knowledge – Kanisa la Christadelphian huko Anderlecht

Infant baptism versus baptism as an adult #2 The Teenage Baptism

mars 3, 2024février 28, 2024 par Marcus Ampe, publié dans Christadelphian, Faith, Questions & Answers, Reflection - Meditation

communion - baptism renewal — Photo by Wilson Pinto on Pexels.com

In certain Protestant churches, as with us, it is assumed that one must have acquired sufficient knowledge about God and His People, as well as about Scripture and faith, so that one must be at least in the teenage years to make a choice.

In the previous chapter, we saw that baptising a small child does nothing to help that child develops his or her faith. Even though infant baptism may have an „on joyfully long tradition”, we must realise that certain traditions have rendered the word of God powerless for the sake of their tradition. (Matthew 15:6)

When children grow up, they have many questions about God and commandments. During their search for God and faith, they may want to dedicate themselves to God. To this end, they sometimes make the choice to be baptized in the church community in which they grew up.

When they later get to know another church community and feel better at home there, they often wonder why they should be baptised again. They often forget what was asked of them at their first baptism, or what they had to comply with.

According to some churches, in the baptism of an infant, based on the living faith of the parents, is an advance, as it were, taken on the faith that the child will be handed over from father and mother. It is for this reason that when the Christian faith is completely absent from one of the parents or from both parents, or when the parents do not want to guarantee the development of their child’s faith, the Church, therefore, postpones baptism. If those children come to an age where they can make their own decisions, those churches are open to baptising them.

Reformed churchgoers regularly want to switch to a Baptist community and would like to become a full member there, but they do have difficulty ‘re-baptising’ or ‘overbaptising’. When people enter secondary school, they are even more confronted with all kinds of questions about their attitude to life and faith.

Over the centuries, infant baptism had become by far the most popular, but since the end of the last century there have been more questions about the value of such baptism and whether it would not be better to switch to baptism of faith. Opinions about this baptism of faith also vary widely. It is said that it is not only a personal choice, but that God would have chosen the baptismal candidate himself. The latter may give the baptismal candidate such an intense feeling that years later he or she is convinced that because God has chosen him or her and no new baptism should take place.

I admit that certain young people are truly convinced that they made the right choice in their teenage baptism, and that they did understand everything they were talking about. It may therefore be safe that a baptised person actually believed in a Only God during teenage baptism, but did not think further about whether his or her church community also thought that way about an Only True God. Often their thoughts were so intertwined with the doctrines of the church where they belonged. They therefore did not consider the existence or otherwise of three different entities of their deity that also spoke of « we », so according to them it was also about Christ Jesus.

Adherents of infant baptism see in that act a resemblance to the former circumcision. In the Old Testament, on the eighth day after his birth, each Jewish boy was made a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, in accordance with Gen. 17:10-12 and Lev. 12:3 a circumcision was performed on babies, in which a small circle of flesh is then cut away from the foreskin (the loose sliding covering) of the penis. In many Christian communities, they see baptism as the sign of the new covenant. According to those churches, the promises of the new covenant are greater than those of the old covenant, and that is why they say so

it would be strange to think that the promises in the Old Testament relate to the children, but not those of the New Testament.

Mennonites or Baptists, such as the Brethren and Brothers in Christ of Brethren in Christ (or Christadelphians) like to talk about baptism as a testimony of personal faith, and point out to child baptisms that the Bible never cites the idea of baptising newborns.

While non-Trinitarians view baptism as an active event in which the baptismal candidate indicates that he is entering into a personal relationship with God and that he is becoming a participant in the community of followers of Christ, the followers of infant baptism believe that one is not active in baptism, but passive. According to them, baptism is received and baptism is administered by the church in the name of God. Therefore, Anabaptists see baptism as an act of God in which He gives His promises to the person being baptised.

Of course, God can give his promises to both children and adults, but the institution of baptism is an act that was already performed for Jesus’ public life among adult people, as a sign of their surrender to God. Likewise, Jesus allowed himself to be completely immersed in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, as a sign of surrender to his Heavenly Father.

