Why Do So Many Practice It? Part 1

Introduction to the Series and Sermon's Focus

0:00 This adult Sunday school class was held on August 7th, 1983, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now, it's a joy to have visitors with us this morning. No doubt not a few of our own number are away on various vacations, visiting with relatives and getting a much-needed break from the normal humdrum of personal responsibility. But looking out upon the class this morning, I do see that we have not a few visitors, some not for the first time.

0:35 We welcome our friends back again from Connecticut, but some for the first time. And so, particularly for your benefit, let me just take a few minutes to sketch in what has been going on in this adult class for the past few Lord's Day mornings. Those of you who are here regularly know that Pastor Nichols has been bringing a series on the basic theme, Infant Baptist in the light of the Word of God. As we look out on what we might call Christendom, and that term Christendom usually covers all branches of the professing Christian faith, everything from Roman Catholic to Greek Orthodox to the most what we might call fanatical sects that profess to believe the Bible. But the term Christendom refers to any and every branch of the Christian faith. And so, as we look upon Christendom, it's simply a fact of church history and of present observation that large segments, and we might even say numerically, the overwhelming number of those who would be included within this description of Christendom, practice a ritual of placing water upon the head of infants, or in the case of the Greek Orthodox Church, they actually plunge infants

1:57 into a lot of water. And so, as we look upon Christendom, it's simply a fact of church history like a little baby bath, because a Greek simply could not say, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and then just put a little water on his forehead. Because for the Greek, the word baptize is so connected with the concept of a plunge or an immersion, they actually immerse their babies. Now, that's a fact, and if you doubt it, just go to a Greek Orthodox Church when they're having an infant christening, and you will find them actually immersing the child.

2:26 But it's a fact that this ritual of infant baptism is practiced by, we might say, the large majority of those who would be identified in some way or another with what we would call Christendom. Now, since all who claim to be Christians of one stripe or another, ultimately, at least to some degree, say that they believe what they believe and practice what they practice, because it's taught in the Bible, it is proper for us to examine, this widely practiced ritual of infant baptism in the light of the Word of God, in the light of the teaching of Jesus Christ and his apostles. And surely, anyone sitting here this morning who is a part of Christendom, in any of the broad spectrum included in that term, would not object to raising the question, infant baptism, is it a scriptural practice? Is it taught by our Lord Jesus Christ? And by his apostles? Was it practiced by Christ

3:32 and his apostles? So, Pastor Nichols has been leading us in a study in which that theme has been addressed. Now, he began by, first of all, looking at the scriptural witness to the subjects of baptism. When we turn to the Word of God and look up every passage in which it is said that either John the Baptist or Jesus or his apostles baptized someone, do we find any instance in all of the recorded examples of the practice of baptism, where the subjects of baptism were infants? And as we went through every passage in the Word of God where the subjects of baptism are described, we saw that there is not one recorded instance of the baptizing of an infant. Now, when Pastor Nichols comes back, God willing, he's going to lead you in four other, three or four other lines of thought. Yes, the subject of baptism. The biblical witness, not only with regard to the subjects of baptism, but then the significance of baptism. And you'll be looking at a number of passages

4:49 in which the significance of baptism is described in the Bible and then applying it to the question, can that significance apply to infants? And then the answer, yes, it does. And then the Then we'll be looking at the doctrine of the sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper. Does the biblical doctrine of the sacraments warrant the application of those sacraments to infants?

5:10 And then you'll be looking at the doctrine of infant baptism in the light of the biblical teaching on the nature of the church. Because all in Christendom believe that baptism either declares that one is a member of the church, or by baptism one is made a member of the church. So if infants should be baptized, then they should be included in the biblical doctrine of the church. So it's proper to examine this element of biblical witness.

5:37 And finally, the doctrine of the covenant community. That is the community of those people whom God owns as his own and with whom he identifies himself. So particularly now for those of you who are coming as it were midstream into this study, that will give you a little idea of what is going to be laid out. Now, we've come this far in our study.

6:00 And Pastor Nichols led you in your study this far, so what I'm doing in the couple of weeks that I have while he's in South Africa, I'm sort of putting on a couple of secondary issues, trying to address myself to some questions which will not be addressed directly in these five lines of thought. All right, does that give you some idea of where we've been and where we're going, God willing? So what I did last week is I took up the question, is it proper to approach the subject in this way? Is it right to question, to approach the question, is infant baptism a biblical practice by turning to the passages which say, so and so was baptized, so and so baptized this one, and we saw that this is indeed the only proper way to approach the subject. If you have a question about what the Bible teaches concerning any subject, you turn to what the Bible says concerning that subject, first of all. Then you may turn to related subjects and derive additional light and supportive insights from those other passages. And we use the rather ridiculous illustration that if we were concerned to discover what the Bible says about election, does God have a people whom he chose for himself, whom he has elected unto life and salvation?

