Baptism: A Sign and Seal of Covenant Judgment

NOTE: This article was originally written as a paper submitted to Dr. Fesko while I was a student at Westminster Seminary California.

            May 5, 2013. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a cold Sunday morning and the congregation of Wornall Road Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri had gathered outside on the front lawn. The church met at a busy intersection in Kansas City and our lead pastor, in the warmer months, loved to do Baptisms outside in a mobile baptistery rather than inside the church. “After all,” he would say, “If baptism is a proclamation of faith, why not proclaim it to the whole community!” On this particular day I was up to bat, or to be dunked rather. It would be my second baptism by immersion upon confession of faith. The first one occurred when I was seven but now that I was twenty-four I was confident that I had not truly professed faith at the age of seven, thus the baptism must not have been valid. I stepped down into the cold pool and felt the hand of Pastor John Mark on my shoulder. Within seconds I heard the oft-repeated line, “Buried with Christ in baptism, and raised again to newness of life.” Now to be fair, considering the fact that I was underwater for part of the line, I probably only heard “Bu- … -ewness of life.”

            The interesting thing for me as I look back at my baptism(s) is that I never really understood baptism. To some degree it always seemed subjective in my Baptist upbringing, with the only consistent parts being that baptism was a proclamation of faith done by immersion in water. Now this first part, the proclamation aspect of baptism, so desperately misses the heart of what I now believe to be the center of baptism, namely that it is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace upon the recipient. But for many Baptists this notion cannot be dropped, and thus to try and argue for infant baptism or for any other purpose for baptism is hardly up for consideration. It’s like the argument stops at the door because it’s based on a different foundation, and thus must be wrong. Such an argument can be found in Duane Garrett’s critique of Meredith G. Kline’s By Oath Consigned, in his chapter titled “Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision, and Baptism” from Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ. Now to be fair, Garrett writes as if it is not infant baptism that is errant, although he certainly thinks that is the case, but rather that Kline’s argument for infant baptism from a “suzerain-vassal” backdrop is completely unwarranted. Now the purpose of this paper is not to go head to head with Garrett on every point in his chapter from Believers Baptism. After all, there are places where I believe his critique is warranted. But perhaps Garrett’s weakest point is his exegesis of 1 Peter 3:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-6. He argues that the former passage is Kline’s primary text and then seeks to disprove any connection that it might have to Kline’s overall argument.[1] In doing so however, his proposed counter interpretation of the text comes up wanting. The purpose of this paper is to prove, contra Garrett, that 1 Peter 3:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 most naturally present the case that baptism is a sign and seal of either promised hope or judgment upon the recipient.

 

I. Garrett’s Critique 

Part I – 1 Peter 3:20-21

            Garrett argues from the beginning that “the flood was not a ‘water ordeal’ for Noah.”[2] Instead, he says, it was clearly an act of judgment upon the world. Garrett goes on to make the case that, according to Peter, baptism is also not a water ordeal. Rather, he argues that baptism relates to the ark as a means of salvation from the judgment as they pass through the waters.[3]  As he puts it, “Christian’s too are saved from the wrath of God as they pass through the waters (but with no hint that the water is a test of their righteousness).” He then goes on to argue that Peter sees baptism as a cleansing from sin, not a water ordeal.

            In his interpretation of 1 Peter 3:21, he continues along the same lines of thought. Garrett bucks against the two most common interpretations of v. 21. He states that Kline believes that at baptism the recipient is promising that he will, from that point on, keep his conscious clean (Interpretation #1), while others commonly hold that v. 21 is implying that the recipient of baptism is appealing to God for a clean conscience (Interpretation #2). Garrett, in staying true with his credobaptist belief that baptism is a declaration of the faith of the recipient, argues that v. 21 should be interpreted as stating that baptism is “an earnest and sincere pledge/request[4] to God.” Ultimately, Garrett concludes that this is “a statement that the believer comes to baptism in good faith, that is, without conscious awareness of hypocrisy.” He is able to reach the conclusion that συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς, often translated ‘good conscience’, is probably better understood as “earnest and sincere” or “in good faith,” in large part because of its location at the beginning of this line. Garrett finishes his section on his exegesis of 1 Peter 3:20-21 by stating that ultimately, no matter how you interpret the passage, it still does little to prove that baptism is a “suzerain-vassal covenant wherin the candidate calls down on his head all the curses of Deuteronomy 28.”[5]

 

