What Baptism Confers

Baptism has a promissory aspect. The Lord promises forgiveness and life in the Word, and calls hearers to faith. Baptism is a ritual form of the same promise, offering this gift to me by name, and baptism calls the baptized to trust the God who has baptized him.

Baptism not only offers gifts, however, but confers gifts.

In a sense, baptism is itself a gift. Whether or not the baptized ever believes, the Father has personally addressed Him, personally and directly promised life in the Son by the Spirit. God does not address everyone in this direct and personal manner. To be so addressed is a privilege, a mercy, a gift of grace, a wholly unmerited favor.

It's often said that those who are baptized but never believe never receive the offered gift. That's one way to say it, and gets at the truth that those who do not believe never received the gift rightly, since they despise the Giver.

Another way to say it is that they have received the gift, but abused it. They have, after all, received baptism. Baptism is just there, as real as the drops of water streaming down the head. If baptism itself is a gift, the baptized inevitably receives at least this gift when he's baptized, whether he responds rightly to it or not.

That's not all that the baptized receives. In receiving baptism, the baptized receive a great deal more. The baptized person is brought into the community of the church, which is the body of Christ. That's a gift. The baptized is made a member of the family of the Father. That's a gift. The baptized is separated from the world and identified before the world as a member of Christ's people. That's a gift. The baptized is enlisted in Christ's army, invested to be Christ's servant, made a member of the royal priesthood, given a station in the royal court, branded as a sheep of Christ's flock. All that is gift.

All this the baptized is not only offered, but receives. All this he receives simply by virtue of being baptized.

Some will spurn the gift. Some will say, "I don't believe I belong to Christ. I don't believe I'm a sheep of His flock, or a soldier in His retinue." Some will enlist enthusiastically for a time, and then go AWOL. But their failure is not a failure to receive a gift. Their failure is a failure to use it rightly.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, June 18, 2007 at 08:05 AM

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