John 14:15-21
I Peter 3:8-22
· What is God saying to us?
· What are we are saying to God?
· What are we are saying to each other?
Today is a special day when we rejoice in baptism and in the confirmation of baptism of friends who are marking another milestone in their journey with Christ.
From the time of John the Baptist and before water has been used as a sign of a new commitment to God, a turning from sin, and of the pouring out of God’s Spirit.
Cleansing and pouring are powerful statements of what God is doing. Being prepared to be baptised, or to confirm an earlier baptism, before other people is a courageous statement for anyone to make.
In baptism we are aware that we are saying things to God about commitment and faith. God is also saying things to us about welcoming us into his family. We are also saying things to one another about encouragement to make our own commitment and to renew baptismal vows for those of us already baptised.
A few weeks ago, on 1st May my wife Jenny and I were at Knox Church Christchurch New Zealand. It was the first Sunday since the February earthquake that they were allowed back to use, not their church, but the hall, for worship. It was also a service of baptism for the third child of a Malaysian couple from Kedah now in New Zealand.
This was certainly a case of baptism being a word of encouragement! If you would like to read more about the service visithttp://preshist.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/knox-church-congregation-return-to-their-church-building-for-worship/
I was surprised when the minister asked me unexpectedly “What does baptism mean?” I was not expecting the question and I was just pleased to be there. Later I thought about what I might have said:
God is saying ‘Welcome to my family’
We are saying ‘Thank you Lord, this is where I belong.’
Of course other things need to be said as well. And in many churches people come from backgrounds where they do baptism differently, and say slightly different things about what it means. But there are things in common.
We would all note how Jesus talked about joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7).
We are all responding to the example of Jesus in being baptized and see that as the pattern of submission to God’s will, commissioning to God’s service, and openness to the Holy Spirit.
We would all see baptism as part of our mission as a church, since after his resurrection Jesus said to his followers to go and make disciples and "baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."
Different scriptures have spoken about the meaning of baptism.
The baptism of John the Baptist was sign of repentance, very much like the word in Ezekiel 36:25-27 “I will pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I will cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”
In Acts baptism is like Jesus’ own baptism a sign of God’s Spirit coming into our lives and commissioning for service.
In Romans we see the picture of dying to sin and rising to new life in Christ which connects with baptism by immersion.
In the Gospels we see Jesus welcoming children as a sign of his kingdom and many churches not only want to welcome children, but also offer baptism to the children of believing parents. Other churches dedicate the children of Christian parents like Jesus was dedicated in the temple.
Through the history of the church there have been many changes in practice. Sometimes this was about climate and the availability of water, sometimes it was about whether the emphasis is on what God was saying or whether it was on our turning to Christ.
· Some have used little water,
· Some have used a bit more and pouring like Malaysian mandi bath
· Some have used immersion.
· Some baptise the children of Christian parents
· Some reserve baptism for those who make a decision for Christ for themselves
· Some baptise new believers as soon as possible. Some wait. (In the early church some delayed baptism till they were near death to reduce the risk of sin.)
· Some baptise whole communities; some whole families; many focus on individual decisions
Some churches, including many Presbyterian provide for both those who want to be immersed and those who do not, and also for parents who wish to baptise their children and those who prefer to dedicate them and leave baptism for when they make their own decision for Christ.
Nevertheless as a church Presbyterians believe that infant baptism is consistent with New Testament faith that "the promise is to you and to your children.” We recognise by a form of baptism that the children of believers start life within the covenant community of faith. When they later make a decision to follow Christ for themselves, they should confirm what was done earlier on their behalf. It is also often possible for this confirmation to include immersion so long as they do not call it baptism.
In New Zealand we also allow congregations to call ministers who do not themselves baptise infants provided there is openness that this is the situation and other provision can be made for Christian parents who seek the baptism of their infant children. We also have a number of Baptist ministers who have moved to ministry positions in the PCANZ and some of them, perhaps surprisingly, are comfortable with infant baptism.
Here in St Andrews KL we have for decades had members and leaders who come from a range of traditions about baptism, yet who respect the teaching of the church as a whole.
