Can It Get Any Better Than This?
“In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” ~Galatians 3:26-27
This Lord’s Day we will administer the sacrament of baptism to one of our covenant children. It is one of the most joyful moments in the life of a church! Without going into the details of who or how we baptize in our theological tradition (I’ll explain that on Sunday), I want us to consider what is meant by the Larger Catechism’s exhortation to “improve” upon our baptism (question 167).
What does this mean? The answer provided is instructive: first, it tells us that neglecting this practice is to our detriment. This ought to grab our attention immediately! How many times have we witnessed a baptism without considering how we might improve upon our own? It goes on to say that we should do this all our life long, especially in times of temptation. Now, this is good news. It means that if we’ve been negligent in this area, we have the rest of our lives to engage heartily in this practice. What’s more, we are to do this when we are feeling especially tempted by sin. Have you felt tempted lately?
When we witness a baptism, we ought to seriously and thankfully consider all the privileges and benefits that have been conferred to us in our own baptism, namely, the assurance that our sins have been washed away in Christ; that the the gift of the Spirit has been poured upon us at our salvation; that the death of Christ, into which we were baptized, means we shall also be raised in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom 6:5). Indeed, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places has been promised and conferred to all of God’s children by faith. When you witness a baptism, be grateful to God for all He has done for you, which is symbolized in the sacrament.
But don’t miss the seriousness of the moment, as well. We should be humbled by the fact that God would ever show love to us in the first place. Consider the defilement of our sins; how often we fall short of and walk contrary to the grace of baptism; how little regard we pay to the reality of God’s wrath being poured upon Christ on the cross, which is symbolized in the pouring of water. Do we think seriously about what baptism signifies to us?
Can our baptism get any better? Well, yes and no. What God has promised cannot itself be improved upon. He has already accomplished and applied His redemptive work to our hears. That is as good as it gets. But from our perspective, yes, as we grow in gratefulness for all it communicates and in seriousness of purpose to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we’ve been called.
As you prepare for worship this Lord’s Day — wherever you may worship — consider the promises of God made to you in the Covenant of Grace, and be thankful!
Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Associate Pastor