It is to be noted that as Jesus gave the disciples the bread to eat, he told them that they were receiving his body. As they drank from the cup, he assured them that they were drinking the blood he shed for the sins of mankind. That they received Christ’s true body and blood is usually spoken of as the doctrine of the Real Presence in the sacrament.

How the body and blood of Jesus are received with the bread and wine cannot be understood or explained. Scripture does say, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?" And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16) Somehow there is a union of the bread and the body, of the wine and the blood. The Lutheran church has called this a sacramental union, not to explain it, but to confess that this is a union that is unique to the sacrament.

When Lutherans say that "in, with, and under" the bread they receive the true body of Christ, and "in, with, and under" the cup they receive Jesus’ blood, this is not intended to explain the union in any way. It is simply to express the fact of the sacramental union. That there is a sacramental union Scripture clearly teaches. An exact explanation of its nature is not given in Scripture. We simply believe what Jesus says.

Reason, cannot, of course, understand what takes place in the Lord’s Supper. Consequently, people have tried to explain what Christ said in ways that satisfy the reasoning mind. Generally, the Reformed bodies that have Reformers like Zwingli and Calvin as their spiritual ancestors have attempted to rationalize the sacrament. Christ’s words have been explained to mean that the bread "represents" Jesus’ body. Or it may be said that the bread is a symbol of his body. What Jesus says in the sacrament has been compared to a parable. The fallacy in all of these explanations is that they do not take Christ at his word. They all proceed from the assumption that what cannot be understood with man’s reason must be explained in a way that makes it reasonable.

Those who follow the doctrines of Calvin and Zwingli object to the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ because they do believe that "the finite cannot contain the Infinite." The Protest objections are: 1) How can Christ’s body and blood be present in the elements of communion when Christ is seated in heaven? 2) How can Christ offer His body to the world for ages to come? 3) How can forgiveness be received through communion?

Another rationalism of the Protestants is that when Christ spoke the words, "This is my body," He used Aramaic, which does not have a word for "is" and therefore might have meant "This symbolizes my body." The concrete facts are at war with this speculation, since we have the words in Greek, which does have a word for "is," and we have no evidence that Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper in Aramaic only to have it mistranslated in Greek. This would be a decided failure by the Holy Spirit.

Roman Catholicism, too, attempts to explain what happens in the Lord’s Supper. While the bread and wine retain their appearance, touch, and taste, they say, the elements are changed in substance into Jesus’ body and blood. This is called "transubstantiation" and occurs when the priest consecrates the elements. While this does acknowledge the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood, the explanation goes beyond the words of Scripture and has led to further false teachings. Since they believe the consecrated host (the wafer used in the sacrament) has been changed into the body of Christ, it has been made the object of adoration. They adore the host in a special way when it is carried about in a procession in the "Corpus Christ" celebration. So Roman Catholicism, too, although it retains the idea of a miracle, attempts to "explain" what happens and draws logical conclusions that go contrary to Scripture.

Lutherans believe that 2 (bread and wine) become 4 (bread and wine, body and blood). The Reformed teach that 2 (bread and wine) remain 2 (bread and wine), because they say that the Lord’s Supper is symbolic. Roman Catholics teach that 2 (bread and wine) become 2 (body and blood), the substance of the bread and wine changing forever into the body and blood of Christ, although the appearance remains the same.

The Holy Supper of our Lord is not a symbolic meal. When we eat this bread and drink this cup we’re not playing "let’s pretend." For in, with, and under the bread and wine of this Sacrament Jesus gives us His true body and true blood. His flesh is real food, and his blood is real drink.

This eating and drinking in the Lord’s Supper is a Means of Grace because of the benefits God offers to the recipient. What the benefits are Jesus points out when he speaks of the "body which is given for you" and says of the blood that it "is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins." This sacrament directs the Christian to Jesus’ death for man’s sins. When we receive Jesus’ body and blood, the death of Christ for the sins of each participant in the Lord’s Supper is proclaimed to him in a very direct and person way. The Christian is assured that he does indeed have forgiveness before God.

