I had the privilege of baptizing my nephew, Marcus Jasper Spears on Sunday.

Baptism of Marcus Jasper Spears

I’ve been reflecting a little on discipleship. Jesus commanded that the Apostles, and the church by extension of their mission, were to make disciples of all the nations – doing so by baptizing them in the Triune name, teaching them to observe all that our Savior has commanded us – knowing that He is with us always. Too often, I think, we tend to think of baptism as just the first thing we gotta do to get to the real discipleship work of teaching long obedience in the right direction. But it is far more – it places the name of God on us all. This is no small matter. It is God’s claim upon us and our children, and His call to follow Him into the world as one who is marked out as Christ’s possession. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in The Cost of Discipleship,

“Baptism…betokens a breach. Christ invades the realm of Satan, lays hand on his own, and creates for Himself His Church. By this act – past and present are rent asunder. The old order is passed away, and all things have become new. This breach is not effected by man’s tearing off his own chains through some unquenchable longing for a new life of freedom. The breach has been effected by Christ long since, and in baptism it is effected in our lives…The baptized Christian has ceased to belong to the world and is no longer its slave. He belongs to Christ alone, and his relationship to the world is mediated through Him” (pp. 256-257)

What Bonhoeffer says is no less true of our children as they are brought to the waters of baptism than with adult converts. Wholly passive in this act, sometimes tearfully screaming through it, they witness to the miracle of Christian discipleship – it is by grace alone that we are made children of God and enrolled in the ranks of the mighty hosts of Christ. And with each baptism of a child – the hosts of hell shudder in fear and defeat. For they know that the gates of hell cannot prevail against those who walk through life bearing the name of the Savior, and who, like Jesus, will conquer suffering and death by rising again and again and again throughout history to gloriously triumph over all of Christ’s enemies.

Autumn Lynn Hayes – Baptized Christian, January 22, 2012

We live in a world that is confused about a good many things. Years ago someone came to my door from Greenpeace or some other such group seeking money to save the babies seals, or baby whales or something. I stopped them and said that I wanted to ask them a question first: Do they agree with me that abortion is wrong. Oh, no clearly not – the choice of the mother cannot be violated. It told them that we could not continue in agreement about baby animals because our moral compasses were pointing to different True Norths. Until they could see that human babies are infinitely more valuable than baby animals, we have little to say to one another.

Sadly, for some today, there is more conviction that animals have more of a right to life than unborn children. One recognized ethicist has written that,

“The right to life is grounded in the ability to plan and anticipate one’s future. [given what he says next one wonders if he can anticipate the future] This extends the concept to non-human animals, such as other apes, but since the unborn, infants and severely disabled people lack this,” he states that “abortion, painless infanticide and euthanasia can be “justified” (but are not obligatory) in certain special circumstances, for instance in the case of severely disabled infants whose life would cause suffering both to themselves and to their parents.”

It is for this and many other reasons that we at RCC have set aside today as Anti-Abortion Sunday, to stand before the Lord in opposition to the disgraceful and abhorrent sin of abortion, calling upon Him to bring this horric practice to an end.

While its important to hate and actively oppose the sin of abortion, even more we must lovingly celebrate the children given to us, and raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord Jesus. And so with Christians all over our land, we also acknowledge what has been called the Sanctity of Humna Life Sunday. What more fitting way to do so than to welcome Autumn Hayes into the church of Jesus Christ through the waters of baptism – for the Apostle Paul declared that the children of believers are to be numbered with the holy, the sanctified people of God (1 Cor. 714).

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Understanding and Owning Christian Theology

Week 10 (Oct 9): Christian Baptism – Why It Matters

The Sunday School Class was recorded and can be heard here: Christian Baptism – Why It Matters

What is Baptism? Why do we baptize?

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