Posted on 03/15/2012 5:33:58 PM PDT by Salvation
Baptism
by Sebastian R. Fama
It is through the sacrament of Baptism that we become Christians, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13). Baptism also takes away sin: "Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16). Baptism and Confirmation are the sacramental elements of being born again, and the normal means by which we receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us in John 3:5, "Unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God." And in Acts 2:38-39, Peter says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him."
The issue of infant Baptism is not discussed explicitly in the Bible, but it is likely that there were babies in the households of Lydia, Stephanus and the jailer at Philippi, where Paul baptized entire families (Acts 16:14-15, Acts 16:29-34 and 1 Corinthians 1:16). In Colossians 2:11-12 Paul alludes to infant baptism when he tells us that Baptism has replaced circumcision. Circumcision took place on the eighth day after birth (Genesis 17:12). We know that early Christians baptized their infants on the eighth day after birth because the third Council of Carthage decreed in the year 252, "that baptism of children need not be deferred until the eighth day after birth as some maintained, but might be administered as soon as possible" (Cyprian, Epistle 64 (59), 2).
The Waldenses and the Cathari (around the 12th century) first raised objections to infant Baptism. Modern day objections can be traced to Thomas Munzer. In 1521, he deduced from his private interpretation of the Bible that Baptism should not be administered to infants but only to adults after conversion and a personal commitment to Christ. Even Martin Luther denounced him and he was expelled from Wittenberg.
The Holy Spirit is the dispenser of grace. At Baptism there is an infusion of grace. If the grace a baby receives at Baptism is nourished (in a Christian atmosphere) it grows; if not, it dies. The saving grace of God enables us to hear and accept the Gospel, not only as adults but also as children hearing it for the first time. That babies can benefit spiritually is clearly indicated in Luke 18:15-16: "Now they were bringing even infants to Him that He might touch them. And when the disciples saw it they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'" Mark finishes the story in his account, "And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them" (Mark 10:16).
Our personal commitment to Christ, once we have reached the age of reason, is our conscious decision to keep and maintain what God has already given us. Baptism doesn't guarantee one's salvation; rather one is saved as a result of responding positively to the grace received.
We have no record of early Christian writers condemning infant Baptism. However, much is written in support of it. Irenaeus, who lived from 140-202, and was a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John wrote, "Christ came to save all who through Him are born again unto God, infants and children, boys and youths, and aged persons" (Against Heresies 2, 22:4). Origen, who lived from 182 to 255 wrote, "Baptism is given even to infants" (Homilies on Leviticus 8:3).
As for the practice of pouring water on the forehead instead of total immersion, this too was a practice of the early Church. We read in the "Didache," which was written somewhere between the years 70 and 150, that those being baptized could be immersed in water, but if it wasn't practical, "sprinkle water three times on the head" (2:7). Tertullian, writing in the second century, describes Baptism as, "a sprinkling of any kind of water" (Baptism 6:1). Many who were converted in prison were baptized this way.
In cases where there is no knowledge of the need for Baptism, an honest desire for Christ is sufficient. This is called Baptism of Desire. Likewise water baptism is not a requirement for those who are martyred upon conversion. The Church calls this Baptism of Blood. While water Baptism is normative, God is not legalistic. He takes everything into account. What is most important is the condition of ones heart (1 Samuel 16:7). All those who truly desire God shall have Him.
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The equivalent sacramental baptism of water, which in God's providence is sufficient to enable a person to obtain the state of grace and to save his or her soul. According to the Church's teaching, "Those who through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictate of their conscience -- those too may achieve eternal salvation" (Second Vatical Council, Constitution on the Church, I, 16).
Martyrdom in the case of a person who died for the Christian faith before he or she could receive the sacrament. The effects of martyrdom of blood are the complete remission of sin and the title to immediate entrance into heaven. The expression entered the Christian vocabulary during the first three centuries when many catechumens awaiting baptism and pagans suddenly converted to the Christian faith were martyred before they could receive formal baptism of water.
Also called baptism of blood. It is the patient endurance of fatal torture inflicted out of hatred for Christ or the Christian faith or Christian virtue.
Natural water that is poured or sprinkled on a person, or in which a person is immersed, is the matter or material element necessary for baptism. The pronouncing of the words is the form of baptism, namely: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It is a disputed question whether in the early Church, besides the foregoing, baptism was also administered in the name of the Lord Jesus. What is certain is that the Catholic Church early declared the necessity of using the Trinitarian formula for valid baptism.
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Under the heading of salvation, it is important at this point to touch on baptism. Although it may seem inconsistent to digress into what may be considered an "ordinance" or "sacrament" of the church after indulging in the metaphysical realities of being "in Christ" and being revealed as a son of God, it is necessary since so many of the early church fathers equated our regeneration with the act of immersion. The actual issue of baptismal regeneration, however, we will only touch on at the end. Instead, we will first investigate the apostolic practice, including what was considered valid and the development of baptismal theology in the early church.
Baptism is perhaps the most universal of all Christian ordinances. It is considered the "portal" into the Christian church by many branches of Christianity. The early church fathers put a tremendous amount of emphasis on baptism, which sparked a significant amount of debate. Other than the controversies regarding the deity of Christ, the debates and controversies that raged over baptism and rebaptism stand out as the most intense theological debates of the third and fourth centuries. Some of the questions that are still asked today are:
a) Did the early church baptize infants?
b) Does baptism wash away "original sin"?
c) Is an individual regenerated (ie. "born-again") at baptism?
In the beginning of all of the gospels, we find how baptism was the central facet of John the Baptist’s ministry. In Judaism, ritual washing was already a practice, particularly with the Essenes and many ascetic groups, but John’s baptism is distinguished as a "baptism unto repentance" (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 19:4). In this respect John represents the personification of all of the prophets thus far. The highest moral teaching of Judaism can be seen in the prophets in their emphasis of the heart attitude that God seeks, rather than ritual observances (See Amos 5:21-23). Yet even during John’s ministry, there was already a foreshadowing that the pattern of water baptism served as a type for the spiritual baptism that would be introduced by the Messiah. John says in Matthew’s gospel that he baptized with water, but he that comes after me shall "baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit". For this reason, we should always keep before us the truth that the water has no "magical" properties about it, nor can it be considered an end itself.
Infant Baptism
It is a common practice among orthodox, Roman Catholic, as well as several Protestant bodies (ie. Lutheran, Covenant, etc.) to baptize individuals when they are infants. The practice is frequently justified on the grounds that, under the Mosaic economy of salvation, God's covenant was extended to even infants through circumcision, which was to be performed on the eighth day after birth. The covenant of circumci