Trinity 23 
Baptism of Greenstein Children
by Bishop Ray Sutton

Charles Francis Adams, 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: "Went fishing with my son today--a day wasted." His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: "Went fishing with my father--the most wonderful day of my life!" The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but his son saw it as an investment of time. The only way to tell the difference between wasting and investing is to know one's ultimate purpose in life and to judge accordingly.

Today by means of the sacrament of Holy Baptism we have affected the ultimate purpose of a little boy and girl, William and Laura Lyn. And yet, some would surely say that baptism is not important, nor is necessary. Just like the opening illustration, it all depends on one’s perspective. From God’s point of view, apparently it is necessary and important to baptize children.

Why? Why do we baptize the young? The best place I know to begin is with the Scriptures. From beginning to end, the Word of God tells us that God places His claim on families. He wants our entire family to belong to Him. So when He enters the life of any individual, He also extends Himself to the person’s family. If an adult, His covenant promise is made to a believer and his children. This is what God told a man named Abraham nearly two millennia before the birth of Christ.

Abraham believed in God and he was justified. But God reminded him that the covenant he had entered belonged to his children as well. The Lord told him in Genesis 17, “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you” (v.7). Then God gave Abraham as a sign of His covenant promise a rite called circumcision. The patriarch was to place God’s sign on His family in faith that God would keep His promise. The sign was the reminder.

Several centuries later when the Church was born on Pentecost, the Apostle Peter used the same words given to Abraham. After the Holy Spirit had launched the Church, Peter preached a sermon. Three thousand people received Christ. They asked Peter what to do. His response was, “Repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins . . . for the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). Did you hear the similarity between Peter’s and God’s words to Abraham? The sign of the promise changed from circumcision to baptism, the latter replacing the former. The covenant principle did not change. For this reason, later in the Book of Acts, particularly in the 16th chapter, entire households are baptized because of the parents’ faith.

God wants our families in covenant with Him. Christian parents have come in good faith before the Lord. They have placed their children in covenant with God. They have taken a step of faith. The Name of God has been placed on these children. They are totally dedicated to the Lord; they belong to Him. Baptism is a reminder to God and to them. Their eternal purpose is tied to the God from whom they cannot escape. It may not seem significant to them all the time. Yet God will always be there with them, even when they disobey Him. God’s claim has been staked on their lives. He will call them back to His love and by His love.

God’s pursuit will be with them also because a claim must be cashed in to take effect. It carries with it a responsibility to raise covenant children in the Lord. And for covenant children to grow into obedient Christians. To this end, I’m reminded of a poem by Amy Carmichael,

Father, hear us, we are praying.
Hear the words our hearts are saying.
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril.
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling's hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life's troubled waters steer them.
Through life's bitter battles cheer them.
Father, Father, be thou near them.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

Let this be our prayer for these newly baptized children. Amen.