You're listening to Mountain View Church Audio, Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City, Whitehorse, UConn. Here's this week's message.
In many evangelical churches, including here at Mountain View, parents choose to dedicate their children. Most often, this is dedication for infants or toddlers, but it doesn't have to be. Although this isn't an official ordinance of the church, meaning it's not directly mandated in scripture, it's an important moment for parents to publicly declare their commitment to raise their child to follow Jesus. In a reciprocal commitment, it's a time for the local church to commit their support for the parents as they raise the child. All that being said, depending on your church background, child dedication may be a foreign concept for you. Perhaps instead of child dedication, your church tradition was to perform infant baptism, sometimes referred to as paedo-baptism or christening.
Maybe you have no church background whatsoever and you're new to church, new to Christianity. Whatever your background, I'm glad you're here. Today we enter into our second week of Ever Wonder Why. We're going to tackle the question, why child dedication? And the subsequent question, why not infant baptism? But first, I'd like to pause for a moment and say a big hello to everyone out there. Welcome to Mountain View Church. Whether you're joining us physically or from the comfort of your home or somewhere else, whether you're listening to us online or through a podcast or the radio, we're so glad you're here.
If you're interested in getting to know us better, check us out at mountainview.church slash connect. Shoot us a quick text to the number on the screen. And if you're in-house, fill out a connect card that's found under the seat in front of you and hand it into the welcome desk. Moving on to our little ones. We haven't forgotten about them. Every Sunday morning, we have a special program for children during our 9.30 and our 11 o'clock gatherings. It's the perfect place for your kids to have fun, to learn, to form friendships, all in a space that's set aside just for them. And if you're joining us online, we have downloadable video lessons and activities for the children at mountainview.church slash base camp.
Lastly, for the teenagers in the crowd, there's something special for you as well. Every Sunday evening, we have a youth program that happens between 6 and 8 p.m. It's a great way for you to explore your faith and meet your friends while having a good time. Now, grab your Bibles because it's time for this week's scripture reading. Hi, today I'm reading from Luke chapter 2, verses 22 to 35.
and when the time came for their purification according to the law of moses they brought him up to jerusalem to present him to the lord as it is written in the law of the lord every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the lord a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons now there was a man in jerusalem whose name was simeon and this man was righteous and devout waiting for the consolation of israel and the holy spirit was upon him and it had been revealed to him by the holy spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the lord's christ And he came in the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. As a caveat before I start unpacking this week's content, we're going to be discussing church traditions and structures, some of which you might have strong convictions about. I want to be clear that my desire today is not to offend. As I walk through today's content, I hope to present scriptural and historical evidence. I'm not placing judgment on your parents' choice to dedicate or baptize you as a child, nor am I placing any judgment on your choice to dedicate or baptize your child, and I'm not placing any judgment on your decision to avoid both of these practices. No judgment whatsoever. Although I'm going to lay out the biblical foundations and church traditions that have led me to practice child dedication over infant baptism,
my hope and prayer is that you will look through the evidence for yourself so that you can make an informed decision for your children. With that caveat in mind, let's travel back in time to the first century, to the early church period. From biblical and historical records, we know there was a purification ceremony for infant boys connected with their circumcision under Mosaic law. We just read about Jesus' purification from Luke chapter 2. That being said, following Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, there's no mention of a child dedication or an infant baptism.
The only ordinances mandated practices by Jesus and the apostles were communion and baptism of believing adults. So the obvious questions are why do some churches offer child dedication and why do some churches facilitate infant baptism? In a word, here it comes, tradition. Church tradition has played the biggest role in both of these practices. However, the decision for church leaders, like myself, to lean toward child dedication instead of infant baptism is rooted in a theological understanding around baptism in general. As we unpacked in the previous message, baptism, as described in the New Testament, was always focused on individuals who had reached an age of understanding to make a faith commitment for themselves. Both in Jesus' teaching and the apostles' teaching, there is always a connection between belief and baptism.
Once someone believes in the gospel and chooses to follow Christ, they are baptized to declare that belief. Again, we unpacked that in full last week. So if you missed it, you really should pause this video or audio, skip back, and take a look at all that before you continue today's message. Or you'll be lacking. You'll be missing stuff. That being said, here's a quick snapshot of the key verses from last week. Mark 16, 16 says, whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Moving ahead to the book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 38. Forward a little more in Acts to chapter 8, verse 12. Summed up, there is no account of Jesus telling parents to dedicate or baptize their children. There is no account of the apostles telling parents to dedicate or baptize their children. Although many scholars believe that a dedication ceremony for children likely carried over from Judaism into Christianity, it was never baptism. The early church understanding, as outlined in scripture, was always for an individual to believe and then choose for themselves to be baptized. But let's move on to the post-apostolic period in the second and third centuries.
