Captain Thin

If you follow religious news at all, chances are you’ve heard about the schisms and doctrinal battles happening in denominations like the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As these church bodies and others like them continue to move in an increasingly liberal direction (theologically speaking), congregations and individual Christians who make their stand on the Word of God often find themselves to be in the minority and, as a result, often become the targets of oppression from their denominations.

Enter an article of mine entitled “Standing Firm: The Cost of Confessing the Word of God” which appears in the most recent issue of The Canadian Lutheran. The article explores some of the difficulties facing Christians who affirm the authority of Scripture, and the sacrifices they often face for doing so. But the article doesn’t focus solely on the negative side of things: it also points out new opportunities for dialogue between denominations who do affirm the authority of Scripture – highlighting, for example, recent dialogue between Lutheran Church – Canada (LCC) & the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) on the one side and the theologically conservative Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) on the other. It also notes the emergence of dialogue between the newly born North American Lutheran Church (NALC) and the LCMS. And it’s not just my thoughts you hear in the article: three major thinkers were kind enough to share their opinions on the subjects in question: the Rev. Dr. James I. Packer (of ACNA), Bishop John Bradosky (of NALC), and Dr. John R. Stephenson (of LCC). Their thoughts are well worth the read, I assure you. Read it for free online here.

I’m very happy to announce what many of you have no doubt already heard: I have recently been appointed Communications Manager for Lutheran Church Canada, and, consequently, have also become editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine (in print and online). You can read the official announcement (which came out yesterday) over at CanadianLutheran.ca.

I begin work officially on November 15. Needless to say, I’m excited to serve the church in so meaningful a way, and I look forward to being part of its public witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. But – like most things in life – there is a tinge of tragedy in the midst of the joy. I will dearly miss the good friends I have here in Regina (and I’ll be expecting you to come visit me in Winnipeg!).

As you can imagine, life is (and will continue to be) pretty busy for me (what with apartment hunting, moving to a new city, learning the ropes of a new job, etc), so updates to this site might be a little sparse over the next while. But fear not, I shall return!

Many, if not most, of my Christian friends belong to denominations where baptism is reserved for adults or (in some cases) older children who are otherwise able to make a profession of faith. So it’s always been a bit of a surprise to them that a number of faithful, Bible-believing Christians go in for infant baptism – myself included. The question inevitably arises: Why do you baptize babies?

Let me first of all say that I can sympathize with the question. It’s one I spent some time contemplating myself a number of years back – though, as is no doubt obvious from my membership in a Lutheran church, I concluded the Scriptural witness supported infant baptism. But maybe for that reason – since I’ve thought long and hard about the baptism of babies – I can shed a little light on the subject for any of you who might be curious.

First Things: Sin, Salvation, and the Gift of Faith

Before we can talk about baptism itself, we first need to talk about sin. And to do that, we need to go all the way back to the beginning of everything. The Book of Genesis tells us that when God created the universe, he set humankind apart; we alone were made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:21), and the result was, by God’s own standards, “very good” (Genesis 1:31). But of course, being made in the image of God meant having free well – and our first parents Adam and Eve made particularly poor use of that freedom. Tempted by the desire to become “like God” (Genesis 3:5), they disobeyed his one commandment. Our world has dealt with the effects of sin ever since.

The Good News of the story, however, is that God didn’t abandon us to our sin. Even as he drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, he promised that one day Eve’s descendent would crush the head of the snake who had tricked them (Genesis 3:15). That promise would come true in the person of Jesus Christ. Here the Son of God became human, born miraculously of a virgin. He came to destroy sin, death and the devil – things we human beings could never deal with on our own. At the cross, Christ took the upon himself all the sins of Adam, Eve, you, me, and every other human who ever lived and will ever live. He took our sin upon himself and allowed himself to be punished in our place. As Isaiah prophesied centuries before Jesus’ birth, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Through his sacrifice, we receive forgiveness of sins. And just as he rose from the dead, he promises new life to all who believe in him – a gift given in selfless love (John 3:16). That – the promise of forgiveness – is something we need to return to over and over again throughout our lives.

