A Reformed Baptismal Liturgy

The following baptismal liturgy is an approved form for use in the Christian Reformed Church in North America, a denomination in the Reformed tradition with roots in the Dutch Reformed Church. This particular form is intended for the baptism of children. It was approved for use in 1976 and is printed in the 1987 Psalter Hymnal (Grand Rapids: CRC Publications). This liturgy maintains the basic structure and content of baptismal liturgies that were used in the Reformed churches of the Netherlands and the region of Germany near Heidelberg in the mid-sixteenth century.

INTRODUCTION Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ: What the Lord has revealed to us in His Word about holy baptism can be summarized in this way: First, Scripture teaches that we and our children are sinners from birth, sinful from the time our mothers conceived us (Ps. 51:5). This means that we are all under the judgment of God and for that reason cannot be members of his kingdom unless we are born again. Baptism, whether by immersion or sprinkling, teaches that sin has made us so impure that we must undergo a cleansing which only God can accomplish. Therefore, we ought to be displeased with ourselves, humble ourselves, and turn to God for our salvation. Second, baptism is a sign and seal that our sins are washed away through Jesus Christ. For this reason we are baptized into the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our baptism into the name of God the Father is assurance to us that he makes an everlasting covenant of grace with us and adopts us as his children and heirs. Therefore, he surrounds us with his goodness and protects us from evil or turns it to our profit. When we are baptized into the name of the Son, we are assured by Christ himself that he washes us in his blood from all our sins. Christ joins us to himself so that we share in his death and resurrection. Through this union with Christ we are liberated from our sins and regarded as righteous before God. Baptism into the name of the Holy Spirit is the assurance that the Spirit of God will make his home within us. While living within us, the Spirit will continually work to strengthen and deepen our union with Christ. He will make real in our lives Christ's work of washing away our sins. He will also help us each day to live the new life we have in Christ. As a result of his work within us, we shall one day be presented without the stain of sin among the assembly of the elect in life eternal. Third, because all covenants have two sides, baptism also places us under obligation to live in obedience to God. We must cling to this one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We must trust him and love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We must abandon the sinful way of life, put to death our old nature, and show by our lives that we belong to God. If we through weakness should fall into sin, we must not despair of God's grace, nor use our weakness as an excuse to keep sinning. Baptism is a seal and totally reliable witness that God is always faithful to his covenant. Our children should not be denied the sacrament of baptism because of their inability to understand its meaning. Without their knowledge, our children not only share in Adam's condemnation but are also received into God's favor in Christ. God's gracious attitude toward us and our children is revealed in what he said to Abraham, the father of all believers: "?I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you?" (Gen. 17:7). The apostle Peter also testifies to this with these words: "?The promise is for you and your children and for … all whom the Lord our God will call?" (Acts 2:39). Therefore God formerly commanded circumcision as a seal of the covenant and as a declaration that righteousness comes by faith. Christ also recognized that children are members of the covenant people when he embraced them, laid his hands on them, and blessed them (Mark 10:16). Since baptism has replaced circumcision, our children should be baptized as heirs of God's kingdom and of his covenant. As the children mature, their parents are responsible for teaching them the meaning of baptism. Let us turn to God, asking that in this baptism his name may be glorified, we may be comforted, and the church may be edified. Almighty, eternal God, long ago you severely punished an unbelieving and unrepentant world by sending a flood. But you showed your great mercy when you saved and protected believing Noah and his family. Your judgment upon sin and your great mercy toward us were again shown when the obstinate pharaoh and his whole army were drowned in the Red Sea, and you brought your people Israel through the same sea on dry ground. We pray that in this baptism you will again be merciful. Look upon these your children with favor by bringing them into union with your Son, Jesus Christ, through your Holy Spirit. May they be buried with Christ into death and be raised with him to new life. Give them true faith, firm hope, and ardent love so that they may joyfully bear their cross as they daily follow Christ. Give these children the full assurance of your grace so that when they leave this life and its constant struggle against the power of sin they may appear before the judgment seat of Christ without fear. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one only God, lives and reigns forever. Amen. ADDRESS TO THE PARENTS People of God, as you have now heard, baptism is given to us by God as proof that he does make a covenant with us and our children. We must, therefore, use the sacrament for the purpose that God intended and not out of custom or superstition. You are asked to give an honest answer to these questions as a testimony that you are doing what God commands. First, do you acknowledge that our children, who are sinful from the time of conception and birth and therefore subject to the misery which sin brings, even the condemnation of God, are made holy by God in Christ and so as members of his body ought to be baptized? Second, do you acknowledge that the teaching of the Old and New Testaments, summarized in the Apostles' Creed, and taught in this Christian church, is the true and complete doctrine of salvation? Third, do you sincerely promise to do all you can to teach these children, and to have taught this doctrine of salvation? Answer: We do. [Name], I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING Almighty God and merciful Father, we thank you and praise your name for having forgiven our sins through the blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for uniting us with Christ through your Holy Spirit and adopting us as your children, and we thank you for sealing and confirming these blessings to us and our children in the sacrament of baptism. We pray, O Lord, that you will always govern these children by your Holy Spirit. May they, through your guidance, be so nurtured in the Christian faith and godliness as to grow and develop in Jesus Christ. Help them see your fatherly goodness and mercy which surrounds us all. Make them champions of righteousness under the direction of Jesus Christ, our chief teacher, eternal king, and only high priest. Give them the courage to fight against and overcome sin, the devil and his whole dominion. May their lives become an eternal song of praise to you, the one only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. COMMENTARY Perspectives. A noteworthy feature of this as well as other liturgies from the Reformed tradition is the careful explication of the meaning and purpose of the sacrament with which it begins. In the years following the Reformation, this explanation was thought to be an important means for clearly differentiating a Reformed understanding of baptism from the traditional Roman Catholic view on the one hand and the Anabaptist view on the other. Notice, for example, the succinct paragraph which defends the practice of baptizing children. This is a response, no doubt, to the Anabaptist practice of baptizing only believing adults. These paragraphs of explanation maintain an important function in contemporary worship as well, teaching the congregation about the meaning of baptism each time the sacrament is administered. Although too much verbal instruction regarding the meaning of individual acts of worship can make a service of worship more didactic than doxological, such brief descriptions can prevent the sacrament of baptism from becoming a mere superstitious rite in the eyes of many worshipers. This liturgy also emphasizes the important role of the parents in the nurture of the child being baptized. As they present their children for baptism, parents are asked about their own Christian commitment, doctrinal beliefs, and intent to nurture their child in faith. This practice serves as a solemn reminder for all parents of their important responsibility for Christian nurture of children. It also serves as a necessary litmus test for determining when baptism is appropriate, reserving it for the children of parents who, along with the church community, are committed to the Christ and to the Christian nurture of their children. A key theological point imbedded in this baptismal liturgy is aptly summarized by the term covenant, which is mentioned frequently even in these few, brief paragraphs. The term suggests an agreement or arrangement between God and the people of God. God made a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:7) and a new covenant with the church through Christ (as anticipated in Jer. 31:31–34). In the Reformed tradition, baptism is seen as a sign that the child is a part of God's new covenant with God's people, even as circumcision, in the Old Testament, signaled the child's inclusion in the old covenant. This idea suggested the importance of the communal context for baptism—that in baptism the child is being joined to God's covenant people, the church. This idea also implies that God is the initiator of what takes place at baptism, even as God is the initiator of the covenant with God's people. Suggestions for Appropriation. To emphasize the importance of God's initiative in baptism, the third question asked of the parents may be asked after the actual baptism. The question could then be phrased, "?Having witnessed this gracious act of God, will you now respond in thanksgiving by teaching and nurturing this child in the Word of God and in the way of Jesus Christ??" This practice avoids the implication that the validity of baptism is contingent on our ability to live the Christian life, suggesting rather that our lives are lived as a response to a gracious act of God. To emphasize the importance of the congregation as a covenant community of God's people, the following question may be addressed to the congregation after the questions to the parents: "?Do you, the people of the Lord, promise to receive these children in love, pray for them, help instruct them in the faith, and encourage and sustain them in the fellowship of believers??" The congregation may respond, "?We do, God helping us.?" (This question is found in a second liturgy for the baptism of children used in the Christian Reformed Church, also approved in 1976.) In addition, the final prayer of thanksgiving may be spoken by all in unison. The paragraphs of instruction can meaningfully be read by two worship leaders—one reads the words of instruction from the baptismal font, and the other reads the passages of Scripture mentioned from the pulpit. This serves to emphasize the importance of the Bible as the church's guide to the understanding and practice of the sacraments.