Fight the Good Fight of the Faith: God Graciously Reassures Our Faith

In the previous post, we talked about how, when God brought His people into the Promised Land, He gave them a down payment of the abundant provision He would give them when they had conquered the Land. What they ate after that first Passover wasn't remarkable ("unleavened cakes and parched grain"), but it was a sign that God has so much more to come in the Promised Land.

In the same passage, we also see God reassuring the faith of His people through the sacraments of the Old Testament. They were at a very critical point in the taking the Promised Land: the beginning when all their fears would probably be right before their eyes. Yet, God does not just command them to march forward, but He graciously reassures their faith. And, as we will talk about in this sermon, God does the same for us today as we fight the battles of this Christian life.

If you want to hear more, you can listen to the sermon here or read the transcript here.

I pray that God will use it to magnify His glory in your heart and fortify you for the battles of this Christian life.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Paedocommunion

"What is required for the worthy receiving of the Lord’s Supper? It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves." ~ Westminster Shorter Catechism #97

Some of you may be reading this wondering what paedocommunion is. It is the idea that very young children (toddlers), maybe even infants, ought to be given the Lord’s Supper. Arguments for the position generally take one or two paths: the Lord's Supper associations with the OT Passover and/or the close association of the NT covenant signs of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The former briefly states that the Lord's Supper is the NT equivalent of the OT Passover and children of all ages participated in the OT Passover, therefore children, even infants should participate in the Lord's Supper. The latter briefly states that we should not deny infants one covenant sign (the Lord's Supper) while giving them the other (baptism). (For more information on the Reformed view of baptism, see last year's post about it.)

"Why write about this?" you might ask. A couple of reasons: first, this has become a debated issue in the PCA (my denomination) in the past few years, and second, it brings up the subject of the proper observance/celebration of the Lord's Supper, which is a very important subject. (In the below discussion, I will talk more about how we celebrate the Lord's Supper and less about its essence. For more on what the Lord's Supper is, see last year's post about it.)

So, is paedocommunion a biblical practice, properly celebrating the Lord's Supper, or is it not? I believe that it is not. The first thing we need to look at is what Jesus and Paul say about the Lord's Supper (since Jesus instituted it and Paul talks about its proper observance). In Jesus' institution of it (Mt. 26:26-29; Lk. 22:14-23; Mk. 14:22-25) a few things come to the forefront:

• It is necessary to understand what the elements represent. In all three accounts Jesus takes each element, explains what it represents, and then gives it to His disciples to eat. There is at least the implication that the disciples needed to understand the elements before they ate. Now, I am not saying that every believer who partakes must understand all the theological intricacies and implications of the Lord's Supper, but they have a basic knowledge of it in order to participate. 
• Luke records a specific command about the Lord's Supper from Jesus: "Do this in remembrance of me." (v. 19) This shows that when we do celebrate the Lord's Supper, Jesus intends for us to remember Him and everything He did for us (i.e. the gospel). As in the previous point, in the remembrance of something there is at least the implication that understanding is also to be involved.

As we can see from Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper, understanding of its significance and remembrance of His redemptive work is required of those who participate. What does Paul have to say about the subject? We find his inspired words about the Lord's Supper in 1 Co. 11:17-32. The occasion for Paul's writing on the subject was the abuse of the Lord's Supper. That being the case, we can expect him to tells us something about its proper celebration, and he does. He gives (at least) three obligations for participants:

• Participants must have an active faith that can remember and show Christ's sacrificial death. The taking of the Lord's Supper is the act of remembering and proclaiming of Jesus' death until He returns (v. 26). This, as above, has the implication that understanding must also be involved. 
• Participants must be able to examine themselves and be certain that their faith in Christ is genuine (v. 28, cf. 2 Co. 13:5). This does not mean that a believer's faith must be so strong that they have no doubts (see my previous post on the value of faith), in fact one of the purposes of the Lord's Supper is to strengthen weak faith, but it must be placed in Jesus alone for salvation. 
• Participants must be able to discern the body of Christ (v. 29). This discerning has dimensions both soteriological--understanding Jesus and the gospel proclaimed by the elements--and ecclesiological--proper relationship to Christ's Body and its members.