“Okay, okay,” I hear you saying, “I know all that. But what does this have to do with baptizing babies?” I’m getting there, I promise, but we’ve still got a little more to think about first: namely, faith. Near the end of the last paragraph, I wrote that Jesus promises salvation to “all who believe in him.” But what does it really mean to believe? That question is deeply connected to the subject of baptism. In fact, whenever anyone asks why we baptize babies, their biggest concern seems to be that babies cannot believe. “And why would you baptize someone who doesn’t believe?” they ask.

So what exactly does it mean to believe? Well, Paul tells us that faith is a “gift of God” – something we’re given, not something we go looking for (Galatians 3:8). Jesus says something similar when he uses a parable to explain that faith is like a seed (Matthew 13:1-23). In the story, a farmer goes out and scatters seeds in the ground. He doesn’t ask permission from the ground before planting seeds, he just puts it in and prays that the land will produce. In the same way, we receive faith because of God’s work, not ours. God scatters the seeds of faith on all types of ground – in all types of people. Some of it will take root; some of it won’t. But the ground doesn’t choose to be seeded; it’s something that happens to it, beyond its own control.

The way in which that faith grows and takes root is from hearing the Word of God proclaimed to us. As Paul writes, “Faith comes by hearing” – specifically, by hearing the Gospel: how Christ has saved us from our sins (Romans 10:17). But even when we’re “hearing” the Good News, we’re not really doing anything – God is the one doing the speaking; we’re just listening. The Holy Spirit opens our hearts to hear and believe. Faith, then, is at its core something that happens to us; it’s not something we choose (though we can certainly uproot the seed that’s been planted if we so choose).

Baptism, Generally Speaking

At last we come to the subject of baptism. What exactly is it, and why do Christians do it? The short answer is that Jesus commanded the practice. And for most evangelicals, it appears that’s the only reason for the practice. Jesus commanded Christians to be baptized, so we get baptized. It’s just a work we have to do – a pledge that we are followers of Jesus. But of course, a good evangelical would hasten to point out, it’s also a symbol of Christ’s washing away our sins – a symbol that we have been “buried with him,” in the words of Paul, in order that “we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).

But when you think about it, those ideas kind of clash: God loves us so much that he saves us through the free gift of faith – “not by works,” as Paul says (Romans 2:9) – but then he requires us, arbitrarily, to perform a work which commemorates that salvation? How can baptism be both a work and a symbol of free salvation at the same time? Surely something more must be going on in baptism than that.

Well, the Scriptures tell us just that: there’s an awful lot more going on baptism. In fact, Jesus puts the importance of baptism on the same level as faith, telling us that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). Peter goes even further, writing that baptism “now saves you… by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). And in the passage quoted two paragraphs above about being “buried” with Christ, Paul is talking about much more than a mere symbol. “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death,” he writes, “in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). There’s something about baptism which is connected with the very idea of salvation. But how can that be?

Now, we’ve already agreed that salvation is a gift. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of god – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:6-7). So if baptism is part of the package of salvation – as Jesus, Peter, and Paul all clearly seem to say – then it can’t be a work. What is it then? The answer is as simple as it is startling – baptism is one of the ways in which God gives us the gift of grace. We baby-baptizers like to call that a “means of grace”. The basic idea is that God not only assures us of grace and salvation through the Word – through “hearing” as we talked about earlier. No, he’s also given us physical ways of experiencing forgiveness – and baptism just happens to be one of those ways. In the water of baptism, the Holy Spirit is active, forgiving sin and strengthening faith. We are made up of body and soul, and so God relates to us not in only in spiritual ways, but in physical ways as well. Baptism, then, is not our work; it’s God’s work for us. God quite literally washes away sin in baptism.

What about Babies?