Among the Christadelphians, the baptismal candidate is also expected to perform a sign of complete surrender to God in the community. The baptismal ritual then becomes a confirmation of that covenant with God, but also of a union of the community of Brothers and sisters in Christ.

We can understand that if someone was baptised in a Pentecostal community and was only asked the following questions

Do you believe in God the Father, our Creator and Saviour?
Will you follow Jesus Christ, His Son, our crucified and resurrected Lord?
Do you entrust yourself to the Holy Spirit, who renews our lives?
Do you desire and promise to serve the Lord faithfully with the church, united around Scripture and Table, in the building of His church and the coming of His Kingdom?

that one could safely answer « Yes » if one really believed in the Only True God, the Heavenly Father of Jesus Christ. In this way, that baptismal ritual could be a real surrender to God.

For such baptised people, baptism will really have been a surrender and union with God. Their action is then actually a union with That Only True God who is only one.

But because their baptism was performed in a Trinitarian Church, it may be unclear to others whether they actually surrendered to the True Faith. Especially if they stayed in that community for a long time after that baptism and sang songs with it that glorify Jesus as God.

In several Pentecostal churches, after baptism, people sing a song in which they say they kneel before Jesus, whom they see as their Lord (God). Such a worship of Jesus is not possible at all and if an earlier member of a Trinitarian church wants to become a member of our Christadelphian movement, that person will have to conclude that old life and enter the new life through complete immersion in the water and confession of keeping only one True God, the God of Abraham, God of Isaac and Jacob, who is also the God of Jesus Christ.

The teenage years are a period of religious research and development that should not be underestimated. It is an important phase in life: a time of intense emotions and creativity, a phase in which social contacts are very important.
It is also a time of ‘weigh up’ and where the child wants to make a personal choice, free from the will of the parents. This means that in terms of faith, children during adolescence can take a completely different path than their parents.

We are convinced that children of teenage age want to deepen their friendship with Jehovah. To this end, it will certainly happen that they want to make it clear to their heavenly father what they stand with a baptism. We must respect that choice.

However, when transferring to another church community, it also comes down to whether the thoughts of the baptismal ritual correspond with the thoughts of the newly elected church community.

The biggest question is whether, during their teenage baptism, they really went for the God of the Bible, which we as Brothers in Christ want to carry high in our hearts.

It can be difficult if one feels that the baptism that has been entered has not been recognised. But one must rather see that when re-doping, one now also indicates that one wants to go through life as a Brother or Sister in Christ, at the service of Jehovah, the only True God.

To indulge in a re-doping is modest, and it is that humble surrender to God that can be admired. By now switching to an adult baptism, it is made clear that people want to dedicate their lives to God.

The preparation time for that baptism can then be a beautiful time in which they grow spiritually, just as it was for Jesus. (Read Luke 2:52.)

Additional reading

Expulsion from the paradise garden

janvier 22, 2024janvier 20, 2024 par Marcus Ampe, publié dans Almighty God, Behaviour or attitude towards others, History & news feed, Reflection - Meditation

The test commandment

The man was placed in a paradise garden (the Garden of Eden) in which he was allowed to name animals and plants. The Garden was located near the Euphrates estuary and east of the Tigris. Eden indicates « lovelessness » and it was among all living things. Jehovah, the God of order, had created order out of chaos. He revealed His Will that man should reproduce or multiply in that beautiful garden that man could manage.

God wants to be obeyed in freedom and has created man in such a way that he can make free choices. The Tree of Life symbolizes eternal life (see Revelation 2: 7; 22: 2, 14, 19; Proverbs 3:18; 11:30) The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil indicates that those who eat from it will get to know good and evil.

