Good morning, church! For the past serval months, we have been carefully studying the book of Genesis, working chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, verse verse by verse through this book that is so foundational to the Christian faith.
As we’ve worked our way through this book, we’ve come across several moments that play a crucial role in the unfolding redemptive history. Over the past few weeks, for example, we’ve been watching God establish a covenant with Abraham.
When God first called Abraham, He promised that He would make him into a great nation and that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
This promise was remarkable because Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren.
So built into that promise was the expectation that Sarah herself would one day give birth to a child. But as the years passed, that possibility seemed increasingly unlikely. Sarah grew older, and the promise appeared more and more out of reach.
So Sarah did what we often do when God’s promises seem delayed. She tried to take matters into her own hands by suggesting that Abraham take her servant Hagar as a wife in hopes of having a child through her.
Abraham agreed, and Hagar gave birth to a son named Ishmael.
When Ishmael was thirteen years old, God appeared to Abraham again and reaffirmed the covenant He had made with him. During that encounter, God instituted the practice of circumcision as the sign of the covenant.
In that same conversation, God also spoke a blessing over Sarah, promising that even in her old age she would bear a son, and that it would be through her child that the covenant promise would be fulfilled. It would be through her son that this great nation would be made. It would be through her son that all the nations would be blessed. It would be her offspring that will be given the land of promise.
And Abraham’s response was striking. He fell on his face in worship and laughed in amazement.
Then, after the conversation ended, he rose and obeyed the Lord by circumcising himself and every male in his household.
PAEDO BAPTISM?
So, that’s where we are in the story. And before we move further into the story, we thought it would be helpful to pause for a moment and explore the relationship between circumcision and baptism.
Colossians 2:11-12 says, “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
The Bible draws significant parallels between baptism and circumcision. Therefore, we wanted to press pause for a moment and seek to pull back some of the layers to these similarities and differences. We believe this is worth taking the time to do for a couple of reasons.
First, from a church polity standpoint: what is it that we believe, teach, and practice here at Harbor when it comes to baptism? And second, from a practical standpoint: how should this shape the way we live as individuals in light of our response to the gospel?
So, if you would, please turn in your Bibles to Colossians 2. And as you turn there, let me try to safely open up a can of worms in the most gentle and careful way that I possibly can.
Some of our Protestant friends practice what we would call paedobaptism. “Paedo” means child. So, this is the view that infant children of believing parents should be baptized.
They would hold to this view because of passages like Genesis 17. Because of that, I think it would be helpful to unpack this a little bit.
Those who hold to this view would point to Genesis 17 and say that circumcision was the outward sign of one entering into the covenant community of God’s people. It was the mark of the old covenant between God and his people.
Likewise, baptism is now the outward sign of entrance into the covenant community. It is the mark of the new covenant between God and his people. So, if, in Genesis 17, we see that children were commanded to be circumcised, then we should conclude that children should be baptized.
Simply put, if the covenant sign in the Old Testament was applied to believers and their children, we should conclude that the covenant sign in the New Testament should likewise be applied to believers and their children.
Paedobaptists would say that just as circumcision served as the outward sign marking membership in the covenant community of God’s people under the Old Testament administration of the covenant, baptism now serves as the outward sign marking membership in the covenant community of God’s people under the New testament. They would argue that in the same way that circumcision didn’t save someone, baptism doesn’t save anyone. Both identified an individual and their family as belonging to God’s covenant people.
As I’ve wrestled through this topic more this week than I have my entire life, I’m going to be honest for a moment. This is a really, really complex topic, one that I feel like I haven’t even really scratched the surface on, and this is a topic that I feel grossly unqualified to teach on. After all, who am I to say that I disagree with some of my literal heroes of the faith?
So, at the end of the day, my hope as a pastor (and our hope as a church) is to be as biblical as possible. In other words, we want to be as faithful to the Bible as we possibly can as a church. Therefore, if infant baptism is a practice that we believe is biblical, then we ought to do it. And if it’s not, then we shouldn’t.
