Old Sandals

O Lord, You are my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. Ps. 16:5-6

You, O Lord. My Lord. My Adonai. My inheritance. You yourself. Eternal in glory, yet tangible on earth. Invisible, yet the Father of lights. The God and Father of my—our!—Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, 
Christ on my right, Christ on my left.
(From the Lorica of St. Patrick)

But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. 2 Kings 21:9

The story of Israel is a saga of failure, even though a few were found faithful.

The LORD is the transcendent God, the infinite God, the High and Holy One inhabiting eternity, and yet He is not unfeeling, uncaring, un-acting. The wrath of the LORD is not an abstraction, nor, thankfully, is His mercy.

However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.  So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 2 Kings 17:29-33

They “feared” the Lord, yet served their own gods!

And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. 2 Kings 17:17-18

The Lord is longsuffering, and very forgiving. But let the rebellious beware lest by their continual rebellion they frustrate the grace of God, and ensure their own damnation by so doing.

The faith was once for all delivered to the saints. I’m just one of them, sitting somewhere in that great assembly, as it were, amazed at the greatness of God my (our) Savior.

Little one, for you Jesus Christ came into the world:
For you He lived and showed God’s love;
For you He suffered the darkness of Calvary
And cried at the last, “It is finished”;
For you He triumphed over death
And rose in newness of life;
For you He ascended to reign at the Father’s right hand.
All this He did for you, little one,
Though you do not know it yet.
And so the word of Scripture is fulfilled;
“We love because God loved us first.”

Baptismal liturgy, French Reformed Church

An awe-full mystery is here
To challenge faith and waken fear
The Savior comes as food divine
Concealed in earthly bread and wine.

How dull are all the pow’rs of sense
Employed on proofs of love immense!
The richest food remains unseen
And highest gifts appear—how mean!

Matthias Loy
1880

Dearest Jesus, we are here
Gladly Thy command obeying
With this child we now draw near
In accord with Thine own saying
That to Thee (s)he shall be given
As a child and heir of heaven.

Therefore hasten we to Thee
In our arms this infant bearing
Let us here Thy glory see
Let this child, Thy mercy sharing
In Thine arms be shielded ever
Thine on earth and Thine forever.

Benjamin Schmoick
1704

The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.  Psalm 121:6

Truth is absolute, to be sure, but it is more like a circle than a square. It is multi-dimensional; it is not flat.

What is the “three-dimensional” truth about baptism? Baptismal regeneration? If three-dimensional, then it’s “both and” rather than “either or”. Even so, it’s helpful to think about what baptism is not. Truth may be more like a circle than a square, but it’s a circle with edges.

Baptism is not an ordinance. Baptism is a sacrament.

Baptism is not something we do for God. Baptism is something God does for us.

“Baptism…now saves you.” (1 Peter 3:21) Baptism is not salvific ipso facto. It is Christ who saves us ipso facto.

We are not saved by the sacrament of baptism. We are saved through the sacrament of baptism.

In the case of infants, baptism is not a promise to be fulfilled in the future. Baptism actually delivers the promise which a nurtured faith clings to.

Baptism is not a corporate experience. Baptism is a personal experience. “I baptize you…”

Baptism is not majic. Its benefit is not ex opere operato. Many who have been baptized will be lost.

The communication [of attributes] is actual, because Christ is a single person, and it is Christ’s person, as both God and man, who is the agent behind all his works that the natures enable.