The Age Old Question

"Pastor, I know we are forgiven of our sins in baptism, as you say, but how?"

After a two-hour lecture this morning on the Theology and Practice of Holy Baptism in our Lutheran Church, Meshack, a young evangelist asked me this age old question.

It was perfect.  The perfect question to end the lecture with.  The perfect question to help answer Helena's earlier question about why we baptize infants and other denominations do not.

It was perfect because I could reiterate and emphasize the point of NOT UNDERSTANDING how we are forgiven or why, but that it is simply a gift to be received - regardless of age or understanding.

These students are literally like sponges - they hang on every word I say - and write hurriedly to keep up with me.  However, they do stop me when they do not agree or when our cultural practices/traditions seem to clash.  I am thankful for this accountability as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify and explain why we do as we do in our western culture of Lutheranism and why that practice may or may not work or be perceived as appropriate in their Tanzanian culture.

They have many questions about different denominational practices and theologies and they are very well read in their Bibles.  When I stated how it is at Baptism that our journey of faith begins (or is initiated) and when we are named as a Child of God, Goodwin, another young evangelist from his village, kindly corrected me and stated that the prophet Jeremiah was named and called before he was even born, as he went on to quote Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

I stood corrected and clarified, that yes, we are a Child of God from the moment we are conceived (if not before), but it is at our baptisms when we formally and symbollicaly acknowledge the beginning of our journey of faith and relationship with God.

They certainly keep me on my toes!  And for that, I am grateful!

Now, onto research for Herson's question - one for which I had no answer:  "Pastor, what is the connection between circumcision in the Old Testament and Baptism in the New Testament?"

Hmmm...another great question.  I'll get right on that :)

In Christ,
Dale