COLOSSIANS 2 EXPOSITION
So, I think it would be helpful for us to unpack the verses that seems to kinda be the lynchpin in the argument of this view, Colossians 2:11-12.
In Colossians 2, we see Paul make an explicit connection between circumcision and baptism. He says, “In him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
At a surface level, we can see the connection here; and it’s a very real connection that exist! But, I’m going to put my cards on the table for a moment. I do not think that the take away from Colossians 2 is for us to start baptizing infants. Instead, I will argue that baptism is a practice that was intended for all individuals who have professed faith in Jesus.
So, before we dig into the details of verses 11-12, let’s first listen to what Paul says beforehand, “[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Lets pause for a moment. Who is Paul writing to here? The church. Who is the you? Those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord. IIn other words, he’s writing to those who have heard the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection and who have made the decision to receive the gift of redemption that it offers us. He’s writing to those who have invited Jesus into their lives, and he’s encouraging them to walk in Jesus. Those who have received Jesus should walk in Jesus, obeying the ways we been taught by him. Our roots should grow deep into Jesus, and we should grow up in him, established in the faith.
Then, in verse 8, we see a warning to guard ourselves against false teachers and teachings. We ought to make sure that no one takes us captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Put simply, Paul is saying, “Be careful to make sure the teaching your listening to aligns with the teachings of Christ.”
Then we have a large picture of Jesus painted for us in verse 9— “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” So, he’s saying that the fully divine creator of all things emptied himself and became a man; he was fully God and fully man. He is the head of all authority and power. He is the one in whom the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, and we have been filled in him.
Following this, he says that not only have we been filled in Christ, but we have been circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. He’s saying to the church, “In Christ, God has done something miraculous within you! All believers everywhere have experienced a new circumcision, not one performed by human hands, but a circumcision of the heart.” He is saying that what circumcision symbolized outwardly in the Old Covenant, God now accomplishes inwardly through Christ. God has circumcised our hearts. He has replaced our heart of stone with a heart of flesh. He has regenerated us. He has brought us to life in Christ. He has provided us with the ability and desire to put off the body of the flesh. The circumcision of the heart is God’s work of cutting away our old nature, our heart of stone, our life once ruled and dominated by sin. In Christ, God has cut off the old self and brought us into a new covenant reality. Our old self has been crucified with Christ— “it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.”
So, the true mark of belonging to God is not a physical sign on the body, but a spiritually regenerated heart from within. God cuts away our old heart and gives us a new one.
Paul then draws the connection even further by linking this heart-circumcision to baptism. He writes that we have been “buried with him in baptism… and raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Jesus from the dead.”
It seems that Paul is carefully connecting circumcision with baptism. In doing so, he is carefully laying out what the outward sign of baptism portrays. He says, “Having been buried with him in baptism.”
The Greek word “baptizō means to “plunge, dip, immerse” something or someone into water. And this is the standard meaning of the term both inside the Bible and outside the Bible.
Jesus was baptized by John in the river Jordan (Mk 1:5). “In” implies immersion. And he came up out of the water (Mk 1:10). You can come out of something, unless you’re in it.
JTB the baptist was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because there was much water there (Jn 3:23). Much water would imply immersion, not sprinkling.
Like Jesus, the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized in the water and he came up out of the water (Acts 8:36).
Paul, likewise, in Romans 6:3-4, uses similar language as what he is using here in Colossians 2, when he says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
So, I think we can begin to conclude that baptism becomes the visible declaration of this inward miracle. When we place our faith in Christ, something profound happens. When we go down into the water, that is a picture of us going down into the grave. Our old life is buried with Him. And when we come out of the water, that is a picture of us being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life. By the same power that raised Jesus from the grave, we are resurrected from the grave. Baptism is a clear picture of us dying to our old way of life and being raised to a new kind of life in Christ. It is a visible picture of an inward miracle. None of us were searching for God. None of us were able to rescue ourselves. But God, being rich in mercy, pursued us. He called us. He saved us. He transformed us. He replaced our hearts of stone with hearts that are alive to Him.
