In Lord's Day 26 the instructor of our Heidelberg Catechism began to call our attention to the truth concerning Holy Baptism. We considered together from Scripture the divine institution of that sacrament. It is after all the divine institution that makes it a sacrament, a sign and seal of the covenant. Because baptism has been instituted by God Himself, through Jesus Christ His Son our Lord, it is indeed of supreme value and importance and may not be rejected by us nor stripped of its significance. We considered also its biblical meaning as we considered Romans 6:3,4. The outward sign of the sprinkling of water speaks to the spiritual reality set forth in that text. As many as have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death. My baptism, and yours as you confess, is a sign and seal of God that we were baptized into Jesus Christ. And that is life everlasting. For Christ's death is His atoning death, and therefore our salvation.
That is true not of every child that receives the water of baptism upon his forehead. Paul speaks of everyone who is baptized into Christ by a true faith. He emphasizes the fact of what has taken place in the baptism of everyone who believes. That is why I emphasize and must, Do you believe? If you believe, then you know that through your baptism you have been incorporated into Christ. You died with Him; and you are living with Him, in a new and holy life. That is the meaning of baptism. Do you believe? And its practical significance is seen in this, that baptism also is to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, and to be sanctified as members of Christ, so that we more and more die unto sin, and lead holy and unblamable lives. In Romans 6, Paul makes clear that the matter of your own attitude towards sin and grace depends from the outset upon the reality of the truth of being baptized into Christ as your own experience. Because we are cleansed, as signified by the sign and seal of baptism, ours is the victory and we keep fighting the battle of faith.
The first two questions and answers of Lord's Day 27 are really an extension of Lord's Day 26. And although I will call attention to those questions and answers briefly in connection with my second point this morning, it is especially the subject set forth in question and answer 74 that calls for our attention. And the chief element in that 74th question and answer is the truth of God's covenant. That is a very important subject. Concerning that subject we turn to the Scriptures with several questions. What is the idea of that covenant? How and by whom and in whom and through whom is that covenant established? With whom is that covenant established? And finally, how is that covenant a basis for infant baptism? So I call your attention this morning to:
GOD'S COVENANT
I. ITS IDEA
II. ITS SIGN
III. ITS RECIPIENTS
I. WE FIRST HAVE TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S COVENANT, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE OF GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM IN GENESIS 17, AS WELL AS THE TRUTH SET FORTH IN OUR HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, QUESTION AND ANSWER 74.
IF YOU GO TO THE DICTIONARY TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE WORD "COVENANT" YOU WILL FIND THAT A COVENANT IS DEFINED AS AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PERSONS TO DO SOMETHING SPECIFIED.
In that sense men often enter into covenants. A man and woman enter a covenant in marriage. An employer and an employee make a covenant in which the employee agrees to give his services and talents in return for a certain wage. A government forms covenants with its citizens, an agreement in which the citizens receive certain privileges and services in return for obligations which they must meet. And so examples could be multiplied of such agreements, although we are not so accustomed to using the term "covenant" to describe them.
This view of earthly covenants has certainly played a large part in how God's covenant has been defined and described in Reformed theology. The doctrine of the covenant has always had an important place, and especially since the theological development of the 16th through the 18th centuries, and then again in the past century. But although the doctrine of the covenant has an extremely prominent place in Scripture and has had an important place in Reformed theology, there is no unanimity of opinion regarding the question, What is the covenant?
There have been different ideas and views expressed concerning God's covenant, but at the heart of most of them is this thought that it is an agreement, a contract between God and His people. According to that contract or agreement, God agrees to save His people and to bestow upon them all the blessings of grace and salvation; while, on the other hand, that promise of salvation must be received by the people of God in faith. And that faith is a condition. God agrees to save you, only if you fulfill your condition to that salvation, which is your act of believing.
There are also those who make the covenant a promise. According to them, the promise of God is the essence and the idea of the covenant. According to this conception, the promise of God is for all who are outwardly received in the church through baptism, without exception. So that when I baptize any child, I say to that child, "John, Mary, God promises you that you shall be saved." But, you understand, such an idea of God's covenant necessarily is conditional. So that the promise really is, "I promise you salvation, if you believe." Such a concept of the covenant leaves salvation to that individual child and to his own act of believing. Else it is a lie, of course. For it becomes obvious that not every baptized child receives salvation, as is supposedly promised here. There are many other erroneous views of the covenant, views which lead into other erroneous positions. But all these views stumble over the truth of Scripture and fail to grasp the beauty of God's covenant.
