Baptism - Methodists - Part 3 (Conclusion)

Matthew 28:19 NRSV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Acts 2:38 NRSV

38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:4 NRSV

4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

1 Corinthians 12:13 NRSV

13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Galatians 3:26–27 NRSV

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Introduction

Last week we ended with the statement baptism was open to all and that there were no qualifications which any person needed to meet in order for them to be offered baptism. This week we pick back up studying baptism and will wrap up today the series which is based off the book By Water and the Spirit. It is a short read with only 15 pages but it is packed with lots of material and you can see by the past two weeks and today. I would encourage you to read it for yourself from time to time so you don’t fall into the trap I did with losing its sacramental significance and its centrality of our entering into covenant with God.

God's Faithfulness to the Baptismal Covenant

Often the question is asked why do Methodists only baptize once? Why do they not allow a person to be baptized more than once if they walked away from faith? The simple answer is that while the person may have broken covenant, God never did.

There is no need to re-establish a covenant with God when God has remained faithful. We cannot break God’s love for us, acknowledged at our baptism and part of the covenant.

We can certainly renew our commitment to God. We can certainly repent of our sins. None of these things require a repetition of the baptism itself because God has remained faithful regardless of our unfaithfulness to God

We may have different seasons or different experiences in our Christian walk and they may be celebrated or affirmed but again, they do not call for a baptism to be repeated.

Nurturing Persons in the Life of Faith

Nurturing is part of the Church’s responsibility before and after a person’s baptism. The pastor counsels the individual or sponsor such as parents of baptism as a means of grace and the responsibilities the sacrament will require of them to live out the meaning of the sacrament and vows they take.

The second part of nurturing responsibility of the Church towards the baptized is to provide learning and spiritual formation that is appropriate towards their age and maturity of faith.

Discipleship is a lifelong journey that the church commits to through worship, educational programs, spiritual growth emphasis, social actions and mission work. Church strives to shape people into the image of Christ. This nurturing work enables Christians to live out the transformational potential of grace in baptism.

Profession of Christian Faith and Confirmation

Christian life is dynamic process of growth and change, marked by various points of celebration in rituals of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work before the baptism, during the baptism, and continues to be at work in their lives after the baptism. People recognize and accept this activity of Holy Spirit and respond with renewed faith and commitment. This is to say that grace is at work through the Holy Spirit before, during, and after baptism and each person can recognize this activity and respond by renewed faith and commitment to God.

One point of clarity with confirmation. At some point in our history, confirmation that was done later in life was seen as completing the baptism. This is not true. In our current rituals, all necessary steps of the rite and completed so nothing further is needed to complete a person’s baptism regardless of their age. Confirmation for those who were unable to profess themselves are allowed to do so but that is not for the purpose of completing their baptism sacrament rite.

Another point of clarity with infant baptisms, while the infant is joined to the universal church, this does not make them a member of the local church. This is their decision when they can profess for themselves the same grace that was proclaimed over their infant baptism.

This is covered later in confirmation where teaching of the central Christian doctrines and spiritual disciplines and life of discipleship are covered. In fact, this confirmation teaching is open to all and not just those baptized as infants. This is also a time to experience divine grace and embrace their Christian vocation as part of the priesthood of all believers.

Part of confirmation is the person who was baptized as an infant, professing their own faith that was declared at their infant baptism. It is a public affirmation of grace of God experienced in baptism and grace is acknowledged and accepted by faith. It includes all elements - conversion, repentance, surrender and death of self, trust in saving grace of God, new life in Christ, and becoming instrument of God's purpose in world. Confirmation is done during worship service, and includes baptismal vows as witness to faith and opportunity to give testimony of person Christian experience.

Confirmation follows profession of Christian faith as part of same service. Confirmation is dynamic action of Holy Spirit that can be repeated. In Confirmation the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is invoked to provide person power to life in faith just professed. Confirmation is strengthening and making them firm in faith and life. Ritual or sign action is laying on of hands as sign of God's continuing gift of grace of Pentecost. May also anoint forehead with oil making sign of cross as mark of Spirit's work.

After baptized has professed faith and confirmed, now then enter more fully into responsibilities and privileges of membership in Church. As infants are part of family but unable to fully participate in all aspects of family, so infant baptized members are too. Distinction is made though in counting only professed and confirmed members of church in church membership numbers.

