Baptism & Confirmation
Minister’s Letter – 3/3/2022
I’m pleased to let you know that we have booked our Bishop, Michael Stead, to lead a Confirmation Service in November later this year. This is an opportunity for those baptised as infants to affirm the Christian faith in which they were brought up. Likewise those who were baptised as teenagers or adults may wish to take the chance to again profess their faith publicly. Our Bishop leads us in praying over them that God’s indwelling Spirit will strengthen and guide them in following Jesus as Lord. Even now you could advise a minister, if you (or your teenage child, generally Yr 10+) is interested.
Of course, Confirmation is a useful human tradition. It is the prior baptism in water that Jesus commanded. And so if you have decided to trust and follow Jesus, the more important thing is to be baptised, rather than confirmed.
So what is baptism and why might it matter? After all, Paul says he wasn’t sent to baptise, but to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17). Yet Jesus did command us – in his ‘Great Commission’ no less (Matthew 28:19) – to “make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
The early church situation recorded in Acts tells us what happened with first generation Christians. Adults were baptised in water when they converted to Christ. (The New Testament mentions several times that when the head of a home believed, the whole household was baptised. The implications for infants are for another day.)
But what does the baptism symbolise? In the Bible, baptism is mainly a sign not of what we do in professing our faith, but of what God does, through uniting us with Christ, especially in his death and resurrection. Romans 6:3-4 states:
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Think about those sentences as you imagine someone going under the water – dying – and then, thankfully re-emerging – rising again! In addition, the water in baptism can be connected to cleansing from sin. 1 Peter 3:21 makes the comment that:
“…this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”
What a great chance baptism gives us to picture God’s gifts in the gospel! If you have decided to follow Christ, but haven’t been baptised, please speak to a minister today. We would be delighted to discuss this significant step with you.
Warmly in Christ,
Sandy Grant, Dean of Sydney