As we can see from Paul's theology on the subject, he shares Jesus' concern for remembering and understanding Christ's work of redemption proclaimed by the elements. He furthermore reminds us that when we take the Lord's Supper we ourselves proclaim the death of Christ until He returns. Paul also requires participants to have a genuine faith in and relationship with Jesus and a proper relationship to the Body of Christ and its members.

In all the above, it is clear that all participants must the ability to examine, remember, and discern, and they must use those abilities in faith when they celebrate the Lord's Supper. Examination, discernment, and remembrance in faith are not faculties that infants and very young children yet have. I am willing to grant that there may be children who are young, perhaps younger than we normally think, who can do these things according to their frame and partake (which is why the PCA's Book of Church Order leaves it up to the session to determine who may participate) but infants and toddlers are not at that age.

What about the arguments for paedocommunion given by proponents? In answer to the first, I do not believe that arguments by association with the OT Passover hold up under scrutiny:

• First, there are a number of dissimilarities between the Lord's Supper and the Passover, which make them not a one-to-one relation like circumcision and baptism (cf. Col. 2:11-12). If, however, we grant a significant degree of similarity, there are still problems with attempting to argue from Passover regulations. 
• Second, after the first Passover, God stipulated that only the male members of the covenant community were required to participate in the feasts (Ex. 23:17; 34:23; Dt. 16:16), including the Passover. This did not expressly bar women and children, but it did represent a significant change in its celebration and a significant difference from the NT Lord's Supper.  
• Third, it is also not at all clear that children participated in the Passover, at least children that were not able to understand what was happening. It is not very likely that very young children (especially infants) could have eaten and digested the food of the Passover. Furthermore, the only evidence we have for children's participation are those that are old enough to ask the question, "What is meant by this service?" (Ex. 12:26) and comprehend the answer given by the father (Ex. 12:27). It at least suggests that the children who did participate had to have the ability to understand and discern the meaning of the Passover. 
• Finally, very young children participating in the Passover is not consistent with the historic practice of the Passover among Jews. In the OT, males who could make the journey and participate in the fasting and ceremonial cleansing (cf. Nu. 9:6; Jn. 18:28) were those who participated. In later traditions, post NT, only children who had reached the age of discretion participated.

I also do not agree with the argument that since we give one covenant sign to infants (baptism) we should give the other to them as well (the Lord's Supper). This is not biblical. Scripture commands, by association with the OT sign, that baptism be given to infants (Ge. 17:9-13, cf. Col. 2:11-12, see also my previous posts on baptism). It is also not said by the Scripture (or the Reformed tradition) that baptism is a saving rite or that it is effectual at the moment it is given. It is a sign of the need for the gospel, gospel promises, and righteousness received by faith. It is also a sign in which recipient is passive, just as he is when God draws him. Therefore, the sign can be absolutely objectively given to a child in the prayerful hope that the child will one day have faith and receive the promises subjectively. This is not the case with the Lord's Supper. We are not commanded to give it to infants or very young children, and we are commanded to be able to subjectively examine ourselves, remember Christ's work, and discern His body in faith (as shown above). Jesus' institutions of the Lord's Supper and Paul's recounting of it all require active participation in faith in order to be nourished by Christ in it (cf. Jn. 6:53-55). This shows us that while baptism and the Lord's Supper are both covenant signs, the occasion and participants of each differ on several points.

