Clean or Unclean Children? (1 Corinthians 7:14; LD 27)
Introduction
People hear about infant baptism, and they have immediate questions when they are not used to this practice. How can we baptize an infant who has not yet made a profession of faith? Does baptism mean that the child is necessarily regenerate? Does the water itself wash away sin?
Baptism is not a magical act, nor is it a declaration that we know with certainty what God has done in the heart of an individual. Rather, baptism is a sign of God's covenant. It is God's testimony that his promises are true and that salvation is found in Christ.
Baptism points us to the great reality of the gospel: Christ has passed through death in the place of his people. The waters of death have no ultimate claim upon those who are united to Christ. He entered into death, endured its judgment, and emerged victorious in his resurrection. Our cleansing is not ultimately found in the water of baptism. Our cleansing is found in Christ. Baptism simply testifies that the church is the place where we see the people who have passed through death.
Set Apart in Christ
In 1 Corinthians 7:14, Paul says that the children of a household with even one believing parent are holy rather than unclean. That language is significant. Paul is not saying that every child of a believing parent is automatically regenerate or guaranteed salvation. He is saying that these children are set apart unto the Lord. They belong to the covenant community and are to be raised as covenant children.
This is consistent with the way God has always dealt with his people. God works through families and households. Children were included in the covenant in the Old Testament, and Paul exhorts children as members of the covenant community in the New Testament.
So when we baptize our children, we are not saying, "This child is definitely saved because he has received water." We are saying, "This child has been set apart unto the Lord. This child belongs to the covenant community. This child has been given the sign and pledge of God's promises." This is why we say that the child can pray to God. This child is in covenant with the Lord.
We should not see the sign as a sign of our faith, but a sign of the Lord’s covenant.
Washed by Christ
There is a challenge that Paul is addressing. The challenge is: how do we view our children when only one parent is a professing believer? Do we see the children as unholy or holy?
Paul literally tells us that based on the profession of one parent, we see the children as holy. Paul also says otherwise they would be unclean. This means that the children would be outside the covenant. “Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.”
When we say that members of the covenant are washed by Christ, we should see that this does not mean that they are necessarily saved. It does not mean that they take hold of Christ by faith. This is like Israel passing through the sea. They were all vindicated in the sea in that they emerged triumphant. God delivered them, but it does not mean that all of them were in the right relationship with the Lord. Paul reminds us that God was not pleased with all of them. (1 Cor. 10:1-5)
This means that we teach them to pray to their God. We don't treat them as outsiders who have no relationship to the covenant until they can somehow prove themselves worthy of entering it. We raise them as children who have been set apart unto the Lord, praying that the Holy Spirit will bring them to genuine faith in Christ. So they pray to our God. They are exhorted to live for our Lord’s glory.
The sacrament comes to the community with a warning. The sacrament doesn't permit us to presume upon God's grace. The sign points us to Christ and calls us to take hold of him by faith. The same waters that speak of salvation also remind us of judgment. Think about the flood. Think about Israel passing through the sea (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). Think about those who were outside the ark (1 Peter 3:21). The point is, there are a people set apart unto the Lord, and there are those who are washed away.
So baptism gives us both comfort and warning. It comforts us by reminding us that Christ has really washed a people unto himself. He really has passed through death. It is the assurance that as we take hold of Christ by faith, we are washed. However, if we turn away, that washing is washing us away from the covenant family. When one walks away from the Lord’s promises, then the washing is the drowning in the sea or being consumed by the water. This is the other side of good news.
Conclusion
Do we trust Christ, or do we trust ourselves? Do we rest in his righteousness, or do we think we can add our own works to what he has accomplished? Do we embrace the reality to which the sign points, or do we turn away from it?
That is why baptism is such a beautiful sign of the gospel. It doesn't ultimately point us to ourselves. It points us to Christ.
We are reminded that we have been set apart unto the Lord. We are reminded that his promises are real. We are reminded that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ has conquered death for his people.
So let us not put our confidence in the water. Let us put our confidence in Christ. Let us be refreshed by the promises of God, take hold of Christ by faith, and live as those who have been consecrated and set apart unto him.