St. Boniface House

I think I mentioned when the S. family joined Trinity Covenant that I have had the privilege of witnessing and/or participating in every single one of their baptisms—an early memory of mine is of my baby sister being baptized as an infant at the Presbyterian church in Warrensburg, Missouri.  And then I had the privilege of witnessing the baptisms of Jason and his sons when we were all attending Evangel together.  And by the Lord’s grace I was privileged to be the Pastor when little Dassah was baptized.  And now here we are again.  But as wonderful as all that is, it is very, very important for us to remember that as valuable and as necessary and as delightful as our family ties are, what we have come here this morning to witness and participate in and rejoice over is the formation of a very different set of family ties. 

Elder Hale asked me at last week’s Psalm sing if I had any thoughts I wanted to offer on the great line from the Nicene Creed—”one baptism for the remission of sins”.  I asked the question of the congregation assembled there if there was any sense in which we may say that “Baptism saves”.  After hearing some “yays” and some “nays”, I pointed out the passage in First Peter 3 in which the Apostle Peter says, “Baptism now saves you”.  I think we have to go with St. Peter on this one, and we have to take care not to interpret that sentence nor the qualifications that Peter adds to it to mean “Baptism doesn’t save you”.

How can we say that “baptism saves”?  This morning I want briefly to point out one way in which we may say that “baptism saves” and be on very safe and Biblical ground, so that we may better appreciate and enjoy what the Lord is doing for Seneca here this morning. 

God is a Trinity of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  These three persons are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory, but the three persons are distinct persons, in an eternal loving relationship with one another.  For all eternity the Father has loved the Son and the Son has loved the Father.  The Father and the Son have loved the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit loves them both and glorifies them.  The Father desires the glory of the Son, and the Son desires the glory of the Father.  You might say that the Godhead is the first family, and it is the pattern upon which all family is built.

Now, the Bible teaches us that we are made in God’s image.  This must mean that if God is social—if for all eternity God has enjoyed the inter-Trinitarian relationships, then to be made in God’s image means that we must also be fundamentally social beings.  We are made for relationships, with one another, and with God.  But sin destroyed those relationships by cutting us off from God and from one another.  In Adam we became selfish and self-absorbed and even when we recognize our need for relationships, we often approach them out of self-interest, looking only for what we can gain from them.  The world of families apart from God is a world of broken relationships, a world in which our relationships lead to death and hell, rather than life and joy and peace.  The image of God is fractured in us—for lots of reasons, really, but also because we are not properly related to God or to one another.

Now, how does Baptism save us?  There are many possible ways we could answer that question, but here is one:  Baptism, because it unites us to Christ (as Romans 6 and Galatians 3 tell us) and to his body, restores us (or we might say, begins to restore us) to the family of God.  It brings us into the new and eschatological family, the people of God.  It renews the image of God within us because we are placed firmly within the community of the Triune God.  If to be human means to be social, to have relationships after the pattern of the Trinity, then salvation means the restoration of those relationships—with one another and with the Triune God.  And that is just what is happening this morning in the Baptism of little Seneca.  Seneca is being transferred from the family of Adam to the family of the second Adam.  Seneca is being united to the family of God.  And of course this means, as I always want to remind you, that Seneca has all the responsibilities of a member of this family, and all the benefits, too.  Just as being an “S.” carries with it certain responsibilities and many benefits, so also does being a Christian—a member of the body of Christ.  Seneca must learn to trust his faithful Savior every day, to believe his word and to always repent of all his sins.  Seneca must learn to walk with his Savior in keeping the covenant that God is making with him today.  And Jason and Heidi, you are charged to lead him always in all of this.  But the church is our Mother, and to be a child of the church is to be showered with blessings.  Seneca gets to live in a home where Christ is served and praised and obeyed.  Seneca gets to come and be with the church every Lord’s Day.  When Seneca is able to eat solid food at his family’s table at home, he will likewise be welcome to participate in the fellowship of the Church with the Triune God.  How does Baptism save us?  It changes our identity, from “worldling” to “Christian”, because it orients us toward and places us in the family of God.  Give thanks for this great gift, and rejoice, dear Ones, for the Lord is blessing all of us by adding to our number this day.