You might still be thinking, "So what?" We cannot forget how important the Lord's Supper is. It is one of the means of grace, which means it is one of the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of His redemption. It is something God instituted to communicate grace to us in a true and objective way. It is a covenant sign representing the heart of God's covenant of grace. It is not something man made up and can change on a whim. Getting it wrong is a serious matter, so serious that Paul says, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." (1 Co. 11:29-30)

For a much more detailed treatment of this subject, I would suggest Cornelis P. Venema's book, Children at the Lord's Table?: Assessing the Case for Paedocommunion.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Sacraments

In a couple of past posts I have written about baptism and the Lord's Supper. Recently, in a worship class I just finished, I had to write six sacramental homilies, three on baptism and three on the Lord's Supper. Since I have already shared some about each sacrament, I figured I would share these homilies. They are designed to be about three minutes long; for use right before the sacrament is celebrated. With such a short time, they can hardly do the doctrine of each sacrament justice, so each homily focuses on an aspect of the sacrament or explains something in a different way.

Lord's Supper:

• Homily One
• Homily Two
• Homily Three

Baptism:

• Homily One
• Homily Two
• Homily Three

By His Grace,
Taylor

Baptism

"Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to be a sign and seal of ingrafting into himself, of remission of sins by his blood, and regeneration by his Spirit; of adoption, and resurrection unto everlasting life; and whereby the parties baptized are solemnly admitted into the visible church, and enter into an open and professed engagement to be wholly and only the Lord’s." ~ Westminster Larger Catechism, answer to question #165

Last week I wrote briefly about what I learned in my recent preaching concerning the Lord's Supper. Today I thought I would share a little bit of what I learned about baptism by sharing with you some great resources as well as the two sermons I wrote for this class on baptism.

First, I would like to call your attention to question #167 of the Westminster Larger Catechism, "How is our baptism to be improved by us?":

The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others; by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein; by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements; by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament; by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body.

This one of the key things I learned while taking this course. I had probably read this question and answer a dozen times but it never hit me. Our baptisms, which for many of us was a very long time ago, can be improved by us. Baptism is not just a sacrament that is administered and forgotten about. It is something that can be improved by us and something that God uses for our sanctification. Apparently I am not the only one who had neglected this, for even in the 17th century, when this was written, it was neglected: "The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism..." So, my first sermon, which was normal length sermon (just a hair over seven pages), was written on this subject from Titus 3:1-8.

Some of you may be unsure what baptism really is. I think a lot of us who have grown up in the Church have, at best, a nebulous idea about what baptism really is. Well, my second sermon was written to (hopefully) answer that question. It is a short (only about two pages), pre-baptismal sermon, which was written as if I were about to baptize someone.

There are some good resources out there on baptism that I would recommend:

• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (Book 4, Chapters 14-16): Again, like with the Lord's Supper, I highly recommend Calvin's work on this subject.
• Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptize Children by Daniel Hyde: This is an excellent source on the subject of baptism that clearly explains baptism from a holistic, biblical perspective; answers the questions many people have about infant baptism; and compares infant baptism to "baby dedication" noting the fundamental differences between the two. It is well written, short, and charitable to opposing viewpoints. 
• "Baptism and the Benefits of Christ: The Double Mode of Communion in the Covenant of Grace" by R. Scott Clark: This is an excellent journal article written on the subject. 

As with my post about the Lord's Supper, I pray that these resources would increase your view of baptism and ultimately God's glory in giving this sacrament to us.

By His Grace,

Taylor

The Lord's Supper

"I am convinced that where the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is taken lightly the people of God are sorely impoverished. Without both the Word and sacrament we face a spiritual famine." ~ R. C. Sproul

I just finished a preaching course that was focused on the sacraments (the Lord's Supper and Baptism) and after having taken this course, studied the sacraments, and preached on them, I am more convinced than ever that what Sproul says in the quote above is exactly right. The sacraments have taken a back seat in the Protestant Church and that is to our detriment. This is probably because of a reaction to Roman Catholic sacramentalism (which is the name for a particular erroneous view on the sacraments) and/or because of modernism creeping in and giving us an inadequate view of faith. The reasons, however, are not what I want to discuss here. I thought I would post the sermons I wrote on the Lord's Supper as well as some books I recommend you read. Hopefully these resources will serve to increase your view of the Lord's Supper, give you a more joyful and expectant reception of it, and increase God's glory in your heart for giving us this amazing gift.

