By nature, everyone knows there is a God. But because of sin, no one naturally knows God. But through the gospel, anyone can know God. We just have to see the signs.

I remember a friend in high school who nearly drove into one of those giant-yellow-flashing-arrow signs that tell you your lane is about to end and you had better merge. She was a bit distracted. And this was in an age long ago when nobody, except for Hollywood millionaires, had a cellphone, and even those who did couldn’t do anything remotely close to texting. My friend was just paying attention to other things than the blinding giant arrow glowing in front of her.
The truth is, we can all miss signs from time to time. I’m reminded of the comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s “Here’s your sign” bit, and the early nineties remake of the song “Signs.” Consider these examples my pre-cell-phone-age bona fides.
Of course, some signs aren’t that important and who really cares if you miss them. How many of us break our necks to read historical markers on the side of the highway? Not me. Well, once I did stop out of curiosity to read one on a backroad in Kentucky only to discover my time would be better spent doing about anything else like cleaning out the stale french fries unreachably stuck in the abyss between the base of the driver’s seat and the armrest. But make no mistake, some signs are worth noting.
How about the most important things? Are there signs for how we might navigate life? What about God? Do we get a sign? Is there any way in the world can we ever know God? Many people simply conclude there aren’t good answers to this question. Some assume the challenge implies there is no God. I can empathize. Sometimes I’d like a more clear sign too, like anytime I have a massive decision to make.
As a Christian I believe God has given some pretty big signs. In fact, the Apostle Paul says that all of creation is pointing to God (Romans 1). King David says the heavens themselves are declaring how great God is (Psalm 19). But why is it so easy to miss? Is creation really sending us a sign? Is the world itself a sign? And if it really is as plain as the Bible makes it sound, why don’t more people believe?
It’s a matter of interpretation.
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Psalm 72 makes it clear that Christ’s reign is earthly. This is not necessarily in the sense some take it of Christ returning to earth and physically ruling from a throne in Jerusalem. No, he is enthroned in heaven right now at the right hand of the Father. But he exercises authority on the earth and over the earth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth…. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him (vv.8, 10-11).

The word gospel means good news. Most of us learn that in Sunday School. It’s fairly common knowledge. Fewer know that the same word was used by the Romans to announce the ascension of an emperor or the celebration of his birthday. When the Gospel writers say Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel (Mark 1:14), they were using a political term, not a religious one. They did not mean Jesus went from town to town handing out tracts on the Four Spiritual Laws. Jesus’ preaching was a royal proclamation with political implications. The gospel announces the coming of the King who is to be King over all kings and Lord over all lords.
This year we are spending the four Sundays in Advent reflecting on aspects of Christ’s identity and authority that help clarify the gospel. Too often Christians think of the gospel merely as a program for how they can get saved. They may define the “plan of salvation” and man’s response to it as “the gospel.” But the gospel is not just good information. It is not pious advice. It is not about you or me. The gospel is an announcement about Christ, and the primary content of that announcement, though by no means its exclusive content, is that Christ is Lord and King. This is the central feature of the gospel both in OT prophecy and NT fulfillment. When the apostles preached the gospel, their message was not: Jesus can forgive your sins so that you will go to heaven when you die, as true as that may be. Their message was: Jesus is Lord.
There are many passages we could use to study the Kingship of the Messiah, but we will use Psalm 72 to organize and develop our reflection on this theme today. The text is attributed both to David (v.20) and Solomon (superscript) prompting discussion throughout the history of the Church on its origin and authorship. It is entirely possible that Solomon wrote the psalm and it was included in the collections of David’s prayers which became Book II of the Psalter, but Calvin suggests a possibility that, while unprovable, is compelling. He suggests Psalm 72 was David’s dying prayer for his son and that Solomon then arranged it as a psalm. Ultimately it is a prayer and prophecy of the Messiah’s later, greater reign.
The Gospel of Christ’s Kingship
Before we look at the psalm, let me prove the thesis I mentioned in the introduction. So many Christians think of the gospel only as a message of personal salvation that it may seem radical to describe it as primarily the message that Christ is Lord.
Acts 2:36: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.Acts 5:29-31: But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.Acts 10:36: The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—Acts 17:5-7: But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”Rom. 10:9: if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus [that Jesus is Lord, ESV] and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Some preachers have promoted the idea of the “carnal Christian,” that a person can claim Jesus as their Savior but not have him as their Lord. It’s true there are carnal Christians; they are called disobedient Christians and may even prove to be hypocrites. True faith is trust leading to obedience, not merely intellectual assent to historical or theological facts. Some who begin as “carnal Christians” later repent and realize their obligation to obey Christ as Lord, but if they don’t, they will be lost Christians. You cannot have Jesus as your Savior but not as Lord. He is able to save because he is Lord.
The Righteousness Christ’s Reign
Righteousness is a key word in the first three verses of this psalm, and the idea signified by that word serves as an organizing principle for the entire prayer. The King’s reign is characterized by the objective standard of uprightness. It is Yahweh’s righteousness that is given to the Prince (v.1) that he might judge the people with it (v.2) and that the earth itself might bring it forth under his rule. Righteousness is the source, the norm, and the fruit of godly governance, and nowhere is that more evident than in Messiah’s reign, the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
No king can rule uprightly unless God blesses him with his own righteousness. The Lord imputes righteousness to us in our justification and imparts righteousness to us by our union with Christ in regeneration and sanctification. No man can stand before the Lord without this twofold grace of imputed and imparted righteousness. Measured on its own moral merit, without the cleansing and aid of divine grace, our “righteousness” is nothing but a defiled rag (Isa. 64:6). We can only be righteous by God’s grace, and the one who would rule among men must know it.
The gift of divine righteousness not only empowers the magistrate’s rule, it also serves as the standard by which he rules. The kingdoms of men are not to be governed by a natural law determined by human reason that is separate and different from biblical law known by special revelation. It is God’s righteousness that must be the standard of justice and judgment, which is why Israel’s kings were to write their own copy of the OT law and meditate on it all the days of their life (Deut. 17:18-20). After his resurrection Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). It is Christ who is the King, David’s Son, who rules the nations with a rod of iron (Psa. 2:8-9). What is the standard for Christ’s rule? His righteousness, Yahweh’s own righteousness. We cannot say, “Christ rules the kingdoms of this earth by one law, a standard known by reason alone, and his Church by another standard found in the Bible.” No, the king rules by God’s righteousness, and anything less than that would be unrighteous.
The Blessing of Christ’s Reign
What is the fruit of Christ’s righteous rule? The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness (v.3). Righteous rule brings blessings to the earth. There are many blessings to acknowledging Christ as our King: Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh (Psa. 33:12)—Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh! (Psa. 144:15). Psalm 72 develops this idea primarily in three ways. Christ’s reign brings peace through justice leading to prosperity.
First, Christ’s reign brings peace. The mountains will bring peace to the people, i.e. the mountains are bearing peace like the fresh, cold waters of melted snow running down from the high slopes. In his days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace (v.7). The word here is shalom, a fullness of joy, health, and satisfaction in God. The peace Christ gives is threefold: peace with God, peace in our hearts, and peace among men. The first is an objective peace. In Adam we are enemies of God, but in Christ we are adopted as his children and made his friends. Once our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God, we can enjoy peace in our souls. No more must guilt, fear, and shame burden our hearts. If we are at peace with God, how can we not be at peace with ourselves? Is our own judgment of ourselves and our condition greater than God’s judgment of us in his Son? The last level of peace is with our neighbor. How can we be at war with our neighbor if both we and him are at peace with God and with ourselves? Conflict comes from unholy desires (Jas. 4:1-3), but all desires are sanctified and satisfied in Jesus, bringing war and bitterness and estrangement with our fellow man to an end.
Second, Christ’s reign brings peace through justice.
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If God counts children as members of the covenant community who are to receive this sign and seal of his covenant, then those who neglect covenantal baptism prevent covenant children from receiving one of God’s chief means of grace for their lives and the life of the church. These practical and theological implications are why the “discussion” about baptism is not idle theological discourse.