Part II – 1 Corinthians 10:1-6

            Thus Garrett moves from 1 Peter 3:20-21 to more broadly seeking to disprove the continuity between the Old and New Covenant as Kline sees it. Naturally, Garrett goes first to Kline’s use of 1 Cor 10:1-6 where Paul writes that the Israelites were baptized into Moses via their passing through the sea. He argues that the sea, like the flood, was not a judicial ordeal, but simply an analogy to Christian baptism used by Paul to warn the Corinthian church about becoming complacent in their standing before God. Again, Garrett connects baptism, not to the water of the sea, but to the crossing on dry land (much like he did with the Noah’s ark when addressing 1 Pet 3:20-21). In making that connection he argues that both the crossing and baptism are not judicial ordeals, but rather a means of salvation. Furthermore, he says, the phrase “all were baptized into Moses” from 1 Cor 10:2 identifies the Israelites as being baptized into his leadership. This, Garrett concludes, was probably meant by Paul to contrast the Old Covenant of Sinai with the New Covenant in Christ. Garrett uses this point to move forward into his argument that Kline misses this discontinuity between the Old Covenant and the New. Instead, Garrett writes, Kline sees the New Covenant as merely a “re-issue of the old with some modification due to a change of circumstances.”[6] Garrett’s argument continues on in the chapter, but it is his dealings with 1 Peter 3:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 that are of primary concern for this paper. Thus it would be beneficial to conclude the summary of Garrett’s thoughts with this final statement – From Garrett’s perspective, the New Covenant is one of grace, and yet, he argues, Kline seems to want to emphasize the law in the New Covenant over and against the grace.

 

II. An Alternative Interpretation of the Text

            To provide an alternative interpretation of 1 Peter 3:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 I will try to address the “issues” that Garrett sees with Kline’s covenantal interpretation of the texts through the exegesis of each one. The goal is to present the case that Kline’s view in fact does stand up to the arguments that Garrett puts forward. This will be done, not merely by referencing Kline, but also by examining each passage of scripture and engaging with a handful of other theologians to better understand how one ought to interpret each passage.

 

Part I Revisited – 1 Peter 3:20-21

            Garrett has argued that this passage must be understood as saying two things: 1) Baptism is only like the account of Noah’s ark in that by the ark, Noah and his family were saved, and baptism too represents a salvation from sin. And 2) that Peter is really saying that believers ought to come to baptism in good faith. This is over and against Kline’s interpretation which states that it is the waters of the flood that Peter is connecting to the waters of baptism, not the ark. Here Kline argues that the adjective ἀντίτυπον is best connected with βάπτισμα.[7] To understand it as such would be to render the verse something like this, “and now the antitype – namely baptism, now saves you.” What’s interesting here is the clear connection between ἀντίτυπον and βάπτισμα, both being neuter nominative singular, and their relationship to Peter’s preceding statement in v. 20. There the ESV is rendered, “in which a few, that is, eight persons, were being brought safely through water.”[8] Perhaps the KJV provides a better translation in which it states that the eight “were saved by water.” Here in the Greek, δι’ is best understood as a marker of instrumentality (“by”) and not as the ESV renders it, which is as a marker of extension through an object (“through”). Such a conclusion can be drawn from the nearly one-to-one comparison that Peter makes between the waters of the flood and the waters of baptism. This parallel can be seen both in his use of the word ἀντίτυπον[9] to connect the flood to baptism, and his use of the words διεσώθησαν (rescues/saves) and σῴζει (saves), the former being etymologically rooted in the latter. 

While Garrett wants to argue that the waters of the flood are merely for the destruction of the ungodly, Kline rightly sees more than this. He writes: 

It may be natural to think of the flood waters as merely destructive, as something from which to be saved. But those waters may in precisely the same and obvious sense be the means of condemnation-destruction or of justification-salvation if they are seen to be the waters of a judicial ordeal with its potential of dual divine verdicts.[10]

 

Simply put, the flood waters saved Noah and his family from judgment, just as the waters of baptism save us from the judgment of God. Peter goes on to state that this is not to say that baptism, in and of itself saves, just as it was not the water of the flood, in and of itself, that saved Noah and his family, but baptism saves because it is connected to the grace of God in the resurrection of Christ. Garrett will interpret this as essentially, our profession of faith to God in baptism, that we come before God honestly and truthfully committed to him. This is not Peters intention however – since Peter is clearly arguing that Baptism in some way saves, it wouldn’t make sense to then switch the subject of the thought from baptism to us. 

Peter goes on to state that baptism is the ἐπερώτημα (appeal) to God of a clean conscience. How? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ of course! In Baptism we are either put forth with a clean conscience (found only by faith in Christ) or we are committed to judgment apart from Christ. Edmund Clowney, building upon the work of Kline, shows how this judgment in baptism ultimately communicates grace to the baptized Christian. He writes:

In that pledge Christians agree with God’s judgment on sin, and on their own sinful past. They acknowledge that to turn from their commitment would be to bring upon themselves God’s just judgment. Yet Peter’s words stress the wonder of the sacrament even more than its solemnity. As Noah was delivered by the grace of God, although only in symbol, so have they been delivered in fact. Christ has saved them, for he died for their sins and gave them life through his resurrection.[11]

 

In a very real sense, the patience of God is seen not just in the time it took to build the ark, but also in the hundreds of years leading up to Christ. For Noah, apart from the ark, there was no deliverance from the flood to be found. Apart from Christ, there is likewise no deliverance to be found in baptism, only judgment. As Kline so aptly puts it, “In Christ, the ark, there is safe passage; the prevailing waters are themselves overcome in resurrection, swallowed up in victory.”[12]

 

Part II Revisited – 1 Corinthians 10:1-6

Here, Garrett again emphasizes two main points that he argues disprove Kline’s interpretation. They are: 1) That the waters of baptism coincide with the deliverance on dry ground and not to the waters of the sea. He is arguing here both against continuity between the Old and New Covenant, and against Kline’s argument that any mode of baptism is fitting as is seen in this passage. And, 2) that Paul’s entire purpose for this passage is not to emphasize the continuity between the Old and New Covenants, but rather to stress their discontinuity.[13] Here, it would do good to start by recognizing that Garrett misses the connection that Paul is making, not just between the sea and baptism, but also between eating and drinking and the Lord’s Supper. Paul here is showing the connection between the New Covenant sacraments and the religious events that the Israelites were participating in. So there is from the very beginning a fairly clear connection between Old Testament Israel and the New Testament church in the mind of Paul.

