This morning, I invite you to turn with me to Acts chapter 2 again. Last Sunday evening, we considered verse 38 of Acts chapter 2 in connection with Lord's Day 26, the first Lord's Day dealing with baptism. And this morning, I consider with you verse 39 of Acts chapter 2, also in connection with Lord's Day 27, which deals more specifically, at least one of the questions and answers, with infant baptism. So we're going to read again the same portion we read last week, verses 14 through 41 of Acts chapter 2. And again, you recall that the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon God's people and the disciples were accused of being drunk on wine. Beginning at verse 14 as we hear now the Word of God. Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd, Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you. Listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning. No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Men of Israel, listen to this. Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him, I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will live in hope because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence. Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried. And his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ. That he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life. And we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted His message were baptized. And about 3,000 were added to their number that day. There we end with a reading of God's holy word. May He add His blessing to it. Please turn with me in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 35 in the appended pages of the Psalter hymnal where we find Lord's Day 27. Lord's Day 27. Three questions and answers on that page. To which together we give testimony to what we believe. Page 35, Lord's Day 27. Question 72 asks, Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins? No. Only Jesus Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing way of sins? God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, he wants to assure us by this divine pledge and sign that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water. Should infants too be baptized? Yes, infants as well as adults are in God's covenant and are His people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision. which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is fitting on this Lord's Day morning as we as a congregation have had the privilege to witness together the sacrament of baptism be administered to little Alana. It's fitting that we consider together then what the Word of God has to teach us about infant baptism. And some, of course, will say, well, nothing. It has nothing to teach us about infant baptism because it's silent about it and therefore it's a mistake to baptize infants. It shouldn't be done. And we must say that there is no direct command in Scripture to baptize infants. So then we need to ask, well, why did we do this? Why did we baptize little Alana Jane this morning? Why do we baptize the infants who are born to the believers of this congregation? Did we do it because we believe that baptism saves, boys and girls, the water that we actually see in here? The water that I like to play with and really pour on the head of the children? That sign? Do we do that because we believe that that water itself actually washes away sin and therefore baptism actually saves one? No. We believe it doesn't. We just confess to that. Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins? No. Only Jesus Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins. Well, did we baptize this child because we believe that, okay, baptism itself doesn't save, but yet, without being baptized, one cannot be saved? In other words, baptism is then like some sort of a lucky charm? Is that why we did it? No. That's not the reason either. Did we baptize this infant daughter of Chris and Heidi because Chris and Heidi thought it would be a nice thing to do and it would be a nice family time for them? Would it be a good thing to do? No. We baptized this child because God says so. And again, there's the objection. Well, there is no verse in Scripture that says we have to do that. that we ought to do that. But to be fair, there's no verse in Scripture that says we ought not to do it either. And that itself isn't the reason for doing it. But because of the teaching of the Word of God, what God teaches us about His covenant and the sign and seal of that covenant promise in the Old Testament and also in the New Testament, because of what God teaches us about the place of believers and their children, We believe wholeheartedly that our children ought to be baptized. This child is set apart by God for God. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 verse 14 says, For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. Did you hear that? it's by virtue of the belief of the parent that the children are considered to be set apart. And only one parent. If both parents are unbelievers, the children are not set apart as holy. But if only one parent believes, then children are considered to be set apart. Now, we need to understand that the word sanctified there does not mean what we often understand sanctification to mean. That process of cleansing by the Holy Spirit by which the pollution of sin is removed more and more from your heart and my heart. The word sanctified is used in another powerful way in Scripture many, many times. And as it is here, it simply means to be set apart. To be consecrated. To be placed in a sacred, favorable position. God says, I give My covenant promise and the sign and seal of that covenant promise. I give it to believers and their seed. Peter, in verse 39, says, And the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. Now, I trust that was also good news for these new Christians. We said last week, you may recall, that from verse 38, repent for the forgiveness of sins, that that was great news for these people who had been cut to the heart, who had been convicted of their sin of putting to death the Lord of glory. Such good news. But there was more good news. Good news for their children. Their children are not left behind. But their children are included in the promise which is possessed. The promise which is a possession. Well, what is it? What is that promise? Well, we need to back up to verse 38. A little bit of a review. Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's God's comforting promise of forgiveness. And of course, that implies the whole of salvation from regeneration to glorification, but we need to be forgiven of all of our sins, that which separates us from God. We need those forgiven. And that comforting promise of forgiveness, beloved, belongs to the believer because of the work of Jesus Christ which He alone accomplished and that work then which is applied to you and me by the Holy Spirit. Again, the context we know is Pentecost. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit through whom Jesus Christ provided for the ongoing ministry of this church. In other words, no Holy Spirit and no work of Jesus Christ applied to you and applied to me. His work then would be for nothing. But the Holy Spirit of God is the one promised by Jesus Christ who would take from what is Christ's, Jesus said, and make it known to you. And Paul in Ephesians 1 says, having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal. The promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. A deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. God's promise to those who believe is an intimate relationship between God and His people through the work of Jesus Christ. And that includes the forgiveness of our sins being washed in the blood of Jesus. And it includes the renewal of life, being washed by the Holy Spirit. And the sign of that promise again, the sign and seal of that promise we know, is baptism. Baptism actually, answer 73 kind of echoes again what we considered in answer 69. Christ instituted 69, this outward washing, and with it gave the promise that as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and His Spirit wash away my souls in purity. In other words, all my sins. And again in 73, He wants to assure us by this divine pledge and sign that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water. Boys and girls, you know that water washes dirt off your body. You know that. You've seen it happen to you. And what God is telling you and me that just as certainly as that is true, For those who believe in Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus washes the dirt of our sin clear away. And Peter shows in Acts 2, verses 38 and 39, that there is a direct relationship between the promise of God and baptism. Well, whose is it? For whom is that promise? Again, there's controversy, isn't there? Some say that baptism is only for believers. It's only for those who already have true faith and have already professed that faith because the Bible does say, repent and be baptized. The Bible does not command us to baptize infants who do not and cannot yet repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But you see, beloved, there's confusion with regard to that promise. There's a confusion with regard to what a promise is. See, a promise is just that. It's a promise. It's words. It's not yet the thing promised. It's not yet that which the promise points forward to. Baptism is a sign and seal of God's promise of forgiveness. But baptism itself is not that forgiveness. we need to think in terms of covenant. We know that God entered into, He established a covenant relationship with His people already in the Old Testament, I mean, before the fall with Adam and Eve, the covenant of works. Obey and live. Disobey and die. And of course, we know what happened. They disobeyed. And death came. But God's covenant of grace was already spoken of in those beautiful words about the seed of the woman coming to crush the head of the seed of the serpent. But it's more clearly outlined in Genesis 17 with Abraham, verse 7. I will establish, the Lord says, I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And a few verses later, the obligations of that covenant are spelled out. Verses 9-12, then God said to Abraham, As for you, you must keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you, for the generations to come. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner, those who are not your offspring. We see that the circumcision was the visible sign and seal of the covenant. The visible sign and seal of being set apart from the nations of the world and being set apart as a part of God's chosen people. And whom did it include? Infants. Children. Baby boys were to be circumcised and baby girls were by virtue of their father's circumcision. Beloved God established His covenant with families, with generations. And the very same covenant with Abraham has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ with the promises and the blessings of that covenant passed on to those who are in Christ. Paul says in Galatians 3, and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. And in the New Testament dispensation, there is a new sign, A new seal. As circumcision was a bloody sign and seal of the promises of the covenant in the Old Testament, baptism is the watery sign and seal of the promises of the covenant in the New Testament. Paul says in Colossians 2, beginning at verse 11, in Him you were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, in other words, the Old Testament kind, but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. Brothers and sisters, there's continuity from the Old Testament to the New Testament. There's continuity in God's covenant with His people And part of that continuity is seen in that infants and children of believers have never been excluded. It's not a matter of have they been included. They've never been excluded. They've always been a part of God's covenant. They have always been given the sign and seal of God's covenant promise. The early New Testament church is largely silent on this because it was done. i remember reading some a little bit about the early church fathers and and there wasn't much said about infant baptism in those early years except to say that about those who did complain about it because there were a few who thought that it shouldn't be done why because it was being done it was being done by the apostles already and it was carried on and of course we read about household baptisms in the new testament and again they would say well yeah but that that that doesn't necessarily mean they were little infants and those who didn't understand the children of those households were those who were old enough to understand and believe already but as someone has rightly i believe observed that the word household there is like takes on the same significance as our word family if you go to someone and say how is your family you don't mean just how is your spouse but when we say how is your family we mean how are your children How are your grandchildren? In verse 39, Peter says, the promise is for you. Very clearly talking about adults who repented. They received the sign of the promise, namely baptism, having claimed by faith the thing promised. That thing being forgiveness in Christ, claiming that it's real. But they are not the only possessors of that promise. Peter says, and your children. And just as the children of the Israelites were included in that visible covenant relationship with God in the Old Testament and received very clearly the visible sign of circumcision, separating them from the other nations in the very same way God says that children of those who believe in Jesus Christ from Pentecost on are visibly included in the church and in the covenant relationship. He gives our children His promise. And therefore, they are