Baptism
#4
Does Baptism Really Work?
Why do many who were baptized as infants fall away?
Does baptism offer "eternal security?"
Martin Luther's defense of infant baptism
Responsibilities of "godparents"
Series Index
Does baptism offer "eternal security?"
Martin Luther's defense of infant baptism
Responsibilities of "godparents"
Series Index
Matthew 21:28-32
[Jesus said,] "Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, 'Son, go and work today in my vineyard.' The son answered, 'I will not go.' But later the son changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said, 'Son, go and work today in my vineyard.' The son answered, 'Yes, sir, I will go and work,' but he did not go. Which of the two sons obeyed his father?"
The priests and leaders answered, "The first son."
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him."
(New Century Version)
Ezekiel 18:25-32
"But you say, 'What the Lord does isn't fair.' Listen, people of Israel. I am fair. It is what you do that is not fair! When good people stop doing good and do wrong, they will die because of it. They will die, because they did wrong. When the wicked stop being wicked and do what is fair and right, they will save their lives. Because they thought about it and stopped doing all the sins they had done, they will surely live; they will not die. But the people of Israel still say, 'What the Lord does isn't fair.' People of Israel, I am fair. It is what you do that is not fair.
"So I will judge you, people of Israel; I will judge each of you by what you do, says the Lord God. Change your hearts and stop all your sinning so sin will not bring your ruin. Get rid of all the sins you have done, and get for yourselves a new heart and a new way of thinking. Why do you want to die, people of Israel? I do not want anyone to die, says the Lord God, so change your hearts and lives so you may live. " (New Century Version)
William Murray story
Around 1947 a baby was born and his mother named him William. His mother felt strongly that baby William should become baptized. But Mother didn't belong to any church. She didn't believe in Jesus. But she just had this strong feeling...
So his mother went from church, to church, to church, looking for a pastor who was willing to baptize her baby. One pastor accepted, and he baptized William "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The pastor never saw the two of them again.
Eventually the mother had another son, by another man.
In 1960, when William was 13 years old, his mother decided that she wanted to move to the USSR -- Russia. She was fascinated with Communism. She went to the Russian embassy in the US and applied for immigration, but they turned her down. She didn't give up. She wanted to prove to the Russian government that she was serious about wanting to move. So she took her two sons, went to Europe, to the Russian embassy in France, and again applied for immigration. And again, the Russians turned her down.
So the mother came back to the US with her two boys, and they settled in Baltimore.
When she took William to enroll him in the public school, she could hear children in the classrooms reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Her blood started boiling. Then when she heard that the teachers were reading the Bible in school, she blew her top. Momma hired a lawyer and sued the Baltimore school district.
Her case was combined with other similar lawsuits against other public schools. Those cases arrived in the U.S. Supreme Court, and they won. In 1963 the Court decided to forbid all prayer and Bible reading in public schools. And that's when William's mother became famous all over America. Her name was Madelyn Murray O'Hair. She became an "evangelist" for atheism.
What happened to William?
For 30 years he tried to follow his mother's example in atheism and Marxism (Communism). But that only made him feel empty. He said: "... nothing mattered, nothing meant anything, except getting what I could.… I smoked dope, two packs of cigarettes a day, drank alcohol. Nothing was important to me except the pleasure of the moment." He tried rehab programs. But they didn't help him, until he read the story of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
Even though William Murray let go of God, God never let go of him. Eventually God was able to expose William to the Bible -- the Bible that his mother hated so much. For William that experience was like reading a long lost letter from his Heavenly Father.
In the year 1980, twenty years after his mother sued the Baltimore public schools for "William's benefit," he openly confessed his faith in Jesus Christ.
It is interesting that the Russian government refused to give Madelyn Murray O'Hair permission to enter their country. But many years later, after Communism collapsed, the Russian public schools invited her Christian son to come, so he could give Bibles to their children and teach them God's Word …while still today in America, we still live with his mother's success in prohibiting Bibles in our schools.
Remember how William's story began … how his life with God began. His atheist mother brought him to have him baptism. And there Jesus Christ accepted William as His child. And no one could take William away from the Good Shepherd, not even his mother.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Murray
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O'Hair
Moody Broadcast Network radio interview with William Murray
Around 1947 a baby was born and his mother named him William. His mother felt strongly that baby William should become baptized. But Mother didn't belong to any church. She didn't believe in Jesus. But she just had this strong feeling...