“8 And Jehovah God planteth a garden in Eden, at the east, and He setteth there the man whom He hath formed; 9 and Jehovah God causeth to sprout from the ground every tree desirable for appearance, and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river is going out from Eden to water the garden, and from thence it is parted, and hath become four chief [rivers]; 11 the name of the one [is] Pison, it [is] that which is surrounding the whole land of the Havilah where the gold [is], 12 and the gold of that land [is] good, there [is] the bdolach and the shoham stone; 13 and the name of the second river [is] Gibon, it [is] that which is surrounding the whole land of Cush; 14 and the name of the third river [is] Hiddekel, it [is] that which is going east of Asshur; and the fourth river is Phrat. 15 And Jehovah God taketh the man, and causeth him to rest in the garden of Eden, to serve it, and to keep it.” (Ge 2:8-15 YLT)

Adam first saw the tree. He could choose whether to eat from that tree or not. God had given him the freedom to choose. And so today we all have the freedom to choose what we want or will do and whether or not we will follow God’s commandments.

The two trees in the garden are, as it were, a challenge to the right choice. The choice for obedience included a reward: an eternal stay in the paradise garden. When choosing disobedience to God, the sad consequence was that one would have to work hard to survive and eventually die.

God had warned Adam and Eve what the consequences would be if they ate the fruits of those trees. But the forbidden fruit seemed too attractive to just hang it without eating it.

Degeneration of the covenant chief

Eve dared to doubt God’s sincerity. Man’s first lie makes her appearance when Eve in turn tries to seduce her partner. She makes him doubt.

Would God withhold anything from them?

God is also presented as a liar who tries to scare them by saying that they would die if they eat those fruits.

“1 And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, ‘Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?’ 2 And the woman saith unto the serpent, ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we do eat, 3 and of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye die.’ 4 And the serpent saith unto the woman, ‘Dying, ye do not die, 5 for God doth know that in the day of your eating of it—your eyes have been opened, and ye have been as God, knowing good and evil.’” (Ge 3:1-5 YLT)

It was tempting to have such knowledge and to equate with God.

Adam followed his wife and ate the forbidden fruit.

As soon as they had eaten that fruit, their eyes opened and they felt shame towards each other and towards others. Their innocence was gone.

“6 And the woman seeth that the tree [is] good for food, and that it [is] pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make [one] wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat; 7 and the eyes of them both are opened, and they know that they [are] naked, and they sew fig-leaves, and make to themselves girdles.” (Ge 3:6-7 YLT)

Removal from the paradise garden

God is a God of word. If He has said anything, He will stick to it. When He has promised something, He will always keep His promises. This holds true for promises that hold something good, but also for warnings of something bad that God has given.

The first people needed to know better. They couldn’t hide from God. God sees everything. He even knows our inner thinking. It is impossible to hide from Him.

But the knowledge that they had done something wrong made them hide in the bushes like little children, with the thought that God would not notice them there and overlook or forget their mistake.
That guilt is an alarm that God has given man so that he would know when he would do something wrong. If you go against or sin against God, that alarm will go off.

Eating the forbidden fruit against the will of God was an act of disobedience, but by hiding they indicated that their relationship to God had now been damaged and that they suspect that God would no longer trust and punish them.

The sentence did not last. The God of word, guard against His Word. He informed the woman that in order to give birth to new life, she would have labour pains. God also indicated that equality between men and women had come to an end. God also told them that from now on they will eat with toil from the face of the earth all the days of their lives. Thorns and thistles will also emerge that will not make it easy for humans.

God also condemned man to work the earth to eat the crops of the field. Through their act of disobedience, they were now told what the saying of God meant. Until the day of their death, they now had to sweat the land to live. And eventually after so much effort to live, that life would end, with their bodies decaying to the dust of the earth. For man is made of dust, and man will become dust again.

“16 Unto the woman He said, ‘Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear children, and toward thy husband [is] thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.’”

“17 And to the man He said, ‘Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and dost eat of the tree concerning which I have charged thee, saying, Thou dost not eat of it, cursed [is] the ground on thine account; in sorrow thou dost eat of it all days of thy life, 18 and thorn and bramble it doth bring forth to thee, and thou hast eaten the herb of the field; 19 by the sweat of thy face thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou been taken, for dust thou [art], and unto dust thou turnest back.’” (Ge 3:16-19 YLT)

The worst happened to them now that they were banished from that paradise garden, which they could never return to, and so that they could not eat from the Tree of eternal life to live forever again.