So, if baptism is about forgiveness (and issues of salvation always are), then anyone who is a sinner is in need of what baptism offers. And the fact of the matter is that babies, like everyone else, are sinners. Every single person ever born (with the exception of Jesus) was born in a sinful state: the theologians call this “original sin,” and it’s something David knew very well when he lamented, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

We can see sin at work among children if we really look for it. It’s the impetus behind the two-year old’s tantrum just as much as it is behind the thirty-year old’s adultery. In fact, this inherited sinfulness is the very reason why Jesus needed to be born of a virgin. He needed to free of original sin – free of the contamination at work in every other human from the moment of conception.

Since baptism offers forgiveness of sins, and since babies are sinners, then it stands to reason that babies are just as in need of baptism as anyone else. But that doesn’t mean, as some people seem to think, that baby-baptizers think being baptized alone works salvation. It doesn’t. As Jesus makes clear (and as I quoted earlier), “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). Baptism without faith saves no one.

“But then,” the question begins anew, “why baptize babies since they can’t believe?” But ah, my friends, this is the thing: we who practice infant baptism do believe a baby can believe. As we talked about earlier, faith is a gift – it’s something we receive, it’s not something we choose. We don’t wake up one morning and say, “Well, I guess I’ll believe in Christianity now.” No, it’s something that’s worked in us by the Holy Spirit as he opens up our hearts to believe.

And that’s precisely one of the things the Holy Spirit is doing in baptism: awakening faith. The Scriptures speak frequently of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, and John the Baptist makes it clear that this baptism into the Spirit is to be identified with the baptism Christ brings. While John the Baptist baptized merely “with water,” the baptism Christ would institute would instead be a baptism “with the Holy Spirit” (John 32:33; cf). And what does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? It means to receive the Holy Spirit – the very thing which happens when a person believes in Christ.

If Christ’s baptism gives the Holy Spirit then, how do we receive Christ’s baptism? Thankfully the Scriptures are clear on this matter. At the end of his earthly ministry, Christ commanded his apostles to go into the nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20). That Trinitarian baptism is exactly the baptism that Christian churches perform today.

So then, the baptism Christians receive today is the same baptism John the Baptist promised would bring the Holy Spirit. It’s the baptism Jesus instituted. And in it, God’s Spirit descends on the one being baptized, and there he begins actively working to convert the person baptized. He transforms the heart and sows seeds of faith just as much in baptism as he does in the preaching of the Word. Faith is, after all, a gift – and a gift can be given to anyone, whether they deserve it or not, whether they are old enough to understand it or not. It can be rejected later of course (and far too many people baptized as infants will tragically reject that good gift later in life). But the gift itself was nevertheless given. And it always remains right there, waiting to be turned back to, waiting to be embraced.

God’s Promise

Whenever we are afraid of our sins, whenever we fear that we are not doing enough or that we have fallen far too short of the new life Christ calls us to, we can turn again and remember our baptism: “I know and trust that Christ died for me,” we can proclaim, “and I know that I have been baptized by him. And that is enough. He has promised that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. And though I may break my promises, Christ never does. I am saved.” That baptism may take place for some of us when we are mere infants. We may not be able to recall the event ourselves. But being received into Christ is not dependent on that sort of thing. After all, who of us was there at the crucifixion, or at the resurrection? We don’t need to remember it ourselves; we merely need to trust it. As Paul writes, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort [or memory, we might add], but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16). And God in mercy has invited us to receive him and be received by him as children. Read the beautiful words of Scripture again:

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Luke 18:15-17).

The wonderful good news is that we can come to Christ as infants. In fact, he explicitly calls us to come to him with just such a childlike faith, for it is little children who receive him and the Kingdom of God aright. So we can come to him and become his in baptism, even though others must bring us to him – even though others must proclaim for us the faith we cannot ourselves yet profess. In baptism, we come to be touched by Jesus. And we can trust God to receive us into his kingdom with open arms just as he received the little children so long ago.

In fact, Peter tells us explicitly that baptism – and the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit which come through it – is for children. He proclaims, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children” (Acts 2: 38-39).

“This promise is for you and your children.” Truly beautiful words.