When it comes to Christ and his Church, the old "what you see is what you get" approach to reality simply won’t do. If you and I are to grasp the bountiful riches of the gifts of God, ordinary eyesight and intellect won’t work. For His gifts are wrapped in lowly packages: water, word, and meal. Yet behind these sacraments stands Jesus Himself and the power of His Holy Word. And there is life in His Word. The sacraments are tangible wrappings for that life-giving Word. This explains their historic nickname: "the visible word." For in the sacraments the invisible power of the Word of God lies wrapped in visible outer elements. Thus, in these sacraments we meet Jesus. Actually, in the sacraments Jesus meets us. And nowhere does He meet us more intimately than in that sacramental meal we call the Holy Spirit.

But wait a minute! So God promises his grace with the Lord’s Supper. But why? Why the Lord’s Supper in addition to God’s forgiveness given through the hearing of the word of Christ? It’s as simple as sin. A person convicted by sin needs that extra testimony to God’s forgiveness. In the tangibles of bread and wine, the person crushed by his or her sins and weak in faith encounters the truly superabundant riches of God’s grace in Christ. God wanted people to be absolutely sure of his forgiveness. So he promises his grace also with tangible elements like the bread and wine.

Our living Lord hasn’t left anything to chance. Because we are inclined to doubt the forgiveness of our sins, Jesus presents us with the tangible results of His death on our behalf. Just as a canceled check is evidence of purchase, so His body once broken and His blood once shed is the sign of sins forgiven.

When the pastor announces the forgiveness of sins at the beginning of the worship service, for whom is that forgiveness? Everyone. When the pastor gives the forgiveness in the body and blood of the Lord’s Supper, for whom is that forgiveness? You. Personally. Individually. Jesus comes specifically to you! "For you for the remission of sins."

And sometimes a personal address makes all the difference in the world. Think for a minute which kind of mail you prefer; a third-class flyer addressed to "occupant" or a first-class letter with your name on it?

In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus Christ Himself is not only the host, but the main course as well.

Ignatius, an early church father, called the Lord’s Supper "a medicine of immortality, an antidote, that we may not die but live in God through Jesus Christ, a cleansing remedy through warding off and driving out evils."

St. Bernard said: "The body of Christ is to the sick a medicine, to pilgrims a way; it strengthens the weak, delights the strong, heals weariness, preserves health. Through it man becomes more gentle under reproof, more patient under labor, more ardent for love, wiser for caution, more ready to obey, more devoted to giving thanks."

Chrysostom wrote: "If those who touched the hem of His garment were properly healed, how much more shall we be strengthened if we have Him in us whole?"

On the night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, he was celebrating the Passover. Here are the roots of the Lord’s Supper. In this most remarkable meal, the main course was the antidote to certain death. In the tenth plague, the angel of death extracted from every household. There were no exceptions. However, in those homes where the blood of the lamb marked the doorway, a death had already occurred. The lamb – the Pasch, or "Passover" – had already given up its life, and so the avenging angel would pass over that house on his deadly journey through Egypt.

The very lamb which had delivered them from death by the shedding of its blood was also the main course in this meal. In this supper there was life in the face of death.

In the Lord’s Supper, there is life in the face of death. Jesus gave His body and shed His blood only once on the cross. And yet in His holy meal He distributes that very same body and blood again and again for us Christians to eat and to drink. "Do this," invites Jesus, "in remembrance of me." (1 Cor. 11:24) "O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on me." (CW)

Every communicant gives powerful public testimony in the eating and drinking of this Holy Supper. Our testimony in this meal is not just before people at the Communion rail, but before angels and archangels and all the company of heaven as well: "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." (1 Cor. 11:26)

It’s interesting that the Old Testament models of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper both have a common origin in Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt. The Red Sea victory and the Passover rescue were directed against the same enemy, Pharaoh. So also the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Communion are signs and seals of Christ’s victory over one ancient foe, the devil.

In these outward signs He offers hidden realities for our hearts to believe. And believing, we rejoice. For in the victory over Satan there is also victory over the fallen world and our own sinful nature.