7:26 We would not take a concordance and look up the word foot or ear. We would look up the words choose, chosen, elect, election, and similar words. Likewise, when we have a question about the practice of baptism, we should turn to the passages in which it is recorded that so and so was baptized, so and so baptized certain ones. And when we do, we find that with unanimous voice the Scripture speaks very clearly.

7:53 Nowhere is it recorded, that an infant, that is, anyone other than a confessed disciple was ever the proper subject of baptism. Now again, let me say for some who may be visiting, to whom that's a shocking conclusion, don't be angry with me. And don't go out and say, why, that terrible man...

8:14 May I urge you to do one thing? If your reaction is one of being shocked, just turn to the Scriptures. Get your Bible out and start reading in the Gospel of Matthew, and write down every single passage, right through to the book of the Revelation, where baptism is mentioned. And see for yourself that though Jesus blessed children, took children in his arms, used them as illustrations, spoke highly of them, used them for illustrations, there are many things that it says, Jesus did with children.

The Central Question: Why Infant Baptism Without Biblical Warrant?

8:46 But never once does it say, He christened them. There are many things apostles say about children and to children. But one thing the Bible never says is, says that they did was to sprinkle them or to baptize them and i challenge you don't be angry just go to the bible and search out what the scriptures say all right well so much for that rather lengthy introduction review but i know what it's like when i'm a visitor and i come into a class and the teacher just starts out on a tear and i'm down to the last three minutes before i begin to get an idea where they've been and where they're going so i pretty much lost everything along the way so you who've been here bear with me as i try to be considerate of our visitors now then having addressed ourselves to that sort of a p.s or a little secondary matter under this broad heading now this morning i want to address myself to the question that no doubt many of you have asked i have asked it many times and some of you in the course of these studies have even voiced this question to me and the question is this why do so many people practice a ritual for which there is no clear biblical warrant if there is no clear biblical warrant that infants are the proper subjects of baptism why then do the vast majority

10:07 of people in christendom practice infant christening or infant sprinkling or infant baptism now i'm particularly concerned to answer that question as it applies to that segment of christendom who profess a high level of belief in and respect for the bible now there are many segments of christendom that have a very low level of respect for the bible and they practice the ritual purely out of superstition or the rest but we're particularly concerned to ask that question with respect to those who do have a love for the bible a love for christ a desire to walk according to the scripture well if there is no clear biblical warrant for the practice of infant baptism why then do these people practice this ritual and that's a fair question and i want to attempt to answer the question all right now as i do i am not asking or answering the question how did the practice begin in the first place that's a separate question that would be a historical study since it is not in the bible you will have to go out of the bible to answer that question. And it can be answered. And the first appearance comes in what we call the church fathers in the second century. There is a reference to it, and it's not a very positive reference.

11:33 So we could trace out the history of how it was introduced to the church, but that's not our question. Nor is our question, why did the reformers, who in great measure rejected many of the errors that were present in Christendom at their time, why did they retain the practice of infant baptism? That also is a historical question, not a biblical question. And we are concerned with the biblical witness to the subject of infant baptism. So our question is not how did it originally get introduced into Christendom, nor how did it remain after the great upheaval in Christendom at the period of the Reformation. Now, I'm not addressing those questions, not because they cannot be answered, but that's not our concern. History, our concern, is different. All right? So our question is, why do people in this day who profess to love God and his word

12:29 practice a ritual for which there is no warrant in the Bible? And as I attempt to answer, listen carefully. I am not questioning the sincerity of motives, nor am I saying that all of these reasons are present in everyone who practices it, nor am I saying that these four reasons are exhaustive. All right? See all the qualifications, and in spite of all of that, someone will go out and say, Pastor Martin said, as though they didn't hear a thing. But that's part of the occupational hazard of being a minister. All right? So we're asking the question, why then do people practice a ritual for which there is no warrant in the Bible? All right? Here's the first, and often a very prevalent

Reason 1: Humble but Misguided Deference to Godly, Learned Men

13:17 reason in our circles, that is, the circles of those whom we know as the people of God, who are and love, whom we have every reason to regard as brothers and sisters in Christ, and I'm calling it this, a humble but misguided deference to godly, learned men of the past and present. Now, here's how the reasoning goes.

13:52 come to know and love the God of the Bible and begins to take his Bible seriously, soon finds out that if he stands in the mainstream of what we would call historic Christianity, the Christian faith is understood and articulated in the great creeds that came out of the apostolic age and those fuller creeds that came out after the period of the Reformation. Uh, they soon understand that the great truths of the word of God that center in God's sovereign power as creator and redeemer, his sovereign grace in rescuing lost sinners, that the vast majority of the men in the past who believed those truths and preached them and defended them and wrote about them and their writings are with us to this day, that the vast majority of them practiced the word of God. This ritual of infant baptism. Furthermore, they look around in their own day and they see that the vast majority of the men of real stature as theologians, as biblical scholars are men who practice the ritual of infant baptism. And here's the way they reason.

