Baptism in the Uniting Church
These are questions I normally talk about with new believers who want to follow Jesus Christ:
1. Are you ready to follow Jesus Christ and place him at the Centre of your life?
2. Will you stand in the tradition of people who say The Apostles’ Creed?
(We do not need people to understand or even agree with every phrase of the creed, but we say the story in The Apostles’ Creed is a summary of the faith of Christians through the ages. We stand with them and share in the same story.)
3. Will you promise to keep doing the things that help you to journey with God?
- read the Bible (with other people)
- pray (alone and with others)
- learn about Jesus (with other people)
- learn about what God wants you to do in your life
- serve people in need (works of mission)
- look after God’s creation
4. Will you try to be in Church community for worship and service?
5. Will you tell others about what God has done and is doing in your life?
聯合教會的洗禮問題
這些問題我通常與想要跟隨耶穌基督的新信徒討論：
1.你準備好跟隨耶穌基督了嗎？你能把祂放在你的生命的中心吗？
2. 你會站在那些說使徒信經的人的傳統中嗎？
（我們不需要人們理解甚至同意信條的每一句話，但我們說《使徒信經》中的故事是歷代基督徒信仰的總結。我們與他們站在一起，分享同一個故事。
3. 你會答應繼續做那些説明你和上帝一起同行的事情嗎？
-閱讀聖經（與其他人）
-祈禱（獨自和他人）
-瞭解耶穌（與其他人）
-瞭解上帝希望你在你的生活中做什麼
-為有需要的人服務（使命工作）
-照顧上帝的創造
4. 你會嘗試在教會做禮拜和服務嗎？
5. 你會告訴別人上帝在你的生活中做了什麼和正在做什麼嗎？
These are questions I normally talk about with new believers who want to follow Jesus Christ:
1. Are you ready to follow Jesus Christ and place him at the Centre of your life?
2. Will you stand in the tradition of people who say The Apostles’ Creed?
(We do not need people to understand or even agree with every phrase of the creed, but we say the story in The Apostles’ Creed is a summary of the faith of Christians through the ages. We stand with them and share in the same story.)
3. Will you promise to keep doing the things that help you to journey with God?
- read the Bible (with other people)
- pray (alone and with others)
- learn about Jesus (with other people)
- learn about what God wants you to do in your life
- serve people in need (works of mission)
- look after God’s creation
4. Will you try to be in Church community for worship and service?
5. Will you tell others about what God has done and is doing in your life?
聯合教會的洗禮問題
這些問題我通常與想要跟隨耶穌基督的新信徒討論：
1.你準備好跟隨耶穌基督了嗎？你能把祂放在你的生命的中心吗？
2. 你會站在那些說使徒信經的人的傳統中嗎？
（我們不需要人們理解甚至同意信條的每一句話，但我們說《使徒信經》中的故事是歷代基督徒信仰的總結。我們與他們站在一起，分享同一個故事。
3. 你會答應繼續做那些説明你和上帝一起同行的事情嗎？
-閱讀聖經（與其他人）
-祈禱（獨自和他人）
-瞭解耶穌（與其他人）
-瞭解上帝希望你在你的生活中做什麼
-為有需要的人服務（使命工作）
-照顧上帝的創造
4. 你會嘗試在教會做禮拜和服務嗎？
5. 你會告訴別人上帝在你的生活中做了什麼和正在做什麼嗎？
What is Baptism, and what will happen during the Baptism service?
什么是洗礼？洗礼时会做些什么？
I. What Baptism Is
Baptism is a sacrament of Christ’s church.
The Lord himself commanded the application of water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
II. What Baptism celebrates
A. In baptism the Holy Spirit shows Christ’s redemption.
Christ’s gifts of Grace are celebrated in baptism. These gifts are:
(a) forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16);
(b) justification (1 Cor. 6:11);
(c) new birth by which one enters the kingdom of God (John 3:5; Titus 3:5);
(d) renewal (Titus 3:5);
(e) adoption as God’s children (Gal. 3:26, 27; 4:6);
(f) incorporation in Christ’s body, the church (1 Cor. 12:13);
(g) a new ‘garment’ (Gal. 3:27);
(h)salvation (1 Pet 3:20, 21);
(i) union with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection and final glory (Rom. 6:1-11; Col. 2:12; 3:3, 4).
B. God in Christ acts both in the church and the world through the Holy Spirit. In baptism, the Holy Spirit is both gift and agent (1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:38 cf. 41; 9:17, 18; 19:2, 3). The Spirit is the seal God promised as a guarantee of the future inheritance (Eph. 1:13; 4:3; 2 Cor. 1:21, 22).
