New Covenant Baptism, Part 1

One of my best friends and several very good friends have left Baptist circles to become, as they would put it, "fully reformed." What this means is that they've embraced "covenantalism" to the extent that they now view "paedobaptism" (the baptism of infants into the covenant community) as the legitimate covenant sign for all children of believers. This paper is the fruit of our discussions and debates on the issue. It is not exhaustive. It was written as an assignment in one of my classes at the University of Mobile, School of Christian Studies. I'll post them in parts so that you can read each section in one sitting.

I welcome your comments. I would ask that you be kind to one another when and if you post. I would also ask you to try to avoid looking down on the one who differs from you on this issue. You were both bought and paid for by the blood of Christ and are brothers. The formatting of this blog did not allow my footnotes to copy into the text field. If you are interested I'll forward you a copy of the paper via e-mail.

INTRODUCTION

Baptism has been an ongoing source of sectarianism and disagreement since the days of John the Baptist. When John came baptizing in the wilderness, the religious leaders of his day were suspicious and demanded, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet" (John 1:25 NKJV)? Questions about baptism have not subsided. Those who practice infant baptism ask, "Who are you to prevent the baptism of children born to believing parents? 'Nothing short of an actual forbidding of it in the New Testament would warrant' its prevention!" While those who affirm believer's baptism ask, "Why do you baptize infants, when there is 'such appalling lack of New Testament evidence for infant baptism'?" It is the aim of this paper to show that believer's baptism, as clearly revealed in Scripture, is the only orthodox view of the ordinance of Christian baptism.

ECCLESIOLOGY AND NEW COVENANT BAPTISM

The Importance of Ecclesiology

When it comes to the ordinance of baptism in the new covenant community, ecclesiology is a pivotal issue. Those who see the new covenant as being made up of regenerate members only, generally practice believer's baptism. Those who see the new covenant as being an extension of and an improvement upon the Abrahamic Covenant, generally practice infant baptism. The latter assert that in the Abrahamic Covenant unregenerate infants and adults were circumcised as a sign of their inclusion in the covenant community. Therefore, they argue that in the new covenant community, unregenerate infants of believing parents should be baptized as a sign of their inclusion in the new covenant. However, the New Testament unambiguously defines membership in the new covenant community--the church--as consisting of regenerate people only. Therefore, baptism as an ordinance of the church is limited to those who give evidence of being regenerate by exercising repentance and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church: A Regenerate New Covenant Community

When Christ ushered in the Lord's supper, He said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20 NKJV). This simple phrase provides the basis upon which the new covenant is grounded. It is "the new covenant in [Christ's] blood." His blood is the doorway through which men and women enter the new covenant. Christ, therefore, because He shed His own blood to purchase their eternal redemption, is the best of mediators. His blood guarantees the salvation of each member of the new covenant. This necessitates a regenerate membership in the covenant. For Christ is not the mediator for the unregenerate, but the regenerate.

The writer of Hebrews says, "He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance" (Heb 9:15 NKJV). Notice that membership in the new covenant has to do with the death of Christ, forgiveness of sins, and is only applicable to "those who are called." Inclusion in the new covenant comes by spiritual birth and not natural birth. This calling is not a general calling, but an effectual calling which produces salvation. Additionally, Hebrews 8:8-12, makes it clear that the new covenant community is comprised of regenerate people who have had the law of God put "in their minds" and written "on their hearts." Consequently, there is no need to evangelize those within the new covenant "for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." Clearly, the new covenant is superior to, and has effectively set aside the Old Covenant. It is made up of those who have been born again, who have been forgiven, and, therefore, need not be evangelized.

Elsewhere in the New Testament we find that membership in the Church is
wrought by the Holy Spirit. This truth is championed by the Apostles. In Acts 2:38 and 39, Peter exhorts the crowd to "repent and let everyone of you be baptized for the forgiveness of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (NKJV). However, not all those in attendance, not all "children", not all "afar off" were recipients of this promise. No, there is a qualifier attached, namely, "as many as the Lord our God shall call." Again, we have the effectual salvific call of God in plain view.

Membership in the church is always a work of the Holy Spirit and only those who have been "baptized into Christ" (not water, but, Spirit baptism) by the effectual call of God are members of His body and "heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:27-29). I Corinthians 12 states that "by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" and that "[we] are the body of Christ, and members individually." It goes on to say that as members of the body of Christ we receive spiritual gifts for the edification of the Church. Likewise, Eph. 4:7-16 teaches that the body of Christ is a living spiritual organism, growing as each member does its part in the exercise of spiritual gifts. Clearly, the spiritually dead--the unregenerate--are in no way part of such a lively, growing new covenant community--the church.

Furthermore, discoursing on the unity of the Church, the Apostle Paul clearly states that membership in the Church consists of those who are united "in one body and one Spirit...one hope of [their] calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph 4:-6). How can this apply to the unregenerate? How can we be united in one body and one Spirit with unregenerate people? Just who does "you all" refer to? Obviously, it refers to those who are in the Church. The context will not allow for any other interpretation. Without doubt, Paul had a regenerate membership in view. Otherwise, if there were unregenerate members within the church who did not have the Spirit of God within them, Paul could not have said, God "is...in you all." Not surprisingly, then, both Peter and Paul describe the church and its members as being alive and growing. In Ephesians 2 and I Peter 2, they define the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit; its members as living stones comprising that temple, and Christ as the chief cornerstone in the temple.

In addition to all of this, the very word "church"--the Greek word ekklesia--refers to an assembly of the "called out ones." When the Apostles chose this term to describe the body of Christ, it is clear that they imagined a regenerate community comprised of those who are called by the Holy Spirit from death to life and transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Therefore, the new covenant symbol of baptism must be limited to those who give evidence by demonstrating repentance and faith that they are truly part of the ekklesia.