| Most Recently Posted Ask a Question | |||||||
| Q: | I am an Elder at my church and have a question regarding a problem posed to me by a member of my congregation. I have not talked to my Pastor about it yet, but I do plan too. He is not the problem but he is involved and I would like to know more about how others feel before I pose the problem to him. The problem was sent to me via e-mail and is copied below except for names removed: | ||||||
| A: | A number of us were offended by the recent baptism we had in church. The concern was that the church may give the impression that it is condoning having children out of wedlock by conducting a baptism within the corporate service. The thought was that it would be more proper to have private baptism (perhaps immediately following a non-Communion service) . This reasoning should be freely shared with any prospective inquiring single mom, pointing out the sin that we are responsible to point out. The other situation that it avoids is the large number of relatives who may simply partake of Communion even though they are not members. This was the case in this recent baptism as well. Thank you for the sense of propriety in baptizing a child born out of wedlock in a worship service. As a pastor, I always perform the baptism for the sake of the child. I do not do the baptism for the sake of the parents, single or married. I do not do the baptism for the sake of the congregation. Yes, it is of less concern for some to have all such babies baptized outside of a worship service. (Many single moms want it that way, anyway.) But, I don't think I would make it into a church law. Another thing to consider is the sin. What is the sin. Is the sin giving birth to the child out of marriage? Or is the sin engaging in sexual intercourse outside of marriage? The latter is the sin. We do not put a legalistic penance upon the use of the Sacrament of Baptism for her child. It is certain that the child did not sin in this birth. Yet, the child is a sinner in need of salvation which God promises through Baptism. "Baptism doth also now save us." | ||||||
| |||||||