Just as both sacraments are directed against the same powerful enemy, so they also have one crucial benefit: the forgiveness of sins. Peter instructed the crowd who heard him on Pentecost Day: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) In His Holy Supper Jesus specifies His blood as poured out for the forgiveness of sins. (Matt. 26:28)

Yet in this holy meal, there is also a future dimension. For the Holy Supper is a foretaste of something greater to come. In this sacred meal we consume with our mortal bodies the medicine of the immortal life which is in Jesus Christ, the Living Bread come down from heaven. Here in this world we see the presence of God only dimly by faith. But there in heaven’s glory we shall see God face to face and eat and drink in His presence forevermore. For it is the marriage supper of the royal Son of God and His holy bride, the Church. "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7)

When Jesus preached, he addressed great multitudes. The gospel was to be proclaimed to all nations. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, he did this in the rather small circle of his disciples. The Lord’s Supper was not intended to be distributed to mankind in general, but was given as an assurance to Jesus’ believers. It was instituted for those who already knew Christ by faith and had been baptized. New converts to Christianity were first directed to baptism and only later received Holy Communion (cf. Acts 2:38; 8:12:26; 10:47).

Since the Lord’s Supper is to be observed "in remembrance" of Jesus’ death, we must assume that those who are received at the Lord’s Table have received instruction in the gospel. The Lutheran church has generally considered the instruction preceding confirmation as a preparation for receiving communion.

Those who jointly partake of Holy Communion acknowledge one another by such an action as being united in faith. St. Paul wrote, "We, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf." (1 Corinthians 10:17) Error and unbelief destroy this unity. When another person’s confession reveals that he holds to error, a Christian should not pretend that unity exists. When a Christian receives the Lord’s Supper with another, he is expressing religious fellowship, such fellowship is to be expressed only where unity is recognized. Where it is evident that those who profess Christianity are not agreed in their faith, joint communion must wait until agreement has been reached.

Offensive conduct also is disruptive of the fellowship of faith. Whoever persists in sin without repentance separates himself from Christ and his church. He should not be received at the Lord’s Table. The reason is not his sin, but his lack of repentance. The worthiness of a communicant consists not in his holiness of life, but in his repentance and faith in Christ. Where repentance and faith are quite evidently lacking, communion must be withheld lest the Christian "share in the sins of others." (1 Timothy 5:22) To receive one who is unrepentant is to condone his lack of repentance.

Because Scripture has placed restrictions upon those who may receive Holy Communion, and since joint communion is a confessional act, confessional Lutherans practice "close communion," that is they celebrate communion in the close circle of those who repent of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ, and confess a unity of faith. The pastor is entrusted by the congregation with the administration of the sacrament. He will invite and encourage penitent sinners to find comfort in the sacrament. He will withhold the sacrament from those who according to Scripture are not to receive it from such who do not express a unity of faith by their confession.

Altar fellowship in the scriptural sense is not permissible when there is a divergence in doctrine and in life. Where there is no unity of the spirit and no agreement in practice, it is absurd to simulate a fellowship which does not, in fact, exist.

One of the greatest treasures of the church is the Holy Supper, the last will and testament of the Savior, bequeathing the benefits of his suffering to the believers until the end of time. From ancient times the church has therefore been very zealous in guarding this sacrament against abuse. Admission to the Lord’s Supper had always been regarded as a very great privilege.

In the early church, the Lord’s Supper was not open for everyone. Those who were searching for Christ, were invited to services held in the catacombs only after they were "sponsored" by a Christian who would vouch that they were not spies intent on persecuting the Christians. [This is the basis of our baptismal sponsors today.] These new Christians were invited to take part in the worship service, but they were ushered out of the service for the celebration of the Holy Supper. This Supper was only for those who were repentant of their sins, who recognized the Real Presence in this Sacrament, and who were united in Christian faith. Only after two years of careful instruction, [our basis for confirmation today] would the catechumenate become a member of the church and be invited to receive the Lord’s Supper.

One of the biggest fallacies of the Christian church in other denominations is that open communion is "the way it should be." Open communion has never been the way in the Christian church until the last century – and primarily only in America!

The Bible teaches close communion! The early Christian church practiced close communion! The church of the Reformation practiced close communion! Those who are united in a common unity of faith practice close communion!

Martin Luther, after 1529, once the lines of truth and falsehood and been established between Lutherans and the Reformed, opposed every kind of church fellowship with Zwingli (a father of the Reformed who did not believe in the Real Presence) and his followers. Luther wrote in his "Warning Against the Doctrine of Zwingli":

"It shocks me to hear that in one and the same church, at one and the same altar, both parties should take and receive one and the same sacrament, with one party believing that it receives nothing but bread and wine, and the other believing that it receives the true body and blood of Christ. And I often ask myself whether it is possible that a preacher or pastor could be so callous and wicked as to tolerate such a thing, to let each party conceive of the sacraments in its own way and let both parties think that they are receiving the same sacrament. But if there be such a pastor, he must have a heart harder than stone, steel, and adamant; he certainly is an apostle of wrath."

