Hopewell Herald – July 25, 2020
Dear Congregation,
We were blessed to attend upon the
sacrament of baptism this past Lord’s Day. Among the many thoughts that this has
fostered for me is that this doesn’t happen often enough.
Many of us, as we have begun to prepare
better for the Supper, and attend better upon the Supper, and respond better to
the Supper, have longingly desired to move to a biblical frequency (weekly) of
taking that Supper together. When we go weeks without it, we feel famished of
it; and, how dreadful it is if we happen to miss one and must wait two full
months!
Why are we not longing more for the
sacrament of baptism? Surely, if we view covenant children as Scripture does,
we should be eager for the Lord to add them to us. And in this way, we ought to
longingly desire to see more of their baptisms. Surely, if we view the bringing
in of those who are far off as Scripture does, and if we love the souls of lost
men, and the glory of Him Who is the Redeemer of those souls, we ought to
longingly desire to see more of their baptisms.
But I wonder if one of the ways that the
Lord grows us up into connecting these theological dots to form a picture of
longing desire in our hearts is by our attending better upon the sacrament itself.
Ever powerfully and succinctly
condensing Scripture truth, our Larger Catechism says this about our attending
upon Baptism:
Q. 167. How
is baptism to be improved by us?
A. The
needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by
us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are
present at the administration of it to others;
by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein;
by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements;
by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament;
by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and
by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body.
by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein;
by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements;
by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament;
by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and
by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body.
Did you take the time, and put in the
effort, to do these things before last week’s baptisms? With them fresh upon
your mind, were you able to renew and stoke these heart-actings-upon-God by
faith during the administration of it? Did you reflect later upon what had
transpired with the three who were baptized, meditating upon the effects of the
Lord having also done the same to you?
Baptism is a means of God’s grace! Just as
you have discovered that, in approaching the Supper in a biblical way, He has been
faithful to make it effectual to your benefit. So will you discover that improving
your own baptism in a biblical way, He will be faithful to increase your
benefit and joy from it.
And, I suspect, that one of these
benefits will be an increased desire to see more of them. An increased crying
out for the blessing of covenant children. An increased faithfulness in the
duties by which He brings them to faith and applies to them the full and
eternal blessings of the covenant. An increased “truthing” among one another
(tune in to the sermon on Ephesians 4:15 in a couple weeks!) and especially
unto the lost, that we might see them brought to faith in Jesus Christ, added
to His church, and baptized.
Perhaps, in working on improving our
baptisms, not only in times of its administration to others, but also in times
of temptation (cf. WLC 167 above), we can be looking to God to give us a
biblical increase in the frequency of that sacrament as well!
Looking forward to worshiping Him with you
in the other means of grace tomorrow,
Pastor