15:05 They say, well, when I go to my Bible with my simple limited mind and with my limited understanding, I don't know Greek and Hebrew. As a friend of mine said, the only Greek I know runs a sub shop and the only Hebrew I know. Runs a tailor shop and, uh, that's all the Greek and Hebrew I know. And frankly, when I read my Bible, I really can't see infant baptism taught, but, but how could such good and godly men of the past and present be wrong on so basic an issue?

15:38 And since they are so right, when they write and speak on the subject of God's sovereignty and God's electing grace. And Christ's substitutionary efficacious death for his people in the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when they are so right on these great issues, how could they be so fundamentally wrong on this issue? Now, I can't understand when I read them.

16:04 It seems so complicated. I read my Bible and baptism seems to be pretty straightforward and open. Starting with John the Baptist, he demanded that men repent and as a sign of that repentance, be baptized. Jesus commissioned his apostles make disciples and baptized them and the apostles went out and preached and as many as received the word were baptized.

16:28 And when they preached the word to whole households and all households got converted, they were baptized. It seems pretty straightforward to me when I read my Bible. Now, when I read what these men say and they start writing page after page about the covenant and the relationship between circum and baptism, I say, I just can't follow all of this. I can't follow all of that, but I trust them.

16:50 They are good and they are godly men. So though I can't understand it, I will trust them. You see what I'm saying now when I say the reason why many in Christendom practice a ritual for which even they see no warrant in the Bible is a humble but misguided deference to godly and learned men of the past and of the present. Present.

17:17 Humility is a noble grace. And one of the marks of humility is you do not act as though the sun of truth has been setting in the west until it arose on your fair head. You see, the mark of every heretic is, he says, a plague on everybody and everything. Nobody knew from nothing until I came along.

17:36 You listen to Herbert W. Armstrong and you get that time after time. You may not understand it, few people understand it, nobody knows it, but I know it. And you see, it's that whole attitude.

17:47 Nobody knows from nothing but me. And nobody ever knew from nothing until I came along. Well, that's pride and arrogance. Humility is a beautiful grace.

17:57 And one of the marks of humility is the realization that I am not the beginning, middle, and end of all insight. And that I am dependent upon the gifts Christ has given to his church, Ephesians 4. He has given pastors and teachers for the building up of the saints. But you see, it is not humility.

18:17 When we give deference to good and godly men on matters for which we see no clear teaching in the word of God. I want you to turn to two passages now in the word of God that speak directly to this issue. Have I made plain now what I mean when I talk about the first reason why this practice is perpetuated is a humble but misguided deference to godly, learned men of the past and present. Matthew 23.

Biblical Principle: Christ Alone is Lord of the Conscience

18:47 Here our Lord is speaking to the scribes and to the Pharisees. And I am not saying that those who practice infant baptism are scribes and Pharisees. Some of them may be, but certainly not all of them. But in the midst of dealing with the scribes and Pharisees, our Lord articulates a principle that needs to become very, very precious to us.

19:14 Verse 9. Or we can back up to verse 7. Matthew 23. Speaking of one of the sins of the scribes and Pharisees, he says, they love the greetings in the marketplace and to be called by men, rabbi or teacher.

19:28 So when they walked down the street and people said, oh, teacher, so and so, oh, they loved to be called teacher. Why? It made them feel very important. They didn't love the name teacher because of the awesome privilege of pointing men to the knowledge of God in his word, but they loved the word teacher because they had set themselves up.

19:47 They had set themselves up as an authority over the word. Remember, Jesus said of these people, you make void the word of God by your traditions. Human tradition must never, never cancel the word of God. But these Pharisees, they loved to be called teacher because they were considered an ultimate authority.

20:04 Now, notice verse 8. But do not be called teacher in that sense, for one is your teacher in that sense, that is the one who alone has ultimate authority. And you are all blessed. Amen.

20:17 Amen. Amen. Brethren, call no man your father on the earth. Now, does that mean if I write to my dad, I shouldn't say, dear father?

20:25 Bible says, call no man father. No. What does it mean in the context? Call no man father in the sense that you are prepared to receive the word of a man as final authority.

20:40 See the context? You like to be called teacher in the sense that you have final authority. But he says, no. No one on earth.

20:48 No one on earth is a teacher in that sense. There's only one who is your teacher, one who is your true rabbi. That's God speaking in his word. Do you see the context?

