Baptism Part 3: What Does Baptism Do?

What is baptism, what does it do? I think this is really a core question that is the main point of confusion between credo and Paedobaptists. Many credos approach the paedo position by trying to understand it through the framework of their own view of baptism, this ultimately fails, of course it does not make sense, it is like trying to make sense of gravity in space. The Credo understanding of what baptism is and does is basically “Baptism is what I do when I come to believe, it says to God that I’m for him and not against him.” In essence its a salute to God and most credos would say that nothing goes on in baptism except this declaration. If you take this definition then and hold it up against Paedobaptism of course it does not hold water. If I try to understand credobaptism using the definition of paedobaptism, I’m going to be just as much missing things. But what is the paedo understanding of baptism?

I think  R. Scott Clark in his article A CONTEMPORARY REFORMED DEFENSE OF REFORMED INFANT BAPTISM  has a good definition:  “Baptism is a means of sanctifying grace and a gospel ministry to the people of God. It is a sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace illustrating what Christ has done for his people and sealing salvation to the same. Therefore covenant children of believing parents as well as unbaptized adult converts should be baptized.”

I think one of the startling differences about how credos and paedo view baptism is that, to the credo baptism is us speaking to God saying I believe and follow you. To the paedo baptism is God speaking his promises to us. Baptism is the gospel made visible; it points us to Christ and his work and promises on our behalf.

Nor does nothing happen in baptism, when the congregation views a baptism and sees this Gospel made visible, through the mystery of the Holy Spirit we receive sanctifying grace or as I like to call it spiritual nourishment, a kind of grace that God gives his people only in the context of his sacraments, for our growth and nourishment We do not believe that the infant child who is baptized is saved by the act itself, they are only saved by the grace of God through faith. But that we constantly point them towards there baptism, and that glorious moment when God spoke and said “I extend salvation and all the promises therein to you, now repent and believe.”

I think one last thing needs to be said in that Paedobaptists hold a view called the “visible, invisible church distinction. The visible church is the church you see the church down the street your own church. Not everyone who is part of the visible church is saved. There is then the Invisible church which is the church that all believers are part of it’s the church we cannot see. The sign of entrance into the invisible church is Baptism of the Holy Spirit (the point in time in which God saves you and gives you faith.). The sign of the entrance of the visible church is water baptism. So when we baptize baby’s we are baptizing them into the visible church with our hope and prayer being they one day they be baptized into the church invisible. And just as in the OT not all that received the earthly sign of circumcision believed so to not all baptized with water believe, yet they are born into the covenant of God, they share in the blessings of being part of the church and within a believing family.