Baptismal Commitments, Part 1 (May 16, 2004)

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the tension between the biblical practice of baptizing people immediately - as soon as they're converted - and the similarly biblical practice of warning people to "count the cost" before committing to Christ. Today and next week I would like to tell you some of the "counting-the-cost" details as I teach them to middle school students in a baptism class. I give baptismal candidates a sheet with these five statements on it:

1) I will be a Christian all my life.
2) I will attend church and worship God regularly all my life.
3) I will talk to God by praying to him.
4) I will listen to God by learning from the Bible.
5) If I get married, I will only marry another Christian.

I don't make the young people sign anything or raise their hands or take an oath - I just want them to think carefully and soberly about what they are doing. Here are some reasons why I make these commitments explicit:

1) "I will be a Christian all my life." There is a cloud of sorrow that hangs over my life, and it is the fact that I personally know people who "used to be" Christians. I am not saying anything about the doctrine of eternal security - I'm just saying that I have known lots of people who once said they were Christians, and acted like it, and gave good evidence that they were sincere; but now give no sign whatsoever that they love, serve, or even believe in Jesus. I can't understand it. What were they thinking when they became Christians in the first place - that they would "give it a shot" for a few years and then dump the Lord as soon as the mood struck them? How did Jesus fail them? Did he rescind his sacrifice on the cross? Did he stop ruling the universe? Did he cease to be the one whose face they will see after their death, and to whom they will render account? For the life of me I don't know how anyone could walk away from the Lord. But people do, and I have seen it, and I don't know how to stop it.

But I can at least warn people in advance, and I feel it is a duty to warn converts as they approach the act of publicly sealing their commitment to Jesus in baptism. This commitment is forever. A marriage covenant must last a lifetime merely, but our covenant with Christ is eternal. In baptism, we say that we belong to Jesus Christ now and for all time. He will never forsake us - God forbid that we should ever forsake him. It is better not to get baptized at all than, having been baptized, to abandon the faith we once expressed.

The remaining four commitments, Lord willing, I will discuss next week.