Children, Church Membership, and Baptism

A pair of essays by Vern Poythress on the subject of the status of children in Christ's body.  Both of these are excellent and thought-provoking.

INDIFFERENTISM AND RIGORISM

Here's the first two paragraphs of this piece:

"One’s understanding of the church affects one’s understanding of baptism. Therefore I propose to open further discussion between paedobaptists and baptists by an indirect route, through looking at the church and its membership.

In comparison with New Testament standards, our practice concerning church membership can be either too loose (indifferentist) or too restrictive (rigorist). Errors of both kinds arise from poor understanding of the roots of communal Christian life. Hence we start by examining those roots."

[Published in Westminster Theological Journal 59/1 (1997) 13-29.]

 LINKING SMALL CHILDREN WITH INFANTS IN THE THEOLOGY OF BAPTIZING
Here's the concluding paragraph of the second one:

"The status of children within our communities, as well as the related question of infant baptism, is, I believe, easy to answer when our spiritual vision and our fellowship with Christ are sufficiently deep. The answer has lain smack before our eyes all the time, in the words of Jesus, “Let the little children come to me, …” (Luke 18:16). We have failed to appropriate the answer, or even to see it as an answer, not mainly because we lacked coherent, eloquent arguments, but because we lacked spiritual discernment. We need to see this one word in connection with the entire picture of redemption, as it is manifested in our access to Christ in heaven. Christians everywhere will inevitably come to agreement on this subject, in both theory and practice, as we respond more thoroughly to the realities of our union with Christ at the heavenly Mt. Zion. We must therefore avoid mere wrangling about disputed issues, baptism included, and practice the instructions of Eph 4:11-16 that lead to corporate as well as individual maturity in Christ (John 17:22-23)."

[Published in Westminster Theological Journal 59/2 (1997): 143-158.]

With Reverence and Awe

"God desires reverent worship, worship that reflects the seriousness inherent in a religion that required the death of his only begotten Son in order to redeem a chosen people from the bonds of sin and misery and to deliver them into the glorious blessedness of God's children."

 -- from With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship by D.G. Hart and John R. Muether.

The Highest Science

 "The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father. 

 ... the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity. 

... I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead."

-- C. H. Spurgeon. Sermon 7 Jan 1855, New Park Street Chapel, Southwark. 
"I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." 
-- Mal 4:6

Means of Grace and Sanctification

From Michael Horton's Calvin on the Christian Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God Forever:

"In short, for Calvin at least, piety is not just something that is taught; it is also "caught": as we pray, so we believe (lex orandi, lex credendi).  True doctrine is inculcated not only by direct instruction but also by the patterns of public worship and fellowship in the communion of saints, in family life, and in everyday callings."

A Test Along the Way

This test will help you judge how much of the Scriptures you are internalizing as you read and study.  Take it honestly and make adjustments accordingly...

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." -- Rom 12:3

100 Bible Knowledge Questions - from Kevin DeYoung's blog

On Proper Balance and Emphasis in the Church

An excerpt from Kevin DeYoung's blog:  The God of Diverse Excellencies

"The reason we want to be a church of diverse excellencies is because God is a God of diverse excellencies. He is sovereign, powerful, omniscient, and holy. And he is merciful, patient, wise, and loving. If we are a church with lopsided virtues we will not reflect the character of God who is perfect in all his ways.

Neither will we reflect Jesus. You want to know why theology matters? It matters because we become what we worship. Therefore, we need to know what God is like and what Jesus is like. If we have a lopsided Lord, we will become lopsided Christians.

We need to know Jesus Christ as both Lion and Lamb."

On the Stewardship of our Time

"If this age is more harried than most, then it is all the more critical that we use our time as wisely as we can.  Our lives are too short and our days are too compressed to spend them on the merely good: we must devote ourselves to what is best.  If we would be extraordinary Christians, we must surround ourselves with the greatest minds and immerse ourselves in their thoughts...When Shedd lays bare the most sublime truths in their dazzling splendor, stop and reflect and then adore the God of whom they speak."

-- From Alan Gomes's Editor's Preface to William G.T. Shedd's Dogmatic Theology

The Sacrament of Baptism

Here are some good resources I've found on the subject of baptism.

A letter from a father to his daughter

A couple of books:
Water, Word, and Spirit - J. V. Fesko
Baptism: Three Views - Sinclair B. Ferguson, Anthony N. S. Lane, Bruce A. Ware. David F. Wright, Ed.
A Christian's Pocket Guide to Baptism - Robert Letham