Reaffirmation of One's Profession of Christian Faith

Baptized people's life of faith is a pilgrimage or journey where challenges, changes, and chances occur. Engaging in this life journey of faith is where we participate in the redeeming and sanctifying of the Body of Christ. Ongoing nurture teaches, shapes, and strengthens us to live faithful and open to the Spirit's revealing more of the way and will of God. We appreciate the good news of Christ more and commit to Christ's service and seek ways to celebrate this. Christians also participate in renewals of covenant community to remember and affirm and celebrate God's gracious work in baptism. We have a service for remembering our own baptism. By Water and Spirit, Pg. 13 - "Reaffirmation of faith is a human response to God's grace and therefore may be repeated at many points in our faith journey." In other words, at many points in your Christian faith journey you may reaffirm your faith and commitment to God.

Baptism in relation to other rites of the church

Grace of God which claims us in baptism is also available in other ways and other rites of the Church. I will cover some of these and how baptism is woven into each of these.

The Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Eucharist: this is all the same sacrament.

Baptism initiates people into Church. Lord's Supper sustains life of faith and is part of the Baptism service. It is a way of expressing their full inclusive membership with the Church by celebrating communion as one body.

Communion of a sacred meal of the community of faith which has simple acts of eating bread and drinking wine, and proclaiming and participating in all that God has done, is doing, and will continue doing for us in Christ.

We remember grace given to us in our baptism and partake of the spiritual food that sustains and fulfills the promise of salvation.

Table is open to all because of Christ's love and is not limited to age or membership. Wesleyan tradition recognized Communion as occasion for converting, justifying, and sanctifying grace. Unbaptized individuals can partake of communion but should be baptized as soon as possible.

Baptism and Christian Ministry

By baptism, God calls and commissions all people to general ministry as Christian believers. All believers should participate individually and corporately as activity of discipleship. We are called into new relationship with God and the world. Christians should embody the Gospel and Church to the world. We pray and witness the good news of salvation in Christ by caring and serving others and "working towards reconciliation, justice, and peace in the world. This is the universal priesthood of all believers" (By Water and the Spirit, pg. 14)

Some people are set apart from general ministry of all believers to a vocation of focusing, modeling, supervising, enabling, and empowering the general ministry of the Church. They are ordained for Word, Sacrament, and Order of ministries of service, justice, and love grounded in the same baptism that all believers are commissioned to the general priesthood by. In other words, the same baptism covers both believers commissioned to the general ministry and those commissioned to specific ministries.

Baptism and Christian Marriage

In marriage ceremony you recall your baptism covenant with God as foundation of marriage covenant and agree to continue this same covenant together.

Baptism and Christian Funeral

In funeral we also remember our baptism, if appropriate. We remember as Paul shared in Romans 6:8-9, as we died with Christ we too shall also rise with Christ. Death has no dominion over Christ therefore our faith in Christ says death has no dominion over us.

Graveside or service of committal we also remember our baptism. We acknowledge loss and pain and give thanks for life that was lived. "We worship in the awareness that our gathering includes the whole communion of saints, visible and invisible, and that in Christ the ties of love unite the living and the dead." (By Water and the Spirit, page 15)

Conclusion

"62. Baptism is a crucial threshold that we cross on our journey in faith. But there are many others, including the final transition from death to life eternal. Through baptism we are incorporated into the ongoing history of Christ’s mission, and we are identified and made participants in God’s new history in Jesus Christ and the new age that Christ is bringing. We await the final moment of grace, when Christ comes in victory at the end of the age to bring all who are in Christ into the glory of that victory. Baptism has significance in time and gives meaning to the end of time. In it we have a vision of a world recreated and humanity transformed and exalted by God’s presence. We are told that in this new heaven and new earth there will be no temple, for even our churches and services of worship will have had their time and ceased to be, in the presence of God, “the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 21-22).

63. Until that day, we are charged by Christ to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). Baptism is at the heart of the Gospel of grace and at the core of the Church’s mission. When we baptize we say what we understand as Christians about ourselves and our community: that we are loved into being by God, lost because of sin, but redeemed and saved in Jesus Christ to live new lives in anticipation of his coming again in glory. Baptism is an expression of God’s love for the world, and the effects of baptism also express God’s grace. As baptized people of God, we therefore respond with praise and thanksgiving, praying that God’s will be done in our own lives."

(Conclusion section - 62 and 63 quoted from By Water and the Spirit pg. 15)