Christians are not divided because they do not celebrate the sacrament together; they do not celebrate the sacrament together because they are divided on other issues. Until greater unity is established in these other fields, only another issues is added if we insist on making the Lord’s Supper a means to an agreement. … Open communion is too easy a remedy for the wounds of the body of Christ today. ("Christendom", 1942)

If we carefully study the scriptural principles involved, we find it clearly indicated that inter-communion, altar-fellowship without doctrinal unity, is rank hypocrisy. If people who according to their open confession do not share the same faith, if they are at variance with regard to truths which both parties claim to find stated in the Bible, and yet engage in a rite which is meant to express, in the most solemn manner, the fullest spiritual communion, ["common union"] they make a pretense at unity which does not exist, and they practice this deception in the innermost sanctuary of the Christian church.

To go to the same table with those who we know to be in error to any truth which Christ has revealed, is not only to hold the truth of Scripture cheap, but to make such persons all the more settled in their errors or indifferent to the importance of truth. (Quoted in "The Lutheran Witness" Vol. LVII, 1938, p. 53)

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The biblical doctrine of church fellowship in general and communion fellowship more specifically is fully incompatible and despicable in the eyes of our culture and society -- including many visible churches that have chosen to tailor their dogma to accommodate societal standards. So when the stronger or more consistent among us seek to apply the truth with consistency and love, they are ridiculed and considered fanatic and hateful, or horribly deluded.

America favors a religion of least common denominators, a generic Christianity that makes room for quite a variety of differing doctrines, and wants everyone to be comfortable and to feel welcomed regardless of such privately held differences. This is nothing new but it is epidemic today and it is compatible with the postmodern concept that there are no absolute truths, only relative preferences.

So it is little wonder that our own people squirm and begin to question themselves. While it is a wonderful time to be a confessional Lutheran (so we can serve so many who need what we have to offer), it is also a difficult time to be one. Emotional and social prices will be paid. Let us pray for spiritual strength and perseverance with faithfulness, starting with ourselves and our families.

In the present day climate of doctrinal indifference, we cannot be sure that members of other churches--even Lutheran churches--have been prepared to receive the Lord's Body and Blood in a beneficial way. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 warns and admonishes: ". . . Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28) A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29) For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself."

WELS judgment and practice in this matter is in accord with the practice of the ancient church and of the Lutheran Church at the time of the Reformation.

The "restrictions" that have been placed on the Lord's Supper are God's doing, not ours. While Jesus broadcast his gospel near and far in every corner of the nation of Israel, it was within the close fellowship of the disciples that he instituted the Supper. Likewise, while Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5 that we are God's ambassadors to the world with the gospel of reconciliation, yet in 1 Corinthians 11 he warns us that to commune those who are unable to examine themselves and recognize the gifts of the Supper is to bring them not blessing but judgment! And in 1 Corinthians 10 he reminds us that communing together with others is a seal and sign of our unity in faith. Where there is no such unity we are practicing deception to kneel together as if true unity really existed.

Are "small" errors in doctrine really a big deal? If so, then why does Paul compare false teaching to the spread of "gangrene" in 2 Timothy 2:17? To use a similar picture, would we say that a "little" cancer is no big deal? We react to even the smallest cancer when it is found because we recognize its power to spread and kill. Is not that the same thing with false doctrine which is always as poisonous and dangerous to our souls as cancer is to our bodies? Might that not be the reason that the psalm writer says, "How sweet are your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts, therefore I hate every wrong path" (Psalm 119:103,104).

If we are just being crusty old crabs when we hold out for sound doctrine and refuse to commune with others, then we should repent. But if we are lovingly concerned for our souls and the souls of others, if we are showing love for the Word of God by which we are saved and also equipped for every good work, then we should be steadfast and unmovable.

In 1 Cor 11, the Bible puts prime responsibility for examining faith on communicants themselves ("A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread or drinks of the cup" - 11:28).

