What's a Baptist to do with his Children?
"What am I to do with my children?" As a Baptist who has wrestled greatly with infant baptism, this is the question that plagues my mind and has caused me to reconsider the debate so often. I have 4 young boys, the first of whom was sprinkled in the Presbyterian church we currently attend. The subsequent 3 children I have withheld from it due to my doubts of the validity of infant baptism. Baptists have published numerous works, exegeting the Biblical texts, and producing well reasoned theological treatises, but I haven't encountered much in regard to my children's current relationship to the church. Within the Presbyterian scheme, I can easily identify that my children are a part of the local church, and that it is there duty to take upon themselves the responsibility of their membership as they come into their own faith. Until that time, they ride in essence upon the coattails of mommy and daddy. We see examples of this all throughout the world. Take a young child into a china shop, if the kid breaks anything, who pays for it? Or go to the zoo and notice that children under a certain age are admitted for free as long as they are with an adult. Parents represent their children.
This natural relationship makes a world of sense then when we bring it over into the church. It aligns quite wonderfully with the Presbyterian doctrine of infant baptism. The root is holy, then so are the branches. My role as a father is clearly defined, being the spiritual representative of my children until they mature. Further, the issues of leading my children in prayer or worship are no longer plagued with the theological questions of how to do that if my children are unbelievers, because as it is said somewhere, the prayers of the wicked (unregenerate) are an abomination to the Lord. Conundrums solved, roles are sensible and defined, and it seems to agree with the light of nature in man. Wonderful! I want to be on board! I could even further make application historically by asking what difference would there be as a faithful Jewish father raising his child up in the faith? None, as we both would turn to the same passages for instruction as parents, encouraging our child in the faith.
This is why, as a Baptist, I struggle with this so much: it makes sense, and helps me in defining what my life should look like. But no matter how much these things make sense, I cannot find infant baptism in the New Testament. B. B. Warfield even says that one looks in vain to find infant baptism in the New Testament, so at least I'm justified in not finding it. But what do I find there? I find a redefined people of God, those who worship by the Spirit and in faith. A people group who are not unified under covenant written on stones, but one where the law is written upon their hearts. A people where their genealogy and physical descent doesn't matter. If this is what I find there, now what do I do with my children? If the genealogical principle is no longer in affect, do I simply consider them heathens? Though they may act like it at times, that doesn't seem right.
There are some excellent passages to consider as a parent within the New Testament. But I think there are some within the Gospels that are overlooked. So often Baptists are having to exegete against the Presbyterian in the passages that they miss the didactic aspects for parents. Baptists reason that the passages about parents bringing their children to Christ must refer to child-like faith when Jesus turns it into a teaching lesson. Some of them are, but Presbyterians are right to point out that some really aren't.
Lets reason from what we do observe. We see Jesus taking into his arms children and babies in various passages. Some of them, Baptists reason away as referring to people needing to have a child-like faith. But one passage is directly referring to babies (thus can't be referring to a mere child-like faith) and in context seem to be speaking directly about children. Though Jesus never baptized anyone, we do see that he laid his hands upon the children, blessing and praying for them. So we have an acknowledgement of special relation of the children to Jesus. And who is being "prevented" from coming? Is it really the child or the parent bringing the child. If it is an infant, then it must be the parent who is being prevented, because the child is too young to come on his own. Thus we have the commendation from Jesus, that we as parents should bring our children in faith to the hands of our Savior for his blessing.
There are essentially two ways that we can bring our children to Christ for a blessing today. The first is through prayer. Christ is our Mediator and Intercessor. In prayer, we approach Christ asking for His mercy and blessing. It is only right that as a parent I lift my child up in prayer, spiritually laying him in the arms of our Beloved Savior asking for Him to bless our child. Essentially, before the child has a faith of his own, we are praying that Christ would make Himself known to the child, and that Christ would keep him safe both physically and spiritually.
The second way is to bring the child to church. In the latter half of 1 Corinthians, Paul spends a great deal not on just identifying various aspects of the church and its organization, but directly upon what the church is, namely the body of Christ. The church is to be the physical manifestation of the Christ upon the earth, loving, serving, and proclaiming the kingdom as Christ did. Bringing your child to church is the same as the parent in faith bringing their child to Christ for his blessing. It's interesting to note that in some conversations that I have had with unbelievers, that they expected to start going to church once they had children. The reason being is that they expected it to bless their child's life somehow. Bringing your child so that Christ can lay his hand upon him is a tremendous way to bless and direct the life of your child. To solidify this point: parents, take your kids to church!