Baptism. Need I say more? Too often, it is best known as the church family “celebration” that causes conflict. This sacrament seems to be fertile soil for debate, disagreement, ridicule, and even mocking among fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet baptism lies at the very heart of the charge that our Lord and Savior gave to the church in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18–20, and it represents, as we shall see in these pages, the core of the Christian faith—the gospel. When we approach it as a source of conflict and controversy, we miss the blessing that is attached to this sacrament, as well, and the kind- ness God has shown his people—the family of Christ— by gifting it to them. I hope that this book, beyond anything else, will show you this blessing and kindness.
I take it for granted that if you are reading this book, you have some interest in the doctrine of baptism. That is good. That is right. Maybe you are a parent who is wrestling with whether you should baptize your child (or children). Maybe you are new to the Reformed tradition or wrestling anew with what you believe about baptism. Maybe you are a pastor attempting to articulate covenantal baptism more clearly, or a teenager wondering whether you should be “rebaptized” at the urging of friends, or a Christian parent wondering whether your wandering child’s previous baptism means anything for him or her now. Maybe you are simply looking for a quick refresher on the reasons for and blessings of covenantal baptism. This book is written for you.
But before we enter the discussion on baptism, I ask you to make a commitment with me. John Rabbi Duncan, a Scottish Presbyterian from a former generation, once said, “I’m first a Christian, next a Catholic,1 then a Calvinist, fourth a Paedobaptist,2 and [finally] a Presbyterian.”3 He places the right things in the right order. Before you read further, commit with me in the tenor of Duncan’s confession above, first, that you are a Christian; second, that you identify as a member of the universal church; and that everything else follows in importance.
We need to remain careful not to make too much of baptism on the one hand but neither to dismiss it with a nonchalant attitude on the other. Baptism is truly a “secondary doctrine.” Yet it is a significant doctrine. Our beliefs regarding baptism inform our parenting, our expectations of our covenant children, and even what church we attend and join. And, since blessings are attached to this sacrament (as we shall see), we desire those blessings to be received by all who are able. Most of all, because baptism is a foundational part of the Christian faith, our view of it should be well-informed and biblical.
If those who practice covenantal baptism4 by baptizing their children do so in contradiction to God’s Word, then they put words (and especially promises) in the mouth of God that are untrue. And yet, if God counts children as members of the covenant community who are to receive this sign and seal of his covenant, then those who neglect covenantal baptism prevent covenant children from receiving one of God’s chief means of grace for their lives and the life of the church. These practical and theological implications are why the “discussion” about baptism is not idle theological discourse.
This is an excerpt from the introduction to Jason Helopoulos’ book, “Covenantal Baptism,” part of the Blessings of the Faith series. Pick up a copy of, “Covenantal Baptism” for more information on this often-debated doctrine. Used with permission.