The Fruits of Holy Baptism (1)

Abasement (Humility)

In congregations blessed with many children, Holy Baptism is celebrated regularly. Baptism is a sacrament with a multipurpose meaning.

It is not heard so often from God’s children that the administration of baptism is used for the strengthening of their faith; that is much more often heard with the administration of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. What would be the reason for this? Do we have insufficient light on the rich meaning of this sacrament? Or has the instruction regarding this sacrament been placed in the background? With the use of the Form for Baptism we will try to look somewhat further at some of the fruits of this godly instituted form.

Visible sign

The form begins by pointing out our impure conception and birth. We use water to wash away the filthiness of our bodies. In this, baptism is a token or visible sign that makes an invisible matter clear. The token of water makes it visible that our souls and the souls of our children are impure. This serves as a preaching to the parents. Why are the children impure? Because the parents are impure. Our children are impure because of our guilt which we inherited from our parents. This brings us back to Paradise. Before the Fall, baptism was not necessary because there was no impurity.

How blind we are by nature for our impurity. We neither see it nor do we feel it, but, now, just look at the water in baptism. The water has also been sprinkled upon your forehead. If we do not believe it out of the Word, then let the water of baptism convince us that we are loathsome from the hour of our conception.

When this is learned, it works abasement. What a precious fruit of grace this abasement is. There is no greater wonder than when a proud and haughty person is abased. Then we learn to accept, acknowledge, and bewail our impurity. Oh, that sorrow! It is not only this evil (my daily sins) which calls for punishment; no, “I was shapen in iniquity.”

Because of my impurity I also lie under God’s wrath. A holy God cannot have any communion with sin and unrighteousness. He must remove us from before His countenance. He hates all unrighteousness. That leads to a deeper humbling, for this means that I have been placed outside of the fellowship with God. Whoever is taught this experimentally will cry out to God for mercy.

Outside of ourselves

How busy a person can be in seeking purification within himself, but he will never find it there; at least it is hoped one does not. The Pharisee will find it in himself, but that will lead to an eternal disappointment. The truly convinced soul, however, will find only greater impurity within. The water of baptism teaches one to seek his or her purification and cleansing outside of himself or herself.

Then all of my piety is put aside. All of my tears are insufficient to wash away my impurity. Then all of my work activities do not remove even a one-hundredth portion of my impurities. Seeking souls, look towards the water of baptism. Reflect on the water which was sprinkled upon your forehead when you were babes. It preaches to you that you must seek your salvation outside of yourself.

To the more exercised children of the Lord—with this you must daily learn to be exercised —to daily seek your purification and salvation outside of yourself; to daily take refuge in the basin of Jesus’ blood. We have once heard from one of God’s exercised children that she with all her depravity could daily take refuge in the blood of her Saviour. Is that not a precious fruit of the sacrament of Holy Baptism?

(To be continued)

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