Although we don't have any direct teaching on infant baptism from this time period, scholars believe the practice must have been surfacing at this time because we do have theological writings defending believers' baptism and speaking out against baptizing children. For example, theologian Tertullian of Carthage in modern-day Tunisia, who lived from 155 to 220 AD, presents the earliest recorded reference to early childhood baptisms, including infants, speaking out against the practice. He writes, According to the circumstances and disposition and even age of each individual, the delay of baptism is preferable, principally, however, in the case of little children. For why is it necessary, if baptism itself is not so necessary, that the sponsors likewise should be thrust into danger?
In modern terms, Tertullian was calling the church to delay baptism, especially for little children. He argued that because baptism is not necessary for salvation, it would be better to wait until the person receiving baptism can make a conscious choice for themselves. Tertullian cautioned against rushing into baptism, considering the spiritual implications involved for both the sponsors, as he put it, which is parents, grandparents, godparents, and the children being baptized. Despite early theologians like Tertullian advocating for believers' baptism, infant baptism continued to grow in popularity in some church structures. We now move to the late antiquity period between the 4th and 5th centuries. By this time, infant baptism had increased in popularity in practice. Much of it was related to a deep concern and ongoing debate on the theological concept known as original sin, which differs from sinful acts and behaviors. I'll try my best to explain these concepts, and then we'll come back to how they led to infant baptism.
Let's start with the sinful acts and behaviors, as they are the easier concept to understand. These are the decisions that a person willingly makes that are wrong. They break our relationships with other people, but more importantly, they break our relationship with God. The other component of sin is something called original sin, where every human being, stemming back to Adam and Eve, carries a sinful nature inside of them. Every person is born into a fallen state before God, separated.
The Apostle Paul, quoting Old Testament scripture, wrote, None is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. Later on in the chapter, he wrote, For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You see, without God's salvation plan, offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we remain forever lost in our sinful nature, living a life of sinful acts and behaviors eternally separated from God. The next question is, how does baptism fit into this whole picture? And why specifically the baptism of infants?
Well, as we all know, infants are unable to make conscious choices of right and wrong for themselves until an age of understanding, somewhere in early childhood. The big question related to sin centers on the stage of life between the child's conception until they're able to make those choices of right and wrong. If the child dies during that time, what happens to them? Do they go to heaven? Do they go to hell?
The hard truth is that scripture doesn't give us a clear answer. I know, it's not fun, is it? It's actually really hard. We don't know for sure what happens, and based on the biblical evidence, we're never going to know. It's a mystery that we need to faithfully leave with God, trusting in his grace and mercy. But that answer isn't good enough for most people, especially parents. It isn't the answer parents want now, and it wasn't the answer parents wanted in the fourth century. In the fourth century, a theologian named St. Augustine of Hippo, modern-day Algeria, who lived between 354 and 395 AD, he entered the baptism debate.
Based on his position related to original sin, he and other church leaders in his camp started calling for parents to have their infants baptized, to cleanse the child from their original sin, or their sinful nature, before they grew old enough to willingly commit sinful acts. I know it's a little hard to follow, but check out what Augustine wrote about this. Even infants, as soon as they are born, are included in the number of the human race, for they are born of flesh and blood and are the work of God. They are not yet capable of any sin because of their age, but they share in the condemnation of the old Adam through the bond of original sin transmitted by natural birth. They need to be baptized to be released from this bondage. Now, unfortunately, in my opinion, Augustine's theological understanding of baptism had already slipped before this point.
You see, Augustine had moved away from the New Testament teaching and attached the physical act of baptism to the spiritual gift of salvation. That was where he went wrong. If you watched last week's message, and I hope you did, we outlined Jesus' teaching and the apostles' teaching that an individual's belief in Christ is what saves them. It's the heart condition. For the early church, baptism always followed as an external sign of the internal belief.
The moment that Augustine attached baptism to salvation, the door was open for this false teaching and a false hope for parents that they could somehow wash away their child's sin. It's just not true. By the end of the fourth century, the increase in infant baptism led to a tradition that would come to be known as confirmation. The reality soon set in that personal belief still mattered and needed to be implemented into the child's life at some point. These church leaders eventually settled on the ages between 12 and 16. Confirmation would serve as a reaffirmation of their parents' decision to baptize them as a child, as well as a personal affirmation of their faith in Christ. Over time, the rituals associated with confirmation became more standardized, and they might include the individual taking their first communion, having hands laid on them by a clergy for prayer and blessing, or the anointing of oil on the individual.
By the 5th century, as Christianity spread north into Europe, infant baptism and confirmation had become standard practice, leading to official recognition during the Council of Carthage in 418 AD. Note that location, Carthage. It's interesting to me that 200 years prior, Tertullian of Carthage had been calling for the church to maintain believer's baptism as outlined in scripture. If he had lived long enough to attend this council, imagine his disbelief. Keep in mind that Tertullian was not the only defender of believers' baptism. There were many, many, many throughout the centuries. Although I took the time today to explain how infant baptism developed, believers' baptism, as taught by Jesus and the apostles, continued.
and continues today. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to walk through 1,500 years of debates that continued over baptism back and forth. The Reformation era alone could take hours. Instead, I'd like to fast forward. Fast forward to our modern time, where both believer's baptism and infant baptism still exist, depending on your church tradition and denomination. But let's come back to why Mountain View Church has chosen to dedicate children instead of baptizing them. I have three reasons. The first is to honor tradition without changing doctrine.
