The Sacrament of Baptism

SCRIPTURE: Multiple

DATE: 10-6-19

It’s great to be with all of you. And — as always — one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and I love you too.

TOPIC INTRODUCTION

So…why are we here? About a month ago — here at Gateway — we had an evening service where we celebrated both believers and infant baptisms. And the infant baptisms raised some questions. 

Some of us didn’t know that Gateway did both believers and infant baptisms.

Some of us did know but had never seen an infant baptism done at Gateway.

Some of us thought that Gateway only did child dedications.

Some of us thought that doing infant baptisms meant that we had abandoned our historic belief of baptizing believers only.

All that to say — lots of questions were being asked.

We followed up by answering some of your questions on our podcast — where we talked about baptism in at least two episodes. And we scheduled this time of teaching as another way for us to help clarify what Gateway believes — and I should say — what Gateway has always believed — and practiced — when it comes to baptism. 

But here’s the deal. Even with two and a half hours — I’m not going to be able to cover everything about baptism — I’ve had to cut a lot that I originally thought we’d have time to discuss — and even with all of the cuts I’ve made —I still have to keep my eye on the clock and be ready to stop in mid-sentence if I go over my time — which is a possibility. Some questioned my sanity in setting aside two plus hours for the topic — is there really that much to say about baptism — but I don’t want anyone to think that we’re afraid to address any topic — even when it’s tempting to not teach on the subject because it’s one that can be divisive.

OUTLINE OF EVENING

But — for clarity — here’s what I’m NOT going to do. I have some goals — which I’ll share — but here are some things that are NOT my goals — and this is mainly due to our time constraint.

I’m not going to defend believer’s baptism. Here’s why. No one’s questioning our practice of believers baptism here at Gateway. I had hoped to have time to talk about believers baptisms, but we just won’t have time in this teaching. Besides…when we do believers baptisms no one sends in questions asking “What was that all about? I didn’t know we did those kinds of baptisms at Gateway.” 

But please don’t take my not defending believer’s baptism to mean that I — or Gateway — don’t believe or practice believers baptism. It’s a topic we already agree on — so I want to spend our limited time elsewhere. 

Additionally, I’m not going to defend child dedications for all the same reasons I just gave for not defending believers’ baptism. When we make announcements about child dedications — or when we do them during a worship service here at Gateway — which we’re still doing — we even have announcements going on right now about upcoming child dedications — but when we talk about child dedications no one sends in texts or emails asking us to defend our practice of child dedications. Like our practice of believers baptism — child dedications hasn’t been a divisive issue. So we’ll focus our time elsewhere.

But — again — as a public service announcement — the fact that I’m not teaching on — defending — or saying much about believer’s baptisms and child dedications — please do not take this to mean that we are discontinuing our practice of either at Gateway. I just figure it’s a better use of our time to talk about what has caused confusion recently.  

So — those are not my goals. So what are my goals? Well here’s what I hope to accomplish and then I’ll give you the outline for the rest of our time.

Goal #1 — My goal is to NOT make you feel guilty. When a subject like baptism is brought up — inevitably some things will be discussed that may make you think, “Well I really messed that up.” Remember, we’re progressing in our sanctification — none of us have arrived yet. We’re renewing our minds — none of us know everything. And if we’re all growing in our faith together — inevitably we’ll have moments when we learn something and look back and think “Well I’ve been messing that one up.” And those moments shouldn’t make us feel guilty — they should make us feel thankful because we’re growing — by God’s grace. Continuing to learn is evidence that God is still working in us. So — goal #1 is to not make you feel guilty.

Goal #2 — To create unity in the midst of diversity. If you were here a few weeks ago — you heard me talk about walking in messy grace together. Where — instead of dividing because we don’t agree on every single thing — we lean in to one another — and show an unbelieving world that we Christians can disagree and still love one another. 

I recently read a quote that lamented over the fact that Christians often divide because of their views of baptism. The author writes, “I don’t believe that Christians should break fellowship over this issue [the issue of believers only vs infant baptism]. Indeed, I wish there were a way that believers holding different positions on this matter could belong to the same church. But that doesn’t seem to be a widely held position in the evangelical church today.” We’re trying to be the church that many are opting not to be — a church that allows people to hold differing views on this issue — because our differing views of baptism — is not something we should stop worshiping God together over.

And this is really the source of the tension the infant baptisms — from a few weeks ago — have brought up. Some of you may have wondered if I’m going to force Gateway in a direction that’s less gracious — maybe try to force infant baptism on everyone — and that’s not my goal. My goal is to help us practice what we have been preaching — because we’ve obviously not done a good job of practicing our messy grace — let’s allow diversity in this area — position that we say we’ve been practicing. 

What do I mean? Well — for the past I don’t know how many years — we’ve advertised, announced from the stage, and made a big deal about child dedication sign ups. For example, nearly every Mother’s Day we’ve had child dedications. But we haven’t put forth the same effort in advertising and announcing and making a big deal about infant baptism sign ups. We haven’t done infant baptisms on Mother’s Day — at least that I know of. We’ve said we’re a church that wants to practice grace, but are we really being gracious to all — when one group gets Mother’s Day — with special photos of their babies on the big screens — and the other group has been — I don’t know the right word — tolerated? — at best — hidden from the congregation — thus the shock when a few infant baptisms were done on the big stage for the congregation to see.

As stated in a recent email — that I received from a Gateway family who believe in infant baptism — there’s been hurt and pain caused because we’ve said we’re a church that practices messy grace but we seem to have pushed families — who believe in infant baptism — to the side. No Mother’s Day spotlight moment for them. Instead when the spotlight is on them — we get questions about our faithfulness as a church — and these families have heard about the questions. Now not all of the questions had such an emotional charge to them — but some did — and this tells me that we haven’t done a good job of communicating and practicing our messy position when it comes to baptism. And — as your pastor — I’m sorry for the way we’ve treated some of our families. And my promise to all of you is that our actions are going to match our words — we’re going to be a church that practices messy grace when it comes to baptism.

But please don’t think that just because we start advertising and announcing and making a big deal about infant baptisms that we’re going to stop advertising and announcing and making a big deal about child dedications or believer’s baptisms. That’s just not true. What you will be seeing is us practicing the messy grace that we’ve been claiming all along.

Finally — goal #3 — my hope is that you will appreciate that those who disagree with you — are using the Bible as their authority. I hope to help us all understand that if the topic of baptism was so “black and white” — then the issue wouldn’t be so divisive. This isn’t a situation where some are following the Bible and others have disregarded the Bible — we’re not going to throw fellow Christians under the bus like that. This is an issue of believers — Christians — Bible-people — trying to live faithfully under the authority of God’s Word and yet they’ve come to different conclusions about baptism. And when we remember this — that we’re all trying to be faithful to what the Bible teaches — then we’ll be much more gracious to one another even when we disagree. And — because of this — I want to show you how someone can believe in infant baptism by using the Bible. You may still disagree with infant baptism after all is said and done, but at least you’ll understand how someone comes to the conclusion biblically.

Now our outline.

First, we’re going to establish the Bible as our authority.

Second, I’m going to respond to the most common objection to infant baptism.

Third, we’re going to talk about how we come to accurate interpretations of the Bible.

Fourth, we’re going to talk about how God relates to his people — in both the Old and New Testaments. And we’re going to ask, “What is baptism and how does it connect to our relationship with God?”

Fifth, I’ll point you to some other common questions about baptism that I’ve answered in your packet.

Sixth, I’ll remind us about the church we’re striving to be:  A church that walks in unity and grace even when we disagree.

And — seventh — pastors Ben and Robert will join me in a time of responding to your questions. And it’s Pastor Robert’s birthday. So we may even sing to him.

Now I can’t promise that we’ll get to all of your questions — I can’t even promise we’ll get through all of my manuscript — but we’ll try to follow up on questions we don’t get to either through future blog posts or on our podcast — somewhere. So if you have a question, text it in to the number printed on the packet or submit it on the Gateway app. And please, please, please — and I hope this is obvious — but know that you can always come to me or pastor Robert or to your campus pastor — or to any one of our elders — to talk about any question you may have. 

And at some point we’re going to have a cut off for questions — meaning you can still send them in — but the later you send in your question the less likely it may get answered because some folks are having to organize all of your questions as you send them in — but we’ll get to as many as we can.

Finally, we have some books available if you want to do more study on your own. And you’ll find a list of resources in Appendix A that may be of interest to you — you can check the books out during one of our breaks — yes — there will be breaks.

So let’s begin with prayer.

PRAYER

Gracious Father, we come before you humbly asking you to lead, guide, and direct us as we study the topic of baptism. Help us to be open to what you’ve said in your Word. Open our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to hear, respond, and obey all that you have for us. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

THE BIBLE IS GOD’S AUTHORITATIVE WORD

The Bible is God’s Word to us. We believe that the words — in this book — are God-inspired, without error, authoritative, clear, and teach us everything necessary to live a life of faithfulness and godliness. And when God’s Word and anything else — including our own thoughts and theology and what our “momma always told us” — when God’s Word and anything else come to an impasse — God’s Word wins. Every. Single. Time.

As the prophet said, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

And as the apostle wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

One writer — in speaking on the authority of the Bible — has said that…

• God’s Word serves as a guide for godly living — “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” 
• God’s Word provides strength for the weary — “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!”
• God’s Word gives instruction — “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.” 
• It gives understanding — “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”
• God’s Word brings renewal to life — “Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!”
• And it leads to joy and delight — “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.” “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.”

And this view of the Bible — as being God’s authoritative Word — is true for “believers only baptism” Christians — those who believe that baptism is only for those who have believed in Jesus Christ. And this is true for those who practice infant baptism — those who believe that baptism is for believers in Jesus Christ and their children.

Now my view of Scripture — it being God-inspired, without error, authoritative, clear, and teaching me everything necessary to live a life of faithfulness and godliness. Me believing that when God’s Word confronts my thoughts or my theology or what “my momma always told me” — God’s Word wins. Every. Single. Time — this was true of me when I held to a believers only baptism position — which I did for many many years. And this is true of me now that I hold to baptism being for believers and their children. My view of Scripture has not changed even though my view of baptism has changed. 

And just because a Christian disagrees with you on baptism — don’t interpret their disagreement to mean they don’t have a high view of Scripture. And someone can agree with your view of baptism and have a low view of Scripture. 

But because we — here at Gateway — have a high view of Scripture — be ready for a lot of Scripture in this teaching. 

THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION ABOUT INFANT BAPTISM

Now I originally thought about putting this next section near the end. But since this is the most commonly asked question about infant baptism — I thought I might as well address it here at the beginning. 

What question am I talking about? Well, I asked a few folks what questions they have about infant baptism. And everyone mentioned some version of:  Where is infant baptism taught in the Bible? Where is infant baptism explicitly taught in the New Testament — or — sometimes they will say — just show me an example of an infant being baptized in the Bible. 

So in your packet is a list of all of the Bible verses that explicitly teach infant baptism, mention infant baptism, or give examples of infant baptism.

You’ll notice that there are none. Not a single Bible verse listed. And this makes opponents of infant baptism believe they’ve made a point. And — let me say — this was the argument I used for many years against infant baptism. And this argument does make a point — it’s just not the point I think they are intending to make.

Because the point that’s made is something like this: If the New Testament doesn’t explicitly command, mention, or give an example of something…then that something is to NOT be done. It is wrong. Some might even say it’s unbiblical.

Now — if that’s the case — here’s a list of a few other things not explicitly commanded, mentioned, or are things you won’t find very clear examples of in the New Testament.

• Having a visible cross in a sanctuary.
• Doing announcements during a worship service.
• That it’s OK for a congregation to own a church building and property.
• Paying church staff — but paying pastors is in the New Testament.
• Using musical instruments in worship.
• Tithing. 
• That pastors are to perform wedding ceremonies.
• There’s no explicit command to worship on Sunday.
• Or that we’re to bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our hands together when we pray.
• The phrase “personal relationship with Jesus” isn’t in the Bible, but we use it all the time.
• Neither is the “sinner’s prayer.”
• The child dedications — that we do here at Gateway — aren’t found in the New Testament.
• And if you want to really stir things up — there’s no command or example — in the Bible — of women taking communion.

So what’s my point? My point is that the argument most commonly used against infant baptism — where is it explicitly taught or seen in the New Testament — should either be applied to all of these other things — or maybe it’s not as airtight of an argument that many think it is.

Anyone want to argue in favor of us refusing women to take communion just because we don’t have a Bible verse or an example of women taking communion in the Bible? I don’t think so.

Which leads us to…

INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

How are we supposed to interpret the Bible — with the goal being of understanding what God is saying in his Word — either explicitly or indirectly? Is reading the Bible just a subjective — “it means for you what it means for you and it means for me what it means for me” — kind of deal? There are people who would say that. 

Well let me be clear — that’s not what I — or Gateway — believe when it comes to interpreting the Bible. We believe that the Bible is clearly communicating objective truth from God to us. 

So if the Bible is communicating objective truth, how do we come to know what that truth is? Are there any tools we can use to understand God’s Word better? Or — to ask it another way — what obstacles are we trying to overcome when we try to understand the truth that the Bible is teaching?

This takes us to an area of biblical scholarship known as hermeneutics — or interpretation — how we accurately interpret the Bible. When you read the Bible — this is what you’re doing — you can’t help but interpret what you read — but the reason why we have so many different interpretations is because we’re not all using the same tools — or we may not agree on how to use a particular tool — and some of us don’t even know what tools we’re using. 

In Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible, authors Duvall and Hays describe the interpretation process as a journey. And on this journey we come to some rivers — some obstacles — that we have to cross in order to “grasp God’s Word” — in order to understand it. The “goal” they say “is to grasp the meaning of the text God has intended. We do not create meaning out of a text; rather, we seek to find the meaning that is already there.”

So here we are — in the 21st century — trying to find the meaning of a text — authored and inspired by God — written thousands of years ago by men chosen by him. We come to the text knowing that it meant something specific — objective — when it was written. And the point — the truth — has not changed. 

Let me say that again because this is huge in interpreting the Bible. When Paul or Peter or Isaiah or Moses — pick your biblical author — when they wrote something down — they had a point — and more importantly — God had them write down his point. The words actually meant something. And that point — that truth — hasn’t changed. And our job — in interpretation — our goal is to figure out the truth the Bible is communicating. 

But here’s our dilemma — on our journey of interpretation — we’ve run into a river.

Now there are many ways you can cross a river, but a way that leaves you dry — the way that — once it’s been built — is reusable — is to build a bridge. So to find the meaning that God intended to be understood in the text — we’ve got to become bridge builders.

But what are the obstacles we’re trying to overcome?

Well there’s a cultural obstacle. What kind of obstacle is this? Well, most likely you’re not Jewish. I’m guessing you’ve never made your way to the Temple to sacrifice an animal as commanded in Leviticus. Oh — but Josh — we’re Gentiles — and they’re written about in the New Testament. Yeah but the Gentiles in the New Testament are Greeks. Like — “Before Jesus saved me I was worshipping Zeus, and Athena, and Artemis.” Worshipping Zeus, Athena, and Artemis are as foreign to you as worshipping OSU football, Taylor Swift, and Donald Trump are to first century Greeks. 

So we have to overcome some cultural differences. And I want to help us all get into the cultural mindset of a first century Christian. This is so important when it comes to the topic of baptism. How would a first century Christian view baptism — especially a first century Jewish Christian?

Additionally, there’s a language obstacle. We speak English. The Bible wasn’t written in English — so if you’re reading an English Bible — even the King James Version — you’re not reading the actual words that Moses and Paul and John wrote down. To read those you’d have to read Hebrew, Aramic, and Greek. Now you are reading a translation of the actual words that Moses and Paul and John wrote down. But a translation is just that — a translation. 

English Bibles are a gift to us from God. I’m thankful to have God’s Word in our native language. But — the reason why we have different Egnlish versions of the Bible is because languages aren’t codes — in the sense that there’s not a perfect process of moving from one language to another. Especially when it comes to translating into our crazy English language.

I mean “In what other language do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? In what other language do people play at a recital and recite at a play? Why is it that when we transport something by car, it’s called a shipment, but when we transport something by ship, it’s called cargo? Why do we pack suits in a garment bag and garments in a suitcase?”

In Appendixes D and E you’ll see various ways one original language root word — behind our English word “baptism” — how it’s translated in our English Bibles. This will give you an idea of how one root word can be translated in multiple ways.

There’s also a time obstacle. We live in the 21st century. We’ve got supercomputers in our pockets — smartphones. They had camels and sheep — maybe. They didn’t have electricity. One generation of people — that we read about in the Bible — spent most of their life wandering in the wilderness. Egyptian Pharaohs were still a thing. And the known world was a lot smaller. 

And when we interpret the Bible we need to jump back into time and not force the contemporary world on what we read about in the Bible. For example — in more ways than one — our modern independent American mindset is forced on the Bible instead of the Bible forcing itself on our modern independent American Christian mindset.

These are just a few of the obstacles we’re trying to overcome when we interpret the Bible. 

And let me reiterate — you are building a bridge over these obstacles whether you realize it or not. We can’t help but interpret what we read in the Bible. And — as we interpret — we build bridges. Well — I guess you don’t have to build bridges — the other option is to just avoid all of the parts of the Bible that do require bridge building in order to have understanding. And lots of folks do that — thus the unpopularity of the Old Testament — too many bridges to build in order to understand what’s going on.

COVENANTAL RELATIONSHIP

Now perhaps the biggest obstacle — where the most significant disagreement in bridge building among American Christians takes place — is in how we view the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. 

And I just want to focus on two views — these are the two that probably have the most influence on us whether we realize it or not. And it’s important to understand — what your view of the continuity between the Old and New Testaments is — because this will determine your view of baptism — among many other things that Christians often disagree about.

Now — to be clear — both of these views agree with the statements I said earlier about the Bible. So this isn’t where one view believes the Bible is God’s Word and the other doesn’t — this is about continuity. Let’s get to the views and I think you’ll see what I mean.

View #1 — The Old Testament is precisely that…old. Outdated. Obsolete. In this view, the New Testament is brand new. The Old and New Testaments have more discontinuity than continuity. It’s like a complete new start happens in the New Testament. The Old Testament is still the inspired Word of God, but it reached its shelf life when Jesus came. So anything in the Old Testament is — at best — helpful in a historical sense — but it has no impact on Christians today because we’re New Testament only people. 

Now this is a fairly popular view among American Christians. It’s a reason why so many American Christians neglect reading and studying the Old Testament. And — yet — even for many who hold this view — they’re quick to read the psalms to be comforted — even though being a New Testament only person kind of goes against that. Some — who hold this view — may quote verses like “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Now — to not make a strawman argument — there would be many who hold this view who wouldn’t quote from Jeremiah like that — or even the Psalms. But this is view #1 — The Old Testament is old. It’s helpful in a historical sense, but has no impact on Christians today because we’re New Testament only people. 

Another way to say this is that the Old Testament was for the Jews — the New Testament is for Christians. In this view — when you think of the Old and New — you’re thinking there is more discontinuity than continuity. And many Bible believing, God loving, gonna be in Heaven Christians and pastors whom I respect — and have learned a great deal from — hold this view.

Now you may know that I do a recurring preaching series called “Finding Jesus.” Where I take us through books in the Old Testament and show us how all of them point us to the one story that the whole Bible is telling. So — not to play my hand too early — but the fact that I do the “Finding Jesus” series should let you know that I think there’s more continuity — between the Old and New Testaments — than this first view would tend to allow.

So what’s my view?

View #2 — The New Testament is a continuation of the Old. This view sees the Old and New Testaments as telling one story. This view sees the New building on the Old. The Old set the foundation for the new. The New looks back to the Old. The Old looks forward to the New. This view believes that there’s more in common — there’s more continuity between the Old and New Testaments — than discontinuity.

And something else — to know about this view — is that it sees in Scripture — that God’s relationship with his people has always been covenantal in nature. What does that mean?

Let’s first define the word covenant. One definition is that, “A biblical covenant is a binding relationship of eternal consequence in which God promises to bless and his people promise to obey.” So there’s a promise of blessing by God and a promise of obedience by the people. No obedience — no blessing. And notice that we should be thinking eternally — both for the promises and the consequences. 

And where the difference — between these two views — is seen most clearly is in how we view what’s known as the New Covenant. So let’s look at the New Covenant and see if it’s new — in the sense of a completely separate new start — with no connection to the previous covenants — that would be view #1 — or is the New Covenant a continuation of the previous covenants in the Bible — the next step in God’s relationship with his people — view #2.

We find the New Covenant in the book of Jeremiah — chapter 31. 

“”Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.””

Jeremiah emphasizes the covenantal relationship between God and his people. Notice that God is a promise-making — but more importantly — a promise-keeping God. God had made promises — covenants — to his people and here — in this New Covenant — a New Promise — is made. But notice that Jeremiah mentions previous covenants in this passage about the New Covenant.

Some background will be helpful. Jeremiah’s contemporaries are about to be in exile — they’re about to get kicked out of the Promised Land — because of their disobedience — because of their covenant unfaithfulness. But God — because he is faithful — gives them a new promise. God’s people will return to the land — they will re-enter the Promised Land — but there’s even more. For in this New Covenant God promises to do something to their hearts. God’s law will be written on their hearts — God’s law will be in them. In the Exodus story — the other covenant mentioned in this passage — God’s law was written on stone tablets. But in this New Covenant the law will be written on the hearts of God’s people. And the culmination of this covenant — which is also found in the previous covenants — by the way — the culmination is when God says that he will be their God and they will be his people. 

• So in the midst of king Nebuchadnezzar coming in and conquering Judah and desolating the city of Jerusalem. 
• In the midst of God’s judgment coming upon the people because they’ve abandoned him to worship false gods. 
• God gives a new promise to his people.

“A day is coming,” says the Lord. “When a New Covenant will be established. And I will be your God and you will be my people.” 

And this New Covenant — I would like to suggest — is a continuation of the previous covenants found in the Bible. That’s it’s not brand new — in the sense of not being connected to the others — but is new — in the sense that it’s the next step of God’s faithfulness to his people. So let’s look at the other covenants and see if you agree with me — that they all build on one another.

Covenant of Works

The first covenant in the Bible is called the covenant of creation or the covenant of works. It’s found in Genesis chapter two.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

Notice there’s an obedience required on the part of the man — “work and keep the garden and don’t eat from one tree.” And there’s a promise from God — “if you eat from the tree you will die” — which implies a blessing — “if you obey me and don’t eat from the tree you will live.”

But — as we all know — they eat from the tree — Adam and Eve break the covenant.

OK — so a question for us. Does this covenant apply to us — meaning — do we feel the effects of this covenant? Yes. Adam’s breaking of the covenant has affected all of us. So even though we’re not Adam — this covenant affects us.

Covenant of Grace

Which leads us to the covenant of redemption also known as the covenant of grace. This is an eternal covenant between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit where — together — they agree to accomplish our salvation. Now technically this is the first covenant — because it was made in eternity past — but it’s the second covenant found in the Bible — it’s the covenant — that I’m suggesting — all of the covenants are building on.

We find it in Genesis 3:15 where — in speaking to the serpent and the woman — God says “I will put enmity (or hostility — there will be war — ) between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he (this future descendant of the woman — he — ) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

And this covenant — this promise — is fulfilled on the cross when Jesus is crucified. God’s enemy — the Serpent — also known as Satan — saw Jesus on the cross and thought he’d won the war. But as the nail went through Jesus’ feet — as the serpent struck his heel — the nail went through Jesus’ feet and straight through the head of the snake as it went into the wood of the cross.

So a question — the same question I asked a moment ago. Does this covenant apply to us? Yes! This is our hope, right? That the offspring of the woman — Jesus — has crushed the head of the snake on the cross. 

Noahic Covenant

The next covenant we find in the Bible is God’s covenant with Noah. After Adam and Eve’s sin, the wickedness of mankind grew leading to the flood. This covenant is found in Genesis chapter 9 when — after the flood — God put a rainbow in the sky and promised to never again judge his creation with a flood. 

“Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.””

So does this covenant apply to us? Anyone worried about God destroying the world again with a flood? No. Why? Because of his promise to Noah, right? Anyone get amped up because the rainbow — a sign of God’s promise to us — has been hijacked by another group? You do. Why? Because the rainbow is personal, right? It’s not just a promise to Noah — the rainbow is a promise from God to his people — even us — isn’t it? There’s continuity.

Abrahamic Covenant

Next we have the Abrahamic covenant. This covenant is found in Genesis chapters 12, 15, and 17. 

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

So Abram’s going be the father a great nation — and through his descendants — all the families of the earth will be blessed. But there’s a problem. Abram doesn’t have any children! So the covenant picks up again a few chapters later.

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.””

God makes a promise to Abram that — though he’s crazy old and childless — he will be the father of many nations. And Abram believed God. 

But did you notice the smoking fire pot and flaming torch that passed between the animal pieces — what’s that all about? Well usually — when a covenant was made — both parties walked between the animal pieces — showing that a promise — a covenant — had been made — showing that both parties accept the responsibility — and the consequences — if the covenant is broken. 

But what happened here? This is called the Abrahamic covenant — but does Abram walk between the pieces? No! So who walks between them? God does — that’s what the smoking fire pot and torch represent — the presence of God. This is God’s way of saying “I’m guaranteeing this covenant. Abram you just sit there and watch because I — the God who eternally exists— am promising that I will keep both sides of this covenant. I’m guaranteeing that this promise will come true.” And the covenant continues a few chapters later.

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.””

So Abraham’s covenant gets a lot more verses than Noah’s. So let’s ask the question we’ve asked after each of the covenants so far: Does this covenant apply to us today? Yes. Why? Because “Father Abraham had many sons — and many sons had Father Abraham — I am one of them and so are you. So let’s all praise the Lord!”

There’s more truth to that children’s song than you might realize. What does it mean to be a child of Abraham? And how can you be a child of Abraham without this covenant applying to you? What reason do we have to sing these words if this covenant doesn’t apply to us in some way?

One author has said, “There is no other way to be a child of God than to be included in Abraham’s covenant. There is no other covenant of salvation, and unless we are part of Abraham’s covenant, we are not part of God’s people.”

And look at what the New Testament has to say about this covenant.

“Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith — just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

And as tempting as it is to read the entire book of Romans — to show the continuity of the covenants — chapter 4 will have to do. “Is he about to read another entire chapter of the Bible? I think he is. He hasn’t even said anything about baptism yet. This is all kind of weird.”

“What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring — not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Paul tells us that the promise God gave to Abraham — has been fulfilled in us — those who aren’t Jewish — but who walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. And Paul also says that Jews — who walk in the same footsteps of faith — are also part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. That the promise given to Abraham is for all who believe — that would include us.

Now — back in Genesis — about Abraham — God said, “For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

Being righteous and just are things we Christians are to be today. Can you see how these covenants are building on one another? How God’s promise to Abraham is for us today? With each new covenant — there isn’t a break from the past — a complete start over — an “out with the old let’s start all over again with the new.” There’s continuity — there’s a singular storyline being told.

BREAK #1 – 10 MINUTES (SHOULD BE AROUND 1 HOUR IN AFTER BREAK)

Mosaic Covenant

Fast forward a few hundred years and we come to the Mosaic covenant — which is found in Exodus chapters 20 through 25 — and again — in the book of Deuteronomy. This is the covenant referenced in Jeremiah 31 — the covenant the people broke after God had rescued them out of Egypt. The Mosaic covenant builds on the previous ones but gives details as to what God’s people are to be like — thus all of the laws and ceremonies and celebrations that are found in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. And the point of it all, is that God’s people are to be “a holy kingdom, in distinction from the offspring of the serpent” — which echoes the covenant language from Genesis 3:15. 

And notice that this covenant comes after God rescued the people out of slavery in Egypt. They were enslaved — and their rescue — their salvation — comes first and then God’s gives them the law. God rescues first — then he gives instructions on how to obey. Obedience is always a result of salvation — obedience is never a way to earn salvation. 

Now some would suggest that the Mosaic covenant is a break from the Abrahamic covenant. Much like seeing the New Covenant as a break from the previous ones — some see the giving of the Law as the start of something brand new. But is this what we read in Scripture?

Look at the words that begin the Exodus story. “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” 

The point being — not that God had forgotten something — but that the motivation behind God rescuing his people out of Egypt was his promise to Abraham. So the Exodus story — including the giving of the Law — is a continuation — a result — of God fulfilling his promise to Abraham. 

Later — when Moses is trying to figure out exactly what he’s supposed to tell the Israelite slaves — and more importantly — Pharaoh — “God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.'””

Again — I want you to notice — that it’s his promise to Abraham that God is acting on in the Exodus story. So these covenants are connected. There’s continuity. 

And here are the words of the covenant as found in the book of Deuteronomy. “And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “‘You shall have no other gods before me. “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. “‘You shall not murder. “‘And you shall not commit adultery. “‘And you shall not steal. “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’ “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’ “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. “Now this is the commandment — the statutes and the rules — that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you — with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant — and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you — for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God — lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised. “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’”

Again — for now — notice the continuity — the calling back to God’s promise to Abraham. Later in the book we read, “Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.”

Now some would suggest that the only continuity is the promise of land. That the nation of Israel would have property — the Promised Land. And that there’s no continuity — spiritually speaking — about God’s covenant with Abraham — or to the people here in the Mosaic covenant. 

But look at what the New Testament says about the law — in the Mosaic covenant — and the promise — found in the Abrahamic covenant — and that there is a spiritual promise that continues. Look at how the New Testament shows that there’s more going on in these covenants than just the promise of land. 

In Galatians we read, “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” 

And in Ephesians we read, “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands — remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Notice how Paul tells the Gentile Christians — so these are non-Jewish Christians — Paul tells them that prior to their faith in Jesus — they were strangers to the covenants — plural — of promise — singular. Multiple covenants — one promise. Covenants building on each other — continuity — all moving towards the fulfillment of one — singular — promise. And Ephesians — by the way — was written long after Jeremiah wrote down the words of the New Covenant — so Paul has it in mind when he talks about the multiple covenants and the one promise.

In Galatians Paul tells us that the Mosaic covenant — which introduced the law — and the Abrahamic covenant — the covenant of promise — are not in opposition to each other. The law — of the Mosaic covenant — does not nullify the promise — of the Abrahamic covenant. The promise continues as the covenants build on each other. Multiple covenants — all building towards the fulfillment of the one promise.

This is why I’d suggest to you that the Old Testament covenants have continuity — look at what the New Testament has to say about them — they were all building towards the fulfillment of the one promise. 

Davidic Covenant

The next covenant is the Davidic covenant — it’s found in 2 Samuel chapter 7. 

“Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”‘ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.‘” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.“”

In this covenant, the king of Israel stands as a representative for all of God’s people. The king is called to obey God and to lead the people in obeying him. And though king after king will fail to do this, God promises that one day a King will come — from the line of David — who will fulfill what is asked of him — this future King will perfectly fulfill the obligations for his people as he obeys God as their representative.

And — I know it’s obvious — that Jesus is the King — the fulfillment — of God’s promise to David. In fact, the New Testament seems to be screaming at us that Jesus — being the fulfillment of God’s promise — is the fulfillment of all of the covenants. Look at how the New Testament begins. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

In the very first verse of the New Testament, Matthew connects the genealogy of Jesus back to the Davidic and Abrahamic covenants.

New Covenant

And then we’re back to the new covenant in Jeremiah 31. The final covenant established in the Bible. The previous covenants have all been building towards the fulfillment of the covenant of redemption — the covenant the Father, Son, and Spirit made together — before time began — the eternal promise they made to rescue us promise-breakers. 

Ever since the garden — instead of obedience — we’ve chosen to rebel and disobey God — we’ve never kept our end of the covenants — we’re the promise-breakers. And what becomes the ultimate twist in God’s story is that these covenants all find their fulfillment — not in our obedience — but in Christ’s obedience. This is what God showed us — in his covenant with Abraham — when he took full responsibility for both his — and our end — of the covenant.

You see nearly all religions are based on some sort of works — some kind of obligation that must be fulfilled in order to appease the god or gods of that religion. And what makes Christianity unique isn’t that we believe differently in this regard — we do believe that there is an obligation that must be fulfilled — a standard must be met — a promise must be kept — in order for a person to have a right standing with God. What’s unique about Christianity is that we believe everyone has failed to fulfill our end of the covenant — we’re all promise-breakers. 

And this would seem to lead us to a place of hopelessness until you realize that what’s also unique about the Christian faith is the belief that it’s not what we do that saves us — it’s what Jesus has done in our place — the work he’s accomplished for us — this is what makes Christianity unique. It’s Jesus’s promise-keeping that makes us promise-breakers have a right standing with God.

On the night when he was betrayed, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples. The Passover meal was a celebration of God’s judgment passing over the Israelites who put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. The Egyptians made no such sacrifice and experienced God’s judgment for their sin — but the blood of the lamb covered the sins of the Israelites — thus God’s judgment passed over them.

And during the Passover meal Jesus “took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!””

Three things. First, in verse 20 Jesus says that his blood will be poured out as the cup of the “new” covenant. Jesus’s shed blood on the cross is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. 

Second — and I think this is obvious to most of us — but the Lord’s Supper — communion — replaces the Passover Meal — as the remembrance now shifts for God’s people — from the Passover story — to the story the Passover was always pointing to — God’s judgment eternally passing over his people because of the sacrifice of his Son — the Lamb of God. 

And, third, notice that Jesus says he is going — which means he’s headed to the cross — to have his blood poured out — just “as it has been determined.”

So when was this plan — that Jesus would shed his blood on the cross — when was this plan determined and who determined it? The Father, Son, and Spirit made this plan before time began. This is the covenant of redemption being fulfilled. This is the culmination of all of the covenants coming together — all leading up to Jesus and his sacrifice.

You see, Jesus is the King promised in the Davidic covenant who stands in the place for his people. He fulfilled the Mosaic covenant as he perfectly obeyed God’s law. He’s the descendant promised in the Abrahamic covenant — and the offspring of Eve who came to crush the head of the serpent. Jesus is the One who was promised to come — not to judge the world with a flood — but — instead he came to be drowned in the flood of our sins while he hung on a cross. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise — singular — that all of the covenants — plural — were pointing to. Jesus is the continuity between the covenants.

Continuity of the covenants of grace

But let’s look at some other ways the covenants have continuity.

First, the covenants are all everlasting.

• Noah – “…the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.“”
• Abraham – “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
• Moses — “Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!”
• David — “Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.” 

Second, there are signs of the covenants.

• Now not only do each of the covenants have a sign, but it’s important to notice what the sign is signaling. 
• Noah — the sign is a rainbow — “And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” 
• The rainbow is a sign that God will be faithful to his promise.
• Abraham — the sign is circumcision — “You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” 
• Circumcision is a sign that God will be faithful to his promise.
• Moses — The Passover Meal was established prior to the covenant. 
• The Passover Meal is a sign that God will be faithful to his promise.
• David — With David there’s no obvious sign — though the kingship and crown and throne imagery point us to Jesus our King. 
• The establishment of kingship is a sign that God will be faithful to his promise.

Third, the covenant signs and promises are for believers and their children/families/generations.

• In Noah’s story — who was righteous? Noah was. But who was saved in the ark? Noah and his family. “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you (singular — meaning Noah…) are righteous before me in this generation.”
• Noah’s family enters the ark based on Noah’s righteousness.
• Yet who did God make the promise to? “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you…”
• Abrahamic covenant — And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations…
• Moses — “for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” 
• David — “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.”

WHAT IS BAPTISM?

OK. So with all of that covenantal background — I want us to now put ourselves into the time of the New Testament. And imagine that you’re coming from a Jewish background — so the covental history I just shared with you is your history. It’s your world. It’s the faith you’ve grown up in. 

And we’re right there — in Acts chapter 2 — when the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would empower his disciples to be his witnesses — and we’re there — on the day of Pentecost — when this all happens. And you hear someone accuse the disciples of being drunk at nine in the morning. And — in response — Peter stands up and preaches his first sermon. And his words are powerful — and his conclusion — well it cuts you to the heart when he says, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”” And you cry out — because you’re convicted — you need relief — along with others in the crowd you shout out, “What are we to do?” 

And — now — listen for continuity — listen to Peter’s response as a first century Jew who’s just been cut to the heart by his powerful sermon. For fun — let’s add one more detail — just a few days ago your wife gave birth to your firstborn — a son — and you’ve been anticipating giving your son the sign of God’s promise to his people. 

Now — with that as the background — do Peter’s words have any similarities to the covenants that are your history — the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David — do Peter’s word have continuity with the faith you’ve grown up believing?

“Peter, what are we to do?”

“And Peter said to them, “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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”” 

Two observations. First, Peter tells them to be baptized. Baptism is a sign of the New Covenant — along with communion — so there’s the continuity of a sign. And, second, Peter tells them that the promise is for them and their children — there’s continuity of a singular promise being for believers and their children.

Later — in the New Testament — we read, “Therefore he (Jesus) is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance…” So there’s an everlasting — eternal — aspect to the New Covenant as well — another point of continuity with all of the previous covenants.

So with all of this biblical evidence about the covenants — I’d like to suggest to you that the New Covenant has more continuity — with the previous covenants — than discontinuity. That first century Jewish converts to Christianity would see the New Covenant as the culmination of the other covenants — that their historic covenants — plural — have all been fulfilled in the Promised One — singular — Jesus Christ. 

But — even a step further — I want you to see how baptism has continuity with the sign from God’s covenant with Abraham. Remember — the covenant of promise that Peter says is being fulfilled before their eyes — as he preaches in Acts chapter 2 — the covenant that Peter says is being fulfilled was God’s promise to Abraham — which had the sign of circumcision. 

And now listen to Paul’s words about circumcision and baptism and see if you notice continuity. “In him also (that’s Jesus) you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Paul connects the New Covenant sign of baptism with the Abrahamic sign of circumcision. This is why — in Romans chapter 4 — Paul says that Abraham is the father of us all — both those circumcised and those not circumcised — because circumcision — and what it’s a sign of — is replaced with baptism. So like the Passover meal being replaced by the Lord’s Supper — circumcision is replaced by baptism. 

Circumcision — the cutting of the foreskin of the male’s reproductive organ at eight days old — reminded the Jews that the problem of sin had been passed down to every single person. Circumcision showed how there’s nothing the child could do — at eight days old — or will ever be able to do — to save himself. Circumcision wasn’t just about an outward sign separating the Israelites from uncircumcised people. In both the Old and New Testaments the concern is always about our heart. Or — as Paul says — “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.”

Paul’s talking about regeneration — circumcision of the heart — the new birth. This is what circumcision and the shedding of blood was always pointing to. And this regeneration is solely a work of God — thus circumcision in the flesh was done to an eight day old male — to show that this kid can’t — and won’t ever be able — to save himself. Circumcision of a child was a picture of the gospel — that God is the One who saves. 

And this is what baptism now points to. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” The newness of life is possible because of regeneration — God resurrecting us from the dead. 

Or as Peter — in talking about God rescuing Noah and his family — writes, “a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” It’s not water baptism that saves us — Peter says that’s not the baptism that saves — the baptism that saves is what the water baptism is pointing to — regeneration — a person’s spiritual resurrection.

So what circumcision pointed forward to and what baptism points back to — are the same. 

• That mankind cannot save themselves — thus the sign was given to children to illustrate this truth. 
• That God will save mankind through the shedding of blood. 
• And that it is a circumcision — or baptism — of the heart that has always been the point of the signs of the covenant. New birth. Resurrection. Freedom from Satan, sin, death, and Hell.

So back to the question — from earlier — the most commonly asked question about infant baptism — where does the New Testament explicitly teach it? 

Well with the continuity between the covenants — which I think I’ve shown that there’s a case to be made for continuity — and if Peter — when preaching his very first Holy Spirit inspired sermon tells his Jewish audience to “repent and be baptized” and that “the promise is for you and for your children” — and we’ve seen that Paul calls Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity the offspring of Abraham — and has connected circumcision to baptism — and with all that circumcision and baptism men — well — I’d like to suggest — that the New Testament’s silence on infant baptism is because giving the sign of the New Covenant — baptism — to believers and their children would be the expectation and would not need explaining.

New things have to be explained. Changes have to be discussed. Things that stay the same don’t need to be explained. Even with all of the continuity — some things did change.

Thus we find lots — in the New Testament — about circumcision. Why? Because there was a change — and there was confusion. But even with the confusion about circumcision never once do we read about their being confusion about who needed to be circumcised — age wise — just whether circumcision was still required. 

In fact — in Acts 21 — Paul returns to Jerusalem and has a meeting with some of the church leaders — including James — Jesus’ younger brother. “And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.” So Paul’s being accused of telling Jewish converts to Christianity to stop giving the sign of circumcision to their children. And he’s asked to take a vow to show that he’s not teaching Jewish converts to stop giving the sign of circumcision to their children. And Paul takes the vow. 

So late in the book of Acts — Jewish converts to Christianity are still giving the sign of circumcision to their children. And — notice — these are Jewish converts living among Gentiles. So imagine being a Gentile convert to Christianity. You’re told all of the history of the covenants. You see the Jewish converts giving the old sign — of the promise — to their children but you’re told that you don’t have to — no need to circumcise your boy — because baptism is the sign of the new covenant. 

Now the point isn’t the overlap of the signs — the point is that Jews are still giving a sign of God’s promise to their children. Now don’t you think that at least one Gentile would’ve asked about this? Why no sign for my kids? Are my kids not part of the promise that Peter preached about back in Acts 2? Are my kids somehow inferior when it comes to the covenant blessings and promises that God has given to his people? I mean — Paul — you’ve told me that — even though I’m a Gentile — I’m a child of Abraham — so tell me — what does this mean for my children?

And so a different question — maybe a better question — at the very least an equally important question to wrestle with — if you’re not sure about infant baptism is:  With all of the continuity in the covenants — including the New Covenant — where does the New Testament explicitly command us — teach us — or tell us — to stop giving the sign of the covenant to our children? This would be a radical change for the Jewish Christians — as radical of a change as the sign changing from circumcision to baptism. For thousands of years — the people in Peter’s audience in Acts chapter 2 — would’ve given the sign of circumcision to their children — and for that to change — for these Jewish Christians to stop giving the covenantal sign to their children — well that would be a seismic shift for them. And yet not a single word is said about this radical change in all of the New Testament. 

And surely at least once — somewhere — in one of the Christian communities that were struggling to understand the role of circumcision — surely they would’ve asked Paul or Peter or someone — about why they weren’t supposed to give the new sign of God’s promise — baptism — to their children. And even if they viewed the New Covenant as a complete break from the Old — remember — that’s view #1 — if this was their view — surely some Jewish background Christian would’ve gotten things mixed up and baptized his baby and the church would’ve written to Paul asking him what they were supposed to do now that he’s messed up — and this would be an understandable mistake — when your history — for thousands of years — included giving the signs of God’s covenant to your children. 

And yet not once does this question come up in all of the New Testament and — I think the reason for this — is because there wasn’t a change in who received the sign — even though the sign changed to baptism. That the reason for the silence in the New Testament is because they continued giving the sign of God’s promise to their children. That the silence — in the New Testament — speaks more in favor of the Jewish converts to Christianity giving the new sign — baptism — to their children — than the silence speaks in favor of a radical change — a monumental shift in their beliefs. Circumcision to baptism was a radical change — and much written about it in the New Testament. Gentiles being outsiders to becoming insiders is a monumental change — a much is written about it in the New Testament. And to stop giving the sign of the covenant to their children would have been just as radical of a change — and yet not a single word is found about the issue.

So that’s how — biblically — some come to the conclusion that baptism — the sign of the New Covenant — is for believers and their children. Now — believe it or not — there’s a lot more that could be said about covenants, and continuity, and the signs, and definitely baptism — but that’s all we have time for.

OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT BAPTISM

Now in your packet you’ll see that I’ve answered some of the other commonly asked questions about baptism. I won’t take time to read through them because we need to take a quick break and then get to your questions.

THE KIND OF CHURCH WE ARE

But before our final break — there’s a wonderful quote from the first Incredibles movie by the villain Syndrome. The Incredibles are a family with superpowers — and Syndrome was Mr. Incredible’s number one fan as a kid — who grows up to become the antagonist in the movie. Well Syndrome has a quote that I love. Now you have to know that Syndrome doesn’t have any superpowers — he uses technology to create the illusion that he has superpowers — and with the Incredibles caught in his trap — he tells them his plan — which is to make sure there will be no more haves and have nots when it comes to superpower. And as he tells them his plans — he walks away saying — “And when everyone’s super…no one will be.” When everyone’s super…no one will be.

So what does that have to do with baptism? Well if everything you believe is a 10 out of 10 — meaning if you had to pick how certain you are of something you believe — and how important it is for everyone else to agree with what you believe — on a scale of 1 to 10 — if everything is a 10 out of 10 — well then — nothing’s a 10. 

And the way we have civil dialogue as Christians over issues we don’t agree on is to ask ourselves where does this fall on my 1 to 10 scale? What kinds of things should be a 10? In our denomination we call these the “essentials.” You’ll find them in your packet as Appendix C — these are our 10 out of 10s. And we want to protect these essentials of our faith by not giving everything else we believe a 10 out of 10 — because — if we do that — then these essentials become non-essential. 

And I would suggest that baptism — no matter your view — should NOT be a 10 out of 10. It shouldn’t be a “well if you don’t agree with my view on baptism, then we can’t worship together” kind of topic — that’s reserved for 10 out of 10 stuff. 

And as I said at the beginning, my goal for tonight wasn’t to defend believers baptism or child dedication — so please — after a long night like this — don’t think that we’re abandoning those. I just wanted to take time to explain why we do believers baptisms AND child dedications AND infant baptisms. Infant baptism is what tripped some of us up recently and I hope — that through this teaching — we will extend grace to one another as we’re all coming to our conclusions about baptism with the Bible as our authority. We may still disagree — that’s fine. But let’s disagree with our Bible’s open and God’s Spirit guiding us as we seek to be people who love God and one another — even when loving each other is messy.

BREAK TIME (CHECK CLOCK — GIVE 30-40 MINUTES FOR Q&A)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

APPENDIX A — Resources

Bibles

• ESV Study Bible
• NLT Study Bible
• NIV Study Bible
• NET Study Bible

Hermeneutics

• Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible by Duvall and Hays
• How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Fee and Stuart
• Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics by Graeme Goldsworthy 
• Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard
• Let the Reader Understand by McCartney and Clayton
• How to Understand and Apply the New Testament by Andrew Naselli
• How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament by Jason DeRouchie

Theology

• Institutes of Christian Religion by John Calvin (Reformed tradition)
• Christian Faith by Michael Horton (Reformed tradition)
• Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof (Reformed tradition)
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief by John Frame (Reformed tradition)
• Biblical Theology by Geerhardus Vos (Reformed tradition)
• Christ-Centered Biblical Theology by Graeme Goldsworthy (Evangelical Anglican)
• According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible by Graeme Goldsworthy (Evangelical Anglican)
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem (Reformed Baptist tradition)
• Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem (shorter version of his systematic theology)
• Christian Theology by Millard Erickson (Evangelical Baptist tradition)
• A Theology of the New Testament by George Ladd (Evangelical Baptist tradition)

Baptism

• Children of the Promise: The Biblical Case for Infant Baptism by Robert Booth
• To a Thousand Generations: Infant Baptism — Covenant Mercy for the People of God by Doug Wilson
• Baptism by Francis Schaeffer
• Christian Baptism by John Murray
• Why do we Baptize Infants? by Bryan Chapell
• Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why we Baptize Children by Daniel Hyde
• Baptism: Answers to Common Questions by Guy Richard
• Infant Baptism and the Silence of the New Testament by Bryan Holstrom
• Word, Water, and Spirit by J.V. Fesko
• Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries by Joachim Jeremiah
• Baptism in the Early CHurch: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries by Everett Ferguson
• It Takes a Church to Baptize by Scot McKnight
• A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Baptism: The Water that Unites by Robert Letham
• Meaning and Mode of Baptism by Jay Adams
• Christian Baptism: The Sign and Seal of God’s Covenant Promise by Bruce McDowell
• Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism by Gregg Strawbridge (editor)
• Worship: Reformed According to Scripture by Hughes Oliphant Old
• The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century by Hughes Oliphant Old
• Understanding Four Views on Baptism by Paul Engle (editor)
• Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace by Paul Jewett (believers baptism only view)
• Did the Early Church Baptize Infants? By Kurt Aland (believers baptism only view)
• Believer’s Baptism: Sing of the New Covenant in Christ by Schreiner and Wright (editors) (believers baptism only view)

APPENDIX B — Commonly Asked Questions

Do the household baptism examples have to mean there were children being baptized?

First, I hope you noticed that I didn’t use the household baptism examples to defend infant baptism. Some folks do, but the household examples in the New Testament simply don’t provide us with enough details to make a conclusion either way about whether or not the families had children in them. 

But I would encourage you to study the idea of “household” in the Old Testament. Again, immerse yourself back into the world of a Jewish convert to Chrsitianity — or a first century Greek pagan — and you will discover that the household baptism examples will give you lots more to consider than just whether or not children are present. For example, slaves, in-laws, and other adults were considered part of a household according to the Old Testament. And then — if you consider original language issues — you’ll find that one of the household baptisms — the Philippian jailer in Acts 17 — has language where he is the only believer — you can’t get around the language to imply that other adults in his household believed — and yet all who were part of his household are baptized. You think infant’s being baptized without believing is a difficulty —what about adults who don’t believe but are baptized because the head of their house believes?  

What about a person’s choice in baptism?

Some things to consider that have been discussed. What is baptism a sign of? God’s faithfulness to his promise to us. When we elevate our choice in baptism — intentionally or not — we are making baptism to mean something more than God’s faithfulness to his people. Also, the example of the Philippian jailer’s household — that I mentioned in the previous answer — also adds something to the discussion about our choice in baptism. The members of his household having a choice isn’t even brought up in the story.

What about the Roman Catholic Church’s beliefs about infant baptism?

Should the Roman Catholic’s view of infant baptism influence us in our decision. Well here are some other things that Roman Catholics do:

• They take communion
• Practice repentance
• Gather for worship

Should we stop doing any of these things just because the Catholics do them and believe some very different things theologically when they do so?

What about the mode of baptism?

So this question has a lot of parts to it that would take up more space than needed in a guide like this. For instance, there are language questions — what does the original language mean — and in the back of this packet you will find examples of the root of the Greek word that we get our word baptism from — and see some of the ways in which the word is translated into English. 

But mode of baptism is really about “immersion only” versus using other modes — sprinkling, pouring, dipping, etc… Now we practice immersion at Gateway — and I think there’s biblical warrant for immersion — but I don’t think the Bible limits baptism to immersion only. Just one example, to save time.

In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit comes. This is the fulfillment of Jesus’ words from Acts chapter 1. “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”” And in explaining to the crowd what they’ve just witnessed — because the crowd is a bit confused by it all — Peter stands up and preaches his first sermon. And in his sermon, he quotes from the Old Testament saying, “’And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.’”

Now the baptism of the Holy Spirit — in Acts chapter 2 — is THE baptism in the book of Acts. Most of our discussion is on the water baptisms and I find it odd how often this baptism is left out in most discussions about baptism — but here — Jesus tells his disciples that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and Peter describes the baptism as a pouring of the Holy Spirit. 

So — those who practice pouring — instead of immersion — are wanting to visibly show what happened in Acts chapter 2 as they baptize people with water.

APPENDIX C – ESSENTIALS OF OUR FAITH (can be found at EPC.org)

APPENDIX D – Root: Every use of βαπτω (bapto) in the New Testament

	English Standard Version	The New International Version
Matt 3:1	In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,	In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
Matt 3:6	and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.	Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Matt 3:7	But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?	But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Matt 3:11	“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.	“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matt 3:13	Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.	Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
Matt 3:14	John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”	But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Matt 3:16	And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;	As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
Matt 11:11	Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.	Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Matt 11:12	From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.	From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.
Matt 14:2	and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”	and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Matt 14:8	Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”	Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
Matt 16:14	And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”	They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Matt 17:13	Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.	Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Matt 21:25	The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’	John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
Matt 26:23	He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.	Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.
Matt 28:19	Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,	Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mark 1:4	John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.	And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:5	And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.	The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Mark 1:8	I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”	I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:9	In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.	At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Mark 6:14	King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”	King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Mark 6:24	And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”	She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
Mark 6:25	And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”	At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
Mark 7:4	and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)	When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
Mark 8:28	And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”	They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
Mark 10:38	Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”	“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
Mark 10:39	And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,	“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
Mark 11:30	Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”	John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”
Mark 14:20	He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.	“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me.
Mark 16:16	Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.	Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 3:3	And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.	He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3:7	He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?	John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Luke 3:12	Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”	Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
Luke 3:16	John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.	John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 3:21	Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,	When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
Luke 7:20	And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ”	When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ”
Luke 7:29	(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,	(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.
Luke 7:30	but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)	But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
Luke 7:33	For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’	For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
Luke 9:19	And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”	They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
Luke 11:38	The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.	But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
Luke 12:50	I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!	But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!
Luke 16:24	And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’	So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Luke 20:4	was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”	John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
John 1:25	They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”	questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
John 1:26	John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,	“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
John 1:28	These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.	This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:31	I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”	I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
John 1:33	I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’	And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
John 3:22	After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.	After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.
John 3:23	John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized	Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.
John 3:26	And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”	They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
John 4:1	Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John	Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—
John 4:2	(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples),	although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
John 10:40	He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.	Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed,
John 13:26	Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.	Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
Acts 1:5	for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”	For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:22	beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”	beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
Acts 2:38	And Peter said to them, “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.	Peter replied, “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.
Acts 2:41	So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.	Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 8:12	But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.	But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Acts 8:13	Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.	Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
Acts 8:16	for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.	because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 8:36	And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”	As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
Acts 8:38	And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.	And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Acts 9:18	And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;	Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
Acts 10:37	you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:	You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—
Acts 10:47	“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”	“Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”
Acts 10:48	And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.	So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Acts 11:16	And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’	Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
Acts 13:24	Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.	Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.
Acts 16:15	And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.	When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Acts 16:33	And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.	At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
Acts 18:8	Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.	Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
Acts 18:25	He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.	He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Acts 19:3	And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”	So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.
Acts 19:4	And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”	Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
Acts 19:5	On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.	On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 22:16	And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’	And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
Rom 6:3	Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?	Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4	We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.	We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
1 Cor 1:13	Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?	Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
1 Cor 1:14	I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,	I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
1 Cor 1:15	so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.	so no one can say that you were baptized in my name.
1 Cor 1:16	(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)	(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
1 Cor 1:17	For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.	For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
1 Cor 10:2	and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,	They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
1 Cor 12:13	For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.	For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
1 Cor 15:29	Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?	Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
Gal 3:27	For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.	for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Eph 4:5	one Lord, one faith, one baptism,	one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
Col 2:12	having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.	having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Heb 6:2	and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.	instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Heb 9:10	but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.	They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
1 Pet 3:21	Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,	and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Rev 19:13	He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.	He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

APPENDIX E – Use of βαπτω (bapto) in the Old Testament (Septuagint)

Exodus 12:22 — Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. Leviticus 4:6 — and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. Leviticus 4:17 — and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil. Leviticus 9:9 — And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. Leviticus 11:32 — And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean.  Leviticus 14:6 — He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. Leviticus 14:16 — and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. Leviticus 14:51 — and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, along with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times. Numbers 19:18 — Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. Deuteronomy 33:24 — And of Asher he said, “Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. Joshua 3:15 — and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), Ruth 2:14 — And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 1 Samuel 14:27 — But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. 2 Kings 5:14 — So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2 Kings 8:15 — But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Psalm 67:24 — that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.” Job 9:31 — yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me. Isaiah 21:4 —  My heart staggers; horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. Daniel 4:33 — Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.