Secondly, Paul doesn’t just argue that the Israelites were baptized in the sea, which is how Garrett seems to take it, but he also states that they were baptized in the cloud. If one were to state that Israel’s baptism was merely in their walking across the sea on dry ground, then one would also have to wrestle with Paul’s writing of baptism into Moses in the cloud, which Garrett never addresses. In this imagery however Paul is drawing up a parallel between Israel in the Exodus event and the church today. It is a part of a larger passage in which he is calling the church in Corinth to finish this life strong and to persevere in the faith. So Paul naturally points back to Israel at the time of Moses. According to Kline:

The apostle recalls that the Mosaic generation of Israel participated in events that corresponded in religious significance to the church’s sacramental ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Yet, in spite of experiencing the sacramental privileges of the Mosaic covenant, most of that generation fell beneath its curses because of defection from their sworn allegiance to Yahweh. Therein was a message for the church which Paul proceeded to apply.[14]

 

The Baptism into Moses, when understood this way, is much easier to make sense of. Where Garrett argues that the phrase “all were baptized into Moses” is meant to simply mean the Israelites were in submission to the Old Covenant law, Kline argues contrary to this that the phrase “baptized into Moses” is not meant to have a sort of general interpretation, much like Garrett’s, but rather it is meant to be taken in its technical religious sense as would be understood by Paul and the Corinthian church. Part of the proof that Kline uses to present his case is that the phrase “baptized into Moses” is a rephrasing of the, by then common technically used phrase, “baptized into Jesus Christ.” Fesko writes, “In the same way that believers are baptized into Christ as their Deliverer, so Israel was baptized into Moses as their deliverer.”[15] Thus Paul is using this terminology to connect Israel’s baptism into Moses in the sea and in the cloud, to the churches present baptism in water and Spirit. Contrary to Garrett’s thoughts that Paul’s passage is meant to usurp any idea that there is continuity between Israel and the church, Paul is actually arguing the case that there is so much in common to be found between Israel and the church. 

            Paul starts with the commonality of their baptisms, both into a federal head (Moses and Christ) in water and spirit. Not only that but in Israel’s baptism into Moses they were able to partake of the covenant blessings of the church – “And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” Before moving on to vv. 5 and 6, the judicial nature of baptism as an ordeal should be considered in the Red Sea crossing. In the Sea, Israel is delivered through the baptism by faith, but Egypt was found wanting and succumbed to the judgment of death. For those whose faith was in the covenant God, deliverance was to be had in baptism. But for those who did not have faith (and Egypt clearly showed a lack of faith towards Yahweh in the midst of the plagues), judgment was to be had in baptism.[16] Paul uses a shadow of New Testament baptism to show that in the sea the Israelites were promised both a future salvation received by faith (the promised land) and a future judgment (death) received by lack of faith. 

Continuing on now to v. 5 - the reason behind Paul’s referencing the baptism of Israel in the Red Sea becomes evident. He is doing so to remind the church in his day of their need to persevere by faith in Christ. He writes, “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” The Israelites who had received baptism, and who had received the blessings of belonging to the covenant community (feasting on Christ), were now receiving the judgment, promised upon their own lack of faith, which was symbolized in their baptism. If Israel was as much a part of the visible Covenant of Grace during the days of Moses as the church is in Paul’s day, then the continuity in Paul’s argument would make perfect sense to the Corinthian church in his day. And Paul is sure of this when he writes in v. 6, “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” Paul’s argument is built upon the underlying premise that baptism offers both blessing and judgment. Much of Israel received judgment, but Paul’s hope for the Corinthian church is that they would cling to Christ by faith – that they would receive in Christ the blessings symbolized in their baptism. After all, it is upon Christ, the blameless one, that the judgment of the wrath of God was poured out so that those who would believe in him could go through the waters of baptism and receive the promise of blessing symbolized within. 

 

Conclusion

            I’m sympathetic to Garrett’s desire to keep baptism as a profession of faith in Christ. After all, both my baptisms were understood at the time to be exactly that. But the baptism of scripture is so much more than a profession of faith. Rather, it is an appeal to Christ for the salvation communicated through the sacrament. The key thing to remember in all of this is that baptism is at its core the gospel. It is the sign and seal of salvation received by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Baptism, understood as a judgment ordeal, proclaims this message clearest. After all, we are sinners saved by grace. Apart from Christ, judgment is our certain doom. Death awaits us in baptism, but for those in Christ, the death of baptism is not one of judgment. It’s one of salvation. Calvin writes in his commentary of 1 Peter 3:21, “so at this day, the death which is set forth in baptism, is to us an entrance into life.”[17]  

 

Bibliography

 

Calvin, John. Commentary On the Catholic Epistles: Commentaries On the First Epistle 

of Peter. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1999. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/comment3/comm_vol45/htm/iv.iv.viii.htm (accessed October 18, 2016).

