UM's & Waters of Baptism
February 12, 2006
UM’s & Waters of Baptism
Romans 6:1-14
Like Holy Communion, the Christian church is also divided about baptism, which is the other thing Christ commanded his church to do. The church is divided over how much water is needed, how the water is applied, and who is a candidate for baptism.
In much of America, Methodism is not the dominate religious culture. In rural Arkansas we are definitely not the dominate religious culture. Our first appointment was in Imboden and there the dominate religious culture was Church of Christ. Here, and in most of the state, it is Baptist. I am not being critical of those traditions, but I that we UM’s have a tendency to adopt a mixture of their theology and UM theology when it comes to baptism.
So, what do we believe about baptism?
First, we believe that baptism is a covenant. A covenant has both divine and human sides. God offers us new life and new birth, salvation. God has offered that to us through the death and resurrection of Christ. Our response is to accept the gift and offer ourselves to God. Baptism is God’s call to us to die with Christ and be raised to new life in him. We don’t baptize people into the UM Church, but into Christ. They may join our church after baptism but they are not baptized into the United Methodist Church.
Second, we give a qualified ‘yes’ to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration; or the idea that the waters of baptism confer salvation. Baptism is not a talisman or good luck charm. If water was all that was needed, we should set up sprinklers about the church and anytime someone walks down the street the sprinklers should come on. We believe that Baptism, like Holy Communion, is a sacrament, a means of grace, but they are not talismans but a call to a disciplined life. Water without conversion, water without discipleship is just water. The waters of baptism are regenerative when faith opens us to the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. We would agree with Paul here in Romans that we have died to sin and are alive in God because of our baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Third, we believe in the prevenient grace of God that allows children to come to the font. Like adult baptism, we believe that this water is regenerative in the child but that the child must at some point in his/her life must respond to the covenant. We do not baptize children that will not be raised in a church environment. The parents and the church community both promise to raise the child in such a manner that they will claim the faith for themselves. Since we believe that our sacraments are means of grace, we allow children to participate in both. Some object, and say, ‘they don’t understand.’ I know adults who don’t understand.
Fourth, we believe that is not the amount of water that is important, it is what God is doing in the heart that matters. If a certain amount of water is necessary for baptism, then why isn’t a certain amount of bread and juice required in communion? Sacraments are external symbols of what God is doing in the heart.
Baptism is our initiation into Christ. It is our call to a disciplined life with God. Our response is to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. It is a means of grace and I take a backseat to no one. It is as biblical as the other and we should not be ashamed of our belief.
Monday, February 13, 2006. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:1-7 that Christians are to be humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another and strive to keep the unity of the Spirit. Why is that important? His answer is that there is one body and one Spirit. The body is the body of Christ; the Spirit is, of course, the Holy Spirit. We are all brought into the one body by the same Spirit through the one baptism. In baptism we are united to Christ (Romans 6:3) and to each other. Baptism is our entry into the family and peace of God. What does it mean to you to know that God has claimed you in your baptism?
Tuesday, February 14, 2006. In United Methodist theology, we do not baptize people into the United Methodist Church. We baptize them into Christ. In baptism, with faith, we are made Christians. That is what Paul says in Galatians 3:26-29. We are made Christian in baptism and then we may join a particular church or denomination. We are not United Methodist Christians, we are Christians who worship in the UM tradition. Our first allegiance is to Christ, for it is with him that we are clothed in baptism, and then we may give allegiance to a particular church.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006. Jesus gave the church its orders in Matthew 28:16-20. He told us to GO; make disciples; baptize them and to teach them to obey all that he commanded. We tend to wait instead of go. We wait for them to come to us. But in reality, as God made the first overture to us, we too must make the offer. As people come to Christ, we are to initiate them into Christ and the church.
Thursday, February 16, 2006. I ran across the phrase ‘walking wet’ one day studying about ministry and baptism. The author suggested that in one sense the waters of baptism never dry. Each day we remember that we have been made a member of God’s family. The author, a Lutheran, said that it was baptism that calls all Christians into ministry, and we UM’s would agree with him. It is our baptism that calls each of us into the ministry of Christ to the world. In that sense, we should walk wet everyday. Has your baptismal waters dried out? Are you walking wet?
Friday, February 17, 2006. In Acts 8:26-40 we read the story of the Ethiopian official who was led to Christ by Philip and baptized in the desert. The Coptic church of Ethiopia to this very day says that their journey in the Christian faith started right there in Acts 8. The official returned home and shared the grace of God in Jesus Christ. This man’s spiritual descendants are still with us today. Who are our spiritual descendants?