20:57 Call no man your father on the earth, for one is your father in the sense of being the source of ultimate authority, even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, that is, lords over the consciences of men, for one is your master, even the Christ. So you see the great point? While we give thanks to God for every single gift he has ever given to his church to open up the scriptures, we must never allow any human being to become lord over our consciences.

21:36 Jesus Christ alone is lord over the conscience. God our heavenly father alone is lord over the conscience. And where does he exercise that? He exercises that lordship in his word and in his word alone.

21:53 Turn to Matthew chapter 28 where Jesus makes this very plain. When he gave the great commission to his apostles, notice what he told them to do. Verse 19, go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, Matthew 28, 19, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Now notice, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you.

22:34 They had authority to bind the consciences of men only with the commands of Christ. Only with the directions of Christ. Those directions that were previously given while he was with them and those directions that he would give them as apostles. All right.

22:54 After he went back to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit upon them, but with the death of the apostles, there are no more direct commands of Christ to be found anywhere but in the words of Christ and in the words of his apostles in the Holy Scriptures.

23:13 And so it is not humility that gives deference to godly and learned men that says, well, when I read my Bible as a simple Christian, I see nothing there but confessors and disciple baptism, but these good and godly men certainly could not be wrong on so fundamental an issue, so I'll just trust them with blind faith. My friend, that's not humility. You know what that is? That is selling your conscience to a human authority.

23:42 And Jesus Christ died that your conscience might be subject ultimately to only one authority, and that's his. That's why Paul could say, He could say in 1 Corinthians 7.23, Now this is beautifully expressed in our confession of faith. Notice the language of chapter 1 in the Scriptures, the supreme, the supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men and private spirits are to be examined and in whose sentence we are to rest can be no other but the Holy Scriptures delivered by the Holy Spirit. And again, with respect to the conscience, God alone is Lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his word or not contained in it.

Application: Do Not Sell Your Conscience to Human Authority

25:06 So that to believe such doctrines or obey such commands out of conscience is to betray liberty of conscience and the requiring of an implicit faith and absolute and blind obedience isillery. to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also. Now, those of you who frequent this place as a place of worship and instruction will know that you've heard this term many, many times, believe nothing because I say it. Believe nothing because I say it with enthusiasm and with zeal.

25:44 Believe nothing unless you see it with your own eyes in the Bible. Now, is there anyone who would be upset with that, that we love your soul enough to say don't bind your conscience to any human authority, have it bound only by the word of God? Now, this is not theorizing. I can remember talking with one of the most good and gracious and godly men I have ever met.

26:08 He's since gone to be with the Lord. And one day we got discussing the matter of infant baptism and he said to me, we were on a first name basis. He was about, oh, probably 10 years, 15 years. My senior, he said, Al, he said, I confess to you that when I read my Bible, I see nothing but disciple baptism in my Bible.

26:28 But he said, believing that I'm a simple minded man and that godly, wiser men than I see infant baptism, I just have to believe they're right because they are godlier and wiser than I. You see what he was saying? He was subjecting his conscience to an authority outside of the word of God, impinging upon his own conscience. Don't.

26:50 Don't do that. Christ died that your conscience might be his throne room and that he might wield his scepter by his holy word. And no minister, no rabbi, no priest, no group of bishops, no pope, no nobody has any right to enter the throne room of your conscience and stretch out a scepter. But Jesus Christ, who holds that scepter in his pierced hand, and he died.

27:20 To be the Lord of your conscience. What do you say? But it's such a little thing. Listen, you give up your conscience on a ritual and there'll be a time under proper circumstances you'll give up your conscience for something else.

27:35 Don't yield your conscience to any other authority but the word of God. All right. Any question on that point? Do you see what I meant now in my answer?

27:46 Why are there many in Christendom who practice this ritual for which there is? No warrant in the word of God. My first answer is a humble but misguided deference to godly and learned men of the past and of the present. All right.

28:03 Any question on that point? Have we made it clear? Yes, Mr. Clark.

28:07 Not a question, but a corroboration. I was in a home one time where a matter of a certain doctrine called landmarkism came up. We were discussing it. And then the wife looked very troubled.

28:22 And she says, yes, but when I think of good, godly men that taught that, how can I go against that? There's the point again, you see. This woman was not convinced in her own conscience, but she said, when I think of the good and godly men who've taught it, how can I go against them? Well, you and I must go against any good and godly man if he does not speak according to the scriptures.

28:49 We must. We must. We must. We must.

28:52 We must. We must. We must. We must.

28:52 We must. We must. This alone is to be lord of the conscience. All right.

Corroboration from Acts 17: The Berean Example

28:57 Any other comment or question? All right. Let's move on then to the second reason. Yes, I'm sorry.

29:03 I'm sorry, Chuck. I raised that hand.

