by Luke Williams, Seminarian

In the last article I focused on what Presbyterians believe about the sacraments in general, and in this article and next article I’ll be focusing on Baptism and Communion respectively.

All Christians believe that baptism was instituted by Christ and commanded the church to continue the practice. In the early church, baptism was administered to new converts and their children as an entrance rite into family of believers. For Presbyterians, it is also a rite of entry into the church membership. In fact, we have a membership designation for those who have been baptized and not yet made a profession of faith.

Most members of the PC(USA) were baptized as infants; the Book of Order teaches that all infants should be baptized without undue delay. The denomination’s Study Catechism (which is a great resource) states that, “Baptism is the sign and seal through which we are joined to Christ.” Not only does baptism join us to Christ forever and incorporated into the church – the body of believers – we are baptized into his death and resurrection and our sins are washed away.

The most common age of baptism in the Presbyterian Church, and most of the ecumenical church, is infancy. This is different from the position of Anabaptists – the Amish, Mennonites,and Baptists – among others who insist that baptism must only be administered to those who have accepted the Christian. This is referred to as Believer's Baptism. Presbyterian baptism also differs from the opposite end of the spectrum, as held by Roman Catholics and to some extent Anglicans and Lutherans, that Baptism is required for salvation. These groups tend to baptize infants without delay so that they are safe from hell or limbo. Presbyterians baptize without undue haste because the children of believers should be fully incorporated into the faith community.

Baptism is administered in the name of the triune God, following Christ ’s command in scripture to “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son,and of the Holy Spirit. ”Baptism is administered only once, but the Book of Order reminds us that there are many opportunities to remember our baptisms during worship, especially when someone else receives baptism and on days of the church year such as Baptism of the Lord and Easter, the only time of the year the primitive Church administered baptism.

During this Easter season – known as the Great Fifty Days – take time to remember and reflect on your baptism and what your baptism means for you.

published in the SPIRE - April 2008