also to be given the visible sign and seal of that promise, namely baptism. Through baptism, God shows who are marked off as His and to them He gives the most wonderful promise if you believe in Jesus Christ. You are forgiven, washed clean of all your sins. The children possess as their very own God's promise. That promise is real to them. They own it. Again, not necessarily the thing promised. That is not theirs until they claim it by faith, by the grace of God. And this does not mean that our children understand at an early age what all of this means, and it does not mean that our children are saved. Now, boys and girls and young people, please, please, please hear this and understand this in case you have a misunderstanding. Just because you were baptized as an infant does not mean that you are automatically saved. And don't assume that it does. There is a responsibility, as we'll talk about in just a moment. But the point is, as a Christian parent, I am saying that I believe God at His Word. He is saying that the thing promised belongs to me when I believe. And the promise of the thing belongs to my children even right now. See, infant baptism is God's promise. It's a glorious promise. It's not, first of all, our dedication of our children to God. We do make promises. Chris and Heidi did that again this morning. But our promise, you see, is nothing without God's promise first. Our promise as parents must flow from God's promise. I read a story of a missionary who some years ago was trying to convince, persuade a Christian Navajo woman to have her baby baptized. And finally, he pointed over to her sheep and picked out a small one, a baby one, and said, why did you mark that little lamb? Because it's mine, she said. Why is it yours? Well, because the mother is mine. And therefore, her young are mine also. He said, it is so with Christ. You have confessed belonging to Him, and therefore, your child is also His. Now, we must confess and admit that there's also a discontinuity here, and that is that this visible promise, This visible mark, baptism, is not made to every child in the world. Again, if both parents are unbelievers, we don't baptize their children. Even those who were baptized themselves as infants, they might walk away from the church. And sometimes when they have a child, they want that child baptized, even though they have no part in the life of the church. We don't baptize that child. That visible sign and seal is not given to every child in the world. As the Catechism makes clear, baptism is administered to distinguish children of believers from children of unbelievers just as circumcision did in the Old Testament. Baptism as circumcision draws a line in the sand between believers and their children and unbelievers and their children. Baptism is a gracious privilege. It's not to be ignored. It's, as Peter says, for all whom the Lord will call. there is to be a distinction. And this distinction then points to the responsibility which is received. And there is a responsibility, beloved, on the part of both of the parents and the children. There is a parental responsibility which is implied, first of all, by the very nature of the parent-child relationship. That's the created order of things. The Bible says in Proverbs, train up a child in the way that he should go. And parents, teach your children, instruct them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And on the child's part, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother. But with regard to the parental responsibility, the baptismal promise gives parents direction. In answer 64, because of the promise of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, it says, Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. received into the Christian church. Distinguished. Now those things mean something. Baptism is a sign and seal of being set apart in the visible church. Boys and girls and young people, it means the church on this earth, like this church here in this place. The visible church. Which we know is filled with both believers and unbelievers. But that comes with the promise of God that you will be grafted into the invisible church which is only believers. when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the parents promise to instruct. As we were reminded, the form says, do you promise and intend to instruct this child as soon as she is able to understand? And the aforesaid doctrine, and cause her to be instructed to the utmost of your power. Cause her to be instructed. To instruct her. That's a responsibility, a heavy responsibility. And of course, that's accomplished, we know, by Christian instruction in the home, in the Christian school, and also in the faith in the church. And as Deuteronomy 6 makes it clear to us, this is to be at all times, in all places, in all opportunities, and all circumstances. And it's a two-part covenant, you see. The promise of baptism is not one-sided. It's not the promise of a free ride without repentance. As Dr. R.C. Sproul says, if that were the case, he'd be out there with a fire hose spraying everybody he could see. But it's not a promise of a free ride without repentance. It's not a lucky charm to save. But it points to a relationship with God. God says in Leviticus 26, I will be your God. But He doesn't stop there. He says, and you shall be My people. What does it mean to be the people of God? It means to worship and to serve and to obey Him by the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit. God's promise comes with a responsibility, a challenge, a burden. He calls from His people a response. Parents are to respond by teaching their children what baptism means. and children, as you grow up, you are to ask your parents, what does my baptism mean? No doubt, some of you, especially boys and girls, if you were sitting near the back this morning, you were stretching around the big people in front of you to try to see that water as it was sprinkled on the head of this little child this morning. Go home and ask your moms and dads, what does that mean? Was I baptized? What does it mean? Parents are to teach our children that they are conceived and born in sin. That they deserve eternal death. That they deserve to go to hell. That's the bad news. But you see, there's good news. We are to teach them by the grace of God they are also children of promise. And God has promised that if you believe in Jesus Christ who was perfectly obedient for you, who has paid for all your sins, then all of your sins are forgiven and you are right with God. That's what we need the most. to be right with God. And the Holy Spirit cleanses you. Brothers and sisters, we need to remember that our baptism, young or old, but our baptism is to be raised daily. We are not to ignore it like some paid-up insurance policy and only collect on it when we think it's time. But when your children ask you, why can't we do this or that? Why can't we participate in certain