 

Clowney, Edmund P. The Message of 1 Peter: The Way of the Cross. The Bible Speaks 

Today. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988.

 

Fesko, J V. Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective On Baptism. Grand 

Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Book, 2013.

 

Garrett, Duane, ed. “Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision, and Baptism.” In Nac 

Studies in Bible and Theology, edited by Thomas R. Schreiner, Shawn D. Wright, and E Ray Clendenen. Vol. 2, Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ, 272. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2006.

 

Hyde, Daniel R. Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptize Children. Grandville, 

MI.: Reformed Fellowship, ©2006.

 

Kline, Meredith G. By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of 

Circumcision and Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968.

 

Kline, Meredith G. Genesis: A New Commentary. Peabody, Massachusetts: 

Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 2016.

 

Watson, Duane Frederick, and Terrance Callan. First and Second Peter. Paideia: 

Commentaries On the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.

 

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[1]                 Duane Garrett, ed., “Meredith Kline on Suzerainty, Circumcision, and Baptism,” in Nac Studies in Bible and Theology, ed. Thomas R. Schreiner, Shawn D. Wright, and E Ray Clendenen, vol. 2, Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ(Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2006), 272.

[2]                Garrett, 275.

[3]                For a similar view see Balthasar Hübmaier, On the Christian Baptism of Believers, in Balthasar Hübmaier, eds. And trans H. Wayne Pipkin and John H. Yoder (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1989), 134. Here Hübmaier writes, “From this passage you can obviously see that Noah’s ark is a figure or shadow of baptism.” As found in J V. Fesko, Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective On Baptism (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Book, 2013), 74.

[4]                The pledge/request comes from his prior statement that ἐπερώτημα in v. 21 could be translated either way. He writes, “The matter of whether the Greek word in question, ἐπερώτημα, means ‘pledge’ or ‘request’ is complex, with evidence cited for both sides.” He will go on in a later part of the chapter to deal a little more with the meaning of ἐπερώτημα.

[5]                Garrett, 277.

[6]                Garrett, 278. The change in circumstances Garret lists are that the “Messiah has come, the Jews have been condemned and rejected in the ‘covenant lawsuit,’ and the gospel has gone to the Gentiles.”

[7]                Meredith Kline, By Oath Consigned: A Reinterpretation of the Covenant Signs of Circumcision and Baptism (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), 65.

[8]                Unless otherwise noted, all passages of scripture will be quoted from the ESV.

[9]                The significance of the meaning of the use of ἀντίτυπον here is left undealt with by Garrett. It’s other use in scripture, Hebrews 9:24, seems to imply that it was used by the apostles, not to merely marked a correspondence between two things, but to show how OT types pointed forward to NT realities – Thus here the flood as Peter interprets it is pointing forward to Christ. While Paul doesn’t use the word ἀντίτυπον in 1 Cor 10:1-6, he applies the same sort of logic. For more on this see Duane Frederick Watson and Terrance Callan, First and Second Peter, Paideia: Commentaries On the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 92.

[10]               Kline, By Oath Consigned, 66. For a more concise argument in line with that of Kline’s in By Oath Consigned, See Daniel R. Hyde, Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptize Children (Grandville, MI.: Reformed Fellowship, 2006), 23-24.

[11]               Edmund P. Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter: The Way of the Cross, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 58.

[12]               Meredith G. Kline, Genesis: A New Commentary (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 2016), 38.

[13]               Garrett, 278.

[14]               Kline, By Oath Consigned, 67-68.

[15]               Fesko, 206. Fesko offers helpful clarification here which might save the reader from adopting any errant views. He writes, “This is not to say, of course, that Israel had a mystical union with Moses as believers now have with Christ. There are differences between the type and the antitype, the shadow and the reality. Some details require elaboration so that the connections between the typical event and the antitypical reality are understood.”

[16]               Fesko, 243.

[17]               John Calvin, Commentary On the Catholic Epistles: Commentaries On the First Epistle of Peter (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1999), 1, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/comment3/comm_vol45/htm/iv.iv.viii.htm (accessed October 18, 2016).

Theological Resources for Children (and Parents Too!)

(Originally posted at OakHillsPCA.com)

We live in a day and age in which there are countless resources for nurturing the faith of our children. One of my passions has been in keeping up (as best I can!) with what is available and sorting through the good and the bad to find the best items out there. One of the things I love about Children’s books is their ability to help simplify and explain some of the more convoluted areas of truth in scripture and to that end I’ve found that several of these books have been just as beneficial for my own faith as it has been for the faith of my children. In this blog post I’d like to recommend a sampling of some of my favorite books that we’ve picked up over the last few years with one or two sentences to summarize the books. I’ve included links to each book as well. I’d encourage you to check them out and if you have any you’d like to share with me – shoot them my way!