For Lutherans like myself who believe in the baptism of babies, we do so trusting that salvation is all about Christ and never about us. Just as God redeemed us freely at the cross – just as faith comes as a gift by the Holy Spirit working in us as we hear the Good News – so too baptism is about God showing mercy to us even though we don’t deserve it and can never completely comprehend it. It’s about grace. It’s about forgiveness. It’s about the Gospel. And that’s something we all need – no matter how old, no matter how young.

Last week saw the International Lutheran Theological Conference take place in Prague (Czech Republic) from October 4^th through the 7^th. Focusing on the subject of “Lutheranism in the 21^st Century,” representatives from across Western and Eastern Europe, the United States, and Japan gathered to discuss the challenges facing confessional Lutheran witness in our day and age – focusing primarily on the importance (and difficulty) of theological education. Topics included Lutheran encounters with Pentecostalism in India, the formation of Lutheran identity in eastern European nations, communicating confessional Lutheranism in an increasingly secular world, and developing a vision for theological education in specific and Lutheranism in general in the 21^stcentury. See the conference brochure for more details on papers presented and the presenters.

At a vesper service held at the end of the first day of the conference, President Matthew Harrison of the LCMS delivered a sermon on Matthew 17:1-8 (The Transfiguration), focusing especially on verse 8: “And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only” (ESV). The sermon was inspired by Henric Schartau‘s sermon “Jesus Only” (a text which, by the by, features prominently in Bo Giertz’ classic Swedish novel The Hammer of God). You can read Schartau’s original sermon (translated into English) here.

President Harrison’s sermon below focuses our attention on Christ, teaching as Schartau did so many years ago to put our confidence solely in Christ – that we, like the witnesses of the Transfiguration, may look at the last and see “Jesus only”.

I was contacted this weekend by the Aardvark himself and informed that my blog had been added to the Big Blogroll O’ Vark®™©. As any Lutheran blogger worth his html knows, the BBOV is a collection of the finest Lutheran blogs out there – and by “finest” I mean “confessional” of course (the two terms go hand in hand in Lutheran circles). It’s a pleasure to be in the company of so many fine authors.

If you’re looking to find some new blogs worth reading, you could do worse than to start your search at the BBOV. Here’s a link to the post about my addition. From there you can access all the links of the BBOV in the right-hand margin of the page. For more info on the BBOV and what it is, click the image below.

A little while back I posted a link to an article on Reformed author Kevin DeYoung’s blog where he asked, “What’s up with Lutherans?” More accurately, he clarifies, where are they all – and why don’t they play a bigger role in wider North American evangelicalism?

Well, he got a few responses – 142 comments last I checked – and most of them from Lutherans like myself. Among those who responded was the Rev. Paul T. McCain who’s a relatively famous Lutheran blogger (and publisher with Concordia Publishing House). In his response, he told DeYoung that we’re all right here, out of sight perhaps but nevertheless working diligently to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He (and a few other prominent Lutherans) also challenged DeYoung and similar Reformed leaders to invite Lutherans to speak at their events if they were really serious in wondering what Lutherans were up to.

You’ve got to give credit to DeYoung: he seems to have taken the challenge somewhat seriously. In a post yesterday, he admitted his previous question about Lutherans was not “the finest moment in blogging history” and that it had gotten Lutherans “all riled up”.  But in an apparent effort to get to know us oddball Lutherans a little better, he conducted a little interview with Pastor McCain entitled – at Pastor McCain’s request – “Those Dern Lutherans.” Go have a look-see.

Recently the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) and Lutheran Church – Canada (LCC) have been exploring to what extent they may engage ecumenically with other churches while remaining faithful to the Scriptures and the confessions. Neither church has put it quite that way, of course, and perhaps I’m overstating the case a bit. Nevertheless, recent events make clear that the two churches are showing more interest in dialoguing with other denominations than they have previously shown in the past

It would be an exaggeration to say that interest in ecumenical dialogue is something new for confessional Lutherans. The LCMS, for example, has been involved in the work of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) since its founding. But in recent years, the frequency of ecumenical discussion has begun to increase. In 2007, the LCMS approved altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Association of Lutheran Churches. In the four years since, ecumenical dialogue with other churches has been increasing with surprising rapidity.