I can't ignore longstanding celebratory Judeo-Christian traditions that center on dedicating a child to the Lord. That being said, the ordinance of baptism should be sustained as a completely separate commitment, as mandated by Jesus and the apostles. My second reason is this, to make commitments without adding confusion. It's a positive thing for parents to make a public commitment to raise their child to follow Jesus. It's also a positive thing for a local church to make a reciprocal commitment to support parents and pray for their family.
There's no need to add baptism to this commitment. History has proved that it only brings confusion about the eternal significance for the child. It's not worth it. My last reason is to offer blessing without false hope. It shouldn't be a surprise that parents want assurance of their child's salvation, but no pastor, minister, or priest can provide that.
The greatest risk of infant baptism is that it leaves the door open for false hope. In contrast, during child dedication, the clergy offers a prayerful blessing over the child and the family, asking the Lord for guidance, that God might draw the child to himself when they reach the age of understanding. In humility and submission, we place the future of the child in God's hands, trusting him for all eternal outcomes. At Mountain View Church, we believe and acknowledge that children are a blessing from the Lord. Every child that enters this world is a cause for celebration in every family, and it should be in the local church as well. Therefore, we choose to celebrate and make commitments to the Lord, not because we have to, but because we want to. With that being said, let's pray. Dear Father, we thank you for children. We thank you that you've given them to us. They are a blessing. We thank you for every new generation that you provide. As parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends, we want to support these children. We want to show them the way of the gospel.
and teach them about your son Jesus. Help us do that. This whole journey over centuries between child dedication and infant baptism and the ceremonies around that, Father, forgive us if we have gone astray, if we've missed the main thing, which is the death and resurrection of your son and our salvation through him. I pray that you would continue to guide us as a church and guide other church leaders that might be listening and watching that we might make the right decisions. For parents out there that are thinking about dedicating their child, making that commitment. Father, I pray that you would help them study for themselves and research on their own, that they might make the best decision for their family, for their child. Father, help me continue to shepherd well in this area. In Jesus' name, amen. You are loved. You are loved by the very hands that painted the stars and set the planets into motion. You are not a coincidence. He chose you to exist in this very moment. You are not a drop of water in the ocean. You are seen and you are loved. You were handpicked by the King of Kings.
He knit you together in your mother's womb. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He is your father and you are his child. He delights at the opportunity of talking with you. No height or depth can separate you from the love of God. His love is endless, like the depths of the seas. It's a love that stands firm when you are at your lowest. His love is full of grace and compassion. You are loved without conditions. You are deeply cherished and loved by the one who created you. Take in the peace, knowing that you are a loved child of the King. Let that love guide you, empower you.
and fill your heart with joy. His love has no beginning and no end. The love of God will always be. You are and have always been dearly loved. If you would like to know more about child dedication, or perhaps you've decided that you would like to dedicate your child, visit mountainview.church slash connect or text connect to the number on the screen, or you can drop us a message on social or whatever platform you happen to be watching or listening to this message. For our covenant members, please note that we have an AGM scheduled for Thursday, April 25th at 6 p.m. at Mountain View Church. We'll have a time of prayer and worship and take communion together before we work through a few ministry decisions. Next up, a few weeks ago, we announced that our pastoral apprentice, Elijah Aschenko, will be starting a permanent full-time pastoral role in Kimberly, B.C.
this May. To make sure everyone has a chance to say goodbye, we're hosting a farewell open house for the Ischenko family between 9 a.m. and noon on Saturday, April 27th, right here at Mountain View Church. If you would like to help set up or take down or maybe provide food or beverage for this event, please email admin at mountainview.church. That's admin at mountainview.church.
Good morning, Mountain Dew. My name is Haley. I'd love to invite you to our Young Adults Gathering this afternoon. It's going to be at 3.30. We're meeting at the church to have some hot chocolate and then go walk on the Millennium Trail. So if you're below 35, that's our age cap for young adults. We'd love to see you there. So come just get your steps in for the day, have some delicious hot chocolate, make a new friend. It's going to be great. Happy Sunday.
Now it's time for our discussion and prayer focus. Turn to the person you're sitting with or text a friend. How does the historical development of child dedication and infant baptism influence your perspective? How does the historical development of child dedication and infant baptism influence your perspective? After you've had a chat, take some time to pray for specific parents and children in our congregation or in your congregation. We need to pray for our parents and our children. Pray for that next generation.
Make sure you do that today. Make sure you do that this week. And we will see you next week for fellowship. Why fellowship? It's a strange word that comes up a lot in Christianity. What does it mean? What's it all about? We're going to get into it. See you then.