Day: October 12, 2010

Next sunday afternoon, we will have a baptismal service in the church. It is exciting since the last Baptism was about 5 years ago. I will be leading the service, and Emmanuel Hartiel will be preaching. In order to prepare myself, I was having a look at the 1689 London Baptist Confession on the subject of Baptism. Their first paragraph is interesting. Contrarily to the modern trend that sees Baptism as a sign for the outside world, the confession describes it as a sign for the one baptised. Here is the paragraph in full:

Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptised, a sign of his fellowship with him, in his death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into him; of remission of sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life. (1689 London Baptist Confession, 29.1)

The Westminster Confession of faith says the same thing:

Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church; but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in the newness of life. Which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in His Church until the end of the world.