WHAT WE MUST UNDERSTAND CONCERNING THE IDEA OF THE COVENANT, AS IS OFTEN THE CASE WITH THE CONCEPTS OF THE BIBLE, IS THAT GOD RAISES IT TO A HIGHER LEVEL AND MEANING THAN THE EARTHLY IDEA OF THE WORD.
The covenant is that bond of fellowship between God and His people in Christ, which results when God causes His own covenant life to vibrate through the creature. That is set forth in Genesis 17:7, where you read: "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee."
It is not true that God enters into a certain agreement or contract with men, by means of which men receive certain benefits in exchange for obligations and duties which they agree to perform. The very nature of the difference between God and man prohibits this. God is the living and eternal God. His is infinitely exalted above His creation, perfectly holy and absolutely blessed. He is altogether sufficient unto Himself. He has no need for you or for me or for any other creature. We do nothing to make Him more blessed and glorious. And not only are all the nations of the earth as a drop in the bucket and less than a speck of dust in the balance in comparison with God, but man is also wicked and totally depraved. Man's whole life is one long list of sin and corruption, from which he cannot escape. In ourselves we have no desire and we have no ability to do any good. By our own sin we are deprived of every right to God's blessing, and nothing which we do can ever rescue us from our damnable state. It is therefore inconceivable that the living and holy God could enter into a contract with such sinful men. Nor do you find such a conception in Scripture.
In Genesis 17:7 you find the very essence of God's covenant. It is true that there are promises associated with that covenant. When God establishes His covenant with Abraham this implies that he will be exceeding fruitful and will develop into many nations. So you read God's words to Abraham in verses 4-6: "As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee." That promise is intricately connected with God's covenant. Further, when God establishes His covenant with Abraham this implies that soon Abraham shall have a son, the beginning of the realization of that covenant. And also the land of Canaan will be given to him and to his seed, his children and grandchildren and so on, for an everlasting possession. All these promises stand intimately related to God's covenant; they are aspects of and phases of its historical realization. Yet they do not constitute the essence of that covenant, but follow from it.
The covenant itself is a very definite relationship with Abraham and his seed. That relationship is expressed in the words, "to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." Here we touch on the very heart of the covenant. To be a God unto Abraham and His seed is to dwell in a relationship with Abraham that none other can dwell in. The bond which is the covenant is a bond that is exclusive and all-comprehensive. The expression that the Lord uses is very striking. He does not say here that He will be Abraham's shield or exceeding great reward, as He had said in Genesis 15. He does not say, "I will be thy Father and thy Friend." But He says, "I will be a God unto thee." And the reason is that this expression implies everything. If He is God, He is so alone. So He says, "Abraham — and you who are his seed — I will stand next to you as no one else can, not even a wife or a husband." My relation to you will be higher than can ever be expressed in any relation on this earth. I will be everything to you. For I am God.
When we go into that even deeper, we find that God's covenant, this relationship of friendship and fellowship, is actually based in God Himself. That is fundamentally true of all things, of course. Always we must go back to God Who is God alone. God is the basis for all things, for every relationship. In God we find the source of all things, also of the covenant. And we find that in the Trinity. The 3 Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, live in perfect harmony and personal distinction in the beauty of their own covenant life as God. God reveals to His people the same life of fellowship and establishes the same bond of the covenant that exists eternally in His own divine Being. That is evident from Holy Scripture, although I cannot take the time this morning to point that out to you. But that was seen already in the creation of Adam. As you read in Genesis 1 and 2, God created Adam like unto Himself in a creaturely way. And because God made Adam like Himself in a creaturely way, by that very fact God created Adam standing in a covenant relationship. Adam knew God; Adam talked with God and walked with Him in the cool of the garden, as a friend with his friend.
That is the central idea of the covenant. In the covenant God takes His people into His fellowship and communion. He speaks to them and reveals to them the secrets of His own heart and mind. That is what you read in Psalm 25:14, as we sang a little while ago. The establishment of that covenant is altogether of God. That truth belongs to the very heart of God's assurance to Abraham at this time, "I will establish my covenant." How could it be otherwise. Abraham was a sinner. And so are we who are Abraham's seed. God establishes His covenant only through Jesus Christ and with those who are in Him. It is in no way established in the same way that a contract or conditional agreement is established. God only realizes it. It is certainly true that we are in God's covenant only as we know Him as our highest good through faith. But it is not true that our faith is at all a condition of God's covenant. It is rather a fruit of God's establishing His covenant with us. And so Jehovah says, "Everything that is necessary to create the relationship in which I am your God, in which I will impart the blessedness of my covenant life to you, I will accomplish.
