Baptism towards a open handed position
Preface
Within the Reformed tradition there are both advocates for covenant baptism and the baptistic view of credo baptism. Our church affirms the clear understanding that baptism is not necessary for salvation yet that it is a normative part of the Christian life. We allow members to hold either to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) or the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) on this issue. Both affirm the essence and purpose of baptism though differ on the mode and timing. Whichever view is taken one may and must make a informed decision on the matter as they search out God’s will. Our churches official view is derived from the Westminster Confession but we allow for theological dissent for those whose conviction leads them to a credo-baptist position. All teaching staff must hold one of these two positions. In our foundation small group this issue is discussed as a prerequisite for membership in our church. Provided below is both a history of baptism and the full statement from the Westminster Confession of Faith. A handy guide to the differences between the two opinions is A Tabular Comparison of the 1646 WCF and the 1689 LBCF by James Anderson.
A brief history of the doctrine of Baptism
As discussed early until the Reformation there was near unity on the method of baptism, though there was differences in the significance of baptism. Martin Luther a German Catholic believed that the Church under the leadership of Rome had rejected the clear teachings of the Scripture and had added to what God had done in the person of Christ and to his commands instituting the sacraments. Luther believed that in doing this they were unwittingly leading people away from Christ. He began a movement to restore the Church to only the doctrines found within the Bible. This movement came to be known as the Reformation.
The Roman churches taught that there were nine sacraments and that they were all necessary for salvation. Luther and those that followed him rejected this view. This led to a split between the churches that followed Rome and those that did not. Those that did not follow Rome were collectively called Reformed churches because they wanted to reform the Church to only follow scripture. As Christians and converts began searching for what the Bible taught this led to different developments within the Christian faith. Nearly 40 years after the Reformation began a second group of Reformers emerged in other countries particularly Switzerland that allowed for the Reformed faith to grow.
One of the leading leaders in Geneva Switzerland was a man named John Calvin. For all the differences between the Lutheran and Calvinistic traditions they agreed that Jesus instituted two divine sacraments where God freely imparts His grace in the sacraments of baptism and communion. They agreed with the majority of Church history that baptism was the sign of the New Covenant like circumcision was the sign of the Old Covenant. They agreed that the sacrament of Communion replaced the Old Testament practice of Passover. They rejected the idea of Rome that these acts were salvific and necessary for salvation. They saw a organic connection between what God had done in the Old Testament and the New Testament and what God was doing in their churches and lives. They saw the Church as composed of true and false churches and believers.
One group of reformers in Zurich Switzerland rejected the idea of the Church being made up of true and false believers. They believed in a pure Church made up only of believers. They rejected the idea of sacraments and believed that the New Testament covenant was intrinsically individualistic over communal. They purposed the idea of a believer’s only Church. They believed that the only true baptism are those that are preceded by the individual professions of faith. They also rejected the idea of sacraments in favor of the idea of ordinances. They believed the two commands of Jesus of baptism and the Lord’s Supper were memorial events that only pointed back to what Jesus had done. They rejected the idea that God was imparting grace during the acts of baptism and communion, the unity of the Old and New Covenants, and the communal aspect in favor of personal piety.
This view came to be known as credo-baptism (profession of faith proceeding baptism). It is the view of Baptist and the majority of non-denominational churches. The Calvinist Reformed view of Presbyterian and Reformed churches believe that baptism is the sign of the New Covenant and is offered to both converts and the children of converts. This view is called covenant-baptism or infant-baptism. Covenant baptism requires profession of faith from converts and profession of faith from the parents of the child being baptized into the covenant community of the visible church.
Crossmark’s Open-handed postion
Both credo-baptism and covenant baptism rejects that baptism is part of salvation. Instead it is a celebration of faith in what God had done in the life of a disciple. In both views baptism is viewed as an act of obedience to a command of Christ. Our church sees baptism as a open hand theological issue between the two position of credo baptism and covenant baptism. The writings of the early Church are nearly unanimous from the third century onward that baptism is to be offered to both converts to Christ upon profession of faith and to the children of professing believers as a sign of the continuing covenant of God with his people. However within the early Church there were a few who argued for credo-baptist position. The early church viewed this as a open handed issue. In the Reformation a small group of believer’s adopted the credo-baptist view as the only valid form of baptism and for them this was a close handed issue. They rejected the covenant/paedo baptism position as anti-biblical. This schism has divided sincere Christian brethren from worshipping together, taking communion with one another, sharing in the gospel mandate, and even doubting the validity of another’s salvation on this issue alone. In our desire to fulfill Christ command “to love one another” in the hope that by doing so “by this the world will know that we are his disciples” that we will be united in the gospel for the glory of God. [John 13:5, John 13:35]
If you would like to read Pastor Will’s position please click here.