worldly activities like our neighbors do? Or why do we do things that our neighbors won't do? Then parents, you must answer them, because you were baptized. God has set you apart. You have His mark on you and that means that you are different. And you are to be different. You are to be distinguished from the world. You are a part of the church. You are a part of the covenant community. You are not a part of the world. Parents, we are to teach our children. Grandparents, too, teach grandchildren how to be and why we are to be distinguished from the world. And those who are in that covenant relationship with God must wrestle with the question, what does it mean that God made me a promise and calls for me a life? But children, boys and girls and young people, you have a responsibility, too. You as one who possesses that promise. You as one whom your parents have promised to teach and train in the way of the Lord. You must understand that you have been given a real promise. God has given to you a real promise in baptism. It's not an empty promise. It's not a meaningless promise. It's not a fake promise like we often make to each other. But it's the promise of life. And with that promise, God calls for a response. For example, if your parents promise to give you an allowance, if you clean your room or if you do certain chores, if you don't do the work for which that allowance was promised, then you don't get the allowance. But that doesn't mean that your parents wronged you. It doesn't mean that they broke their promise. It doesn't mean that they lied about it or that they were unjust. It doesn't mean that the promise was no good. if one who has been baptized never believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and never gives their life to the Lord Jesus Christ and never lives for Him, that one is not saved. That one does not have their sins forgiven. And that doesn't mean that God's promise was bad. It doesn't mean that it was faulty or that it failed or that it wasn't sincere? Now, with our parents, even if you do your chores, your parents might fail to give you your allowance that they promised. And they break their promise. But God never will, as Peter says in verse 21, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Not maybe. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. One will be saved if they believe. Call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, a great privilege has been given to the children and the young people of this congregation and to all those who have believing parents. That privilege is of the promise of God and the tools by God's grace to lead you to claim that promise. As you are surrounded with a Christian influence and example and instruction where the Word of God is central. All of that earned by our Lord Jesus Christ because our obedience failed, but baptism points us to God's promise of our hope in the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ who kept all the obligations of the covenant perfectly and because of that, we receive all the benefits that He has earned and that's marked to you in your baptism. What a promise! But indeed, God calls from you a life and from me. Young people and boys and girls, you were called to live within the boundaries of the covenant. in obedience to God and to live for His glory, loving Him above all and your neighbor as yourself. You are called to live with a daily reminder that you belong to Him, that you have been set apart for God. You are called to live expecting your parents, expecting your parents to remind you, don't forget to whom you belong. You are called to live a lifestyle that distinguishes you from unbelievers. Yes, it is to be visible. As uncomfortable as it may be sometimes, it is to be visible. And that's for all of us, isn't it? And you are called to live with a warning of the Word of God to those who reject Jesus Christ, but know better. We know that there are many who in history never had the opportunity to hear about the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. And as hard as it may be for us to understand or accept, they are lost forever. But in a sense, there's almost even more danger, we might say, for those who have received the promise of God and have been taught of that promise and who have heard the Word of God. They know better, but they reject it. The Bible says, to him who has been given much, much will be required. And Jesus says in John 15 that the branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off. You see, boys and girls and young people, you have the responsibility as anyone who hears the promise of the Gospel god expects you to believe it god expects you to claim it as your own and god expects you to live for him so why as believers are we to baptize our infant children is it because they're saved no we don't know that yet that's no reason to withhold it from them it's god's promise and he can do with it what he wants do we do it because they already have professed their faith No, little Alana we know can cry, but she can't even speak yet. And to say that they must do that, to say that they must first profess their faith before they receive God's promise is to make His promise dependent on their confession. That puts man in charge. Indeed, we trust Him, don't we parents, to bring them to that point. As parents, we are to expect that God will bring them to repentance and faith. It might not be in our lifetime. It might cause us great hardship. But yet we are to expect it. We don't know for sure, but God says expect it. We baptize because God says so. He says, my promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom I will call. The question of baptism is, does God have the right to give His promise to whomever He chooses? And the answer is yes. And He gives it to believers and to their children. And He gives it with His sign and His seal, namely baptism. And in baptism He says, You are mine. Now remember to whom you belong. Amen. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we praise Your most holy name for the covenant that You have made with Your people. For the precious sign and seal of Your promise included in that covenant. For the assurance to know that Your promise is not a bad promise. There's nothing faulty about it. But it's true. It's sincere. You mean what you say. And you also mean what you say when you say, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins. And believe in Him and you will be saved. Father, sometimes these things are a little bit hard to understand. But we pray that You will continue to teach us and instruct us, we with our children that they too may understand that precious promise and be led by your Holy Spirit to be brought to that point when they say, Yes, I understand. I believe. I'm saved. We praise your name, O Lord, for your gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. To you alone be the glory and the honor and the praise forever and ever. Amen. Thank you.