A little more talk about baptism ... and more. Romans 6.3-4

So which is right—infant baptism or adult/believer baptism?  I wrote about my experience in “Baptized … have you been?”  Here’s another’s perspective that I thought might be a ‘counter’ to my experience:

“My own spiritual pilgrimage reflects a common pattern in the understanding of baptism.  I was baptized as an infant in the Lutheran church in which I was raised.  My later confirmation class presented the truth of the gospel clearly, but it did not really come home to me.  I was confirmed anyway and assumed that the spiritual side of my life was taken care of.  But almost a decade later I realized that this was not the case.  Through campus friends, the Spirit made clear that I did not really have a relationship with God and that I could only find such a relationship by committing myself personally to Jesus Christ.

My own spiritual stubbornness was no doubt much at fault for my failure to understand this personal dimension of Christian faith as I was growing up.  But I also blamed the Lutheran church for failing to make this as clear as it might have been.  A key focus of my blame was the impression I was given that the rites of baptism, confirmation, and Communion provided for all my spiritual needs.  Then, when I truly came to know Christ in college, I was baptized, convinced that my infant baptism had no value at all.  In having the opportunity to get to know thousands of students since then, I have heard this story again and again.”  One person’s account. 

Paul wrote:  “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?   Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”  Romans 6.3-4, NASB

Truly, at some point, we must by our own personal assent, choose to follow God, taking hold of the grace offered by Jesus . . . or not.

“Okay, now I am confused, and frankly, I am ticked,” the petite woman, with flowing blonde hair spat at me through a haze of tears.  “I have to talk to you right now … please.”  We stepped into the privacy of an empty room, sat down on the floor, face to face.  “I was that person—the one raised Lutheran, baptized as a baby and confirmed, just as you described . . . are you saying to me that I am not a Christian??”  Now if you don’t think you could cut the emotional tension in that room with a knife, you are mistaken … I knew that my response was huge---might determine what she did with God, might end our relationship, might offend her so much that the damage would be irreparable.  “Well … I’m not sure, because I do not know of your personal involvement in your faith, from what you have just said.  It isn’t about the ceremonies; it is about your own decision at some point to enter into your own individual relationship with Jesus Christ.  Now, could you tell me about that?”

We come into the world solo, and we will go out that way, too.  At some point, we will stand before God, and he will ask us something like, ‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?’  It will not be sufficient to say, ‘because my mom baptized me in the church’—  He may say, ‘But Child, your mother is not here now—so, what about you and Me?’  What will matter then is the relationship that exists between Creator and created, between Father and child . . . or not. 

‘See, we must have a proper doctrinal balance between the sacraments—baptism, communion, etc.--and our individual path to God. At some point, it is meant to be a personal choice, not one made by our parents—something we embrace, we embody.    Water baptism (as a mature individual) is one component of a person coming into relationship with God—really, a confirmation of our coming to Christ (yes, quite a different thing than our parents’ decision to have us baptized at birth).  But the New Testament outlines four key elements to the conversion experience—faith, repentance, the gift of the Holy Spirit, (who resides in the one who has surrendered her will to God), and water baptism.  Where do I get these four elements?  From studying what was conveyed in the gospels, and the fourth element—the gift of the Holy Spirit—that which Jesus told his disciples that they should wait for, watch for, and expect.  Indeed, the second chapter of Acts describes the coming of the Holy Spirit—promised by Jesus before he ascended into Heaven. (Acts 1)

So think about it … where are you in making your faith your own?

Christine

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