Relationship Betw. Circumcision/Infant Baptism #2

Introduction and Prayer

0:01 A note to the listener. A section of tape was physically missing from the cassette which was used to make this MP3. Since this affects the playback on both sides of the tape, approximately 7 total minutes were not available. Two low quality patches from another source have been edited into these gaps.

0:23 The patched sections begin at around the 12 minute mark, and the 33 minute mark, and last about 3.5 minutes each. We trust that the sudden change of quality at these places will not be too much of a distraction.

0:44 This adult Sunday school class was held on December 25, 1983, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:56 Let's begin. I pray, ask for the Lord's blessing this morning as we study his holy word. I must say that given that we're meeting on Christmas Day, my own heart and mind was disposed to do something different than to continue with our studies of infant baptism. However, I was encouraged that it would be appropriate to continue our studies this morning, and so that's what I intend to do, and hopefully to bring this particular dimension, as we study the matter of circumcision, to a close.

1:30 Let's pray and ask for God's blessing. Father, as we draw near to you this morning, we give you thanks for your goodness and mercy. We thank you especially that we live in this age in which Christ has come, and in which your people have been radically transformed by the coming of Messiah to earth. We bless you for the coming of Christ, not only for what it means in our own individual lives, but for what it has meant in the history of your people.

1:59 And, Lord, as we come to consider this marvelous transformation in the history of your people, which has been affected by the coming of Christ this morning, we pray that you would draw near to us, open up our minds and hearts, and write your word upon them. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Review of Paedobaptist Position and Three Perspectives

2:20 Now, we have been considering together the matter of infant baptism, and we are now considering the doctrine of infant baptism, in the light of the biblical teaching concerning the sacraments. And we are specifically now considering the relationship between baptism and circumcision. And we spent some time looking at a survey of the biblical material concerning circumcision, and then we began two weeks ago to deal with the relationship between baptism and circumcision. And in so doing, I attempted to state the paedobaptist conception of this relationship between circumcision and baptism, and now am opening up what I believe is an exposition of the biblical teaching concerning this relationship. And we saw that the paedobaptist position was fundamentally built upon three passages from the Word of God and three ideas. First of all, from Genesis 17 and the idea that the clear teaching that infants were circumcised in the Abrahamic covenant. Secondly, from Romans 5.

3:28 Romans chapter 4 and verse 11, where it teaches that circumcision for Abraham had a spiritual significance. And thirdly, from Colossians 2.11 and other related passages, which indicate that circumcision has been replaced by baptism. So the idea is that infants were circumcised, that circumcision has a spiritual significance, and that baptism has now replaced circumcision.

3:53 And since the infants received circumcision, therefore, baptism, having fundamentally the same significance, also ought to be applied to infants. Now, that's fundamentally the argument that was used. Now, today, and then we sought to examine some of these things in the light of the word of God. And then also, I told you there'd be an opportunity for discussion.

4:14 I tried to get to it for two weeks and failed. But last week, Pastor Martin succeeded. And there was a bit of discussion of these things last week now. Coming back then this week, what I would like to do is attempt to wrap up these considerations by looking at Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11.

4:32 And as we do, I would like to fill in the diagrams to refresh your memory of where we've been and what we've seen. Three basic positions concerning this, a dispensationalist position, a paedobaptist position, and a reformed baptist position.

4:51 Here you find Abraham circumcised. And this is the Israel of the Old Covenant.

5:02 And these people were mocked out by circumcision of their body.

5:12 And everyone would be agreed about that.

5:18 Then in the paedobaptist position, there's a recognition of the truth of continuity between the Old Covenant Israel, which they would also call the Church, and the New Covenant Israel, which they call the Church as well, of course. And this New Covenant Israel. This New Covenant Israel was marked out by baptism in water, H2O. Baptism in water, even as the original Israel was marked out by circumcision of the body.

5:59 Now this Israel, or the Church then, the Jewish Church, consisted of Jewish believers and their children. At the time of Christ, this is the time of the first coming of Christ, a remnant of Israel was saved. And the unbelievers and their children were cut. Or, yeah, cut off from the Covenant people.