If Paul places this responsibility on communicants, how/why does the pastor get involved? Both the pastor and the other leaders of the congregation (God-willing, they too would be involved in such a decision) have been called by God through the congregation to have a special responsibility for the sheep under their care. Paul encourages such overseers to "keep watch over yourselves and the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers" (Acts 20:28). Part of this "keeping watch" is guarding against communing those who aren't prepared or aren't united in faith. We don't want either to allow someone to receive the Lord's Supper to their own judgment nor send a confusing message about an outward unity of faith that doesn't really exist.

Since no one can read hearts (1 Kings 8:39), such overseers often begin with considering the confession which potential communicants make by their church membership. If someone is a member of a church body that teaches falsely, a pastor doesn't judge their heart, but must assume they share in their church's beliefs.

There is, however, also a confession that takes place by actions. Jesus often said that outward actions express inward beliefs (Cf Matthew 7:15ff). Because of this, a pastor or elder might be faced with a member who confesses to share the church's beliefs, but despite Christian admonition continues to willfully live in impenitence for a particular sin. Again, since no man can read hearts, the ones called to care for God's Church must listen to the confession that person is making by persisting in that sin. The Lord's Supper is not for those who wish to proudly continue in their sins, but for those who wish to be rid of the pressing load of their sins' guilt.

Behind all of this is love for souls. God asks his Church to care for each other in such a way that no sheep be lost. Should the confession of someone's mouth or life lead them to be refused communion, we pray that God would use that witness on our part to lead them to see the truth of God's Word or to see the danger of their own impenitence.

The Book of Concord includes three statements that address the issue of who may commune:

1) In 1529, in his Large Catechism, on The Sacrament of the Altar,Luther wrote: "...We do not intend to admit to the sacrament and administer it to those who do not know what they seek or why they come."

2) The Augsburg Confession (1530) says in Article XXIV.6 - Mass: "...People are admitted only if they first had an opportunity to be examined and heard."

3) The Apology to the Augsburg Confession (1531) says in Article XI.4 - Confession: "...Excommunication is pronounced on the openly wicked and on those who despise the sacraments."

In 1533, in a letter to the churches at Frankfurt am Main, Luther wrote: "Whoever knows that his pastor teaches as Zwingli does should avoid him and sooner do without the Sacrament throughout his life than receive it from him, yes, sooner die for this and suffer everything" (Translated from Weimar Edition 30 III, 561.13).

We in WELS do not believe that all that is important at the communion rail is an agreement in a few basic truths and that after that everyone can pretty much believe what they want about all the other doctrines of Scripture. We are convinced that all of God's truth matters. While it is true that only faith in Jesus saves, yet for this life all the other teachings of Scripture are important for beginning, strengthening, and maintaining that saving faith. Therefore, since we love all of God's Word, we cannot be quiet and act (also at the communion rail) as if none of the other false teachings really matter.

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"He’s got the dimples of his father."

"He’s a cutie all right," responded Marcie. Janet was holding the quietly slumbering babe in her arms. She and her husband had wanted a baby for a number of years. Finally, little Davey came along.

"I can’t get over how peaceful he looks when he’s sleeping," said Janet.

"Janet, are you going to get the baby baptized?"

"Well, Marcie, we don’t baptize babies in my church."

"Why not?"

Janet paused for a second as she shifted Davey over a bit. "We believe that baptism is for a new Christian. Once a person realizes his sinfulness, then he can get baptized. But a little baby can’t sin like that."

Janet’s answer took Marcie by surprise. She had never really thought about it that way before.

"You really don’t think so?"

Janet smiled. "Marcie, have you ever heard of a baby murdering someone? Or a baby stealing? Davey’s just a baby. He’s totally unconscious about things like that. Just look at him sleeping here."

Janet had a hard time seeing the need for infant baptism. After all, if infants are too young to really sin, what’s the need for baptism? Notice also how Janet saw sin in terms of the actual deeds that were done. But sin is much more than that! It’s also a state, a condition that we are in ... from the time of conception and birth.

Gen 1:26,26; Gen 5:3; Gen 8:21; Job 14:4; Job 15:14; Job 25:4; Matt 7:17; Ps 25:7; Ps 58:3; Ecc 7:20; Rom 3:10-12; Rom 7:14-25; Eph 2:1-3; Rom 8:7,8; Rom 5:12.