The Spirit also creates the faith which receives the gift of baptism. This faith is not a product of human decision and commitment.
It should be noted that the reception of the Spirit after a lapse of time and subsequent to a Christian baptism without the Spirit (cf. Acts 8) is obviously not the norm (Acts 8:16). Baptism is the complete act of Christian initiation which requires no supplementary rite or ceremony.
C. Baptism creates new life. Christians can trace the beginning of their new life in Christ to their baptism (Rom. 6:4).
Baptism nurtures a life of discipleship which begins in baptism and which continues through the life of the baptised through instruction in all that Christ has commanded his church to teach (Matt. 28:19).
The people of God are motivated and empowered by their baptism to struggle against sin (Rom. 6:1-11), to witness in church and world to Christ’s resurrection, to love God and their neighbour, to serve, help, encourage and comfort all people and to do everything else that the new life in Christ involves. People who have been reborn as God’s sons and daughters are prompted to live righteously (1 John 2:29), and members of Christ’s body are prompted to use their charismatic gifts for the common good and the edification of all other members of Christ in love (1 Cor. 12-14). As those who have been enlightened, they shine as lights in this dark world to the glory of God, the Lord of their baptism.
If Christians lapse from the faith (and it seems that many do) and the Holy Spirit leads them back again to repentance, they must not be baptised again. Baptism maintains the Christian’s status of being joined once and for all to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The very nature of baptism excludes the practice of re-baptism.
III. What Baptism Demonstrates
Baptism, especially when infants are baptised, demonstrates that Christians are justified by faith apart from human efforts to fulfil what God’s law requires. Baptism itself works faith (Col. 2:12) also in children who are baptised because they, too, are part of ‘all nations’ whom the Lord commissioned the church to baptise. Infants are also part of sinful humanity and need to be reborn, as well as adults, of water and the Spirit. Our Lord clearly regarded his kingdom as received by children, even infants (Luke 18:15).
IV. What Baptism Recalls
Baptism recalls three events of salvation-history: Christ’s baptism in the river Jordan (Mark 1:9-11; Matt. e:13-17; Luke 3:21-22); the Lord’s death on the cross and his resurrection (Luke 12:50; cf Col. 2:9-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22); and the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-3,38; cf John 1:31,32; Acts 10:44-48). These events teach the baptised that Christ is the ‘Head’ of his body, the church, and that the baptised people of God receive in the sacrament of baptism a unique participation in the benefits of his life, suffering, death, resurrection (Rom.6) and ascension, which includes the gift of the Holy Spirit.
V. What Baptism Demands
Baptism demands that the church remembers the command of Christ (Matt. 28:19) and that water be used. The word ‘baptism’ requires the use of water. These two aspects – the triune name and water – are essential to every baptism. The quantity of water is of relatively minor importance. Water may be sprinkled or poured, or the candidate may be immersed in water. Since our two churches call and ordain pastors or ministers to proclaim the Word of God and to administer the blessed sacraments, it is the practice, except in exceptional circumstances, that those ordained administer baptism.
Agreed Statement on Baptism
Baptism takes place, in normal circumstances, in the presence of the people assembled for public worship, and our churches provide forms of worship or orders of service for use in congregations. The current liturgies of our churches have the following elements in common:
Call to Worship
Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness
Reading from Scripture
Affirmation of Faith (a Creed)
Words of Encouragement about baptism
Inclusion of Scripture about the the sacrament, e.g. Matt. 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-4
Address to the candidates for baptism, including a confession of faith on the part of the candidate(s) to be baptised
Prayer and/or the ‘Invocation of the Holy Spirit’
Promises by the congregation about nurturing the candidates in faith
The Baptism with Water in the Name of the Triune God
The Sign of the Cross
Various Additional inclusions e.g. the gift of a baptismal candle, promises by Sponsors or Godparents
Prayers and Benediction.
什么是洗礼？洗礼时会做些什么？
I. What Baptism Is
Baptism is a sacrament of Christ’s church.
The Lord himself commanded the application of water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
II. What Baptism celebrates
A. In baptism the Holy Spirit shows Christ’s redemption.
Christ’s gifts of Grace are celebrated in baptism. These gifts are:
(a) forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16);
(b) justification (1 Cor. 6:11);
(c) new birth by which one enters the kingdom of God (John 3:5; Titus 3:5);
(d) renewal (Titus 3:5);
(e) adoption as God’s children (Gal. 3:26, 27; 4:6);
(f) incorporation in Christ’s body, the church (1 Cor. 12:13);
(g) a new ‘garment’ (Gal. 3:27);
(h)salvation (1 Pet 3:20, 21);
(i) union with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection and final glory (Rom. 6:1-11; Col. 2:12; 3:3, 4).