6:23 And then, with the coming of Christ, his death and resurrection, Gentiles, Gentile believers and their children were grafted in. So you have Jews and their children. Here you have Jews and Gentile, Jewish believers and their children. Here you have Jewish and Gentile believers and their children.

6:43 And this consists then of the remnant of Israel.

6:49 And this equals Abraham's seed.

6:52 Now the dispensationalist perspective, now, there may be, I'm speaking now, I recognize that there are all shades of dispensationalists. And so some of them may hear what I'm saying this morning and say, that's not my position. Well, I'll admit that that's true. Probably there are some who would say, this is definitely not my position.

7:10 Nevertheless, I'm not attempting to give every shade of dispensationalist perspective. That would be impossible. Simply rather to state what are the broad...

7:20 The perspectives which characterize that camp. Right? The first idea is that Israel and the church are distinct. And this is supposed to be a big iron wall that goes between Israel and the church.

7:34 And the idea is that it's at this point of time the church was formed when Israel rejected Christ. And it was because Israel rejected Christ that we now have the church age. And this is the church age. And then down at the end of the church age...

7:50 We have New Covenant Israel, in which Israel is converted and Israel believes. And once again, they're restored to the land of Canaan. The point is that Israel and the church are distinct. The point is that circumcision of body has a national significance and baptism has a spiritual significance.

8:08 And there's a vast difference between circumcision and baptism. Circumcision characterizes Israel and it has a national significance. And baptism, some dispensationalists would believe in the...

8:22 And I would say that baptism characterizes the church and it has a spiritual significance. The church equals believers and Israel equals the Jews. And there's a wall of distinction between Israel and the church. And the two are not organically related.

8:39 But rather, the church was formed at the time when the Jews rejected Christ. Now, I know it's kind of hard for some of you perhaps to see this at the bottom. Now, what I was presenting is a new...

8:52 It's a reformed baptism. It's a reformed baptism. And the difference is here that Old Covenant Israel, of course, equals the Jews and their children, or just the Jews. And we'll deal later with the covenant idea.

9:10 The Jews have been circumcised in their bodies throughout successive generations. And that would include their children. It's stated in a generic way. And the New Covenant Israel equals the church, which equals the disciples of Christ, and which equals Abraham.

9:31 Abraham's seed. And these are characterized by circumcision of heart.

9:39 And circumcision of heart is symbolized by baptism.

9:48 And this is during this transition period when Christ came. This is the remnant of the nation of Israel. And these people were characterized both by circumcision of body and circumcision of heart. And a great debate in Acts chapter 15 with the Judaizers is, what's the distinguishing trait?

10:07 What's the distinguishing trait of this community? Is it circumcision of body? Is it circumcision of heart? Well, the distinguishing trait of the community was circumcision of heart and not circumcision of body.

10:17 Circumcision of body was not required for the Gentile believers who were grafted in. So if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And this is the position that I was presenting. Now, do you see the various perspectives on this matter?

10:36 The relationship between Christ and Abraham? The relationship between circumcision and baptism? The spiritual significance or not a spiritual significance of circumcision? Now then, having said those things, just by way of review, I know Pastor Martin went over that last week.

Exposition of Colossians 2:11-12: Identity of Circumcision

10:49 We come to consider Colossians 2.11.

10:56 And the point of this is to look at the matter of the assertion of our paedobaptist brethren that baptism has now replaced circumcision.

11:13 And I'll read verse 8 and follow. Take heed, lest there shall be anyone that may spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power, in whom you are also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands in the putting off of the body of Christ. The body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, wherein you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead, and you being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. You, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having blotted out the bond written in ordinances which was against us. And then verse 15. He speaks about the fact that Christ also has despoiled principalities and powers, triumphing over them in his cross.

12:33 Now what I would like to do is to, first of all, set up before you a brief exposition of this text in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11. Now it's clear that the text mentions circumcision, and it's also clear that by virtue of verse 11 mentioning circumcision and verse 12 mentioning baptism, that circumcision and baptism in this text are indeed brought into intimate proximity. That's clear from the text. Now, there are three things then that we need to look at.

13:08 First of all, in the exposition of the text, the identity of the circumcision which is mentioned in the text. Secondly, the recipients of this circumcision. And thirdly, the connection of this particular circumcision which is mentioned in the text with baptism. First of all, the identity of the circumcision mentioned in the text.