First, the recommended reading: There are some good books out there on the sacraments and some bad ones, so I would like to suggest a few that I think are good.

• Given for You by Keith A. Mathison: This is a book on the Reformation theology of the Lord's Supper, particularly John Calvin's work done on it and the Reformed changes since then. 
• John Owen on the Lord's Supper by Jon D. Payne: This book was written by my professor and is a short summary of the history of the British Puritan battle with the Church of England for a proper view of the Lord's Supper, a summary of Owen's theology on the subject, and 25 of Owen's pre-Lord's Supper sermons, which will bless your soul (if you read them slowly because of Owen's old English style of writing).
• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (Book 4, Chapters 14, 17-18): John Calvin's Institutes is one of the most, if not the most, influential Christian works of all time and for good reason. His writing on the sacraments and the Lord's Supper is wonderful. 

Second, my sermons: If you are interested in reading my sermons on the subject the links are below:

• Short, pre-Lord's Supper sermonette: This assignment was to write what I would say before giving the Lord's Supper in a worship service. This sermon is only two pages and is written as if I were actually giving the words of institution for the Lord's Supper during a service. 
• Longer, standard sermon: This sermon is a normal sermon that I would preach during a worship service on the subject of the Lord's Supper (with a few modifications since I wrote it to be preached to my class). Since it is a normal sermon it is a little longer--just over seven pages.

I pray that these resources would increase your view of the Lord's Supper and ultimately God's glory in giving this sacrament to us. 

By His Grace,

Taylor

Church II

I have come with one purpose
To capture for myself a bride 
By my life she is lovely 
By my death she’s justified 

I have always been her husband 
Though many lovers she has known 
So with water I will wash her 
And by my word alone 

So when you hear the sound of the water 
You will know you’re not alone 

Chorus:
‘Cause I haven’t come for only you
But for my people to pursue
You cannot care for me with no regard for her
If you love me you will love the Church

I have long pursued her 
As a harlot and a whore 
But she will feast upon me 
She will drink and thirst no more 

So when you taste my flesh and my blood 
You will know you’re not alone 

Chorus:
There is none that can replace her 
Though there are many who will try 
And though some may be her bridesmaids 
They can never be my bride

This song is by Derek Webb. He is a member of Caedmon's Call and also does side projects on his own. Caedmon's Call is one of my favorite bands and his solo stuff is also very good. I love the lyrics to his songs (and Caedmon's Call's songs) because they are so rich and have so many poetic allusions to biblical stories and/or doctrine. This one in particular I really like because of the bridge lyrics:

   So when you hear the sound of the water 

   You will know you’re not alone 

   ...

   So when you taste my flesh and my blood 

   You will know you’re not alone 

Seeing baptism and taking the Eucharist, among many other spiritual signs and symbols they represent, reminds me of the greater covenant community that Christians are a part of. The Eucharist is a covenant meal, which is an act of covenantal ratification much like the meal shared by the elders of Israel before God in Exodus 24. It proclaims Christ, seals the benefits of union to Christ in believers, spiritually nourishes the believer, and pledges the believer’s fidelity to Christ and His body. (I wrote a paper called "Covenant-Renewing Worship" that speaks some about this.) Baptism is a covenant sign that brings the children of believers, or new believers, into the covenant community so when you "hear" the water you know that you are not alone. 

Last week at church we had two baptisms: the baby of a member couple of the church and a believer's baptism of a young woman who had grown up Muslim (nominal Muslim, but Muslim none-the-less). Seeing both of those really encouraged me. When the baby was baptized I thought, "This is a lucky child because he will grow up in a covenant family that will love and support him." When the believer was baptized I thought, "She is now one of my own." I do not know her personally but she is now a professed Christian and part of the covenant community of the Church and just knowing that another has been brought into the Kingdom is encouraging. They were both encouraging because, like the song says, seeing them reminded me that I am not alone. Like John Wesley says, "Everyone who belongs to Jesus belongs to everyone who belongs to Jesus" (whether we like it or not). 

By His Grace,
Taylor