Hey, Church! 

This Sunday, we have the rare opportunity to celebrate both sacraments in the 11:00 AM service. We have used our Saturday personal worship messages to think deeply about communion on a number of occasions. Today, I thought it would be beneficial to meditate on the meaning of baptism. 

In order to dive into the subject of baptism, we should first establish the meaning of the word “sacrament.” It would be foolish to attempt any more thorough definition than what was set down by the Westminster assembly in 1646. So, take a moment to brush up on the following points from chapter 27 of the Confession: 

1. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ, and his benefits; and to confirm our interest in him: as also, to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the church, and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.
2. There is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified: whence it comes to pass, that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.
3. The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither doth the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that doth administer it: but upon the work of the Spirit, and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers.
4. There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, baptism, and the Supper of the Lord: neither of which may be dispensed by any, but by a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.
5. The sacraments of the old testament, in regard of the spiritual things thereby signified and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those of the new.

As it pertains to baptism, the Confession mentions five aspects of significance:

1. Baptism is a visible sign and seal of God’s invisible yet enduring promise of redemption. “Baptism preaches to Christians in the same way that circumcision preached to the patriarchs: it is a sign and seal of a righteousness that is ours by faith, to paraphrase Paul in Romans (Rom. 4:11).”* 
2. Baptism is a sign and seal of “a vital connection to the Savior.”* Granted, not all who are baptized are baptized in heart, just as not every circumcised Jew was not circumcised in heart (Rom. 2:28-29). Yet, the Scriptures make a strong connection between baptism and union with Christ (e.g. Gal 3:27; Rom. 6:5). Since baptism marks one’s entry into the visible Church, some have referred to it as a Christian’s birth certificate.
3. Baptism is a sign and seal of regeneration–that is to say, “newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4). Water in the Bible is often a symbol of death. When the Ark was delivered through the flood, when Israel passed through the Red Sea, and when Jesus walked to His disciples on the Sea of Galilee, these reveal a God who delivers His people through death to new life. (see “the washing of regeneration” in Titus 3:5)
4. Baptism is a sign and seal of forgiveness. Water is also often a biblical symbol of washing. John the Baptist proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). As circumcision was a bloody cutting off of the procreative part, baptism is a washing away of sin by laying claim to the once-for-all bloody sacrifice of Jesus (Col. 2:11-12). 
5. Baptism is a sign and seal of a life surrendered to Jesus. Charles Spurgeon once said of Christians, “I am afraid we are too much like the world for the world to hate us.” Baptism is a public declaration of allegiance to Christ the King that sets the believer apart from the world. We have died to sin, been buried with Christ, and raised again to walk according to His Spirit (Rom. 6:5).

When Jesus appointed baptism to be established in His Church until He returns, He added a promise: “I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). When I proposed to marry my wife, I promised my faithfulness and signified it with an engagement ring. Similarly, Jesus pledged His faithfulness to wash, sustain, and usher us, His Bride, into His Kingdom, and He represents it with visible signs of water, bread, and wine. And so the Shorter Catechism calls baptism a token of “our engagement to be the Lord’s” (WSC, Q94).  

We conduct baptisms publicly for the purpose of prompting all who bear witness to remember our own baptism into Christ and all of His benefits. We remember how He has washed us to be “whiter than snow,” that we have died to our old self, that we are engaged to be the Lord’s, and that His Spirit is at work within us to walk according to His purposes. If you see the baptism this Sunday, be more than a passive observer! Take the vows to heart, as if to renew your own, and rejoice in the washing, resurrecting, and promise-sealing power of God who has raised you from death to life!