God calls some to himself in the womb. Others he calls to himself later in life. R is one called later in life. God has worked powerfully in R’s life over the last several months, opening his eyes to see the horror of his sin and the beauty of Jesus. R has come to see his desperate need for forgiveness, the perfect authority of Scripture over all of life, and the necessity of membership in the body of Christ. Over recent months, R began reading and listening to resources that helped him see the truth and goodness of Christian faith. R got to know S, a member here at TPC, who helped walk him through the basics of the gospel and Christian living. He got invited to TPC and began worshipping with us. What we are witnessing today with R’s baptism is the culmination of God drawing him to himself. R has begun clinging to Christ by faith and wants to be a part of Christ’s family.
This baptism marks the end of the old and the start of the new. It marks the end of the old R and the beginning of a new R. Today, R becomes a new creation before our very eyes. Today, we see God incorporate R into the body of Christ. That does not mean R’s new life will be easy. As Martin Luther said, “the old Adam swims well.” The old Adam is, in principle, drowned in the waters of baptism. But the old Adam always puts up a fight. And so baptism marks not only the official beginning of R’s new life in Christ. It is also a declaration of war — a declaration of war on the old ways, on the flesh, on habits and patterns that are contrary to God’s will. This is the beginning of a battle against indwelling sin.
In Romans 6, Paul asks the question, “Since we are saved by grace, shall we go on in sin?” And he answers, “Certainly not! God forbid it! You cannot go on in sin because you have been baptized into Christ Jesus — and having been baptized into Christ Jesus, you are dead to sin and alive to righteousness. You have been united to Christ through baptism into his death, burial, and resurrection, and so you must offer the members of your body as instruments of righteousness.” To live as a baptized person is to live a new life, as one who is dead to sin and alive to righteousness.
We must commit to pray for R. Today, even as God welcomes him with open arms, so we do as well. We will seek to encourage and help him as he begins the Christian life.
So, R, having professed your faith in God’s promises, come to now receive Christ in the waters on baptism….
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K and K bring their children for baptism today…..When it comes to baptism, Christians disagree about many things — who should be baptized, how the water should be applied, and so on. But one thing all Christians agree on is that baptism is the doorway into the church. In baptism, we become part of God’s family. In baptism we enter the church, which is the kingdom of God. In 1 Cor. 12, Paul says we were all baptized into one body, the body of Christ.
The family of God, the church, is the most important family there is. Christians have captured this truth with the slogan, “water is thicker than blood” — that is, the waters of baptism create a thicker bond than mere family relations.
The family formed by baptism is eternal in a way that no other family is. John Calvin said, “blood relations do bond men, but religion joins men together most of all.” The bond of faith and baptism is the strongest bond of all. Today, M and L will pass through the waters of baptism and enter God’s family. Today, they become our brother and sister, fellow children of the heavenly Father….
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I now call D and S to the baptismal font for the baptism of BC…The Scripture is clear that God makes promises to and about the children of his people. God says, “I will be a God to you AND to your children.” D and S bring BC for baptism today because they are claiming that promise. Bringing a child for baptism is both acknowledgment of your child’s sin and need for cleansing, as well as act of faith, trusting in the covenant promises of God.
Again and again in Scripture, we see the children of God’s people included in his family, his worship assemblies, his feasts.
So, for example, in Joel 2, God says, “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,” and then it lists various subgroups who are part of the congregation included in this assembly: assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing infants, the bride and bridegroom, the priests…
Children are included in the sacred assembly because they are part of the people of God. Again and again, Scripture speaks in a way that presupposes their membership in God’s covenant family.
This is true of the OT Scriptures, but it is the same in the NT, as countless examples demonstrate. Consider Matthew 18 — Jesus takes covenant children into his arms, he blesses them, and he says, “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” He called them “little ones who believe in him” and he warned those might cause these little believers to stumble. The words of Jesus are fully consistent with the practice of baptizing our children — and in fact, demand that we baptize our children. They make sense in no other way. Sometimes people say, “we have no explicit commands or examples of infant baptism in the NT.” But that’s not true — and besides we have a great deal of material that only makes sense if covenant children are supposed to be baptized.
Today, BC will be joined to the Lord’s family and kingdom. Today, she will take her place in the Lord’s sacred assembly. Today she will be enrolled as a citizen in the Lord’s Israel. D and S are pledging to disciple her with the hope and expectation that she will grow up to have a “boring testimony” because she has grown up never knowing a day when she did not trust the Lord Jesus. And so with that in view, D and S will affirm these vows…
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Why baptize babies? It can be hard for some people in the church today to see warrant or justification for baptizing our children. There are many ways to answer that question, many arguments that can be given. But one of the keys is to look at what Scripture actually says about the chuldren of beleivers. What we find not only supports the practice of paedobaptism, it only makes sense if we practice paedobaptism.