Romans 3:23 states that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." The language of Scripture is ALL, with no exceptions! Everyone is under the curse of sin and in need of God’s saving work in their lives. "Everyone" means even the littlest.

If infants were really innocent of sin, why doesn’t Scripture say this? Rather, the exact reverse is definitively stated. There is nobody who is righteous in God’s eyes, not even the newborn.

A pastor was teaching a class on baptism. He had just finished talking about how John 3:5-8 shows how baptism saves us from the sins of our flesh.

Suddenly a woman raised her hand and asked, "Pastor, it seems hard to believe that applying water to someone is going to help them with eternity. How can water save?

(The emphasis on "water" almost stung.)

"Sue, when we talk about being saved, we can only say what Scripture says. The Bible tells us that God works in his Word, his Holy Scriptures, to create faith, whenever the Bible is heard or read. But the Bible also says that baptism saves. God works in each of these ‘means’ to create faith."

"Well, I don’t see why God couldn’t just work faith directly. Why does he have to be tied down to water?"

"What God could have done is not for us to worry about. We can only go with how God says he is working."

"I just still have a hard time believing that water can save."

"How can water do such great things?"

That was exactly the question that many were asking at the time of the Reformation. In response, Luther once said about baptism:

If God bade you pick up a stalk of grain or a strip of feather and, with his command, promised that through this act you should have forgiveness of all your sins, grace, and everlasting life, should you not accept that proposal with great pleasure and gratitude, love it, praise it, and esteem that stalk or feather a higher and holier possession than heaven and earth?

 

Baptism is not the work of men, but of God. The apostle Paul always uses the passive voice in the verbs that denote baptism. The fact that humans administer baptism is not important (1 Cor 1:14-17). It is God who works in baptism (Eph 5:25-27; Col 2:13; Titus 3:5-7).

But wait a minute! So God promises his grace with water baptism. But why? Why water baptism in addition to God’s forgiveness given through the hearing of the word of Christ? It’s as simple as sin. A person convicted by sin needs that extra testimony to God’s forgiveness. In the tangibles of water or of bread and wine, the person crushed by his or her sins and weak in faith encounters the truly superabundant riches of God’s grace in Christ. God wanted people to be absolutely sure of his forgiveness. So he promises his grace also with tangible elements like the water.

Is baptism necessary? The Scriptures say yes! Baptism is necessary only because God grants his grace through it. Why would anyone want to pass up the free gift of God’s grace? Why would anyone keep another from the love of God given each of us in baptism?

"Your church baptizes babies? But why?"

"We believe that God saves them through baptism," replied Theresa.

"But doesn’t the Bible say he that believes and is baptized shall be saved?"

"Well, sure, but ...." Theresa wasn’t really sure what to say as Jim went on.

"How can a baby believe? A baby can’t accept Jesus as its Savior. A baby doesn’t even know what baptism means!"

"But how else are they going to be saved?" asked Theresa.

"Maybe God’s got a special plan for babies. But it can’t be baptism. Baptism’s not any good unless you believe. And a baby’s not old enough to know anything about the Lord." ...

Many Christians speak of the day or hour when they "accepted" the Lord or "made their decision" for him. For them, faith has become a conscious acceptance of Jesus Christ after being old enough to understand the gospel. Infants, they say, cannot have such a faith. They’re too young to accept the gospel. How many parents have delayed their child’s baptism because they wanted it to be the child’s own decision?

But this way of thinking puts the burden of salvation on man and his own works. Salvation becomes man’s decision to accept God and his love for us rather than God’s acceptance of man.

Scripture, however, teaches a different view of faith:

Eph 2:8-10; John 15:16; Eph 1:4,5; Rom 9:9-24; Rom 9:16; Rom 7:14-20.

People like to speak of an "age of accountability" when the child is able to understand the things of the faith. However, we are told in 1 Corinthians 2:14 and other places in Scripture that mankind, by nature, whether infant or adult, is unable to "accept" or welcome the things of God. While an infant cannot "accept" the Lord, an infant can receive him!

Since faith is entirely a result of a decision by God for the sake of humans, it is easy to see that God can work faith even in infants. Faith is a miracle in any person and must be since the natural man cannot receive the things of God’s Spirit (1 Cor 2:14). The disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 19:25: "Who then can be saved?" What was Jesus’ answer in the following verse? "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Faith is not dependent on human wisdom or intelligence. Faith would then be a human action when the Word says that it is the work of God.