So his mother went from church, to church, to church, looking for a pastor who was willing to baptize her baby. One pastor accepted, and he baptized William "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The pastor never saw the two of them again.
Eventually the mother had another son, by another man.
In 1960, when William was 13 years old, his mother decided that she wanted to move to the USSR -- Russia. She was fascinated with Communism. She went to the Russian embassy in the US and applied for immigration, but they turned her down. She didn't give up. She wanted to prove to the Russian government that she was serious about wanting to move. So she took her two sons, went to Europe, to the Russian embassy in France, and again applied for immigration. And again, the Russians turned her down.
So the mother came back to the US with her two boys, and they settled in Baltimore.
When she took William to enroll him in the public school, she could hear children in the classrooms reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Her blood started boiling. Then when she heard that the teachers were reading the Bible in school, she blew her top. Momma hired a lawyer and sued the Baltimore school district.
Her case was combined with other similar lawsuits against other public schools. Those cases arrived in the U.S. Supreme Court, and they won. In 1963 the Court decided to forbid all prayer and Bible reading in public schools. And that's when William's mother became famous all over America. Her name was Madelyn Murray O'Hair. She became an "evangelist" for atheism.
What happened to William?
For 30 years he tried to follow his mother's example in atheism and Marxism (Communism). But that only made him feel empty. He said: "... nothing mattered, nothing meant anything, except getting what I could.… I smoked dope, two packs of cigarettes a day, drank alcohol. Nothing was important to me except the pleasure of the moment." He tried rehab programs. But they didn't help him, until he read the story of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.
Even though William Murray let go of God, God never let go of him. Eventually God was able to expose William to the Bible -- the Bible that his mother hated so much. For William that experience was like reading a long lost letter from his Heavenly Father.
In the year 1980, twenty years after his mother sued the Baltimore public schools for "William's benefit," he openly confessed his faith in Jesus Christ.
It is interesting that the Russian government refused to give Madelyn Murray O'Hair permission to enter their country. But many years later, after Communism collapsed, the Russian public schools invited her Christian son to come, so he could give Bibles to their children and teach them God's Word …while still today in America, we still live with his mother's success in prohibiting Bibles in our schools.
Remember how William's story began … how his life with God began. His atheist mother brought him to have him baptism. And there Jesus Christ accepted William as His child. And no one could take William away from the Good Shepherd, not even his mother.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Murray
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O'Hair
Moody Broadcast Network radio interview with William Murray
Is Infant Baptism Valid?
Two weeks ago we looked at several Bible verses that show us that we can and should baptize our children.
When we understand that FAITH does not mean having information about Jesus, but faith means having a relationship with Jesus, then we see that babies can believe.
Martin Luther, back in his time, he also confronted criticism against baptizing babies. It is interesting that Martin Luther's answer didn't quote Bible verses. He focused on Christian experience and evidence in history. Martin Luther said,
Two weeks ago we looked at several Bible verses that show us that we can and should baptize our children.
When we understand that FAITH does not mean having information about Jesus, but faith means having a relationship with Jesus, then we see that babies can believe.
Martin Luther, back in his time, he also confronted criticism against baptizing babies. It is interesting that Martin Luther's answer didn't quote Bible verses. He focused on Christian experience and evidence in history. Martin Luther said,
"If God did not accept baptism of infants, He would not give any of them His Holy Spirit… But when God gives His Holy Spirit to people who became baptized back when they were babies, that proves that He accepts their baptism. How do we know that they have the Holy Spirit? They trust Jesus Christ, and the Bible says that no one can trust Christ without His Holy Spirit in them." [Large Catechism]
When people who were baptized as babies grow up to become atheists, that does not mean their baptism was worthless and it meant nothing. Martin Luther uses similar example for making his point: The Ten Commandments establish parents' authority over their children. If their children rebel, that doesn't cancel their parents' authority. Their rebellion doesn't make the Ten Commandments worthless. In the same way, people who reject Christ don't make their baptism worthless.
Does Infant Baptism Really Work?
Many people who received baptism when they were babies, they don't believe when they become adults. They say, "Baptism didn't work for me." What can we answer?
