grave, it seems a great disservice and a lack of putting perspective on the lost years of God’s promise.

Yes, God’s promise is eternal and yes, it works backward in the life of a man whether baptized in youth or not. Just as a believer who dies never baptized still has the promise. But there’s a richness, a fulness that is lacking. O to look back on the day of my baptism and say here, right here, did God declare that I belong to Him, though it took me twenty eight long years to run to Him in belief and faith. But I don’t have that joy. Do I regret it? Somewhat. It is what it is, of course. But, knowing what I know now, I surely don’t want to lay the foundation for that lack in my own children and for their children. So much would I like to see the better horizon for them and their offspring and if that can be realized, the seal of God on my household, that I would be a fool to avoid it or neglect due attention to it.

But what about those who don’t believe and are still baptized? They still benefit from the common grace that God maintains in His church. They are raised in the moral and spiritual environ of the church and their believing families. They may truly be raised up for God’s judgement, but is not His judgement, His glory and holiness magnified in what He does?

Rather than stew and trouble over this dark side of God’s covenant, is it not better to lay our hopes in Him, to trust our Lord to make all right in the end? He has promised us eternity and salvation. What God does is right, period, and our understanding only comes into play when He wills it to be so. We may not know what will happen or why this side of Christ’s return, so we must go with what we have at this time. God has promised His blessing, however richly full or limited, according to His good pleasure and devices.

So, bottom line, baptize your children. Dedicate them to the good name of our Lord and His promises. He will sort out the rest. And when they are baptized, they must be, by their inclusion, part of the church visible, part of the instruction in righteousness, party to the counsel of God, the discipline of His church and all other things. We owe it to them just as we owe our witness to the Gospel to every pagan around us who has not known God, or His holy things.

Hebrews 8. It’s a covenant. Not just for us but for our children!

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January 28, 2011

Rings… A look at Baptism

By Pooka

(edit: Ruben caused me to rethink the name. A few spam hits confirmed that the original choice of article title wasn’t gonna fly.)

I really wanted to put up a discussion on the pyramid scheme of Christian life, but it is a lesser discovery and needs more work anyway. Instead, it’s pressing on my mind that I should work out some discussion of baptism. The last year of studies, especially the last two months, have led me deeper in my understanding of the faith. Studying baptism alone has  really worked me over. Romans 11:33

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Of first importance, I have to make a summary statement that I most hope will drive the point home.

Understand as much as you can of baptism and you understand the Gospel, its implications and God’s promises. And vice versa.

What baptism is not: Baptism isn’t just a public statement of a private arrangement with God. It’s not analogous to “coming out of the closet.” It is also not salvific, meaning it does not add to salvation nor, if not performed, does its lack take away from salvation. It is not analogous to applying a waterproof seal over a finished surface.

What baptism is: Baptism is God’s public claiming, through the administration of the church, of His people. In essence, He is saying “These are Mine, with all the rights, responsibilities, privileges and benefits of being members in My kingdom, being My children, being the brothers and sisters of My Son, soldiers in My army, priests in My church, My disciples, My emissaries and ambassadors, the bride of Christ.”

Baptism is identification with, declaration of, alignment with, ceremonial purification of, pledging of/to and accepting of.

I’m gonna lay off the details for this post. There’s SO MUCH I want to say but by way of introduction, here’s how to look at the whole thing in a nicely packaged imagery.

I have to thank Bill Shishko, who doesn’t even know me, for spending over 23 hours of lecturing to encapsulate masses of information most of which I never even considered, confirming much of what I suspected and tearing down presupposition after presupposition I was clinging to. I have a number of other thank-you mentions, but gotta start with the source for today’s illustration. In wanting to get this out today, I’m putting the Scripture off till the next post. I have backing for all of it, and want to treat that with care and accuracy. So without further…

Baptism is like a ring. One that signifies a  continuing past, present and future for us. The ring image contains the already-not-yet idea of the kingdom, marriage supper of the Lamb and our perseverance. So I look at this from the perspective of what has happened in my life, what is progressing now and then what the final pieces are when all is finished.

A wedding ring that signifies union, unity, faithfulness, purity, separation, promise.

When we wear our baptism, we are reminded of our relationship with Christ. We are in Him. We have pledged to be faithful to Him in all our doings, for He is with us in all that we do. We are to maintain our purity, our intimacy belonging to Him. We wear our promise to belong to Him. We are ready to love our Lord and protect His name and die for it when the time comes.

An engagement ring that signifies dedication, chastity, honesty, purpose.

When we wear our baptism, we are reminded of our betrothal to Christ. We will be joined with Him. We have pledged to consummate our work and fidelity with a loving, committed union with Him. We have sworn to be intimate with none other than Christ and with expectation that our intimacy will be full, complete, thorough. We have taken on the duty of honesty so that every betrayal of our fidelity is to be brought to Him for our restoration. We are filled with a purpose of finishing the betrothal with finality.

A royal ring that is a seal that signifies status, responsibility, authority, sonship.

When we wear our baptism, we have aligned ourselves with a state that is above all others. We are representatives of that kingdom. We are under its laws and customs. Moreover, we are heirs of that kingdom, possessing it and sons of the greatest king in history. We have authority to proclaim the law and good will of the king and to seal, with His signet, the rulings of His kingdom. We are willing to die rather than betray the honor and worthiness of God’s kingdom and His name.

A class ring that is a memento of where we were, the infancy of our introduction to understanding, knowing and fearing God.

When we wear our baptism, we have a constant reminder of our studies, that we’ve graduated to a level above our pagan origin which knows not God’s law or Gospel and are partakers in the benefits of both of them. We know the Gospel, believe it and orient our lives to coincide with its implications. We’re reminded of our commencement, our apprehension of the truth, our conversion and entry into being disciples of our Master.

A trophy ring that is commemorative of our striving and warring, training and ultimate victory.

When we wear our baptism, we have the promise that the conflict of this age is going to come to an end. We know that it ultimately has already been won. We are shown the promises God has made regarding our election, preservation and the victory which progress through our lives. We’re minded of our team and the hard work together both in training and in combat which is aimed solely at glorifying the King, our Commander in Chief.

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