Exhortation, June 26

When he finished his Pentecost sermon, Peter urged the Jews how to respond to his message: "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ," he said, "for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Peter says that when we repent and are baptized we are forgiven and receive the gift of the Spirit. That's a lot of power for a little bit of water. But it is not an isolated text. The NT's teaching about baptism is consistently surprising. Through baptism, we have died and been buried with Christ so that they can walk in newness of life (Rom 6); through baptism, the Spirit joins Jews and Greeks into one body (1 Cor 12); baptism clothes us in Christ (Gal 3), and in baptism we have been circumcised with a circumcision without hands (Col 2), a circumcision that removes the flesh; baptism now saves us, Peter says (1 Pet 3), and Paul talks about baptism as a "washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3).

How can water do such wonders? The answer is that the water of baptism is not simply water, but water and word, water and promise. God is the one who does wonders, but He promises to do wonders through water.

Too often, we react to the teaching of Scripture as Naaman responded to the instructions of Elisha. Why do I have to wash in the Jordan to be cleansed of leprosy? he wonders. Why can't Elisha wave his hand or do something impressive? To say that water can cleanse leprosy, wash my sins, or renew my life is an insult to my intelligence. Water is just too simple, not to mention too physical and tangible.

That is exactly the point. It is an insult to the wisdom of the world: Through the foolishness of water God has chosen to save those who believe. Baptism is a stumbling block for the powerful, who want to do something impressive or at least have something impressive done to them. But God says, Trust me, let me wash you up, and you can become a temple of the Spirit. Become as a little child, and believe what God says about baptism. As James Jordan says, all baptism is infant baptism.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, June 26, 2005 at 07:55 AM

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