Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":
How do we explain baptism to children? In order for it to be meaningful they need to understand.
What is the great pre-requisite? “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark
Paul’s explanation in Romans 6 (“we are buried with [Christ] by baptism into death”) is connected with Romans 5; that’s where he makes clear what to believe. It’s this:
(a) The love that God has to us “while we were still sinners” (vss. 5-8).
(b) We were “justified” by His dying for us (vs. 9).
(c) He died because of our “offences” and was raised again for us to be declared “justified” (
(d) The “wrath” that we are “saved from” is not the Father’s (vs. 9; He loved us so much He gave His Son for us! Some modern translations insert what is not in the original Greek). The idea that the Father is mad at us and Jesus pacifies Him is not biblical.
(e) The Father didn’t need to be reconciled to us; we were reconciled to Him (vs. 10). The apostles “implore” us to let our angry hearts be reconciled to Him (2 Cor.
(f) From now on life is “joy” (Rom.
(g) Adam passed on to us our fallen, sinful nature; but the much more abounding grace of Christ is “out of all proportion” to the evil that Adam did to us (vs. 15,
(h) Over and over Paul says that what Christ did for us is the “gift” of salvation—not its mere offer (vss. 15, 16).
(i) The “believing” that Jesus says is necessary for baptism is a heart-felt thanks for this “gift” (6:1-13).
(j) Children can appreciate the love of Christ.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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