Self-conscious adults tend to rationalize faith. But infants and adults are all equally incapable of faith of themselves. Faith is a miracle of God in any person, no matter what the age.

John 3:8 warns against trying set limits or boundaries over the work of the Spirit that is promised in baptism.

Texts such as Acts 22:16, John 3:5, Ephesians 5:26, and Titus 3:5 all speak of an order. The gospel is shared. Then comes belief. Last is baptism.

God works in a different way with children. Rather than having to win over their rational thinking, God has less to do in creating infant faith. While adults and older children need to think through things in the hearing of the Word, that is just not so with the infant.

Instead of infant baptism, many churches practice what is called infant "blessing." The custom goes back to Christ (Mark 10:13-16). But, infant blessing was never ordained by Christ. Baptism was. Baptism was given to the Church as a means of bringing people to the faith (Matthew 28:18-20). Second, infant blessing does not have God’s grace promised with it or the power of the Word as baptism does. Baptism is a "sacrament" while infant blessing simply is not. Baptism is a means of making infants holy.

But people still get stuck on the fact that Jesus did not baptize the little ones. Jesus never baptized! " ... Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples" (John 4:2). That Christ did not baptize these children but blessed them should not be found surprising. Jesus never baptized adults either!

1. Children are included in "all nations" (Matt 28:18-20).

 

2. Paul compared and made an analogy between baptism and circumcision (Colossians 2:11-13). Since circumcision is for infants, so also is baptism.

 

3. Since ceremonial washings in the Old Testament included infants, it is natural to conclude that Christian baptism should do the same, for baptism is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament ceremonial rites of purification.

 

4. "Entire" families were baptized in the book of Acts (Acts 16:15; 16:28-36; 18:8)

 

5. Children are born in sin (original sin) which requires the cleansing water of baptism.

 

6. Infants can believe.

1. The child that Christ used for an example of humble faith (Matthew 18:5) is a "little child." This Greek word "paidion" refers to infants, babies and very, very small children.

 

2. The "little ones" (Matthew 18:6) in the Greek "mikroon" refers to the class of children under four years old and according to both Hebrew and New Testament usage has special reference to the "littlest," namely the infants.

 

3. Luke’s version (18:15-17) of the same events uses the Greek word "brephae." Matthew’s "paidion" refers to all those under four years of age including the infants. But "brephae" refers only to infants. The people brought to Jesus infants!

 

4. The Old Testament also speaks of little children believing in God (Psalm 71:5,6; Psalm 22:9; Psalm 8:2). The Scripture also points out that John the Baptist as an infant was filled with the Holy Spirit and believed already in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15,41,44).

1. Peter said that the baptismal promise of forgiveness of sins was for the children (Acts 2:39).

 

2. The early Christian church baptized infants.

The Greek word used in Mark 7:4 to speak of "the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles" is the word "baptizo" – "to baptize." When we wash jars, large pitchers, and kettles, we do not necessarily totally immerse them. We may simply pour water over them. In Luke 11:38 the kind of washing the Pharisees expected of Jesus before eating did not involve the immersion of his entire body. The Greek word for "baptize" is used here for the ritual washing of hands in daily Jewish life.

The writer to the Hebrews refers to matters of "food and drink and various ceremonial washings [Greek word for "baptisms"] (9:10). These were the washings, or baptisms, required by Old Testament ceremonial law. It is crucial to note that the law never required immersions but frequently required sprinkling or pouring.

In Matthew 3:16 and Mark 1:10, the holy writers record that "Jesus went up out of the water." Some assume from this that Jesus went down into the river was completely covered by water in his baptism. However, in Acts 8:39 Luke writes that "they came up out of the water." This is the same Greek verb that is used in Matthew and Mark. If, as some assume, that Jesus was totally immersed by the water and then "came up out of it," they must also assume that Philip and the eunuch were totally immersed by the water and then they both "came up out of it." However, nobody baptizes another by immersing himself also under the water.

On Pentecost, three thousand people were baptized in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41), which has no river. Were there pools large enough to immerse all those people in one day? Even if there were, it is very doubtful that the enemies of our Lord and his followers would have put the city’s water supply at their disposal so that three thousand people could be bathed there.