13:34 Now notice in verse 11 the way that this circumcision is described. In whom it says, you were circumcised with a circumcision not made, but with hands in the putting off of the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ. Now this circumcision is first of all called the circumcision of Christ. Secondly, what it is said to involve is the putting off the body of the flesh.

14:08 And the exposition of this idea is most naturally found in verse 13. And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you did he make alive together with him, having forgiven all of our trespasses, having blotted out the bond written in ordinance that was against us. In other words, it refers to the transformation of a person's heart which takes place at his conversion. Can you see that?

14:45 You were dead. You were dead in sin. You were dead in the uncircumcision of your flesh and God changed you. You were converted.

14:56 Now there's one other thing that would confirm this, and this is found in verse 11 itself, and this is perhaps the most crucial phrase. It is this. In whom you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands. With a circumcision.

15:16 Not made with hands. Now you remember from all that we've studied in the Bible about circumcision, you remember that there are two circumcisions spoken of in the Bible, is that not so? A circumcision of the body and a circumcision of the heart. Is that not clear?

15:37 The circumcision of the body is made with hands. Is that not so? There's no way that a body, that unless, that someone's, invented some sort of robot or machine or something else that performs that task. The circumcision of the body, according to the Bible, is performed with human hands.

15:57 Is, however, the circumcision of the heart performed with human hands? No, obviously not. The circumcision of the heart is the circumcision not made with hands. So it is clear, it is abundantly clear from the context, that the circumcision mentioned in this text is the circumcision of the heart.

16:23 What makes that clear? First of all, it's called the circumcision of Christ. Second of all, it's described as the changing of a person which takes place at his conversion. And thirdly, it is said to be a circumcision in which human hands play no part.

16:40 Human hands have no part as the agency of this circumcision. They are not the instruments by which it is performed. There is no knife. There is no blood.

16:51 It has nothing to do with the body or the hand. It is an inward, invisible circumcision of the heart. Right? Is that clear?

Exposition of Colossians 2:11-12: Recipients and Connection to Baptism

17:01 Secondly, so circumcision of heart is mentioned in the text, not circumcision of body. Secondly, those, the recipients of the circumcision, we've looked at the identity. Secondly, the recipients of circumcision. It says, notice, that you were circumcised.

17:25 You were. This has already happened to you. Whoever is being addressed in this context has been circumcised, and they have been circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands. These people, whoever they are, have as their distinguishing trait that they have experienced circumcision of heart.

17:46 Right? Now the question is, who are they? Well, I won't bore you with the obvious by going to passage after passage to prove to you that these people are none other than the church of God at Colossae. This is the church.

17:58 That's to whom he wrote. This is written to the people of God. And the assertion and assumption is that the distinguishing trait of the church, the distinguishing trait of the people of God in that place, is that they, as a community, had characteristically experienced, they experienced the circumcision of heart. All right?

18:20 Second point. Third point in the exposition of this text is the connection of this text with baptism. Now, the first thing that you need to know is that there are some, what you could call, problems of exposition. The precise connection between verses 11 and 12 is very difficult to ascertain.

18:45 And this can perhaps be underscored by the fact that the RSV, the KJV, and the ASV, three generally regarded as pretty reliable translations, all translate this text differently. I've already read to you from the ASV. Now I'd like to read to you from the King James. And some of you who have a King James may have already said, that's not what my Bible said.

19:09 Which you commonly hear in this day of many translations. All right? Let's look at chapter 2 from the King James in verse 11. Beginning in verse 10.

19:21 And you are complete in him which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Now verse 12. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him, through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. And you, verse 13, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all your trespasses. Now you notice that they make a radical break between verse 11 and verse 12. In the American standard, verse 12 is included as part of the thought that's found in verse 11. But in the King James, there's a break, a radical break between the two.

20:27 It says, simply, buried with him in baptism. An abrupt, what's called for you grammarians, an ascendant break. That there's no connection between the two. Okay.

20:39 Now, from the RSV, Colossians 2. Maybe I should have marked these for time. Colossians 2, verse 11. In him also, you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ.