Biblical Theology:

The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross (By Carl Laferton) – This book is a book to be read in one sitting. It’s a brief and excellent overview of the fall of man, our separation with God because of our sin, and how in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection we are promised the forgiveness of sins and restoration with God. It’s bright, colorful, and fun to read. (Video Reading, Amazon)

The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden (By Kevin DeYoung) – This book began as a sermon by Kevin DeYoung in which he preached through the entire redemptive story in scripture. It is divided into 10 short chapters and is an excellent overview of scripture that is beautifully illustrated, easy to engage with, and perfect for helping your children (and you!) have a better understanding of how God worked throughout scripture to save his people from their sin. (Preview Video, Amazon)

Sammy and His Shepherd: Seeing Jesus in Psalm 23 (By Susan Hunt) – This book is a great tool for family devotionals as it takes Psalm 23 and divides it into 11 chapters with each chapter covering a small portion of the Psalm and unpacking it via the story of a sheep named Sammy and his Shepherd. At the back of the book there are discussion questions for each chapter as well as passages of scripture that back up the main idea of the chapter. (Video Reading, Amazon)

Christian Life:

Good News for Little Hearts (A series by David Powlison, Ed Welch, and Jayne V. Clark) – This is a series of six books that cover topics of Anxiety, Anger, Failure, Greed, Sadness and Loneliness. They are incredibly useful for helping our children learn to cope with their own sin and the hardships of this world from a Biblical perspective. (WTS Books 6-Pack Bundle, Amazon)

The Moon is Always Round (By Jonathan Gibson) – This book helps families deal with the problem of hardship and suffering. The author uses the imagery of the moon to teach children of the constant goodness of God, even when it might seem obscured by difficult circumstances in life. (Amazon)

God’s Very Good Idea: A True Story of God’s Delightfully Different Family (By Trillia Newbell) – This book takes the reader on a journey from the garden of Eden and the fall to the heavenly throne room of God and shows how despite the sinfulness of mankind, all people are welcomed into the family of God through the saving work of Christ. (Amazon)

Other Worthwhile Titles: Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing (by Sally Lloyd-Jones), Mighty Acts of God and Wondrous Works of God (by Starr Meade), The Donkey Who Carried a King (by R. C. Sproul), How Much Is a Little Girl Worth? (by Rachel Denhollander, The Gospel Story Bible (By Marty Machowski), Everything a Child Should Know About God (by Kenneth N. Taylor) and The Church History ABCs (by Stephen J. Nichols).

Like I said above, this is meant to be just a sampling of some of the books that I find valuable and helpful for my families continued growth in the faith. There are so many valuable resources out there and I hope that as a church body we can continue to explore them together and share them with one another for the building up of one another in Christ. If there are any books or resources that you would like to share with me – please send them my way and I’d love to check them out!

Good News Worth Sharing

(Originally posted at OakHillsPCA.com)

We are blessed at Oak Hills to have such a vibrant children’s ministry. On any given Sunday we average around 40 children actively involved in our various children’s ministries, from Acorns to Promiseland, pre-k Sunday School to youth Sunday School. That’s awesome! Even just this week our church grew by 2 more members as we welcomed Téa and Tyus Porter into our fold, praise God! The Lord continues to bless and grow Oak Hills, from families moving in, to little ones being born, and that is something worth rejoicing over.

Another huge blessing is the large number of volunteers that we have actively serving in our children’s ministries. On top of the 40 children in our ministries we have nearly 30 volunteers serving regularly in various children and youth ministries. This, to me, is an answer to prayer as it shows our commitment as a church to the love and discipleship of our members, from the youngest age to the oldest. When you volunteer in children’s ministry, you aren’t just volunteering to do childcare for an hour and a half on a Sunday morning.

No, each and every one of you who serves in our children’s ministries plays a vital role of instilling in our children, from the youngest age, a love for our Triune God, his Word, and his church. In Sprouts and Promiseland, you are engaging them with his Word and providing them with a foundational understanding of Scripture and how it all points to Christ. You're teaching them the gospel at every angle and you are doing it in a setting where they are learning alongside other members of this covenant community. In this you are giving them the tools to transition into hearing the Word of God preached each and every Sunday with the rest of the congregation. In Acorns, you're helping the children to grow up in the covenant community experiencing the beauty of a church that is a family and a body, loving and caring for one another.

Hear, O Israel
I love the Shema. It’s a passage in Deuteronomy that many of you will be familiar with, Deuteronomy 6:4. It’s a passage, spoken to and recorded for Israel, God's visible church in the Old Testament, and it gives this call –

"Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

The Israelites were commanded to recite and teach the word of God to their children diligently. To call them to "love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." And in verse 20 it continues,

"When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?' Then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers."

This is our calling as a church when it comes to our children’s ministries – to love our youngest members and to instill in them a knowledge of and love for the gospel, a love for God, a love for the Holy Scriptures, and a love for the church. And each and every week to tell the kids as they come through our doors and enter our classrooms, "we were once slaves to sin, but the LORD has rescued us through the miraculous life, death and resurrection of his son Jesus. He has triumphed over our enemies of Satan, sin and death, and has brought us from a life of misery into a life of hope.” That’s good news worth sharing.

