A LIFE IN WATER

As I mentioned in the introduction, we want to think of the Reformed Christian life in three ways, first of which is a life in water. The great protestor and reformer, Martin Luther, spoke of the Christian life in his Large Catechism, saying, “A Christian life is then nothing else than an ongoing daily Baptism, once begun and always continuing.”¹ Baptism begins our life in Christ and his Church as well as is the continuing metaphor of it. Luther also described baptism as the greatest jewel with which to adorn our bodies and souls, as well as our daily garment to be worn.² The Christian life, then, is a life begun and continued in the waters of Christian baptism.

Beginning with Baptism
This brings us to a problem, though. One may very well question the validity of such an approach to the Christian life, seeking to think in terms of the Christians’ conversion or faith as the legitimate opening to the Christian life. Recently, on the web version of Christianity Today, Erik Thoennes, associate professor of theology at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, sought to answer the following readers’ question: “How can I know I’m a Christian if I can't remember when I first responded to the gospel?” His answer was to distinguish the Revivalist from the Reformed answer. The former emphasizes the need for personal appropriation of the gospel by faith, although it leads to an overly individualistic view of salvation, while the latter steers clear of individualism and focuses on churchly reception by baptism and confirmation, yet it falls into the trap of not emphasizing the need for personal salvation. His answer, then, was this:

For those who question their salvation, the best evidence is not the memory of having raised a hand or prayed a prayer. Nor is it having been baptized or christened. The true test of the authentic work of God in one’s life is growth in Christ-like character, increased love for God and other people, and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–25; James 2:18).³

Not only does Professor Thoennes misunderstand Reformed theology and practice, his answer does nothing to answer the sincere question of the frightened believer. In seeming to lead us between subjectivism and objectivism, he ends up giving a subjective, introspective answer: look to your fruits! But that is precisely the problem. Not only cannot this dear saint not remember when he/she embraced Christ, how is he/she going to do that looking to fruits?

Thankfully our Reformed tradition does give us help. In dealing with the struggle of assurance, the Canons of Dort say we are to look to Christ’s promises first and only then to the Spirit’s fruits in our lives (5.10 cf. 5:14). And when believing the promise of the gospel is the problem, God has added visible seals in the sacraments, which are meant to lead us back to the promise of Christ.

In terms of our study on the Christian life, this applies because using baptism as an organizing image and event for the whole of the Christian life, especially its beginning, we have something to grasp that is tangible and can be related to our lives. After all, we can try as hard as we would like to remember the moment we were converted, but how are you ever sure? Instead, we see font before the people of God every Lord’s Day and its waters used on many occasions.

Far from leading us to an overly ritualistic religion without the necessity of being born again and appropriating Christ for ourselves, our Reformed tradition impresses this upon us in our liturgy for Public Profession of Faith: Form Number 1. There the one who stands before the church to profess faith in Christ is asked (while those who have professed faith are confronted once again): “Second: Do you openly accept God’s covenant promise, which has been signified and sealed unto you in your baptism”?⁴

¹ Luther’s Large Catechism: A Contemporary Translation with Study Questions, trans. and ed. F. Samuel Janzow (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1978), 107.
² Luther’s Large Catechism, 104, 109.
³ Cited at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/december/29.56.html (Accessed December 26, 2007).
⁴ Psalter Hymnal, 132.