paedobaptism

The Warrior King’s Flag

by Ben Zornes · Jun 7, 2022

Baptism isn’t a bare sign, as if it were one of those weatherworn signs on a remote trail. If it was merely a placard, placed there by men, it would would be subject to the fading effects of man’s earnestness, zeal, and emotion. But this sign is more like a flag of conquest, planted by a warrior King. This is a sign which produces what it declares.

The Church, by her ministers, apply this sign of water to the brow of a covenant child. In so doing, we confess that God through Christ is indeed planting a flag which declares, “This one belongs to Me.” Along with this claim comes good promises. Chief among them is this, that baptism into Christ assures us that our black sin is made white righteousness by the red blood of Jesus.

So welcome our sister to Jesus Christ…

How God Fixes Things

by Ben Zornes · May 10, 2022

The devastation of our first parents’ sin can’t be overstated. God set them as royalty, in a garden kingdom. Their sin took the precious gift they’d received, and dashed it to the ground like a glass bowl. The shards flew everywhere. No one could find out how to put it back together.

Baptism is God’s pledge that through Christ He puts broken things back together. By Baptism, God takes the calamitous ruin which is you, and unites you to the New Man. God doesn’t merely forgive us, sweeping away the broken shards of our sin. He also brings about our glorious restoration, and declares about us: there is no spot in thee (Sng. 4:7). Not just forgiven, but reckoned righteous in Christ. To quote a Christmas Carol, in May nonetheless:

Now display thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to thine.

So welcome our sister & brothers to Jesus Christ…

The Divine Joke on Death

by Ben Zornes · May 3, 2022

There’s a profound irony at play here. God is letting us in on a divine joke. To earthly perception an infant presented for baptism has a full life before them. It would seem like death is far off. Yet this sign joins us to death. Of course, not just any death, but Christ’s death.

If you aren’t joined to this death, the death of Christ, you shall remain joined––no matter how long your life is––to Adam’s death. Life outside of being bound to Christ’s death, is dying even while you live. Yet by dying here, this saint is promised life forevermore.

The divine joke in baptism is that by surrendering our life to Christ’s death, we receive His life & are delivered from eternal death. Indeed, in our baptism those words of Christ ring loud and clear: whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life shall gain it.

So welcome our sister/brother to Jesus Christ…

The Objectivity of Baptism

by Ben Zornes · Mar 30, 2022

The objection raised to infant baptism usually centers around how we can be certain that this child reeeeally believes in Jesus and has repented. This objection, however, isn’t solved by the passage of time. We don’t have a device that can scan the heart, at any age, to discern if they’re a true convert, soundly regenerated.

What we do have is Christ’s person and promise. God gives Himself to us through Christ and in covenant. We’re marked out as members of His body, and His promise is to grant grace to each member of His body. We should expect that to whom Christ is given, Christ’s covenant blessings will abound. Instead of thinking that we can accurately measure our own or our children’s faith, we’re told to look to Christ & His promise. This objectivity turns our eyes away from us and towards Christ alone: our only hope in life & in death.

So welcome covenant child to Jesus Christ…

Seeing the Sand Through the Waters

by Ben Zornes · Mar 22, 2022

When we bring a child to the baptismal font, the symbol of cleansing water is in the forefront of our mind. As it should be. But we’re also to see through this water innumerable grains of sand & stars. This water marks this child as one of God’s people, joining him to the great host of the children of Abraham.

The Lord promised Abraham, the father of all the faithful, that one day his offspring would be so numerous as to rival a sandy beach or a galaxy cluster. This is just one saint, joining the many who have gone before & the billions yet to be brought home. Although this mark of baptism reminds us that God is saving an innumerable multitude, our boast isn’t in the great number of our ranks. Rather, upon our lips is the watchword of the church: glory be to Christ alone.

So welcome covenant child to Jesus Christ…

Sword & Salve

by Ben Zornes · Feb 22, 2022

The church is tasked with ensuring that Word & Sacrament don’t drift apart. If you have Word without Sacrament you end up with individualism. If you have Sacrament without Word you end up with ceremonialism.

The 1st Pentecost demonstrates the potent union of Word with Sacrament. Peter’s great sermon cut the gathered Jews to the heart. In response to this Word, they ask, “What shall we do?” Peter answered: “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Notice the pairing. The Word cut like a sword, and the salve was the Sacrament.

The Word promises, this Sacrament seals the promise. The Word brings Good Tidings, this Sacrament assures you that those Good Tidings are for you. Regardless of age, or capacity, whether baptized in infancy or adulthood, covenantally or by profession of faith, the Word strikes us down so that the Sacrament can bear us up.

So welcome covenant brothers to Jesus Christ…

As an Arrow

by Ben Zornes · Feb 16, 2022

When a son is born an arrow is placed in a father’s hand. The world insists that such an arrow be accompanied with safety protocols: blunt the edges, dull the point, and for goodness’ sake, never point it at anything.

Christian fathers and mothers receive clear instructions from the arrow’s Maker as to what to do with this weapon: don’t bend it, keep it sharp, and––when the time comes––full send into the enemy ranks. But the first rule is to acknowledge that this arrow isn’t his own, he wasn’t made for his own glory, he doesn’t belong to himself. These baptismal waters affirm the rightful claim that Christ lays upon this arrow. This son, given to these parents, is ultimately a weapon in the hands of the King of kings, as He rides forth to conquest.

So welcome covenant child to Jesus Christ…

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