Our hearts have been circumcised. Our old self has been cut away. We have been buried with Christ. And we have been raised to life in Him.
So, I believe that the context of Colossians 2 assumes that baptism is a practice reserved for those who have experienced a radical transforming encounter with the most high God. Please do not miss that five letter word in the middle of verse 12– “…in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
Faith is not like buying alcohol; there’s no age limit on it. Both young and old can possess a true and authentic faith in Jesus. But, faith, although it is a gift from God, it is a decision by man. In the same way that you demonstrated faith by sitting in the chair you’re sitting in this morning, we demonstrate our faith in God by trusting in Christ.
Because of this, I believe that baptism was intended to be the immersion of a believer. It is the act of obedience symbolizing the believers faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believers death to sin, the burial of the old life. And it is an act of obedience symbolizing the believers resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
NEW COVENANT
In Jeremiah 31, we see God describing the coming of the new covenant. Here, he says, “[33] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
So, as God is describing the coming of this new covenant, he highlights three things:
Him writing the law on the hearts of his people.
His people possessing a true knowledge of him.
His people experiencing the forgiveness of sins.
Because of this, I think it’s fair to conclude that baptism— this sign of the covenant between God and his people— should be taken by those who have experienced these three things. In simpler terms, it should only be applied to those who profess faith. If baptism symbolizes the beginning of the Christian life, then it should in fact be given to those who have begun the Christian life.
Baptism is a beautiful thing! It is the outward profession of an inward transformation. It symbolizes the beginning of the Christian life! Therefore, it is something we ought to celebrate and rejoice in! It is the celebration of the powerful working of God who raised Christ (and us) from the dead!
Paul then says in verses 13-15, “[13] And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. [15] He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
Let these verses rest on our hearts for a moment today. God made you alive today. God has forgiven your sins today. He has cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
This week, I had the opportunity to sit in a court room, which is a heavy thing. You’re sitting in a room full of people who have made some mistakes. And they’re preparing to go stand before a judge who will judge them for their lowest moments in life. Some went home smiling. Some went home waiting for a future judgment. Some didn’t get to kiss their wives goodbye because they pleaded guilty and had to be sentenced to years of imprisonment. And those who pleaded guilty were read a handful of questions that I found to be fascinating.
The judge would first say, “Do you understand that you are charged with [offense]?”
The judge explains the constitutional rights the defendant is giving up by pleading guilty, such as: The right to a jury trial, the right to remain silent, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, the right to call witnesses in their defense, the right to require the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, etc.
The judge informs the defendant of the maximum and sometimes minimum penalties, such as: the possible prison sentence, fines, probation, etc.
The judge then confirms that the plea is not forced or coerced— “Has anyone threatened you to make you plead guilty?” “Has anyone promised you anything other than what is in the plea agreement?”
The prosecutor would then summarize the evidence before everyone in the room, and the defendant would acknowledge the facts.
After all this, the judge will usually say something like, “I find that the defendant’s plea is knowing, voluntary, and supported by a factual basis. The plea is accepted.”
The beauty of the gospel is that we stand before the judge guilty, and the judge rolls out all of the just punishment for our sins. Then he set it aside by nailing it to the cross, meaning it has been dealt with in full. Our debt has been paid with all its legal demands, and in Christ we go free.
But, in Christ, God doesn’t just forgive our debts, but he offers us a radical transformation in Christ.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
In Colossians 2:11–12, Paul connects circumcision and baptism. What similarities do you see between the two? What differences stand out?
The message emphasized that believers are “circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.” What do you think it means for God to circumcise the heart?
How does baptism illustrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in a believer’s life?
Why do you think Paul connects faith with being raised with Christ in baptism?