To Begin at the Beginning by Copenhaver Martin B.;

Author:Copenhaver, Martin B.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

CHAPTER 8

Baptism with Water and the Spirit

This is how William Willimon describes a baptism in a typical American church in the late twentieth century:

A young mother phones the church office and asks to have her new baby “done” next Sunday. One of the baby’s aunts will be in town that weekend and it would be nice to have her there. The pastor hesitates for a few moments before responding, since he only sees the baby’s mother in church occasionally and has yet to meet the father whom the mother describes as “not the church going type.” But, since everybody will be in town this weekend and since the pastor feels that he could not begin to explain to the couple why he feels uncomfortable baptizing their baby, the pastor agrees to “do” the baby during the next Sunday’s service.

“We’re already having a rather full service next Sunday because we’re in the middle of our fall stewardship emphasis and the choir has planned two anthems. Maybe we ought simply to do it after the service rather than unduly prolong things,” says the pastor. “Oh well, we can wedge the sprinkling in during the first part of the service—before the baby gets restless. You bring her down Sunday.”1

Baptism was not always done this way. Hippolytus, who lived in the third century and was known as the “chief of the bishops of Rome,” gives a full description of baptism in the early church that reveals some of the differences. Those desiring to be baptized would spend three years as catechumens (that is, “hearers”), during which time they would be guided through an arduous process of instruction and examination. During this period, the primary emphasis was disciplined training into the ethical expectations of the church. It was assumed that entrance into the church necessarily involved a change of lifestyle and behavior. Candidates had to show evidence of conversion (literally, a “turnaround”).

During this period, catechumens were allowed to attend the first part of Sunday worship, in which the Scripture was read and the sermon was preached, but they were dismissed before the Lord’s Supper, and they were not allowed to pray with the faithful. Almost three years later, catechumens were examined. This examination was not a matter of providing right answers, but of living righteous lives. The elders of the church were interested in knowing if the catechumens were sharing with those in need, visiting the sick, and in other ways fulfilling the demands on those who would follow Jesus. Those who passed the examination were admitted as candidates for baptism.

A few weeks before Easter, the instruction turned from moral instruction to teaching about the gospel. Having been attracted to the life exhibited by those who followed Jesus, the candidates were now invited to drink deeply from the same source. It was a period of intense preparation. They were led in the study of Scripture and explanation of the Apostles’ Creed. They fasted regularly. On Good Friday the candidates entered a strict fast that did not end until Easter morning.

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