21:06 And, you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him, through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. So, you have these three translations. I'm going to erase the dispensationalist position.

21:36 No offense to them intended. Just need some space here. Now, you have these three translations. You have, here you have an abrupt break.

21:54 Here you have connection, subordinated. Here you have coordinate structure. And, and treat it as though it were a finite verb in parallel with raised. What's going on here?

22:24 Well, the problem is that in the Greek, you have a participle. And this Greek participle has no precise or exact English equivalent. That's the problem. As a matter of fact, these are all good translations.

22:44 Every, every one of them is a good translation of that Greek participle. There are many possible or plausible grammatical constructions that could be used to explain this. And there's also one other consideration in the text. And all of the translations read this way.

23:04 They said that you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised. Now, it's just possible, grammatically, that that in which should really be translated in who. There's, it could be referring to Christ and could be saying in who. I believe, as all of these translations have indicated, that this is, that they have all translated it correctly.

23:30 Although there are some people who take a different position and many of them critics of the 20th century. But grammatically it is possible. And if you're interested in looking at the exegesis of that particular phrase in any more detail, I believe that convincing arguments are found in Beasley Murray's book on baptism in the New Testament on pages 153 and 154. That's all I'm going to say about that.

23:54 Because it gets perhaps a little bit too technical and it's not, although it does have some bearing on the ultimate issue, it really is not the deciding factor in the case. But there are various possibilities of how this could be translated. Now, first of all, it could be, and again, for those of you who are Greek students, you can check Dana and Manti's grammar on the participles and the usages of the adverbial participle. There's 10 of them.

24:24 There are five of them that would apply to this particular set of circumstances. First of all, it could be a temporal participle. If that's so, it would be translated this way. You were circumcised with a circumcised body.

24:38 You were circumcised with a circumcised body. Circumcision not made with hands after you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised. You were circumcised after you were buried with him in baptism. Now, if that's true, then what it would be teaching is that baptism is a prerequisite to regeneration.

25:05 At first you must be baptized, and after you're baptized, then you'll have your heart circumcised. All right? By the analogy of scripture, we reject that possible grammatical argument. Secondly, it could be a conditional meaning, which would be this.

25:21 You were circumcised if you were baptized. You were circumcised if you were baptized. And in this situation, it would be teaching that water baptism is absolutely essential to having your heart circumcised. Unless you've experienced water baptism, it's impossible for you to have experience.

25:41 Circumcision of heart. By the analogy of faith, we also reject that possibility. There's another one as well, which is this. You were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands because you were baptized, which is even worse, which indicates that baptism in water is the procuring cause of circumcision of heart.

26:04 And it's on the basis of, and by the merit of, submitting to baptism in water that God circumcised you. It's not that God circumcises your heart, which also from the analogy of scripture we reject as utterly unscriptural. It could be what's called an instrumental or modal participle, which would be translated this way. You were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands by means of being baptized.

26:31 Or you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands by being baptized. In other words, Paul then would be dealing with the question, how? How is it that you experienced this circumcision of heart? You experienced it in the waters of baptism.

26:50 That could be what he's saying. If so, then that would be teaching baptismal regeneration, that it's in the event of baptism that you are circumcised in your hearts, which also is rejected as unscriptural from the analogy of scripture, which leaves really only one category, according to Dane and Manti, which is a common usage. This may be some very strange use of a participle. However, the ordinary usages have all been laid out before you, and you can see the theological monstrosities which result from them.

27:23 There's only one left, and that's what's called a circumstantial participle. It's one in which there's no exact equivalent of the Greek participle. It's one in which when you read it in the English, it sounds like something doesn't quite fit. And that's exactly what it sounds like, right?

27:42 That's right. And that's why these are all good translations. What this one indicates is that in the Greek, the structure of verse 12 is actually subordinate to verse 11. That's true.

27:55 What this one indicates is that there's no conjunction, but there's really an abrupt break and yet a close connection between baptism and circumcision of heart. And that's also true. And what this one indicates, is that verse 12 should be considered conceptually as though it were coordinate, that is joined to verse 11 by and, and translated as though it were just an ordinary finite verb. And that this is the correct understanding is clear because of the parallel.

