July 13, 2018
Ephesians 1:11-14…“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;” vs. 13
It’s likely no accident that the words of this verse remind us of what is said following baptism in many of our congregations, “You have been marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit.” From the very beginning this has been the whole point of being received into the Church through Holy Baptism. It’s our mark of authenticity, like a Good Housekeeping seal that we wear on our foreheads throughout our lives. Baptism is the one thing that we can’t mess up because it’s entirely the work of God, a magnificent sign of grace and unconditional love. Of course, because we’re human we can get confused, and sometimes even attach conditions for baptism into Christ. Because many come to baptism through faith, it’s tempting to think it’s only for those who are already believers, and even today’s verse seems to back that up. But in that case, infant baptisms would be invalid and we’d lose the most spectacular celebrations of grace we can ever see: the regular baptisms of infants in worship! It’s just best not to fight about such things. Of course faith is important. Through faith, parents bring their children for baptism. Through faith we remain connected to Jesus. But grace is the linchpin! Whatever age baptism comes, it’s always the seal of God’s grace!
Thought for the Day: What blessing does remembering baptism bring?
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