Much of these discussions have been occasioned by the widening gap in world Christianity over the question of biblical authority. As liberals continue to minimize the importance of Scripture, Christians holding a historic view of biblical authority find themselves increasingly looking to denominations like the LCMS and LCC for support and fellowship. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)’s 2009 Churchwide Assembly, for example, created wide division in North American Lutheranism as well as abroad. Shortly after the vote, the 5.3 million member Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus began ecumenical discussions with the LCMS – which quickly culminated in a partnership agreement. In Canada, the Union of Oromo Evangelical Churches in Canada has begun exploring a closer association with LCC. Major Lutheran denominations in Tanzania and Madagascar are similarly looking for closer ties to the LCMS and the ILC.

But it’s not just Lutherans getting in on the action. In December 2010, members of the LCMS and LCC began dialogue with representatives from the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) – a collective which has broken away from the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church over issues of scriptural authority. Earlier in 2009, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Nafzger attended ACNA’s founding convention on behalf of the LCMS. Of course, the goals of the current discussion are not altar or pulpit fellowship; but that the LCMS and LCC should be actively exploring “to what extent they can make common affirmations and statements” with an Anglican church body is certainly new ecumenical ground for confessional Lutherans.

Finally, there has recently been news of potential discussions between the LCMS and the newly formed North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The denomination, formed in 2010, is composed primarily of churches which broke away from the ELCA after the actions of its 2009 Churchwide Assembly – again, over issues of biblical authority. The June issue of “NALC News” reports that the LCMS has made overtures to the new Lutheran body to “engage in consultation regarding doctrine and shared forms of ministry.” Again, the goal is probably not altar and pulpit fellowship, but rather to find common theological ground and a basis for external work together.

This is all good news for Lutherans who feel our theology has much to offer wider Christian discourse. In an effort to preserve doctrinal purity, LCC and LCMS Lutherans have tended in the past to shy away from ecumenical discussions. But that self-preservation has come at a cost: to a large extent, we have lost the platform we might otherwise have had to speak into the situations plaguing world Christianity, issues like the prosperity gospel, the increasing liberalization of mainline Protestant theology, and the dangers of confusing Law and Gospel. Our voice has been regrettably absent from the public sphere – as a recent blog post by Reformed pastor/author Kevin DeYoung makes clear. “What’s up with the Lutherans?” he asks. “More to the point, where are they?” However much we may be speaking amongst ourselves, we don’t seem to have made much of an attempt to speak to the larger Christian Church around us.

We confessional Lutherans have been silent for far too long.

But while our corporate voice has been rather minimal, there have been some individual Lutherans who have given us good examples of how we ought to be engaging Christians outside Lutheranism. Primary among them are figures like Gene Veith and Rod Rosenbladt. The former’s books are read across the denominational spectrum (as is his blog and his magazine articles), and he is a founding member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The latter is best-known for co-hosting The White Horse Inn with a number of Reformed theologians, in addition to writings like The Gospel for those Broken by the Church and articles in Modern Reformation. Both have lectured at prominent non-Lutheran Christian events. Recently, for example, Veith was the keynote speaker for Athanatos Christian Ministries’ 2011 Online Apologetics Conference, and Rosenbladt addressed attendees at the third annual 2010 Mockingbird Conference. If our churches are going to increase their involvement in the wider Christian world around us, these are the people who will provide examples of how to do it without compromising our strong, confessional theology.

The stirring of ecumenical interest in the LCMS and LCC is a good sign that we’re finally realizing the leadership role we should be playing in wider Christendom. As more sections of the Church wander further and further from historic orthodoxy, the more important a strong Lutheran witness becomes – both as a defense of biblical authority and as an encouragement to other Christian denominations who find themselves in agreement with us. By acting together, we have a greater voice for calling wandering Christians back to a faith grounded on the Scriptures.

I pray that these confessional ecumenical movements on the part of LCC and LCMS reflect the birth of just such a confessional Christian alignment.