A Letter to the Saints

(Originally posted at OakHillsPCA.com as "To the Saints of Oak Hills")

Are you a sinner or a saint? That’s a pointed question. The theological answer is of course that you are a saint. Did you know that? Consider how Paul addresses the churches in Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 2:1, Eph. 1:1, Phil 1:1, etc. But how can Paul say that you are a saint? Because the word saint essentially means “holy one” which is a term that refers, not to the Christian’s own merit, but to the holiness of Christ that they are clothed in. That’s why in Philippians 1:1 Paul address his audience as “All the saints in Christ…” Apart from Christ we are not saints, but in Christ, we receive our new, foreign, identity as saints.

Still, for any self-aware person, there’s a glaring issue with this language. Sin. We’re sinners. I take one look at my own life and it doesn’t take a second for me to realize that I am not worthy of the title of saint. After all, I’m no Peter or Paul. I’m just not. And neither were they if by saying I’m not them, I’m saying that I’m not a perfect man/woman of God. Because they all had their sins. Peter denied Christ three times and later on, after several years of ministry, had to be rebuked by Paul (Gal. 2:11ff). And by Paul’s own confession, he too continually struggled with sin (Rom. 7:13ff).

This is where I think the Reformation doctrine of simul iustus et peccator is so helpful. In case you don’t know Latin (me either!), the above-mentioned phrase means “simultaneously righteous and sinner.” This phrase, coined by Martin Luther, is central to understanding life as a Christian. It is not saying that we are, on our own, somehow both righteous and at the same time sinful. Rather, it is saying that in Christ we are forgiven of all our sins (past, present and future) and declared righteous, not by our own merit but by the merit of Christ himself. This is the righteousness by which we will be judged, praise God, and not by our own sinful stab at righteousness. However, at the same time as being declared righteous in the courts of heaven, we are still sinful beings. We still, day in and day out, will sin against God and man.

The beauty of the gospel is that both these things can be true of us – that somehow a sinner like myself can be viewed as perfect and loyal and devoted and righteous by a holy God because he, at great cost, made me to be so.

There are two implications for this truth that I’d like to briefly lay out.

The first is that we need to do a better job of being open about our sin and shortcomings. There is a quote that I love which is generally attributed to either Augustine or Chrysostom – it reads, “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum of saints.” This, I believe, is rooted in Christ’s words recorded in Luke 5:31-32, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” The more we hide our sin and shortcomings from our brothers and sisters in Christ, the more they feel unable to be open and honest in return. Thus, instead of a culture of grace and encouragement to pursue holiness (hospital analogy), we create a culture of legalism and false perceptions of each other’s personal holiness (museum analogy). If we are simultaneously declared righteous and sinners, we need to live like it for the sake of spurring one another on to fix our eyes on Christ and not on our own righteousness.

The second is that we need to feel comfortable pushing ourselves and others in the church to pursue holiness while expecting failure. Not that we rejoice in failure, but when we or others sin or are unable to keep up with godly disciplines, we rejoice in the truth of the Gospel that our failures don’t have the final say. This should motivate us to try and try again. This is the essence behind being able to combat sin and seek to live righteous lives as an act of worship rather than as an act of personal merit to gain God’s favor.

Brothers and Sisters, Saints, let us live together in light of the beauty of simul iustus et peccator. In doing so may we grow together in the nourishment of the Gospel and may God be glorified all the more.

A Graduation Charge for the Rest of Us

(Originally posted at OakHillsPCA.com)

This Sunday I had the opportunity to give a charge to our high school graduates of 2019 (Way to go guys/gals!). It’s the second time that I’ve had the privilege of giving such a charge during my time at Oak Hills. While I was grateful for the opportunity and I don’t regret anything that I said, if I had the chance to speak a little longer I probably would have spent a little more time looking at Paul's words from Philippians 1:21 and following; words for the Philippian church, words for our graduating seniors and words for the rest of us.

“…More necessary on your account.”
Paul, in his letter to the Philippians writes, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again” (Phil 1:21-26). The first verse, verse 21, is one of the very first passages of scripture that I committed to memory as a young Christian. This was in large part due to how epic it was. It is an expression of hope and of commitment in and to the Gospel that is summarized so powerfully and so simply. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this passage however is not necessarily Paul’s profound soundbite, but Paul’s motivation to live for Christ in this life – the fruitful ministry of the gospel in the lives of others. Paul recognized that how he lived his life had an impact on the lives of others. “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith” (Phil. 1:25).

Not a calling unique to Paul.
One of the things I love most about this passage is what comes next. Paul isn’t just writing about how devoted he is to the gospel for the sake of others. He’s really writing about the reality that our lives as Christians are meant to be lived for the glory of God AND for the building up of one another. It’s like the two greatest commandments – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart… And you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). Paul will go on in Philippians to write of the flipside of this love, this encouragement, this duty to build one another up in the faith – his own joy in the faith. He writes “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil 2:1-2). Just as Paul’s life as he was allowed to continue to live it, would contribute to the joy and faith of others, the life of the others in the church would contribute to Paul’s own joy and faith. We are likewise called to grow in faith, in holiness, in knowledge, in servitude – not for the sake of our own profit, but because it’s through our own growth that God is glorified and that others in the church grow as well!