If you study the Scriptures, you will find that God's covenant with us, His bond of friendship and fellowship with us, is really the whole of salvation. Salvation is not simply to be saved from death and hell and to go to heaven. If that is your concept of salvation, you know not what it is to be saved. Salvation is not simply to be kept from going to one place and to go to another place which is somehow more beautiful. Heaven would mean nothing were it not for the fellowship with the eternal and infinite God which we will experience there through Jesus Christ our Lord and in the perfection of holiness. God's covenant with His people is the whole of salvation. So that when God says, "I will establish my covenant between me and thee, I will be thy God," He says: My wisdom shall be yours, to watch over you in all your ways. My power shall be yours, to keep you from the devil, to defend and rescue you from all enemies. I will govern all things to turn them to your good and profit. My mercy shall be yours, to forgive all your sins. My love shall be yours to comfort you and to give you the peace that passes all understanding.
And why are all these things yours? Because you are Christ's, and Christ is God's (I Cor 3:23). God establishes His covenant with us in Christ Jesus. Christ is the heir of all things, and we are members of Him. So you read in Galatians 3:16. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Abraham well understood that; indeed he did. He knew that if God will establish His covenant with Abraham and his seed after him, Abraham must have a son. The Messiah must come forth from the line of Abraham's children. But Abraham must understand that he cannot bring forth this seed of God's covenant. He cannot contribute to the establishment of God's covenant with him and his seed. So God waits until only a wonder of grace can give to Abraham the promised seed. But in the lines of his continued generations Christ comes. And He sheds His blood for the justification of the people of God's covenant. He is raised in glory and pours out His Spirit, establishing the new covenant in the hearts of His people. So that just a few verses farther on in Galatians 3, this wonderful explanation is given to the seed of Abraham. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:29).
Thus the covenant is an everlasting covenant. But it is everlasting, not as consisting in the land of Canaan, or in the fruitfulness of Abraham and his seed; but in this one truth, namely, that Jehovah Almighty is a God to His people. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Always we find our salvation and the covenant fellowship of God in Him. And therefore, when God assures us of His everlasting covenant, He says: "I will realize it throughout history, always making your people my people and being your God; always leading my covenant to higher glory, until everlasting perfection is reached, also in your own life and experience in heavenly glory.
II. OF THIS MAGNIFICENT COVENANT OF GRACE BAPTISM IS A SIGN.
GOD GAVE ABRAHAM THE SIGN OF CIRCUMCISION IN CONNECTION WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HIS COVENANT.
"And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you" (Gen 17:11). The observing of this sign of circumcision was an acknowledgment by Abraham and his seed that they were themselves unclean and brought forth unclean seed. But more, circumcision was an outward sign that signified an internal reality. It signified the fact that salvation was the work of God whereby God cut away the sin and evil from the hearts of His people and gave them new hearts. It signified the inward cleansing and purifying of the heart through the operation of the Spirit of God. That is taught in many passages in the Scriptures. In Deuteronomy 10:16 you read: "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." In Jeremiah 4:4 you read: "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." So circumcision pointed to the spiritual circumcision of the heart, the cutting away of sin from the heart of man; and thus it pointed to his spiritual renewal unto holiness by the death of his unclean nature on the cross and through the shedding of Christ's blood.
Now the Scriptures very clearly teach that baptism in the New Testament has the same significance as circumcision did in the Old. Baptism, as we saw from Romans 6, is also an outward sign of inward cleansing. It also speaks of the taking away of the heart of sin and the creation of a new heart that is filled with the life of Christ. And although there are other passages that also show us this truth, as we read earlier there is one passage in particular that literally speaks of the fact that baptism has taken the place of circumcision inasmuch as the outward sign of circumcision was fulfilled in the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ. That passage is Colossians 2:11,12: "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." It cannot be denied that baptism has taken the place of circumcision as the sign of the one covenant which God establishes with His people throughout all time. Baptism with water signifies the same washing away of the sin of the heart by the blood of Jesus Christ and by His Holy Spirit. In Christ and through the shedding of His blood and the washing away of our sins, God establishes His covenant with believers and their seed, the spiritual children of Abraham.
IN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 72 AND 73, THE INSTRUCTOR OF OUR HEIDELBERG CATECHISM CONSIDERS THE VALUE OF BAPTISM WITH WATER.