B. God in Christ acts both in the church and the world through the Holy Spirit. In baptism, the Holy Spirit is both gift and agent (1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:38 cf. 41; 9:17, 18; 19:2, 3). The Spirit is the seal God promised as a guarantee of the future inheritance (Eph. 1:13; 4:3; 2 Cor. 1:21, 22).
The Spirit also creates the faith which receives the gift of baptism. This faith is not a product of human decision and commitment.
It should be noted that the reception of the Spirit after a lapse of time and subsequent to a Christian baptism without the Spirit (cf. Acts 8) is obviously not the norm (Acts 8:16). Baptism is the complete act of Christian initiation which requires no supplementary rite or ceremony.
C. Baptism creates new life. Christians can trace the beginning of their new life in Christ to their baptism (Rom. 6:4).
Baptism nurtures a life of discipleship which begins in baptism and which continues through the life of the baptised through instruction in all that Christ has commanded his church to teach (Matt. 28:19).
The people of God are motivated and empowered by their baptism to struggle against sin (Rom. 6:1-11), to witness in church and world to Christ’s resurrection, to love God and their neighbour, to serve, help, encourage and comfort all people and to do everything else that the new life in Christ involves. People who have been reborn as God’s sons and daughters are prompted to live righteously (1 John 2:29), and members of Christ’s body are prompted to use their charismatic gifts for the common good and the edification of all other members of Christ in love (1 Cor. 12-14). As those who have been enlightened, they shine as lights in this dark world to the glory of God, the Lord of their baptism.
If Christians lapse from the faith (and it seems that many do) and the Holy Spirit leads them back again to repentance, they must not be baptised again. Baptism maintains the Christian’s status of being joined once and for all to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The very nature of baptism excludes the practice of re-baptism.
III. What Baptism Demonstrates
Baptism, especially when infants are baptised, demonstrates that Christians are justified by faith apart from human efforts to fulfil what God’s law requires. Baptism itself works faith (Col. 2:12) also in children who are baptised because they, too, are part of ‘all nations’ whom the Lord commissioned the church to baptise. Infants are also part of sinful humanity and need to be reborn, as well as adults, of water and the Spirit. Our Lord clearly regarded his kingdom as received by children, even infants (Luke 18:15).
IV. What Baptism Recalls
Baptism recalls three events of salvation-history: Christ’s baptism in the river Jordan (Mark 1:9-11; Matt. e:13-17; Luke 3:21-22); the Lord’s death on the cross and his resurrection (Luke 12:50; cf Col. 2:9-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22); and the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-3,38; cf John 1:31,32; Acts 10:44-48). These events teach the baptised that Christ is the ‘Head’ of his body, the church, and that the baptised people of God receive in the sacrament of baptism a unique participation in the benefits of his life, suffering, death, resurrection (Rom.6) and ascension, which includes the gift of the Holy Spirit.
V. What Baptism Demands
Baptism demands that the church remembers the command of Christ (Matt. 28:19) and that water be used. The word ‘baptism’ requires the use of water. These two aspects – the triune name and water – are essential to every baptism. The quantity of water is of relatively minor importance. Water may be sprinkled or poured, or the candidate may be immersed in water. Since our two churches call and ordain pastors or ministers to proclaim the Word of God and to administer the blessed sacraments, it is the practice, except in exceptional circumstances, that those ordained administer baptism.
Agreed Statement on Baptism
Baptism takes place, in normal circumstances, in the presence of the people assembled for public worship, and our churches provide forms of worship or orders of service for use in congregations. The current liturgies of our churches have the following elements in common:
Call to Worship
Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness
Reading from Scripture
Affirmation of Faith (a Creed)
Words of Encouragement about baptism
Inclusion of Scripture about the the sacrament, e.g. Matt. 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-4
Address to the candidates for baptism, including a confession of faith on the part of the candidate(s) to be baptised
Prayer and/or the ‘Invocation of the Holy Spirit’
Promises by the congregation about nurturing the candidates in faith
The Baptism with Water in the Name of the Triune God
The Sign of the Cross
Various Additional inclusions e.g. the gift of a baptismal candle, promises by Sponsors or Godparents
Prayers and Benediction.
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