SIGN AND SEAL

“THERE IS perhaps no subject … about which such differ-ence of opinion exists.”

It is with those words that Bishop Ryle begins an essay on baptism.  The subject is associated with disputes, divisions and strife.  People disagree as to (1) what it is, (2) who should be baptised, and (3) the way that baptism is to be administered.  We shall focus mainly on the first: What is baptism?  Let us begin with some basic facts.

One, baptism is mentioned about eighty times in the New Testament.  Clearly, then, it is important.  Two, it is a practice taught by Jesus Christ.  His disciples are to teach the gospel of God and baptise in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28.19).  Three, in his first sermon, Peter called people both to repent and to be baptised (Acts 2.38; cf 10.47).  Four, it entails the use of water.  And five, it is a means of grace.

Of those facts the most contentious are the last two.  Some think baptism should only be by total immersion (the whole body goes under water).  Others believe that it is not the amount of water that is important but baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They argue that way because the meaning of baptism is more important than the amount of water used.  Let us explore further.We can answer the question, What is baptism?, in three ways.

First, baptism is the outward and visible way by which people become members of the church.  In saying that we do not contradict the teaching of Christ.  Clearly he taught that the only people who will see the kingdom of God must be changed spiritually.  That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus that it is necessary to be born again from above (John 3.3ff).  Put another way, there must be an inward work of the Holy Spirit.  Such is necessary if you are to enjoy victory over the natural inclination of your heart to hate both God and his ways.

There needs to be an inner work of the Holy Spirit.  That is the first essential.  But there is also to be a commitment to baptism with water.  Christ wants us to be distinguished from the peoples of the world.  Our distinctiveness is not just seen in the changes brought about by the Spirit.  Those baptised with water in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are different to those who are not baptised.  Baptism leaves no visible physical sign, for water leaves no mark on the body.  The question of whether a person is baptised as a child or adult is not, at this point, important.  What is important is whether a person has been baptised.  Only those who are baptised can be described as having received the sign of membership of the visible church.

Secondly, baptism is a sign.  It signifies spiritual cleansing.  Water is an amazing substance.  Over 50% of a human body is made up of water.  It falls in the form of rain on the land to enable plants to grow and flourish.  Without it they would wither and die.  When there is sufficient rain it will form streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and seas.  In such you can swim and upon such it is possible to water-ski.

Water is also used to wash and clean things.  We wash fruit and vegetables before we consume them.  We use water to wash away dirt.

At baptism, water symbolises the inward cleaning of the heart by the Holy Spirit of God.  It is a sign of the cleansing from sin that is made available to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  God, out of love for mankind, has provided the way by which we can be made right with him.  It is impossible for us to make ourselves right with God.  The spiritually dead cannot make themselves spiritually alive.  We are separated from God and unable to change that situation.  We cannot satisfy the justice of God.  But Jesus Christ can.  And did.

The eternal Word of God (God the Son) humbled himself and became a man.  He did so, not because he needed to, but because of our need.  We need someone to live the perfect life we can never live.  The one who did that for us had to be perfect.  He needed to be because an imperfect person can not live a perfect life.

God knew that in eternity before the creation of the world.  And, in eternity, he decided within himself that the second person of the Trinity (God is One, existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit) would at the appointed time humble himself and became a man, a perfect man.  As such he would live a perfect life for imperfect people.  And then, having done that, he would suffer and die the death they deserve.  And he would do all that to satisfy the justice of God.  By satisfying God’s justice in his death, he provided the way for us  to be reconciled to God.

That is why Jesus Christ – who he is and what he has done – is the good news (the gospel) that all people need to hear.  They need to hear it for God has appointed that the only way for us to enjoy the benefits of what Jesus has done is through faith.  We are to entrust ourselves totally to him.  We are to rely on him alone.  Those who do so discover that  Christ’s blood was shed to wash away all of their sins.  That is what baptism with water signifies.

Thirdly, baptism is a seal.  The language of both sign and seal is found in Paul’s letter to the Romans.  In it he calls circumcision a sign and seal (Romans 4.11).  It is the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham.

What does circumcision involve?  It entails the cutting away of flesh.  It was done to boys eight days after birth.  It was done to signify that those who have faith in God and his promises know their sins removed from them.  God no longer holds their sins against them.  But, says Paul, circumcision is not just a sign.  It is also a seal.  A seal of what?  Of righteousness enjoyed through faith, says Paul.

In the days before Christ, the people of God recognised that the sign of his covenant with them (circumcision) did more than signify the removal of all that stood in the way of enjoying fellowship with God.  It was also a pledge or seal.  A seal that reassured them that God accounted them as righteous.

Salvation is more than the enjoyment of forgiveness.  It also entails assurance.  To know that God forgives the sinner who embraces Christ with faith is life transforming.  So is the knowledge that the forgiven are accepted by God for ever.

Circumcision was the sign and seal of God’s covenant with his people before Christ first came.  Baptism is the sign and seal of the covenant since his first coming.There is another point to be made.  It is this.  Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that what baptism signifies and seals is brought about by the outward act of baptism with water.  The idea that we are born again when water is poured over us is folly.

It is not the outward act of baptism that saves us.  It is Jesus Christ.  There is no other way to enjoy the new birth except through faith in him.  The way to enjoy the benefits of his life, death and resurrection is through faith alone.  For, “without faith it is impossible to please” God (Hebrews 11.6).  And, as it is written, “the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1.17; Habakkuk 2.4).

Baptism is a sign and seal.  It is given by God.  It is given to reassure us that he graciously provides all that we need for our spiritual life and well-being.  The children of believers are included.  Relying on the great  promises of God, we trust, we pray, that all, who receive this sign and seal of God’s covenant, will know their sins washed away and be sure that they are God’s for ever.

EPC  26 June 2016