If a mother gives birth to a baby, but that baby never gets any food, that baby will die. The same is true for our souls. If we receive new life in Christ, we have a "baby faith.” But if we don't feed that faith -- or if parents don't feed their children's faith -- that faith can die. We can fall away from Christ.
If a person falls away from Christ, like William Murray did, the Holy Spirit will continue working on that person. His Holy Spirit will continue nudging and pulling that person back to Christ. God doesn't force people to believe. He invites them. He gives them power for faith. But we can turn down His gift.
That is the reason we have developed a special tradition for baptism -- God-Parents. In our church we call them "Sponsors.” God-Parents accept responsibility for praying daily for their God-Children. They accept responsibility for encouraging faith in their God-Children throughout their lives. They become mentors and role models for those children. In the days long ago, God-Parents became guardians for those children if their parents died.
Really, that is the responsibility not only for God-Parents. Responsibility for helping children grow in their faith belongs to all of us in the Church. But the chief responsibility belongs to the parents. If they don't actively feed their children's faith by their words, their teaching, their example, and if the parents step back, hoping that their children can grow in faith without their help, that small baby-faith will die.
That is true for adult Christians, too. If we don't continually feed our souls God's Word, but we fill up on spiritual junk food, our faith can become weak and die, just as it can happen for children.
Many people who received baptism when they were babies, they don't believe when they become adults. They say, "Baptism didn't work for me." What can we answer?
If a mother gives birth to a baby, but that baby never gets any food, that baby will die. The same is true for our souls. If we receive new life in Christ, we have a "baby faith.” But if we don't feed that faith -- or if parents don't feed their children's faith -- that faith can die. We can fall away from Christ.
If a person falls away from Christ, like William Murray did, the Holy Spirit will continue working on that person. His Holy Spirit will continue nudging and pulling that person back to Christ. God doesn't force people to believe. He invites them. He gives them power for faith. But we can turn down His gift.
That is the reason we have developed a special tradition for baptism -- God-Parents. In our church we call them "Sponsors.” God-Parents accept responsibility for praying daily for their God-Children. They accept responsibility for encouraging faith in their God-Children throughout their lives. They become mentors and role models for those children. In the days long ago, God-Parents became guardians for those children if their parents died.
Really, that is the responsibility not only for God-Parents. Responsibility for helping children grow in their faith belongs to all of us in the Church. But the chief responsibility belongs to the parents. If they don't actively feed their children's faith by their words, their teaching, their example, and if the parents step back, hoping that their children can grow in faith without their help, that small baby-faith will die.
That is true for adult Christians, too. If we don't continually feed our souls God's Word, but we fill up on spiritual junk food, our faith can become weak and die, just as it can happen for children.
One last criticism against infant baptism that we often see: "The Bible doesn't say anything about infant baptism. The Bible never says that we should do it. Therefore, we must not do it."
Sorry, arguments that depend on the presumed Bible's silence about any topic never succeed.
The Bible never says that we should build church buildings, but we still build churches anyway.
The Bible never says that we can use electric lights or air conditioning in our church buildings while we worship. But we do it anyway.
The Bible does not say anything that prohibits infant baptism, and the Bible does say a lot about the faith that the Holy Spirit gives to little children. And the Bible often talks about whole families becoming baptized. So we must come back to what Jesus said:
Sorry, arguments that depend on the presumed Bible's silence about any topic never succeed.
The Bible never says that we should build church buildings, but we still build churches anyway.
The Bible never says that we can use electric lights or air conditioning in our church buildings while we worship. But we do it anyway.
The Bible does not say anything that prohibits infant baptism, and the Bible does say a lot about the faith that the Holy Spirit gives to little children. And the Bible often talks about whole families becoming baptized. So we must come back to what Jesus said:
"Let the children come to Me. Don't stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to people same-as children. Remember this. If anyone doesn't welcome the kingdom of God same-as a child, that person will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15)
Supplemental Scriptures
Galatians 3:26-29
Galatians 3:26-29
You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. You belong to Christ, so you are Abraham's descendants. You will inherit all of God's blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham.
Colossians 2:11-15
Also in Christ you had a different kind of circumcision, a circumcision not done by hands. It was through Christ's circumcision, that is, his death, that you were made free from the power of your sinful self. When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in God's power that was shown when he raised Christ from the dead. When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins. He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless.