Audio Transcript

We’ve addressed the challenges of being a Christian loner in APJ 109 and APJ 212. A lot of helpful counsel can be found in that pair of episodes: APJs 109 and 212. A listener named Brian heard them, and he writes in to us with a question that complements what has been addressed previously in those two episodes. Brian writes this: “Hello, Pastor John. What would you say is the difference between being a loner who is a Christian and a loner who fails to ‘love the brothers’ as John puts it in 1 John 3:14? Is that the same thing? Is being a loner the same thing as being an unloving person? How would you work through this, Pastor John?”

Well, as often, let’s start with a definition. We can’t talk about what we don’t know what we’re talking about. So, here’s my definition — I’m just going to choose one — of loner. A loner is a person who is quite comfortable being alone. He’s comfortable reading a book in the evening with nobody else in the apartment. He’s comfortable spending time on his woodworking in the garage with nobody else around. She’s comfortable working in the kitchen, or on her handiwork, or hiking in the mountains without any friends around.

That’s what I mean by loner. Whether because of genetics, or upbringing, or experiences later in life, a person now finds himself or herself to be quite comfortable being alone. So, the question is, Does being a loner mean that you are a person lacking in love for other people?

Our Innate Personalities

For a long time, I’ve been fascinated by the fact that human beings are by nature so different from one another, and what they’re prone to do, what their bent is, is so various because of their innate personality. I’ve been fascinated with what moral significance this has since it seems to be so rooted in our personality and doesn’t seem to change, essentially, when we become Christians.

Let me give an illustration from the Bible of what I mean and how this fascinates me. In Romans 12:6–8, Paul gives some instructions about using your spiritual gifts, and it’s an unusual list. Let me just give you the three unusual ones that provoke me, and fascinate me, and set me to pondering about being a loner. He says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: . . . if service, in our serving; . . . the one who contributes, in generosity; . . . the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6, 8).

Service, giving, mercy. Now, what’s surprising about calling those spiritual gifts is that all Christians are supposed to serve, all Christians are supposed to give, and all Christians are supposed to be merciful. So what is Paul saying? I take Paul to mean that even though these three traits should characterize every Christian, nevertheless, some people are inclined to them in an unusual way. It’s just what they’re like; that’s what they do — it’s just part of them. Service — they’re just given to it. And the same with giving and mercy.

So, here’s the inference that I draw: there are real differences between human beings, including Christians, in how naturally, or how readily, dispositionally, we are given to, or not given to, behaviors that are real Christian duties for everybody.

“You could be more of a loner, or you could be more sociable, and in either case not necessarily be sinning.”

This fact that we are less given to certain good things is not necessarily sinful. It doesn’t mean we’re sinful — that we’re committing sin when we don’t do those good things to the same degree, or with the same intensity, with which other people do them. You could be more of a loner, or you could be more gregarious, or more sociable, and in either case not necessarily be sinning. That’s what I infer.

Truth from Various Angles

When I ask myself why God designed the world that way, there’s an interesting part of the answer in the way Jesus spoke about himself and John the Baptist. Here’s what he said:

To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.” (Luke 7:31–32)

Then he explains in Luke 7:33–35,

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.

So, here’s the point: this is an unbelieving generation, and God has exposed their hardheartedness by showing them that whether a person like John or a person like Jesus speaks to them, they still won’t believe.

John is one kind of person — a real loner, not a party person at all, likes the wilderness — and he spoke the truth, and you didn’t like it. You didn’t like the way he said it. Then Jesus comes along, and he’s very different from John. He comes eating and drinking, he’s sociable, gregarious, attending parties, and you don’t like the way he speaks about it either, which in God’s wisdom shows you can’t blame your unbelief on the speaker.

God’s wisdom is seen in sending all kinds of different people into your life in order to show that your rejection of them is really owing to your rejection of the message, not the messenger, because he has sent so many different kinds of personalities to you. You won’t have the message no matter what kind of personality brings it.

So, I’m inferring that one of the reasons God has designed the world with loners and gregarious types, among many others, is to make sure the world hears the truth from different vessels, different voices, different forms, different personalities to make clear what the real issue is.

Loving and Unloving Loners

So, my answer to the question of whether being a loner means being unloving is this: not necessarily. And I would say exactly the same thing about being a mingler or a gregarious or sociable person. Is that person loving? Not necessarily. People can need people for self-centered reasons, and people can love solitude for self-centered reasons.

So, the question then finally is, What makes the difference between a loner who is self-centered and a loner who is loving? I would just say two things.

Resisting Fear and Indifference

The loving loner seeks to purge himself of every form of fear of other people and every form of indifference to the good of other people. Everywhere he sees the motive of fear, he seeks to put it to death by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). Everywhere he sees indifference in his heart toward the good of other people, he seeks to put it to death by the Spirit, trusting God’s promises. He trusts the promise that God will take care of him — God will help him. He doesn’t need to be governed by any sinful motives like fear of man or indifference to people’s good.

“The loving loner seeks with all his might to make his loner personality a means of love.”

One of the ways that we detect and put to death sinful dimensions of our personality like that is by regularly stretching our comfort zone and acting contrary to our natural bent. Now, I don’t mean that we cease to be who we are or that we constantly live against the grain of being a loner or being gregarious, but I do mean that we test ourselves from time to time as to whether we are merely justifying a sinful behavior by a natural inclination. That’s the first test of how we know we’re a loving loner or a selfish loner.

Leveraging Aloneness for Love

Here’s the second thing: What distinguishes a self-centered loner from a loving loner is that the loving loner recognizes his natural inclinations, and instead of trying to totally be a person that he’s not, he seeks with all his might — and by means of all prayer, and faith, and creativity — to make his loner personality a means of love.

If he likes being in the garage doing woodworking all by himself, then let him dream and pray and work toward ways of turning his lonely woodworking into a ministry for the good of others. If she likes rummaging through historical archives in the library all by herself, let her dream of turning her lonely research into a ministry for the good of others. In other words, you don’t have to be paralyzed by the hopelessness of becoming a non-loner in order to be loving. You just have to really care about turning your loner bent into love.

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:8–13)

When you read the letters of the apostle Paul, you discover that one of his trademarks is to build modest houses and then dig mile-deep foundations under them.

For example, marriage is a modest house, and the way a husband treats a wife is a fairly ordinary, everyday, modest act in that house. Paul builds that modest house in Ephesians 5, and then he digs a mile-deep foundation for it.

He says to husbands, “Here’s the foundation for your modest house called marriage: the Son of God — the second person of the infinite, eternal Trinity and the Creator of the universe — possessed, from before eternity, a predestined holy and blameless bride, the church. And to make her his own and cleanse her from all impurity, he came into the world as the God-man, and he was crucified in her place. And deeper than the mystery of Genesis 2:24, he became one flesh with her — one body — that they might enjoy each other forever.”

To this mile-deep foundation Paul adds, “Therefore, husbands, a modest proposal: this afternoon, be kind to your wife.” So Paul builds modest houses and digs mile-deep foundations under them.

Modest Conflict Reconciliation

Here’s another example from Romans 14. The vegans and the meat lovers in the Roman church are quarreling, so Paul builds a modest house. He says, “The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God” (Romans 14:6). So, get along without judging each other, says Paul.

Then he digs a mile-deep foundation under that house:

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:7–9)

“One of Paul’s trademarks is to build modest houses and then dig mile-deep foundations under them.”

To which, perhaps, one of his impatient pragmatist friends would say, “Paul, we are talking about vegetables and steak! And then you bring in life and death and the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection and his lordship over the living and the dead — good grief! Lighten up. You don’t need to get all deep and theological and heavy about everything.”

Modest Churches

Then we come to our text, Romans 15:8–15, and we notice that it begins with the word for — otherwise known as a massive drill bit for digging pilings a mile deep under modest houses.

Paul builds the modest house in Romans 15:5–7:

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

There’s the modest house: “Live in harmony. Welcome each other. Do it all to show how glorious God is.” And then he fastens the drill bit in Romans 15:8 — using the word for — and digs a mile-deep missions week text about “The Global Glorification of the Merciful God,” which is the title of this message.

This is not a message on Romans 15:5–7. It’s not an exposition of living in harmony and welcoming each other as Christ welcomed us for the glory of God. But it’s good for you to know that this mile-deep missions text about the global glorification of the merciful God was drilled to support the modest house called Bethlehem Baptist Church, who welcome one another as Christ welcomed us.

Global Missions

We often think the other way around — namely, that the church exists to support missions. There’s a sense in which that’s true, but that’s not the way Paul set it up here. Romans 15:8–13 is a mile-deep missions text about the global glorification of the merciful God, and all of this passage is dug as an unshakeable foundation under the modest house of Christian harmony called Bethlehem. God has been doing this for one hundred and fifty years — making his global mission a massive support for the church. It’s not just the other way around.

So let’s watch him drill these pilings. Romans 15:8 says this: “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised.” Male circumcision was the sign of belonging to Israel. So Paul is saying that the Son of God came into the world as the Jewish Messiah. When the high priest asked Jesus in Mark 14:61, “Are you the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus answered, “I am.”

As the Messiah, he said in Mark 10:45, “[I] came not to be served but to serve, and to give [my] life as a ransom for many.” As the Messiah, “[he] emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). As the servant-Messiah, he became “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

But as a servant to the circumcised he was not coerced or forced: “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:18). Christ served Israel freely. He gave his life freely. He took it back freely. He died. He rose. And thus he served.

Why? Why did he come to serve like this? Paul answers in the middle of Romans 15:8: “To show God’s truthfulness.” Here’s the entire verse: “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness” — or we might also say, for the sake of God’s truth. Christ came into the world as the Jewish Messiah to prove to the universe that God tells the truth. He only tells the truth. He never lies. Every word of God comes true.

Two Great Purposes of God

At the end of Romans 15:8 and the beginning of Romans 15:9 Paul drills down into two purposes guaranteed by God’s truthfulness. Because God is absolutely truthful, two purposes of God will come to pass. First, God’s promises made to the patriarchs are firm — they will come to pass. Second, the Gentiles will glorify God for his mercy.

Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. (Romans 15:8–9)

We might jump to the conclusion that these are two distinct purposes. Confirm promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — that’s one purpose. Bring about the global glorification of the merciful God — that’s the second purpose. But I doubt it, because God’s purpose to save the Gentiles was included in the promises made to the patriarchs.

Promises to the Patriarchs

Genesis 12:3 says, “I will bless those who bless you . . . and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” When the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, came to serve Israel — when he died and rose again to confirm the promises made to Abraham — in that very act of confirming the promises to Israel, he secured the global glorification of his mercy among all the families of the earth. Because that’s what God promised to Abraham.

So God is true. He keeps his word to Israel, and that word promised that Israel would be blessed and that Gentiles would be blessed through Israel. Never think of the Great Commission as excluding Jewish people. Jesus came into the world to confirm the promises made to them. And those promises include a great salvation through faith in Messiah Jesus.

There are almost fifteen million Jewish people worldwide. Sixty-five thousand Jews live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities. There are twenty-four synagogues in these cities. Jesus Christ is their only hope. Every missional focus at Bethlehem includes them. God’s call is on some of you for the Jewish people. Your call is right here in this text — to join Christ in confirming the promises made to Israel.

Gentiles Will Glorify God

But let’s focus for the rest of our time on God’s second purpose — the global glorification of the merciful God.

Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, [first] in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and [second, to make explicit that it is included in the first] in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. (Romans 15:8–9)

Let’s ask three questions: Who are the Gentiles? What is God’s mercy? And, How are Gentiles to glorify God?

1. Who are the Gentiles?

Paul quotes four different Old Testament passages to support his claim that God’s purpose is that Gentiles glorify God for his mercy.

As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” (Romans 15:9–12)

In all four quotations he mentions Gentiles. He chose these texts to show that already in God’s purposes in the Old Testament — you could say, in his promises to the patriarchs in Deuteronomy, Psalms, or Isaiah — already in God’s word to Israel, his aim was that the Gentiles would be saved. They would glorify God for his mercy.

In one of these four quotations from the Old Testament, Paul shows us what he means by “Gentiles.” It’s in Romans 15:11: “And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.’”

“God’s purpose is that he be glorified for his mercy among the peoples of the world.”

“Peoples” — with an s — parallels “Gentiles.” This means that Gentiles are not simply to be understood as individual non-Jews. It does have that meaning in many places, but Paul is striking another note here. God’s purpose is that he be glorified for his mercy among the peoples of the world. This is why there is an s at the end of the word people in our church mission statement: “We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.”

Therefore our calling as a church in global missions is not only to win to Christ as many individuals as we can, but also to make disciples among unreached or unengaged peoples. Or as one of our global partners emphasized yesterday, our calling is to plant biblical churches that plant biblical churches among all the peoples of the world.

2. What is God’s mercy?

In the Bible “mercy” and “grace” are overlapping realities. Where they overlap, they have the common meaning of treating someone kindly and helpfully. The difference is this: when that kindness is drawn out by a person’s misery, we tend to call it mercy, but when that kindness is drawn out in spite of the person’s guilt, we tend to call it grace.

You can show mercy to an animal because an animal can be miserable (Proverbs 12:10). But you don’t show grace to an animal because animals don’t have moral capacities that make up the basis of moral guilt.

The Bible tends to use these words interchangeably when dealing with God’s grace and mercy towards sinners because our greatest misery — namely, suffering in hell, forever cut off from the goodness of God — is inseparable from our guilt. No human being but one has ever lived whose misery was not accompanied by guilt. Therefore all of God’s mercy toward humans is gracious.

But here Paul strikes the note of mercy: “ . . . that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:9). When God came down on Mount Sinai and declared his name, he said, “I am.” He said, “Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious” (Exodus 34:6). The first thing out of his mouth after his name is mercy: “My name is Yahweh! My name is Yahweh! I am merciful. I look with pity upon the miserable.”

And when Zechariah was filled with the Spirit in Luke 1:78, he exulted in why Jesus and John the Baptist had come: “Because of the bowels of the mercy of our God.” That’s a risky image. God doesn’t have intestines, but he has mercy way down in the feeling part of his being. Not just brains of mercy. Bowels of mercy. Deeply felt mercy.

When Christ became a servant to the circumcised and gave his life as a ransom for many, they sang a new song in heaven: “You were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). A tsunami of mercy was unleashed for all the peoples of the world. Missions is God’s plan to make that mercy known and glorified. There is no other plan. Therefore, it will succeed. Which brings us now to our last question: How are Gentiles — the peoples — to glorify God?

3. How are the peoples to glorify God?

Be sure you see what Romans 15:9 says. It does not say, “In order that the Gentiles might receive mercy.” It does not say, “In order that the Gentiles might glorify God’s mercy.” It says, “In order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.”

“God’s mission to the world is radically God-focused, God-exalting.”

God’s mission to the world is radically God-focused, God-exalting. The end of all things is God. And he is so glorious — so great, so beautiful, so valuable — that his glorious fullness overflows with mercy. Mercy is the stream. God is the fountain. Missions lead people to the stream and then up the stream to the fountain because the goal of all missions is that all the peoples would glorify God — glorify God! — for his mercy.

So then, how are all peoples to glorify God? The answer is found in the four Old Testament quotations in Romans 15:9–12. As I read them, you tabulate the words that describe how the peoples are to glorify God for his mercy.

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” (Romans 15:9–12)

I think “extolling” and “praising” are basically the same, so what we have is praise, sing, rejoice, and hope. Which of these is at the bottom, giving rise to the authenticity of the other three? Here’s what I suggest.

Joy is at the bottom. Romans 15:10: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” Joy is the root: joy in seeing and savoring the glory of God spilling over in mercy. Next comes hope: the hope that this joy will last forever, never giving out but only getting better and better. Next comes praise: praise may be unspoken or spoken. In my heart I can offer to God words of praise for his glory. And finally comes song: my inner joy in God’s glory, my hope that it will last forever and get better and better, and my heart-praise burst forth in song.

You do see what this means, don’t you? It means that the way the peoples glorify God for his mercy is by being happy in the glorious God of mercy — not just happy in the relief of misery, but happy in the glorious God who relieves the misery of guilty sinners, all because Christ became a servant to the circumcised. Gladness in God for his mercy glorifies God for his mercy.

Sustained for and by Missions

So here we are at the bottom of the mile-deep foundation for Romans 15:7: “Welcome one another [at Bethlehem] as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Then Paul fastens the drill bit and digs his mile-deep foundation for our welcoming one another: incarnation, the service of Christ’s sacrifice, the declaration of God’s truth, the confirmation of God’s promises, and the global glorification of the merciful God.

God has sustained our church for one hundred and fifty years. He has sustained us for the sake of world missions, but in this text it’s also the other way around. God’s mission to be glorified for his mercy among the peoples is the mile-deep foundation that supports the church. So may God raise up hundreds of you for the sake of the peoples and for the sake of our church.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;     let all the peoples praise you!Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. (Psalm 67:3–4)

“What is the appropriate age to baptize believing children?”

Here’s a question that’s been asked more than a few times by Baptist pastors and churches seeking to be faithful to Scripture and responsible in their discipleship. Broadly speaking, you might take one of two positions: either you baptize believing children upon a credible profession of faith, or you delay baptism until they’ve matured as individuals — whether that means they pass subjective milestones (e.g., understanding or increased independence) or objective milestones (e.g., moving out from under their parents’ authority).

The tension has existed for centuries because Scripture doesn’t give us a simple and neat answer key — but it also doesn’t leave us without any direction.

What Is Baptism?

As with many disagreements, the first critical step is to get the question right. In this case, before wading into any issues related to the practice of baptism, we should ask, What is baptism anyway?

For more than three centuries, the first paragraph in chapter 29 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession has articulated the fundamental conviction of believer-baptism:

Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him, in his death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into him; of remission of sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.

“Baptism is a sign of the believer’s faith-union with Jesus.”

In short, baptism is a sign of the believer’s union with Jesus by faith. It is a sign for those who are in Christ, and in order to be doubly clear, the second paragraph of chapter 29 tells us who qualifies for such a sign: those who actually profess repentance toward God, faith in Jesus Christ, and obedience to him as Lord.

The three words mentioned here — repentance, faith, obedience — are the ingredients that contribute to that good Baptist phrase “credible profession of faith.” The little adjective credible means more than simply believable. In light of the confession, we might say a credible profession is one that appears genuine because of discernible repentance, positive faith, and practical obedience — markers that we can reliably, but not infallibly, read. This inevitably determines how we practice baptism, and these three elements are so essential in one’s profession that our local church (along with many other Baptist churches) reflects each of them in baptismal vows.

Unadorned Union with Jesus

As an example of baptismal vows, our local church has our pastors ask the baptismal candidate three questions just prior to immersion in the triune name:

Are you now trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the fulfillment of all God’s promises to you?
Do you renounce Satan in all his works and ways?
Do you intend now, with God’s help, to obey the teachings of Jesus and to follow him as your Lord, Savior, and Treasure?

Previously, the pastor has met with the baptismal candidate and discerned a genuineness of faith. Then, through these questions, he invites the candidate to extend this profession to the watching congregation, showing himself to be among the “only proper subjects of this ordinance.” The baptismal candidate makes his profession by simply answering “I am,” “I do,” and “I do” to these questions.

These direct questions and simple answers are meant to be straightforward and plain, not requiring the candidate to have public-speaking skills or theological acumen, but only what is sufficient to convey a manifestly genuine faith. This is why, following the candidate’s three affirmations, the pastor declares, “Based upon your profession of faith, I baptize you . . .”

In the moment of baptism, it should be clear to everyone that the immersed individual is appropriately receiving the ordinance as one who is in Christ. The sign of the believer’s faith-union with Jesus, conveyed in the moment of immersion, is the “featured presentation” of the baptism, and so we administer the ordinance with unadorned simplicity (without need for video assistance, strobe lights, or confetti cannons).

Getting the Question Right

As straightforward as the ordinance may be, the biggest challenge comes in how pastors might discern a manifestly genuine faith in someone who is emotionally immature or inexperienced in life, such as a child — which gets back to the question at hand.

“Remember, you are attempting to discern genuine faith, not maturity.”

Asking how we discern genuine faith is the best way to approach the question of when to baptize believing children. To start with the question, “What is the appropriate age to baptize believing children?” may get us off on the wrong foot if it already assumes that a church may delay baptism to a believer, a practice for which Scripture gives no example and which the theology of baptism does not allow.

Discipleship concerns aside, I believe that hindering baptism to believers on the basis of age (rather than the inadequacy of a credible profession) is as sub-biblical and systematically compelled as paedobaptism. It seems especially strange in light of Jesus’s words regarding children, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder [kōluō] them” (Mark 10:14), and the Ethiopian eunuch’s question, “What prevents [kōluō] me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36). As we answer the latter question, we cannot disregard what Jesus himself says.

So then, how might a pastor recognize discernible repentance, positive faith, and practical obedience in a child who claims Christ and desires baptism?

Discerning Genuine Faith

In most cases, the process of discerning genuine faith, as best we can, involves pastors conducting a “baptism interview” with the candidate. A similar kind of interview would apply to a believing child, except that pastors should also consult with the child’s believing parents. (I recommend that pastors employ the assistance of the child’s Christian father in the interview if possible.)

Without duplicating a template for these interviews in the present article, pastors should keep in mind at least three key principles.

1. We are attempting to discern genuine faith, not maturity.

The first line of questions for the child should be related to positive faith. These would be questions essential to understanding the gospel: Who is Jesus? What is sin? What does God think about sin? Why did Jesus die? Where is Jesus now? How do we know about any of this?

One might call these basic grammar questions. The pastor is looking for evidences of faith that go beyond inferences of natural revelation. While the pastor doesn’t expect the child to recite the Nicene Creed, he is looking for more than vague references to a “higher power.” We want to see if the child has an understanding — childlike as it will be — that our knowledge of God comes from the Bible, and we’re not free to just make up what we believe. Common sense may be our best tool here. In some of the answers, the child might giggle or say something silly or look over at his dad for help. That doesn’t mean the child is unregenerate; it means he is a child.

Because the child’s life experience is so short, we shouldn’t expect the testimony to be a Damascus Road page-turner. Rather, we’re looking for the child to have a sense of the wrongs he has done — white lies, harsh words with siblings, refusal to share toys, and the like. The pastor should help children connect the dots that these sins (commonly tolerated as they are in the lives of many adults) are actually in the service of Satan himself, and our faith in Jesus means we renounce the devil (as stated in many baptismal vows).

This is where the presence of the child’s father in this interview can be especially helpful. While some might think involving a parent provides a crutch for the child’s profession and spoils the process, it actually becomes a line of deeper accountability. In questions related to repentance and obedience, imagine having the same interview with an adult candidate in the presence of someone who has basically observed the candidate’s entire life. We don’t need the children to act like adults, but to manifest genuine faith as children.

2. Address false assurance with robust discipleship.

Many churches delay baptism for believing children because they want to avoid giving false assurance of salvation to an unregenerate child. While I understand the concern, I think there is a better way to address it, and one that doesn’t require us to sidestep the pattern of baptism in the New Testament. In general, rather than churches making it difficult for anyone to take the first step of obedience to Jesus (through baptism), they should make it difficult for individuals to take steps away from Jesus.

The antidote for false assurance is not sub-biblical hurdles to baptism, but thick community within the local church and a culture of discipleship. The members of the church should know one another. This doesn’t require that every member know every other member well, but that every member is known well by many, having been plugged into discipleship structures that encourage shared stories and openness. Local churches can build a culture where it’s hard to not walk in the light. And cultures like this, together with regular teaching and resourcing from the word of God, will go further in preventing false assurance than forbidding a believing child from the baptismal waters (not to mention the Lord’s Table).

3. Pastors should recognize their worst-case scenario.

Our consideration of this topic would be served if pastors and churches checked our worst-case scenario right away. What is the worst we can imagine — that we accidentally give an unregenerate child false assurance? That we unhinge baptism and church membership? That we allow immature persons to become church members? Or is it that we hinder baptism to a person who is regenerate and genuinely manifests that reality?

I believe only one of the scenarios above is expressly unbiblical. As Peter once put it, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people?” (Acts 10:47). What is hindering pastors from hindering believing children to do what should not be hindered? That is the real question.

Regardless of where your church lands on when to baptize believing children, any tensions related to faithfulness to Scripture and responsible discipleship are worth facing. And more than that, the fact that there are individuals in your church, and especially children, who are turning to Jesus is something for which to give thanks. Such is God’s will.