29:12 Excellent. Excellent point. Let's just turn to that. Mr. Davis has reminded us in Acts 17, even when an apostle came.

29:22 Here it's St. Paul the apostle, Acts chapter 17 and verse 10. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul. They went in to Bethlehem.

29:30 They went in to Bethlehem. And when the disciples went away, the people from Bethlehem went home. And what happened? They went with the disciples to the synagogue, and Jesus said to the disciples, And when they went away, they saw Israel and Paul.

29:35 Now, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that, notice now, they received the word, you see, Paul wasn't giving his own opinions. He was preaching the message of God with all readiness of mind, examining the scriptures daily, whether these things were so. Paul dared to tell them, don't believe me. He said, don't believe me.

29:58 He said, don't believe me. He said, don't believe me. He said, don't believe me. You know, we have to by all means, we have to order ourisis.

29:59 it with your own eyes in the Bible. And so this is called a form of spiritual nobility. They were more noble. You see, the people at Thessalonica, the vast majority of them, they rejected Paul's message out of prejudice. He wasn't saying what our rabbis taught us.

30:18 Kick him out. Kill him. That's what they said. You read about it in the earlier verses of the 17th chapter of Acts. He is not saying what our rabbis taught us. Well, the issue is not what the rabbis taught us. They're not our masters. They're not lords of our conscience. What does God's Word say? And some of you may even be tempted now and say, well, that's not what my minister taught me. That's not what my priest taught me. That's not what I was taught in catechism class. My dear friend, that's not the issue. The issue is, what does the Bible say? What does God himself in his Word tell us about this point? So thank you for that added buttressing of this principle. All right, may we hurry on then to the second reason.

Reason 2: Sincere but Uncritical Acceptance of Religious Tradition

30:58 Why this ritual is often practiced even where there is no clear biblical warrant. It's what I'm going to call a sincere and often grateful, sincere, often grateful, but uncritical acceptance of a religious tradition. A sincere, often grateful, but uncritical acceptance of a religious tradition. Now, let me explain again.

31:29 What I mean, and then demonstrate the validity of it. This reason is particularly prevalent where infant sprinkling has been associated with a true godly heritage. All right, follow what I'm saying now. Here in Christendom, there are certain segments of the Christian church. Let's take this circle out and enlarge it, okay? Where the basic pattern of the lives of the mothers and fathers who brought their children to the baptismal font is obedience and subjection to the Word of God. So it's a climate in which you have true godliness, in which you have true Christian nurture, mother and father, who by their lives and by their instruction have taken their little ones, not merely to a baptismal font, but they bring them daily to God in prayer. They bring the Word of God to them. They bring them to the Word of God. So that as these children grow up and come to consciousness,

32:31 they're going to come to the Word of God. They're going to come to the Word of God. And rapidly, there's going to be more of this connection. And this is going to get

32:45 up and down. It's going to be the Ewokli women who do it most often. It's going to be nuns who do it more often. Are you making any sense with me? And right now, we're talking about all this stuff. That's so interesting. The Holy Monastery eing on st. equinox. All right here is a state of comentario lo What kind of debt do they feel to this godly example? What kind of debt do they feel to this godly nurture? What kind of debt do they feel to that godly climate? Well, I hope they feel a debt that to them is of greater worth than life itself.

33:19 You see, the whole connotation is godliness. The whole connotation and context in which they were sprinkled as an infant is one that is precious to their hearts. So they come, when they are parents, and bring their little children to the font. Why? Because they have a sincere and often grateful but uncritical acceptance of this religious tradition. And they instinctively sense that if I even question this tradition, it is a slap upon the godliness of my parents. It will appear as though I depreciate their godliness. It will be a godly nurture, and it will be construed as ingratitude to the privileges I received in a godly church.

34:10 And rather than even think twice about such a terrible alternative, they never really critically examine the practice of infant baptism. Now that's not a theory spun out of the head of Pastor Martin. As I was sitting in the home of one of our families who had just this kind of a context, just this week, and I was sharing with them some of the things that I was going to be teaching, they said, Pastor Martin, that was us. And they went on to say that this perfectly described their situation.

34:42 And I have met many. One dear man said, I could never give up infant baptism. Not, I would if I saw it in the Scripture as unscriptural. I could never! Why?

34:56 Because of this sincere, grateful, but uncritical acceptance of a religious tradition. In a sense, there are people who don't even want to consider whether infant sprinkling is scriptural, because they feel, if I ever came to the conclusion that it were not, it would be like trampling over the grave of my godly mother, and over the grave of my godly grandmother, and over the grave of my godly great-grandmother. And the thought is so abhorrent to me, I won't even open up the question. Now, let me ask some of you who are in that context, whether or not I'm scratching where you used to itch.