A calling lived out.
Need motivation to be a part of the church? Consider this – your participation and membership in the church isn’t just for your own good. You are here at Oak Hills (or wherever the Lord has called you) for the good of others in the church as well. Sometimes the reorientation we need is to remember that we aren’t called to live this life alone. We need others, and others need us – no matter how old we are or where we are at in life. Thus, we need to be asking ourselves, wherever you are, are you connected to a local church and are you making the lives of the members there better? For most of you, at least those who are members at Oak Hills, the answer to that first part is a resounding yes. But for those who it isn’t a yes, or for those whom the answer to the second part of the question is a no, then you should follow that question with a probing – “why not?” What is stopping you from living like Christ for the sake of others in the church? Paul’s wisdom doesn’t end with the joy of others or his own joy – he gives some very practical advice for Christians in what the greatest motivation for this kind lifestyle is.

The mind of Christ.
It’s here that Paul gets a little preachy. I imagine him stepping away from the pulpit at this point with his voice getting louder and his pace faster and his smile bigger – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:5-11). My challenge from this is that we need to remember that this life here on earth is not a life to be lived for our own gain. At least not from the world’s perspective. The business of life, of work, of school, of friendships and relationships, can all begin to take centerstage over finding a church home or regularly worshiping with and serving your local church. But, that’s not how we are called to live. To live is Christ. Christ suffered and died for others. For us. Why? So that we could be restored to him, SO that our joy could be complete in him! And now we are called to live in a like manner, for the short life that we have this side of heaven, so that we can contribute and bear witness to others’ progress and joy in the faith – which cannot occur apart from active involvement in a local church body.

A Gospel Legacy for our Little Ones - Part II

(Originally posted at OakHillsPCA.com)

Last week I talked about the “What?” of our children’s ministry here at Oak Hills. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d encourage you to check it out HERE. More specifically, I wrote about the unique opportunity that we have as a church in our children’s ministry to disciple our kids in tune with our mission statement here at Oak Hills – “Longing to Know and Make Known the Astonishing Grace of God.” This is the follow up to that article as we now look to answer the questions of “How?” “Why?” and “Who?”.

How?
The how in my mind is found in the variety of programs that we offer here at Oak Hills for our children. On Sunday mornings in Acorns (0-2 years), Sprouts (2-4 years) and Promiseland (4/5 years – 2nd grade) we have geared our various children’s ministries around the hard work of showing the kids Christ from all of Scripture. I say hard work because some passages of Scripture are much easier than others at showing us our need for Christ and how he has won for us our restored relationship with God. Still, our desire is for our kids to know the Bible well, and to know from the Bible that their relationship with God is secure in Christ through his life death and resurrection. While our teaching on Sunday morning is structured primarily around the word, in each classroom we have age specific activities, music, lessons, handouts and even snacks to aid in and reinforce each child’s learning experience. Ultimately, our desire here is not just to give them an opportunity to learn about Christ from his Word on their level, but to also teach them how to sit and to listen, how to sing along to songs, and how to participate in an interactive service (More on this under “Why?”).

We also have children’s Sunday School classes during the Sunday School hour for our pre-K through 5th grade children, and KID360 (grades 2-5) on Wednesday night – Both of which use curriculum and catechisms, (newcitycatechism.com) based upon the truths of Scripture, to provide and reinforce a sound worldview of the Christian faith. While much of how we do what we do on Sunday mornings during the worship service is meant to prepare kids for worship, our Children’s Sunday School hour and KID360 are more specifically geared toward their discipleship in the Christian faith.

In all these things we ask our volunteers to serve in wisdom and love, caring for these children and their families as we seek to help nurture and grow their faith in Christ.

Why?
The question of “Why?” is the motivator for much of what we do in children’s ministry. Why do we do the things we do in children’s ministry? Why do we teach the things we teach? Why do we teach the way we teach? etc. All of these are good questions and I think they can all be answered by looking back at that mission statement one more time – “Longing to Know and Make Known the Astonishing Grace of God.” We desire for our kids to grow up in the church knowing and loving the gospel, knowing and loving God, knowing and loving his church, and then making that knowledge and love known to the world around them. Why do we emphasize the use of song and other aspects of worship in our younger age groups? Because we desire for our children to naturally transition into worshiping with the rest of the body of believers on Sunday morning as they grow up in the church. Why do we have such a strong emphasis on the Word in all of our children’s ministries during the service? Because we desire for our children to develop and grow in the discipline of being able to listen to and benefit from the Word of God with the rest of the body as it’s proclaimed to them each and every week. Why children’s ministry at all? Why catechism memorization? Why Sunday School? Why KID360? In all of this we answer – we as a church want to hand off our faith to our children, and we want it to become their own. We want them to fall in love with God’s Word, with his church, with the salvation they have in Christ. This is what we strive for each and every week.

Who?
The “Who?” is all of us. We are a body, with Christ as our head. Each of us have different roles and different giftings. Parents are ultimately responsible for the discipleship of their children, but we want all of the parents of Oak Hills (myself included!) to know that you are not alone in this task. That we as a body care for one another. That we care for our children as members of our church, and that we desire to see them grow in their faith. We want families to succeed in this endeavor. We as a church want to succeed in this endeavor. So the “Who?” is all of us. It’s your pastors and elders, your deacons, your children’s ministry leaders, your mom and dad, your husband or wife, yourself (even if you’re a single adult!). It’s all of us.