28:30 Notice verse 12. It says, having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised. So you translate it this way. You were buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised.

28:44 You see the parallel? The parallel is not so much between being circumcised and being raised. It's between being buried and being raised. You see that?

28:53 You were buried in baptism in which you were also raised. Therefore, I think that although all of these translations bring out an element of truth, the one that most closely indicates the idea of the Greek is the one found in the RSV. Now why have I gone through that? I've gone through that, all of that trouble, not because I thought you needed a grammar lesson on Christmas morning, but because it's important.

Reformed Baptist Understanding of Colossians 2:11-12

29:21 Because you'll see in a minute what's done with the text. So therefore, what must we say? We must simply say from the text the following things. Number one, the relationship between circumcision and baptism as defined by the text is this.

29:40 Circumcision of the heart and baptism are intimately related. Circumcision of the heart and baptism are intimately related. Number two, circumcision of the heart and baptism are distinct. And yet they're intimately related.

29:55 And yet the text does not explicitly define that relationship and we must understand what that relationship is from the analogy of scripture. Okay? Circumcision of heart and baptism in water are intimately related. The text does not define what that relationship is and that must be understood from the analogy of scripture.

30:20 And from the analogy of scripture as we saw, the relationship which clearly exists between baptism in water and circumcision of heart or regeneration is that baptism is the symbol or sign that you have experienced circumcision of heart. Isn't that? And isn't that interesting? That's exactly what he says.

30:41 You were circumcised, that is, you have experienced circumcision of heart and you were baptized. Because baptism, intimately related with circumcision of heart, is that symbol that you have experienced circumcision of heart. You say, I don't know, is that complicated? Perhaps some of the grammar was a little bit complicated.

Critique of the Paedobaptist Interpretation of Colossians 2:11-12

31:08 But that's basically my understanding of what is the straightforward teaching of the text. Now, there is another position with respect to the text, which is of course the paedo-baptist position. And I will allow this position to be stated by a paedo-baptist. And this is not just the position of one man.

31:29 I've selected him because he's writing on the polemics of infant baptism. I've selected Warfield, selected shorter writings. And because he's generally recognized as a responsible exegete and proponent of infant baptism. Now here's what he says.

31:49 How fully Paul believed that baptism and circumcision were but two symbols of the same change of heart and that one was instead of the other, that is, he's talking about circumcision of the body, may be gathered from Colossians 2.11. When speaking to a Christian audience of the church, he declares that in Christ you were also, circumcised. But how?

32:15 With a circumcision not made with hands and putting off the body of the flesh, that is, in the circumcision of Christ. But what was this Christ-ordained circumcision? The apostle continues, having been buried with him in baptism. Wherein you were also raised through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead.

32:42 Hence, in baptism they were buried with Christ and this burial with Christ was the circumcision which Christ ordained. This burial with Christ was the circumcision which Christ ordained. You follow the position? See what's being said?

33:04 What he's saying is that the identity of the circumcision mentioned in verse 11 is baptism. That's the position. That's the position. That the identity of the circumcision mentioned in verse 11 is indeed baptism in water.

33:38 Which would amount to translating verse 12 this way. In whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, that is, you were buried with him in baptism. That's the way it would be translated. That's the idea.

33:57 In other words, what is the circumcision not made with hands? It's baptism. Because baptism is Christian circumcision because baptism has replaced circumcision. And this position is not only given in Warfield, it's also given in such places as the Heidelberg Catechism and other standard expositions of the doctrine.

34:19 Well, I think one thing is clear is that this position is built upon a misconception of the identity of the circumcision mentioned in the text. It's clearly and obviously not saying that baptism is circumcision. It's saying that baptism is related to circumcision of the heart. That's what the text is teaching.

34:40 It misses the point of the text. Now, being and having said that, I do want to quote from Jewett because there is an element of truth. There's always an element of truth. And there's an element of truth in the Paedo-Baptist contention at this point.

34:58 And Jewett on page 89 of Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace makes the following statement. He says in commenting on this, The only conclusion we can reach is that the two signs, baptism and circumcision, as outward rites symbolize the same inner reality in Paul's thinking. Thus circumcision may be fairly said to be the Old Testament counterpart of Christian baptism. So far, the reformed argument in our judgment is biblical.