35:39 All right? Unsolicited testimony from seven or eight. So this is a very, very powerful pressure in the direction of carrying on the practice of infant baptism. Now, what do we say in the light of the Word of God?

Biblical Principle: Tradition Must Not Void God's Word

35:54 We'll turn to Matthew 15. We have a tradition. A tradition that has many wonderful, happy, blessed memories associated with it. But it is a tradition.

36:13 In the 15th chapter of Matthew, again, our Lord is exposing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. And in that sense, we are not saying the passage applies one to one, that those who do this out of this motive are in the main hypocritical. I am not saying that at all. That would be untrue, unchristian, unkind.

36:35 It would simply be totally out of place. But we're looking at a principle that's nestled in the midst of our Lord's scathing denunciation of the hypocrisy of these leaders. Look at the context. Verse 1 of Matthew 15.

36:50 Then there came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, the official religious leaders, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? Not only their transgressing tradition, but tradition of the elders, the official exponents of the law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37:11 The Law. The ones who sit in a seat of authority to enforce the law and will of God, and they are transgressing the Tradition of the elders, for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. And he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? And then he shows them, Alright, my disciples may be transgressing the Tradition of the elders, But you are transgressing the Tradition of the elders, transgressing not the tradition of elders, but the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. And then he gives an example of it, and we'll not go into the exposition of it, but it had to do with the fifth commandment, how they had cleverly learned to get around the demands of the fifth commandment. Well, let's look at it, because it does apply. For God said, honor your father and your mother, and he that speaks evil of father and mother, let him die the death. That's taking from Exodus 20, and then Exodus 21. But you say, whosoever shall say to his father or mother,

38:12 that wherewith you might have been profited by me is given to God. He shall not honor his father. Here's what they did. Here's one of these people who had embraced the Pharisaic tradition and the elders' tradition, and they had learned in a clever way how to violate the spirit of the fifth commandment by keeping the letter of the law. Now, here's a father, a mother, just about deciptive. destitute. And that aging father or mother needs the help of this well-to-do son or daughter. Now, what they said is this, well, mom and dad, I'd like to help you in keeping the fifth commandment, but you see, what I had set apart for you, I'm going to take up the temple and give to God. And in so doing, by their tradition of bringing the gift to God instead of honoring

38:58 father and mother, Jesus said, you're violating the commandment of God in order to keep your own tradition. And you've made void the word of God because of your tradition. Now, what does God call any practice that is rooted in tradition, particularly when that tradition hinders obedience to a clear commandment? Verse 9, he calls it a part of vain worship.

39:24 In vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. Now, you remember one of the points Pastor Nichols made, and I believe he did. He said, I'm going to I believe he made it fairly and biblically. The practice of infant sprinkler keeps multitudes from obeying the clear command to disciple baptism. No one debates that disciple baptism is clearly taught in the Bible. Make disciples and baptize them. And when a child who has been sprinkled as an infant grows up in a church that practices infant sprinkling and says, I believe I have now come to personal faith and repentance, and I want to declare myself a disciple, I'm going to make disciples and baptize them. And when a child who has been sprinkled as a disciple, he's told no. All you do is come before the session, come before the consistory, come before the pastor, come before the elders, give personal testimony, make public confession of faith, and you'll be welcomed to the Lord's table, but be baptized again, no. And the child says, but I see in my Bible that I am voluntarily and openly to confess Christ in the way of his appointment. And he's told no, you don't understand the covenant. And the word of God concerning disciple baptism.

Application: Honor God Above Parents and Tradition

40:35 Baptism is made void by this tradition. Now, dear people, I don't mean to be unkind, but am I bearing false witness, or is that true? It's true. It's true. It is true. And so we do not honor the tradition of godly parents if we do not go to the consistent logic of true godliness, which is to reject anything my parents taught me. And so we do not honor the religion of Godliness, which is to reject anything my parents taught me. And so we do not honor the religion of Godliness, which is to reject anything my parents taught me. And so we do not honor Now, some of you remember the humorous incident in the life of Charles Spurgeon. You know, he was not brought up believing in confessor's baptism, but in the context where they believed in infant sprinkling. And then, of course, when he became a Christian, studied his Bible, he became convinced, against the prevailing climate of his own day and associations, that he ought to become openly identified with Christ in the waters of baptism. And so he became, in the language of that day, a Baptist in his convictions. Well, when his mother wrote to him, having heard the news, she said, Charles, I prayed that God would save thee, but I never prayed that he would make thee a Baptist. And Charles Spurgeon

41:56 wrote back and said, but mother, you were praying to the God who does exceeding, abundantly above all we could ask or think. Now, it's a true but humorous incident, but it underscores this point. You see, when she prayed that the Lord would save Charles, she was praying that he would come to the place where Jesus Christ became so precious that the word and law of Christ would be more precious, according to Jesus, than what? Whoso loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy.