At the same time, there are many who have taken up the task to serve in our children’s ministry which is an ever-growing need at Oak Hills (we average around 40 children on a Sunday morning, praise God!). If you are a children’s ministry volunteer – thank you! Please hear this from me – our goal is never to burden you. But it’s also not to give you a meaningless task that just anyone could do. It’s not necessarily easy. It’s not something that can be done without prayer and preparation (it doesn’t take a ton of prep, but it does require some, and we recognize this!). This is spiritual warfare. This is the passing on of our faith to our children. It’s a big deal, and we’re so grateful you continue to serve week in and week out in this capacity. Some weeks will be harder than others and some weeks feel like you were merely present. Other weeks however, you’ll feel like the Lord used you greatly. Know that no matter how you feel, the children are grateful, parents are grateful, we’re grateful – and more importantly, that the Lord uses you, even in your weakest moments, to shine the light of the gospel into the hearts of the smallest members of our church body. None of what you do is meaningless. THANK YOU!

For those of you whose children participate in any one of the several ministry programs we have for them, please consider taking the time to pull their teachers aside and say thanks, give them a kind note of encouragement, shoot them an email letting them know how grateful you are. Sometimes this service can be thankless, but it doesn’t have to be. After all, we’re in this together.

Lastly, if you haven’t considered serving in children’s ministry here at Oak Hills, please take a moment to pray about whether or not the Lord could use you in this way in the future. And if you think he is leading you in this direction, please send me or Gerie an email. As I mentioned earlier, our children’s ministries are only growing as our church grows, and we could certainly use new help. I know not everyone is called to this specifically, but I do believe that there are some who have yet to volunteer, I don’t know who, but I’m praying you do and as the Lord leads, you’ll prayerfully consider joining us in this great task.

A Gospel Legacy for Our Little Ones - Part I

(Originally posted at OakHillsPCA.com)

Recently I’ve decided to spend some time in my personal study on how best to disciple children within the context of the local church. To that end I have started reading the book Show Them Jesus by Jack Klumpenhower. It was assigned as required reading in a discipleship class at Westminster the year after I had already taken the class. Many of my peers loved it so much however that I picked up a copy myself. Unfortunately, adding it to my collection, I haven’t taken the time to sit down and read it all the way through. Until now. And it’s good. Really good. And really helpful in thinking about our ministry to our children here at Oak Hills, and what kind of legacy we want to leave behind. In my mind – a Gospel legacy.

Gospel Legacy
The term “gospel” is used so often – especially in conjunction with various ministries – that I feel like it would be helpful to define it again here. Klumpenhower defines it this way, “The good news means you relate to God based on what Jesus has done for you, not what you’ve done to prove yourself worthy. If you’re a believer, the good news says that God already accepts you fully – he’s adopted you as his child – because you’re joined to Jesus, who died on the cross for you.” Of course, that’s not everything. It doesn’t get into the details or talk about the righteousness of Christ, the substitutionary death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, etc. But it does give us a starting place of saying – “We want our kids to know that they are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, not by works.” And to that end we labor.

So, what does that look like here at Oak Hills? I know that not everyone who reads this serves in our various children’s ministries (and that’s ok!) so in the next two weeks I’d like to pull back the curtain and give a little tour of our children’s ministry here at Oak Hills. This week we’ll look more at the “What?” of our Children’s ministries and then next week we’ll dive in and answer some specific questions (“How?”, “Why?”, and “Who?”) in regards to our various ministries.

What?
As I said above – our goal is to leave behind a gospel legacy with our children. From the earliest of days children soak up knowledge and information from the world around them. We are privileged to be able to partner with families here at Oak Hills to teach them concrete truths about the Bible and the Christian faith. We want our kids to know that the Bible is God’s word. That God is the creator of everyone and everything. That God delights in his children and cares for them. That sin is our disobedience against God and that our sin separates us from God. That everyone sins and needs a savior. And that God sent his son Jesus to save us from our sin and restore our relationship with Him.

We believe that in providing this foundation for our children, and then expounding on it at home, in the classroom, from the pulpit, etc. throughout their life, we will be doing the very thing that Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 When he said “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified… so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

It doesn’t end there however. Or better, it’s not completed in mere knowledge. A true foundation of the gospel also empowers our children to live the Christian life in faith. As we teach the good news of Christ to our children, we also show them that what it looks like to “Love the Lord (their) God with all (their) heart and with all (their) soul and with all (their) mind.” And to “Love (their) neighbor as themselves.” – Matthew 22:37 & 39. Of course, on their own the children could never attain this but in Christ such commands become joyous acts of worship. We want our children to grow up loving the gospel, loving God, loving Christ, loving his church, and loving the world around. We want them to understand the commands of scripture, not as burdens, but as acts of worship and marks of who they are in Christ. As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Finally, these goals aren’t just the goals of our children’s ministry. They are the goals of the church. In fact, a better and more concise way of wording them can be found in our mission statement here at Oak Hills. “Longing to Know and Make Known the Astonishing Grace of God.” That is a gospel legacy. That is the “What?” To equip and pray for our children to know, believe and marvel in the gospel, and then to live in light of the gospel in the world around them.