The question is asked: "Is then the external baptism with water the washing away of sin itself? And the answer is: "Not at all: for the blood of Jesus Christ only, and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sin." This is another response to an error within Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation; that baptism itself is the washing away of sins and that an unbaptized person cannot be saved. And because such a position could hold out no hope even for infants who die before baptism, they have invented another place for such, where the unbaptized do not have to suffer the torments of hell, but enter a place of limbo between heaven and hell. Such are the superstitious theories of Rome. For that reason, many years ago the Romish made it a practice to baptize as soon as possible after birth. But their error progressed. Because they teach that baptism has the efficacy to wash away all past sins and to regenerate man, the recipient of baptism, of whatever age he may be, receives the forgiveness of all sins committed before baptism and the infusion of sanctifying grace which cause him to stand pure and holy before God. If one would die immediately after baptism, he would immediately go to heaven, without the interim torments of purgatory. As a result, many postponed baptism as long as possible, even to their sick-bed or death-bed.
We must stand with one accord behind the truth of our confession over against such superstitious and unscriptural practices of the sacrament of baptism. And I say that, because you and I are easily led into such a superstitious concept of baptism. That is why our Baptism Form warns us against using the sacrament out of custom or superstition. We may not think that the water of baptism washes away all our sins. We may not think that simply because we have received the water of baptism we are surely saved. Salvation does not come by baptism with water. We do not have to take our babies straight from the hospital to the baptismal font, lest they become sick and die before being baptized. Salvation is not in that water. We may not place this sacrament above the preaching of the Word. We baptize, not to be saved, but because Christ has instituted such in His Word and commanded us to baptize.
We must stand against and refute such errors, not by placing our opinion above another's — for our mind also is full of errors, don't forget; but by turning to the Word of God. What does God's Word teach us concerning the sign of baptism? Not one page of the Bible teaches us that regeneration is connected to baptism by water, or that baptism by water has the power to save. In Acts 8, in fact, we read of a certain Simon, who, although baptized, remained in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity; and who, although baptized, yet had no part nor lot in the matter. In no place does the Bible teach us that baptism itself washes away our sins. Rather, you read in I John 1:7, "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." God keeps His covenant, whether or not we have the seal. We may not neglect the sacrament, of course. Christ has instituted it for our use. But we must not think of God that if our child dies before the sacrament of baptism, that God will not keep His covenant. Those who are in the covenant of God have the sanctity, the holiness of that covenant. So David said of his child, "I shall go to it, but it shall not return to me;" and yet that child died before he was circumcised. God keeps His own covenant with us in Christ. And on the basis of that truth, set forth in many passages, the instructor tells us "The blood of Jesus Christ only, and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sin."
Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism 'the washing of regeneration,' and 'the washing away of sins'? God speaks thus not without great cause, namely, not only thereby to teach us, that as the filth of the body is purged away by water, so our sins are removed by the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ; but especially that by this divine pledge and sign he may assure us, that we are spiritually cleansed from our sins as really, as we are externally washed with water." Although Scripture speaks of baptism as the washing of regeneration, and the washing away of sins, it does so referring not only to the sign of the water, but more to the thing signified by that sign. Baptism teaches us that we are unclean; and that as the filth of our body is cleansed by washing with water, so our sins are removed by the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ.
III. AND THIS SIGN IS FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN.
GOD ESTABLISHED HIS COVENANT WITH BELIEVERS AND THEIR CHILDREN IN THE LINE OF CONTINUED GENERATIONS.
That must be emphasized over against the error of the Baptists. The Catechism raises the question, "Are infants also to be baptized," but does not really develop that truth in detail. The reason for that again is historical. There were very, very few Baptists at the time the Catechism was written. Certainly, if we were to write this confession today, we would find it necessary to develop in much greater detail the truth set forth here. Even so, the truth is set forth here essentially and clearly. And the Baptists whose number would multiply later, were a willing departure from the truth of God's Word. There must be no doubt in your mind about the historical place of the baptists. They were a definite departure from the position of the church which through the centuries had been preserved in the truth by the Spirit of Christ. And the reason the baptists departed was essentially because of the rejection of the truth of God's sovereign grace and the unity of the Scriptures.