42:33 He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. So you see, it is not a proper honoring of a Christian mother and father out of thankfulness to them uncritically to accept an unbiblical ritual. I thank God for parents who reared me with this perspective. Son, when God saves you, follow him only. And I had that in my heritage with my old Swedish grandmother. I remember. I was about 13 or 14. I was not a Christian at the time. I'd made some false starts and gone through the motions. And she had been down to visit my mother in Connecticut, visit us in our home. And as she was leaving the door, it's indelibly stamped upon my mind as though it happened yesterday. She took my two hands in her typical Swedish way, and she drew me close to me, and she drew me close to her, and she said, Albert, be true hearted, whole hearted. Albert, be true hearted.

43:38 And I felt so unclean because my heart was so divided and given over to the world. But when God got hold of me, I never forgot her words. True hearted, whole hearted. Follow anything you see in the Bible. And the mother and father sought to implant that principle in me, and I've sought to implant it in my children. Don't follow in my steps. If I've not followed where the Bible leads, reject any path. The path that you've seen in me, that isn't a path marked out by this book. And I say that in terms of our leadership as a church. So if I'm speaking to anyone today who is clinging to this unbiblical ritual because of the great respect and love you have for your godly parents and your grandparents and the godly heritage in the home and in the church, will you remember the Word of God? The Word of God teaches us to be true hearted. The Word of God teaches us to be true hearted. The Word of God teaches us to be true hearted.

44:44 The Word of God teaches us to be true hearted. The Word of God teaches us to be true hearted. And the Word of God teaches that the true end of godliness is to bring you to reject any tradition from whatever source it comes that is not embedded in the Word of God. the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for God's glory, man's salvation, faith and life is either freshly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture, unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men, even good and godly traditions. Again, let me illustrate this from our own pastoral experience. A number of years ago, when one of our more, what shall I say, what's a flattering word for people that are getting older? Do we use riper years?

45:47 I think that's the term you introduced, Pastor Clark. Someone among us of riper years was sitting in our congregation when we were still meeting in a school building, and I knew this was their background and their tradition for generations. And I preached one of the few messages that I had preached up till that time on the subject of baptism. And I was so anxious that they did not think I was taking pot shots at them, because it's amazing when before God you're simply, utterly free bringing his word.

46:17 When you're touching nerves, people say, huh, he's taking shots at me. And they think that way. And I've preached long enough, over 30 years, to know that they do that. Had that happened the first two weeks I preached, somebody wondered who was squealing.

46:30 When I was just preaching the word of God, but it was pinching nerves. Well, I wanted to make sure that if this person thought I was pinching nerves, I wasn't doing it deliberately. So I met this individual at the door, and I said, Mr. So-and-so, I said, I want you to know that I didn't find that, I didn't find that pleasant, preaching these things knowing how dear and how precious the whole practice of infant sprinkling is in your heritage.

46:51 And this man just pooh-pahed the whole thing. He said, well, Reverend Martin, don't worry about it. He said, you've got the Bible on your side. We just got tradition.

47:02 He honestly admitted, he says, you've got the Bible on your side. We just have tradition. Well, needless to say, it wasn't long before there was a rejection of this, and that person was under the waters in obedience to Jesus. All right, any question now on that?

Distinguishing Error from Heresy

47:19 Oh, boy, time is almost gone. So I can't get into the third one. I had four, and I thought for sure I was being modest in hoping to get through those four. We have time for some questions growing out of that.

47:30 Yes, Joy?

48:00 Well, thank you, Joy. That apology is accepted without reservation or qualification, and we appreciate your saying that. All right. Yes, Jim?

48:11 A question that has come to my mind. I mean, if somebody comes preaching, is he a doctrine of human belief? I mean, should we call him a Christian heretic? Is he a false doctrine?

48:34 No, again, Jim, it would all depend what he's preaching. If he is saying that unless the infant is sprinkled or christened, or even immersed as in the Greek Orthodox Church, the infant cannot possibly be saved, and he's teaching salvation by ritual, that's heresy. And if he came aggressively preaching, but if he came aggressively preaching that he believed that Christian parents had an obligation to put the sign of the covenant upon their children, that's not heresy.

49:06 We would regard it as error with regard to the subject of baptism, the nature of the church, the nature of the sacraments, the explicit testimony of the Bible. We would call that teacher error. But if there's a distinguishing line between what we would call error and heresy, generally, now again, I'm not talking technically now, but in its common usage, error may be present where there is saving experience and a holding to the main body of saving truth, and that error does not neutralize the main body of saving truth. All right?