In Acts 8, when the Ethiopian eunuch wanted to be baptized by Philip, they were on a desert road (verse 26). No rivers are in the area. The only water is an occasional small spring, which quite likely would not have been large enough for an immersion.

In Acts 9:18,19, Paul, blind and weak, was sitting in a room, his eyes were opened, he relates his baptism, he took food, and he was strengthened. The text relates the events in rapid succession, which implies that everything occurred in the house where Paul was staying. It is very unlikely that a private dwelling would have had the facilities for a person to be totally covered with water in baptism.

The same is true regarding the baptisms of the jailer at Philippi and his household in Acts 16:33. It was after midnight when they were baptized. It seems very unlikely that Paul and Silas went out to a river and immersed the jailer and his household at that late hour.

The testimony of the various illustrations of baptism in the Roman catacombs strongly favors pouring as the manner of applying water in baptism. The ruins of the early churches have shallow baptismal fonts, not immersion tanks. From early times, a sea shell has been used as a symbol for baptism. Sea shells were often used to pour water on the heads of those being baptized. Early Christian paintings depict John and Jesus standing in water and John using a sea shell to pour water on Jesus’ head. To be sure, immersion was used in the early church, but it was not used to the exclusion of other methods of baptism.

Any method of applying the water – immersion, pouring, or sprinkling – is a valid method.

The Bible does not teach one doctrine of infant baptism and another doctrine of adult baptism. Rather, it teaches a single doctrine of baptism, and that is enough. When people understand why baptism is needed and what baptism does, they usually agree on whether we should baptize babies. Since baptism brings us all the benefits of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and creates the saving faith to receive those benefits, why would it be withheld from children?

The prevailing view by those who do not baptize children is that children are born in a state of innocence and that when they grow up, they are affected by their evil surroundings and start to do improper things. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

A progressive couple kept their young son from associating with other children his age. In this way they intended to shelter the boy from the sinful influence of those around him. But they soon discovered, to their amazement, that he did sinful things anyway, without ever being taught. He was as selfish and nasty as any other child. The human predicament is not the result of our environment but a result of the sinful condition of the human heart.

Some will agree that children are sinful from birth, but they assume that children are not accountable to God for their sins. The Bible, however, does not speak of an age of accountability. Romans 3:19 says that the whole world is accountable to God. Paul warns, "The wages of sin is death" (6:23). If children were not accountable for their sins, they wouldn’t die. Obviously, then, children are accountable for their sins, because they die, as all other people.

Faith is not a work we perform but is entirely a gift from God. It is a trust in the Savior worked by the Spirit. Christians have never considered themselves anything but believers even when they were asleep or otherwise unconscious. Sleep certainly does not destroy a believer’s faith, neither does a coma, nor does Alzheimer’s disease. Baptized babies can believe even though they cannot recite the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostles’ Creed.

Jesus warns adults not to let their reason and understanding get in the way of believing like little children. (Mark 10:15)

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Mark 7:1-4 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and {2} saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. {3} (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. {4} When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) (Some early manuscripts have "pitchers, kettles and dining couches.")

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. {19} Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

1. When I’m born I’m dead in sin.

Titus 3:5 … he (God our Savior) saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

2. In baptism God washes away my sin and I am reborn.

Romans 8:7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

3. When I’m born my relationship to God is one of hostility and hatred.

Galatians 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, {27} for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

4. In baptism, God makes me his adopted child.

Psalms 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

5. When I’m born I’m born sinful.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

6. In baptism, God forgives those sins; the gift of the Holy Spirit which is faith.

Galatians 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, {27} for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

1. In baptism God offers and gives Christ’s holiness and perfection. A new start; a white robe of righteousness.

1 Peter 3:20b-21 In it (the ark) only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, {21} and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

2. In baptism God offers and gives us eternal salvation.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. {13} For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

3. In baptism God makes me an adopted member of his family. (Like a birth certificate)

Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her {26} to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, {27} and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

4. In baptism God offers and gives the forgiveness of sins.

Romans 6:4,13 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. {13} Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

5. In baptism the Holy Spirit works in me the desire to throw off the slaver of sin and live a new life.

Luke 18:15-17 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. {16} But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. {17} I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Matthew 18:6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Psalms 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. {6} Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. {7} Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Proverbs 31:26 [A wife of noble character] speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

2 Peter 3:18 Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

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