In Genesis 17, God says, “I will be a God to you and to your children.” That’s why we refer to our children as “covenant children” — they are included in the covenant promise.
In 1 Cor. 7, Paul says your children are holy. That means they are set apart in some way. They are consecrated. They beloing to God in a way that other children do not.
In Acts 2, Peter says “the promise is to you and to your children.” What promise? The promise of salvation, the promise of the covenant, the promise of inclusion in the Israel of God. The trans-generational covenant promise is still in force at the beginning of the new covenant.
In Matthew 18, Jesus blessed the covenant children brought to him by their parents. He said they belong to the kingdom of God. He declared them to be kingdom members. He treated them as born-again believers.
In Psalm 128, children are not called weeds but olive plants — the holiest plant in the old covenant symbolic order — and they are said to share in the blessing of the Lord that comes forth from Zion.
These, and dozen and dozens of other passages, tell us we are to count and treat our children as God’s children. We are to include them in the life of the covenant people and bring them up accordingly….
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Welcome to the memorial service for JGF. Today, we come to grieve. We grieve because a loved one has been lost. The jaws of death have swallowed another victim.
But when Christians gather to grieve the loss of one of their own, one who beleonged to Jesus, our grief is bounded and hemmed in hope and joy. Joy – because we know our loved one is now in the joy-filled presence of Christ where there is no pain or suffering. And hope – because we know our loived one shares in the promise of the future resurrection of the body and the consummation of our salvation in the new heavens and earth.
And so, yes, we grieve, but we do not grieve as the world does. Christian grief is different.
The comfort we have in the gospel always, always, always, overcomes our grief because we know that while death may have won this battle, it is sure to lose the war in the end. Jesus has swallowed up death and defeated death. We are conquerors of death in him. Eternal life, resurrection life, is ours in Christ. Victory is ours in Christ. Forgiveness is ours in Christ. Healing is ours in Christ. Glory is ours in Christ. Comfort is ours in Christ.
So, yes, we come today to grieve. We come to grieve the loss of a wife, a mother, a sister, a grandmother, and a friend. We come to grieve the loss of a church member. We come to grieve the loss of a woman whose life was filled with generosity, kindness, and fruitfulness.
But we also come to remember and to celebrate a life well-lived. We come to celebrate the gift that she was. We come to celebrate God’s work, God’s promise, God’s faithfulness. We come to celebrate our shared hope, a hope we have through Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God who became man in order to die on the cross for our sins and conquer death on the thrid day in his resurrection. We come together to worship this God who has saved us, the one God who exists eternallly in three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit.
Let’s pray: Father, you are good and gracious at all times. You are loving and wise in all that you do. You are the Sovereign Ruler of creation. We thank you today for the life of your dearly beloved child, JGF, and we ask that you would bring comfort to all who grieve her passing. We celebrate your saving and sanctifying work in her life, and the way you brought blessing to so many others through her. She is missed greatly, but we are comforted in knowing that while is no longer with us, she is with you, safe in your everlasting arms. Father, your Son declared, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believes in me shall never die.” We come together today in the sure hope of that promise, that eternal life is ours in Christ; that Christ has conquered sin and death for us; that we have a glorious inheritance; that your grace is all-sufficient and fully adequate. Be with us and bless us this day. May we honor the memory of our loved one, and in so doing, honor you as the Giver of every good gift. We give you thanks and praise in the strong and glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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One thing we see again and again in Scripture and in church history is that when people encounter the gospel, they are astonished that God could be gracious to them. “Whom am I, that I should find favor with the Lord?” As soon as you realize what you deserve because of your sin, it is truly astonishing to think that God could forgive you and accept you. We deserve wrath and hell. Jesus stepped into our place and as our substitute, endured wrath and hell on the cross for us. That is amazing. If you are not astonished by it, you do not understand it — or your need for it.
In this service, in the liturgy, the astonishing grace of the gospel is on display. The amazing grace of God is evident in everything that happens here. God invites sinful people into his holy presence. God declares us fully and freely forgiven. God shares words of wisdom and life with us. God invites us to feast at his own table.
Remember the Pharisees’ complaint against Jesus? “This man eats and drinks with sinners.” The amazing grace of the gospel is that Jesus still eats and drinks with sinners. And he invites us to eat and drink with him today.
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