35:33 In this sense, baptism, to quote the Heidelberg Catechism, occupies the place of circumcision in the New Testament. Now, that's the element of truth. That both circumcision of body and baptism in water are related some way, somehow, to regeneration and to circumcision of heart. Now, the question precisely is how.

35:59 Now, this is not the correct understanding of the text. It is clear from the fact that baptism is as much made with hands as circumcision is. Human hands are the agency in baptism. No one was baptized yet, as far as I know, without the agency of human hands, any more than anyone was circumcised without the agency of human hands.

36:19 That being true, Paul cannot possibly have that in mind in Colossians 2.11 because whatever can be said about this circumcision, which he calls the circumcision of Christ, this much is clear. Human hands have no part in it. If it's baptism, water baptism, then human hands do have a part in it.

36:37 So, that cannot be the meaning of the text. But, circumcision of heart is indeed related to baptism, and circumcision of body is indeed related to circumcision of heart. Now, the crucial question then is how. Now, I'm going to erase the Reformed Baptist position.

The Crucial Distinction: Circumcision of Body vs. Heart

37:02 So, here you have circumcision of heart, and circumcision of body, and here you have baptism. Now, it's clear from Colossians 2.11 that baptism in water is intimately related to circumcision of heart. See that?

37:34 And it's clear from other passages, like Deuteronomy 10 and etc., that circumcision of body is related to circumcision of heart. Now, the question is, what's the relationship? Well, from everything that we've seen, I submit to you that circumcision of body symbolized that those who received it needed circumcision of heart, and baptism symbolizes that you have circumcision of heart.

38:08 Circumcision of body indicates that you need circumcision of heart, and that the community which characteristically possessed circumcision of body, the old covenant of community, was uncircumcised in time, and they were constantly called to circumcise their hearts. But the new covenant community, which is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, is said to have possessed circumcision of heart, in Colossians 2.11. So it's true that circumcision of body has a spiritual significance, and it's related to circumcision of heart.

38:46 That's true. And baptism in water has a spiritual significance, and it's related to circumcision of heart. That's true. The question is, what is the precise relationship between those two things, and how do the communities which characteristically possess these two symbols relate to this great reality?

39:06 Now this point is basically missed by our paedobaptist brethren in their handling of Colossians 2.11. See, when they say that circumcision has replaced baptism, there's an element of truth in that. But there's also, an element of error and misconception.

39:29 The truth is indeed that circumcision has been replaced by baptism, but the truth is also that circumcision of heart has replaced circumcision of body as the distinguishing trait of the people of God and the covenant community. That's also true. And both of those things need to be taught together. You can't take a half-truth and present it as though it were the whole truth, because then you become the teacher of what is indeed an imbalance and an untruth.

Isaac Backus on the Differences Between Circumcision and Baptism

39:59 Now, what I'm saying is nothing new. It's been around in Reformed Baptist circles for several hundred years. And I would like to now quote from Isaac Bacchus. And I'm indebted to one of the members of our congregation for giving me this book.

40:19 I found it very excellent and enlightening with respect to the Reformed Baptist understanding Bacchus was someone who was converted during the Great Awakening. And at that time, several of the churches throughout New England came out of what was then the established church, formed a new type of a congregational church referred to as the New Lights. And then from there, they eventually became Reformed Baptists. And he deals with the matter of this relationship between circumcision and baptism.

40:54 And he says several things about it. He makes up five differences between circumcision and baptism. But the crucial thing is the fifth and final one on page 157 of the book Isaac Bacchus on Church, State and Calvinism edited by William G. McLaughlin.

41:09 Now, this is what he says. Circumcision was a type of what should come, Christ being cut off and also of regeneration, Colossians 2.11. Whereas baptism is not a type of what is to come, but is an outward sign or manifestation of what is inwardly wrought.

41:33 As many as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Here lies one special difference between the ordinances of the Old Testament and the New. Old Testament ordinances were typical of what was to come, whereas the ordinances of the New are open declarations of what is actually, and I might add the word, already done. Thus, for instance, in the Lord's Supper we show forth the Lord's death.