We realise that taking the Bible seriously does resolve all differences among Christians and that we can learn from what others do even if we see things differently.
Whatever we think is the right time in life and the right amount of water, baptism is something God wants us to do. God has his own timing, and our gifts are not all the same, but the stories of the Spirit being active at baptisms in the New Testament are repeated today.
Baptism is something witnessed, celebrated, written down, confirmed, renewed. It is a sign of God’s love, of a welcome into the family of God. When we confirm our baptism, we are saying not only "I repent of my sin" "I renounce the devil and all his works" we are also saying "I accept God’s gift to me in Jesus Christ" "I welcome the work of God’s Holy Spirit in my life" and "I want to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus". These are very powerful things to say.
When those of us who are already baptised are witnessing a new believer being baptised, or a person brought up as a Christian confirming the faith of the family as their own person faith, we are able to renew our own commitment.
When those of us who are not yet Christians or not yet baptised share in a celebration such as this, we also can say “Lord, I want to find out about this.”
You may also say "Lord I believe, but please help my unbelief". Or "Thank you God that you understand where I am in my life, the things that make it difficult for me. Help me trust you. Help me take the next steps in the journey."
We are not alone. We want to say to you, "Go on, go on, it is great what you are doing." "It is good to be with you." "When you need help I will try to be there for you.”
In John 14 Jesus was preparing the disciples for what was going to happen. He predicts that one of them will betray him and that Peter will deny him.
We know that even though we confess our faith and make promises to follow Jesus, we are going to let Jesus down sometimes. It may catch us by surprise. Someone or something will get under our skin. We may be tricked into going places we should not. Something we like may become something we covet and lead to sin. Jesus died to deal with sins after baptism not just before. The last word will always belong to God and it will always be a word of salvation.
Jesus said he would still be with them through the Holy Spirit. In our Christian life we experience the Holy Spirit in different ways, including at different stages of life. Every age is valid in the sight of God. Whether you are a child or middle-age. Whether you are growing up or growing old. Whether you are bringing up children, or the children are bringing you up!
Sometimes we are afraid about what is going to happen when we face moving to another stage. Or physically to another town, to another church, another country, or another culture. Where will Jesus be?? When Jesus has been familiar to us in certain styles of Christian music, in certain words and ways of praying, in the security of the ministry of a pastor who lead us to Christ; will Jesus be with us when those things are no longer there?
Perhaps the promise of the Holy Spirit being with us, standing beside us, being Christ in us, revealing God’s truth to us, helping us, is one we need to hear too as we let go of one era, and one set of ways in which God has blessed us, and open ourselves to something new.
When a new pastor may be joining the pastoral team at St Andrews, our love and thankfulness for those who have been a blessing to us will not diminish, but we may need reassurance like Jesus gave his disciples.
Baptism and confirmation are times when we lay hold of this promise in a new way. God will be with us not only in this new place of witness and commitment, but also in this new place of taking a new level of responsibility for our own spiritual health and Christian journey.
In all of this Jesus remains the centre of our understanding about what God is like and what God requires. Christian life starts with an attitude of love – God’s and ours – not with successful obedience, that is something love makes possible. “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Love is the gateway.
Finally the very existence of Peter’s letter is a reminder that mistakes do not have the last word; Peter’s denial did not have the last word, God still had work for him to do.
Bearing witness to Christ is not just a matter of courage to speak out – that is not appropriate in many situations in life and in many cultural contexts. It is also about wisdom when and how to speak. Fundamentally it is about how to live. We seek to earn the right to speak. In our own families who are not yet Christian, and in communities and work places where people know us well and look what difference it makes for someone to be a baptised Christian, we need to say very little. Our lives can say much about our attitudes to others and how God is at work in our lives despite our imperfections.
Today is a day of celebration, encouragement and renewal. A day of hearing God’s renewed invitation to be part of his family. Of saying this is where I want to be.
This is what God is saying to us, what we are saying to God, and what we are also saying to each other.
John Roxborogh
