SOME BELIEVE THAT THE DOCTRINE OF
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION
IS THE SAME AS THE DOCTRINE OF
COVENANT THEOLOGY
BUT IT IS NOT!
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To
answer your question about the theory of baptismal regeneration, this is a biblically impossible concept in my opinion. True,
some of the early church fathers actually held to this teaching; hence, many in the Eastern Orthodox churches, Roman Catholic,
and churches of Christ, et al, today teach this false view. Unfortunately, a
number of so-called Reformed pastors also seem to strongly lean in this direction.
The
application of water in baptism can never wash away sins. Only the blood of Christ
can take away sins. It is a dangerous doctrine because it deceives people who may be baptised into believing that they are
right with God.
Covenant
theology has never held to this view, but has always denied it vigorously. It is absolutely contradictory to the Gospel message.
But
true Covenant Theology recognizes that God always deals with His people through covenants. Abraham is described in Romans
4 as "believ(ing) God and it was accounted to him for righteousness." He had this righteousness BEFORE he was circumcised.
He was not circumcised in order to gain righteousness. It is belief in God's
promises in Christ, therefore, that saves a man, not the man-assisted act of water baptism.
And
if you turn to Genesis 17 it says that the promises to Abraham were given to him and his seed. Ultimately this refers to Christ
(Galatians 3:16). Returning to Genesis we find that Abraham circumcised
not only Isaac, the child of promise, but also Ishmael, the child of the flesh. Why would he do this? It was Isaac who inherited
the promises and was included in the covenant line, eventually being fulfilled in Christ. But God recognized the circumcism
of Ishmael and he was blessed in a different, non-redemptive way. Circumcism
was the sign and seal of the covenant under the Old Covenant and all the children of Israel were required to be given this
sign.
It
is important to keep in mind that the whole Old Covenant structure that God imposed upon His people was a covenant that had
two aspects: Blessings for obedience, cursings for disobedience. It was not merely blessings but cursings also.
Baptism
means something different for Baptists compared to what it means for Presbyterians. To the former, one must not be baptised
until the person makes a profession of faith in Christ. To the Presbyterian, baptism is to follow the pattern that God gave
to Abraham in circumcism. All covenant children (children of at least one believing parent) must be baptized because they
are already in the covenant and should have the covenant sign and seal applied to them as an outward indication of their relationship
to God. This relationship is NOT salvation; rather it is recognition that they are covenant children and, with believing parents,
reaalize that God has placed them in a special position in the covenant family where they will be brought up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. When the time comes that they, too, embrace Christ as Savior, they become saved but not before
that. And even unbelieving children are taught that they have a responsibility to believe the Gospel and be saved. If they
should disregard this covenant relationship and become rebellious to parents and want no part of the Christian faith, they
become covenant breakers and God's curse is upon them. When they are babies,
neither the parents nor anyone else can know whether this child is one of God's elect or not. Only as covenant children look
to God and see Him working in their hearts through faith in Christ can they have reasonable certainty that they are indeed
one of God's own children.
It
is commonly taught that covenant children, before they come to faith in Christ, are NOT allowed to partake of the Lord's Supper.
However, I personally disagree on this point. Since children of believers are already in the covenant and have received the
sacrament of baptism, they should also be granted the privilege of taking communion. This should not be denied them, but it
usually is in most Reformed churches.
One
problem with that practice is that if some of these covenant children are brought before the church session for rebellion
against parents or other ungodly practices, they may be disciplined by the session. But what does discipline normally consist
of? With adults it is the withholding of the communion elements until full restoration takes place. But these kids were never
allowed to participate in the Lord's Supper in the first place, so they think "no big deal. I was never a part of the covenant
family anyway."
So
I think many Reformed churches are in error by not allowing the Lord's Supper to infants and small children. The reason they
give is found in I Cor. 11 where it says "let a man examine himself..." But the disorderly conduct in Corinth did not involve children but rather
adults who could examine their own hearts -- infants can not do that. Surely
this is not sufficient reason to deny them the elements. So the whole distinction between communicate members and non-communicate
members in Presbyterian and Reformed churches is in error in my opinion. Children of believers, if they are entitled to baptism,
which they certainly are, should also be entitled to receive communion along with their parents. These children instinctively
know that they are part of God's covenant family and often feel hurt and denied when the elders pass the bread and the cup
past them. These covenant kids are actually being informally excommunicated right
in their own church, even though many of them already love the Lord and have been taught God's love for them at the knee of
their parents from birth.
So
there is a world of difference between baptismal regeneration (a false teaching) and covenant theology (a biblical teaching).
Reformed theology has always taught that people are saved by faith in Christ
alone and His work on the cross alone. This presupposes regeneration where God has already given them a new heart which enables
them to believe the Gospel, repent of their sins, and seek with the Holy Spirit's help to live a godly and holy life.
Walt
Hibbard
August 2005