“22 And Jehovah God saith, ‘Lo, the man was as one of Us, as to the knowledge of good and evil; and now, lest he send forth his hand, and have taken also of the tree of life, and eaten, and lived to the age,’ — 23 Jehovah God sendeth him forth from the garden of Eden to serve the ground from which he hath been taken; 24 yea, he casteth out the man, and causeth to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flame of the sword which is turning itself round to guard the way of the tree of life.” (Ge 3:22-24 YLT)

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Additional reading

The going wrong of man and God His decision

janvier 17, 2024janvier 17, 2024 par Marcus Ampe, publié dans Almighty God, Behaviour or attitude towards others, History & news feed, Jesus Christ - son of God

Even though the first man had everything, he still longed for more. Adam and Eve longed to have as much knowledge as their Creator.

The first thoughts of seduction came to the mannin or woman (Eva/Eve), but she also managed to get her husband to disobey her and eat the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve thought the fruit would make her sensible, but when they had eaten it turned out to be very different. They felt uncomfortable and naked.

“6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a pleasure for the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to give intelligence; and she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Ge 3:6-7 Darby)

The woman had not followed the will of God. Adam, who had been seduced by his partner to also participate in the act of disobedience, was able to recover, but did not. When they heard the Master approaching above all else in the garden when the afternoon wind came up, man and his wife hid from Jehovah God among the trees of the garden. When God called man and asked where they were, Adam replied that he had heard God but had become afraid because he was naked.

“8 And they heard the voice of Jehovah Elohim, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah Elohim, in the midst of the trees of the garden.”

“9 And Jehovah Elohim called to Man, and said to him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I feared, because I am naked; and I hid myself.” (Ge 3:8-10 Darby)

God wanted to see how they would react further and asked Adam who told them they were naked. The first man blamed everything on the woman whom God had given him as a companion. However, Adam himself could have decided not to eat the fruit. Every person has been given free will by God to make his own decisions.
Each of us has the opportunity to know what is right and wrong and whether or not to follow God’s wishes.

Instead of blaming herself when God asked her how to do such a thing, Eve said it was the snake that had seduced her, on which she went to eat from the tree her fruit.

“9 And Jehovah Elohim called to Man, and said to him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I feared, because I am naked; and I hid myself.”

“11 And he said, Who told thee that thou art naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee not to eat? 12 And Man said, The woman, whom thou hast given [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. 13 And Jehovah Elohim said to the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Ge 3:9-13 Darby)

When Eve decided to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, their lives, as well as the fate of creation, were at stake. Adam also did not think about the consequences of what they decided there. They went against God’s will and at that moment became an opponents of God, or a satan.

However, in case man went wrong, what we call « sin« , God already had a plan ready to overcome the consequences of that rebellion.

Provided it was the woman who caused the beginning of a damaged relationship between God and man, God envisioned that a woman would come from someone who would prove that man would be able to fully follow God’s wishes. That offspring from a woman will come to crush evil.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt crush his heel.” (Ge 3:15 Darby)

Whoever will put an end to the curse that had now come upon man will be further explained in the Bible and those who will know the Words of God will therefore be able to recognize that sent from God (Jeshua ben Josef or Jesus Christ) the Saviour or Messiah and follow in his footsteps for salvation.

God now had no choice but to let Adam and Eve experience the consequences of their deed. The Tree of Knowledge did bring more knowledge or awareness, but that would also make them feel pain and eventually die, just as God had warned them.

Because of their imperfection, they could no longer stay in the perfect Garden of Eden. That is why God placed them out of the Garden and exiled them to a world where they would have to work to survive.

“22 And Jehovah Elohim said, Behold, Man is become as one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever … ! 23 Therefore Jehovah Elohim sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 And he drove out Man; and he set the Cherubim, and the flame of the flashing sword, toward the east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Ge 3:22-24 Darby)

Thus the act of sinfulness as descendants of now imperfect people has come upon us as well. A flawless product cannot come from a damaged dough mold. We too are now faced with those difficulties that Adam, Eve and their descendants had to endure. In the meantime, we already know who the promised saviour is and we can try to get under his wing.

Continued:

Bible texts at: The wronging of man and God His decision

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