I am well aware of the fact that there are many today who call themselves "Reformed Baptists," and I do not question their Christianity, nor should you. But they are a departure from the truth, and in that sense their name is a contradiction in terms. For no matter how strongly you insist that God is sovereign, when you take the position that the covenant is fulfilled by man and by man's act of believing, you have degraded the sovereign God and have shot your Reformed faith through with Arminianism. Baptists insist that baptism is only to be administered to adults who have confessed their sins and have given expression to their belief in Jesus Christ. But this is wrong. The obvious implication of this is that man must first of all accept the covenant before he can be brought into it. Man must first of all agree to take part in the covenant before he can be brought into it. But this contradicts the very word of God Himself. "I will establish my covenant," He says. "I will establish my covenant between me and thee in your generations," He says. Jehovah says, "I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant. That is the very word of Jehovah God.
The ground of baptizing infants is found in the truth that they are included in the covenant of grace and that redemption and the Holy Spirit is promised to them no less than to adults. The proof for infant baptism rests upon 3 essential points of indisputable scriptural proof. And I ask you to pay close attention to these.
In the first place, there is only one covenant of grace, established with the church of all ages. That is seen in Galatians 3, which interprets for us the text of Genesis 17:7. In Christ and therefore with all who are in Christ God establishes His covenant as an everlasting covenant. God specifically speaks of the fact that this glorious covenant relationship which He establishes with Abraham, and in which He was Abraham's God, was not a covenant that would some day come to an end. It was an everlasting covenant that endures throughout all time and into eternity.
In the second place, with the unity of the everlasting covenant established, we may say on the basis of Genesis 17:7, as well as Colossians 2:11,12, and other passages, that to whom the covenant belongs, the sign and seal of the covenant belongs. And as the covenant is one throughout all ages, so there is only one sign of that covenant. Now, perhaps you say, "Well, there are two different signs." But remember, since the essence of the covenant remains the same, so does the essential meaning of the sign of the covenant — as I pointed out a little while ago in connection with Colossians 2:11,12. The sign of the covenant may undergo some outward and external changes, and it does, in keeping with the change in the Old and New Testaments. But the sign of circumcision and the sign of baptism both have the same meaning. Both are outward signs signifying an internal reality. Both signs point to the righteousness which is by faith in Jesus Christ. And both signs belong to the children of believers. Baptists would not have children baptized, until they are old enough to express their faith. Why then were the children of Abraham circumcised? They were circumcised because they were in the covenant, though they be only 8 days old. And so it is your calling and mine to present our children for infant baptism.
And finally, we must not forget the promise of Jehovah, that He establishes His covenant in the line of generations of believers and their children. That is His explicit promise to Abraham and to us. That is not to say that all who are baptized are saved. That was not the case with circumcision either. That is not what our Baptism Form means, either, when, in the Prayer of Thanksgiving, you have the factual language of things that are accomplished: "We thank and praise thee, that Thou hast forgiven us, and our children, all our sins." There have been ministers in Reformed churches in the past who refused to pray that prayer. But that is not to say that all who are baptized are saved. Rather, the church is viewed as an elect organism, without regard to those dead branches that will eventually be pruned and thrown into the fire. The sign of baptism is a sign of the fact that God establishes His covenant with His elect in the line of continued generations. The elect who are taken into the very covenant of God through Jesus Christ are brought by the all powerful hand of God through this present life, which is nothing but a continual death, and led into everlasting glory and the perfection of God's covenant.
AND THE RESULT OF THIS COVENANT AND GOD'S ESTABLISHMENT OF HIS COVENANT WITH US IS THAT WE AND OUR CHILDREN BEAR THE MARK OF GOD'S COVENANT UPON US AND THE REALITY OF THAT COVENANT IN OUR HEARTS.
We are, according to the Scriptures and according to the testimony of the Spirit in our hearts, God's friends. You are, aren't you? That is the testimony of the sacrament of holy baptism. Sinful though I be, corrupt though I am by nature, I am the friend of God. That is the covenant established with me and with my children. That testimony should also resound in your own hearts this morning, even through the preaching of the Word. God's covenant with us is an everlasting covenant. The graces of the Holy Spirit are everlasting to us, always issuing forth from Christ Jesus our Lord. All things in this world will fail us; earthly friends will often forsake us; before long our earthly life will fail us. But God's is an everlasting covenant with us which shall not fail.
If that is your own testimony, this morning, then you will stand before Christ and before His cross. You will see your sins, washed away by His blood. And your longing will be for the experience of perfect fellowship with your heavenly Father, in the perfection of everlasting glory. May that be your desire in ever increasing measure. And may you so walk in the midst of this world.
Amen.
Preached: Randolph PRC 5/4/97 (am)
=============================
Return to the
Heidelberg Catechism Sermons page
Return to the Reformed
Literature page
Return to the Reformed Sovereign Grace Literature
Home Page