There is a third way, but this is bringing Christ to your child instead of your child to Christ. Open up the Scriptures and read to them. Children are born unregenerate, needing to be resurrected into new life. Just like the ruler who came to Jesus, begging Him to come heal his daughter, raising her from the dead, we need to go get Christ and bring Him to our child. We know that Christ alone has the words of life, let us plead with Him and bring those life-giving words to our children!
Our children do stand in a special relation to Christ and the church, distinct from children with unbelieving parents. Like the paralytic who was lowered through the roof because God, in His providence, gave that man friends who would act upon his behalf in order that this man might be blessed by Jesus. So too, our children have been given such a blessing by having believing parents who will bring them to Christ and Christ to them. When Paul speaks to the Areopagus, he says that God has determined the boundaries of nations and peoples so that people might search for God and find Him. Some of those determined boundaries are that children are given believing parents so they might know the blessings of Christ, being known by Him.
The appendix to the Baptist Confession states,
So what's a Baptist to do? First, know that much of the same concepts found within a Presbyterian scheme are still quite applicable, and that baptizing their child is unnecessary for the unique privilege they are given. Unlike the Abrahamic covenant, a child is not "cut off" from the other blessings because he isn't baptized. Second, bring their child to Christ through prayer and gathering with the saints. Third, bring Christ to their child through the reading and hearing of the Holy Bible. In these, our children can have true blessings in Christ.
There are essentially two ways that we can bring our children to Christ for a blessing today. The first is through prayer. Christ is our Mediator and Intercessor. In prayer, we approach Christ asking for His mercy and blessing. It is only right that as a parent I lift my child up in prayer, spiritually laying him in the arms of our Beloved Savior asking for Him to bless our child. Essentially, before the child has a faith of his own, we are praying that Christ would make Himself known to the child, and that Christ would keep him safe both physically and spiritually.
The second way is to bring the child to church. In the latter half of 1 Corinthians, Paul spends a great deal not on just identifying various aspects of the church and its organization, but directly upon what the church is, namely the body of Christ. The church is to be the physical manifestation of the Christ upon the earth, loving, serving, and proclaiming the kingdom as Christ did. Bringing your child to church is the same as the parent in faith bringing their child to Christ for his blessing. It's interesting to note that in some conversations that I have had with unbelievers, that they expected to start going to church once they had children. The reason being is that they expected it to bless their child's life somehow. Bringing your child so that Christ can lay his hand upon him is a tremendous way to bless and direct the life of your child. To solidify this point: parents, take your kids to church!
There is a third way, but this is bringing Christ to your child instead of your child to Christ. Open up the Scriptures and read to them. Children are born unregenerate, needing to be resurrected into new life. Just like the ruler who came to Jesus, begging Him to come heal his daughter, raising her from the dead, we need to go get Christ and bring Him to our child. We know that Christ alone has the words of life, let us plead with Him and bring those life-giving words to our children!
Our children do stand in a special relation to Christ and the church, distinct from children with unbelieving parents. Like the paralytic who was lowered through the roof because God, in His providence, gave that man friends who would act upon his behalf in order that this man might be blessed by Jesus. So too, our children have been given such a blessing by having believing parents who will bring them to Christ and Christ to them. When Paul speaks to the Areopagus, he says that God has determined the boundaries of nations and peoples so that people might search for God and find Him. Some of those determined boundaries are that children are given believing parents so they might know the blessings of Christ, being known by Him.
The appendix to the Baptist Confession states,
As for those our Christian brethren who do ground their arguments for infant baptism, upon a presumed federal Holiness, or church-membership, we conceive they are deficient in this, that albeit this covenant-holiness and membership should be as is supposed, in reference unto the infants of believers; yet no command for infant baptism does immediately and directly result from such a quality, or relation. (Sec 2)Essentially, what they are saying is that they don't deny the special relationship of believers' children to the church, but that such a relationship doesn't necessitate that they should be baptized. Baptism is an ordinance of the new covenant and its practice should be defined by it. Baptism identifies a person's relationship to Christ and union with His body in one Spirit. My children have been given a great and unique privilege compared to the majority of the world by being born within a Christian household, and they will be identified externally as a part of the local church merely by attending it every week. There are plenty of blessings for them to be had without the need of them being baptized.
So what's a Baptist to do? First, know that much of the same concepts found within a Presbyterian scheme are still quite applicable, and that baptizing their child is unnecessary for the unique privilege they are given. Unlike the Abrahamic covenant, a child is not "cut off" from the other blessings because he isn't baptized. Second, bring their child to Christ through prayer and gathering with the saints. Third, bring Christ to their child through the reading and hearing of the Holy Bible. In these, our children can have true blessings in Christ.
Comments
Post a Comment