49:41 Whereas heresy, whatever truth a person professes to believe, the heretical views undermine foundational saving truth. You see the difference then between heresy and error? So the best of us have certain areas of error, we're growing all the time in our understanding. We say, oh, I was thinking wrongly about that.

50:01 That was erroneous. Well, we don't say, now I've got to get saved all over again. You see, errors are present where the main body of saving truth is embraced. That's why I was careful to say that many who practice infant baptism do hold to the main body of saving truth, and it was that group that I was particularly concerned about.

50:22 Now, there are other groups in Christendom that do not. All they have is a...

50:26 Salvation of ritual, and of form, and of ceremony. And that's heresy. And that needs to be attacked firmly, publicly, and laid bare for what it is. Does that...

50:38 Am I answering the question, Jim? All right. We have time for one more question, about a minute and a half here. Yes, Jeff, and then we'll come over to you.

The Inconsistency of Presumptive Regeneration

51:04 Yes. Well, I think here again, we need to recognize that often, Jeff, people, because they have grace in their hearts and are living in the light of others, are saving truth. Often, the error they hold is kept in check from its logical conclusion. Now, if a man sits down and spins out a theory of presuming that his children are regenerate, that's one thing.

51:30 If he treats them that way, and teaches them that way, and shelters them from anything that would go after their conscience, then I'd say, that man's error needs to be exposed as being dangerously close to heresy. But thank God, I know...

51:46 Dear godly paedobaptist men, who are blessedly inconsistent in that area, they might theoretically hold presumptive regeneration, yet they tell their kids that they are little sinners, they need to be born again, they need to repent, they need to believe the gospel, and when someone goes after their covenant kids and tries to bring them to conversion, they rejoice. I could name name after name after name of people I know who fit that category, and I thank God for that. But it still is an error to hold that they ought to be baptized. But you see, because other truths are holding that error from going to its logical conclusion, we must relate to people, not in terms of a mere form of the words, but in terms of the overall climate of what they confess to believe and their practice as well. And that's why we've tried to exercise charity and graciousness in this whole subject, so that no one could go out and say, we just have a blanket negative attitude of paedobaptists. Well, if that were so, why do we have them in our...

52:46 Why do we pray for them regularly? No one can say that and make it stick, as far as the facts are concerned. But at the same time, in the hearts of many people, error has a way of finding its logical channel. And you tell kids long enough, when they ask Daddy, who am I? You're a covenant child. What's that mean?

53:07 What does that mean? Well, it means that God's made a promise for you. Well, what's that promise? Well, I will be a God to thee and to thy seed.

53:14 You mean God is my God? Well, yes. Then, no. Well, am I a Christian then?

53:20 Well, not unless you have embraced the Lord Jesus. But wait a minute. If I'm not a Christian, then how can I be in the covenant? How can...

53:28 You see, when a child begins to take that language seriously, you've got to tell him one of two things. Either you're lost in Adam and you need to get into Christ by repentance and faith, or you tell him you're already in, just start living like a little Christian. At the end of the day, you've got to tell him something. And what do you tell him?

53:47 You say, That's why people can sit and theorize, but I've always been of a practical bent. And say, My kid looked up at me and said, Daddy, I'm a covenant child. What's that mean? Well, you better be prepared to answer him from the Bible.

53:58 And if you can't, then don't you embrace that position. If you can't answer that from the Bible, and if you say, Well, that means you have lots of privileges. If he's a sharp kid, he's going to say, So do all the other kids who come to Sunday school and have instruction in one way or another. Well, you have great responsibilities.

54:16 So do they. See, then you're going to be hard-pressed to say, Well, what does it mean he's a covenant kid? Unless you're prepared to say, We can presume that he's regenerate. We can presume he's elect.

54:26 But if you know your Bible, you don't want to go that far. So it really puts you in a position of terrible, hopeless contradiction, as far as I'm concerned, if you're going to be consistent in seeking to give instruction that fits your baptismal theology. Well, our time is gone. Hold off your questions, if you will.

Conclusion and Prayer

54:44 I'm sorry, Dean, we didn't get to you. We'll give you first shot when we come to questions. Next week, God willing. And then we'll look at the two other major reasons why this ritual is practiced in Christendom, even though there is no explicit warrant in the Word of God.

55:01 Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you for the Holy Scriptures. We are so grateful that we are not left to grope in the darkness of our own imaginations, our own whims and fancies. But you've given us a word, which is, a lamp unto our feet and a light to our pathway.

55:27 And we pray that each one of us, with respect to every issue touching the vital issues of our relationship to you, may have recourse ultimately to one authority and one authority alone, your voice speaking in the Holy Scriptures. Lord, whatever's been challenged this morning in any of our thinking, may that challenge be one that will drive us to the Scriptures, that we may be persuaded by the Word of God. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.