42:06 We've pulled up a public witness to the world that Christ has really died for sinners. And hence we may see the reason why those might be the subjects of circumcision, which indeed has a spiritual significance, I add that, that may not be of baptism because, circumcision pointed forward to what was to be. And so might be administered to subjects who did not have the thing typified wrought in their hearts. But baptism is not a type that the subject shall be converted, but an open sign or witness that he is so.

42:47 And thus, the worthy subject in attending that ordinance declares that he is and he has been crucified with Christ and is made dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, I would just like to conclude this morning and to conclude this teaching or conclude this consideration of the relation between baptism and circumcision by saying the following. I want to make a disclaimer. It is often said, and I believe rightly so, and this is one of the things that's said by Pierre Marcel in his book on the Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism, page 82 and other places. He says that Baptists teach that circumcision has a purely national and a purely historical significance. Well, that is true that some Baptists do teach that. So I'm not condemning Marcel for saying that because some Baptists indeed teach that and do not deal with circumcision adequately.

Disclaimer and Broader Implications

43:53 But I hope that the quote from Bacchus is enough to indicate that it is not at all true that all Baptists teach that. It's not at all true that all Baptists believe that. That there's always been, along with the dispensationalist school, at least since the time of the Reformation, the Paedo-Baptist school, a Reformed Baptist school, which does teach that circumcision has a spiritual significance but that sees that there's a distinction between the way in which the Old Covenant and the New Covenant community relates to that spiritual significance of circumcision. And then this brings us to the bottom line and this is something that Charles Pott says.

44:33 It may sound strange to say this but everything that I've said so far would not, I do not believe, begin to convince a Paedo-Baptist of what I've been speaking about because this is the point now where they're just ready to start getting going. Because you see now what's really involved in this question, it's much broader than just what does the Bible say about the subjects of baptism by reading the New Testament. I hope you can see that. I hope you won't be narrow-minded Baptists.

45:04 I hope this doesn't bore you because I hope you can see that there's a lot more to the question. Now Charles Hodge makes the following point. He says that if we're to justify infant baptism, we must be able to come up with such a conception of the church that will include believers, believers and their children. So that there's much more at stake here than simply the Biblical teaching concerning the subjects of baptism and the significance of baptism and the sacraments.

45:33 And we can see from this relationship between baptism and circumcision that the door has opened up to another whole avenue of thought that is the identity of the church of Christ and also the concept of the covenant community. The identity of the church of Christ. What really is at stake here is the identity of the church. And so, the Lord willing, when we come together in the new year, we will look at the Biblical teaching regarding the identity of the church and how it relates to circumcision and baptism, particularly baptism, and then also the identity of the covenant community.

46:13 Now I'll try not to spend quite as much time on this because of the breadth of the materials that now need to be covered. It would really be impossible for me to begin to give you an entire panorama of the whole teaching of the doctrine of the church in the Sunday School class and then relate it to infant baptism and then to go and to give you all the stuff from the Academy on the doctrine of the covenant. So what I'm going to do is simply draw out those salient points of the Biblical witness which relate to the church and the covenant and I think we'll be seeing these diagrams again and again and hopefully they'll be embedded in your mind because what's really at stake is the relationship between Israel and the church and indeed the identity of the church itself. Okay?

Closing Prayer

46:56 Well, let's close in prayer. Father, we give you thanks for what you've done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you that we are privileged to live in this age in which Jesus Christ has come, the age in which the people of God have undergone this marvelous transformation. That which was promised in the prophets has been fulfilled and we have received the circumcision of heart.

47:27 We bless you, Lord. Amen. For your mercy and for your grace in permitting us the great privilege of living in such a community. And we pray, Lord, that we may never take this great privilege for granted.

47:39 We pray that we may take it to heart, that our hearts may be filled with thankfulness. We pray also, Lord, that we may be given the grace and the strength to stand for the purity of the church of Jesus Christ against every pressure that would seek to bring the church to a conglomeration of wickedness and righteousness together. We pray, O God, that there may be a righteous church in this generation that would glorify the Lord Jesus Christ characterized by that circumcision of heart. So then write your word upon our hearts that we may live in the light of it.

48:14 We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.