What a day Sunday was! God blessed us with beautiful weather and our gracious hosts did a wonderful job setting up everything that was needed for the baptisms and the fellowship!
This will be the first post that deals with the sermon preached this past Sunday. I have been pondering on what to write about and if there is even a need to write. My concern is creating an obligation for a weekly post which is not the point of this type of post. Nor do I want to create an expectation that I will be writing posts with a certain academic or scholarly quality that dives deeper into the topic of the message. As you know academics and studying, while I deeply value them, tire me out and I, as all of us do, must be wise in how I expend my energy.
I suppose at this point in time of these type of posts my aim is to clear the table and do the dishes so to speak, nothing more nothing less. Therefore, some weeks I will write and others I won't. Some weeks there will be much to be said and others not so much. Just like some dinners are served with paper plates thus there are no dishes to be washed and put away, and other dinners are served with plates, soup bowls, and dessert cups.
I appreciated the various conversations that I had with many of you following the sermon and the baptisms. I also appreciated how many of you made the trip to the venue of which we conducted the baptisms. It was a marvelous God-glorifying morning...
I do not have much to say in regards to the sermon, but what I do want to say focuses on the topic of infant baptism. I understand that some of you have been baptized as infants and others have had their children baptized as infants. As I said in my message I would never force a person who has been baptized as an infant to be re-baptized as a believer. There are also many believers who I respect, trust, and learn from that practice infant baptism as I mentioned in the sermon. But I would urge you to study the Scriptures, pray to God, and see what the teaching there is in regards to how a person ought to be baptized. If you need to listen to my sermon again, please do. If after wrestling over God's Word on the issue and your conscience is settled that your baptism as an infant suffices, so be it. If not, then let's get you baptized. Another thing to ponder... if baptism is not necessary for salvation why not wait until one is sure of a person's faith? Why not wait to let the person make the profession themselves rather than risk possibly profaning the Lord's name by baptizing the unregenerate (unsaved) into the faith?
Let me also say this. Do not refuse believer's baptism for the sake of your parents, grandparents, or any relative or even a beloved pastor. You answer to God first and you can honor your parents best by being faithful to the teachings of Scripture rather than that of man. Also, if you have been baptizing your children as infants and now believe that believer's baptism is the more proper response to the teaching of Scripture. Do not baptize your other children simply because the others have been baptized as infants. Granted this situation will probably bring up some interesting conversations with the others, and if this situation fits your family, let's talk. You're not in this alone and grace and truth is best experienced in community.
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