A Gospel-Shaped Baptismal Service for Those Able to Answer for Themselves

By Robin G. Jordan

In this second article in a two-article series on the services of baptism in Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings  (2012) I examine the service of baptism for those able to answer for themselves from that collection. In Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings the Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel further develop and expand Sunday Services (2001). The services in Sunday Services were compiled “to provide liturgy which is biblical in content, intelligible in language and appropriate for our time and culture.” The material in Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings and Sunday Services are copyrighted by the Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel.

I have reproduced solely for educational purposes the service of baptism for those able to answer for themselves from Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings below.

A SERVICE OF BAPTISM FOR THOSE ABLE TO ANSWER FOR THEMSELVES

1. The minister welcomes those who have come for baptism and addresses the congregation. The passages of Scripture may be read in the indicated places.

Without Christ, we humans are far gone from God and mired in sin. But through the gospel, God addresses each one of us and calls us back to himself, resulting in a profound change. The act of baptism is about that change.

[We follow the direction of Jesus, who said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’]

Ordinary water is used to point to the extraordinary work of God in cleansing us from sin and giving us a new heart to trust and serve him, through the death and resurrection of his Son. Baptism provides a public opportunity to turn to Christ and express a personal trust in him and what he has done for us and ask for the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.

[As the apostle Peter said, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.’]

So let us thank God for drawing these people to himself, hear their profession of repentance, faith and commitment to Christ, and pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

2. The congregation joins the minister in praying

Heavenly Father,

we thank you that in your great love

you have called us to know you

and to trust you.

Increase this knowledge and strengthen our faith.

Grant these people what they cannot have by nature

that being born again by the Holy Spirit,

they may be cleansed from all sin,

and inherit your eternal kingdom;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

3. If the baptism does not take place within the context of another service, suitable passages from Scripture should be read and a sermon given at this point.

4. The minister invites those who are to be baptised to stand and says to them

Those who are to be baptised must declare their allegiance to Christ and their rejection of all that is evil: the devil and all his works, the empty display and false values of the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh.

Therefore I ask you,

Do you turn to Christ?

I turn to Christ.

Do you repent of your sins?

I repent of my sins.

Do you reject selfish living and all that is false and unjust?

I reject them all.

Do you renounce Satan and all evil?

I renounce all that is evil.

Almighty God deliver you from the powers of darkness, and lead you in the light of Christ to his everlasting kingdom. Amen.

5. The candidates may be given an opportunity to testify to the way they have come to faith in Christ. The minister then says

You have come here to be baptised. I ask you now to affirm the Christian faith as yours.

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in God the Son?

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The minister says to the congregation

This is the faith of the Church.

The congregation responds

This is our faith: we believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

6. The minister says to the candidates for baptism

Will you follow Jesus faithfully, and obey his commands throughout your life?

With God’s help, I intend to do so.

Do you ask for baptism in the faith you have professed?

I do.

7. Standing at the font with the candidates and their sponsors, the minister says

Let us pray.

Merciful God, for Jesus Christ’s sake, grant that N, whom we baptise in this water, may be saved through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. May he/she die to sin and rise again to righteousness. May your Spirit live and work in him/her, that he/she may be yours forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord who died and rose again for us Amen.

8. The minister asks each person to come to the font and baptises them by dipping them in the water or pouring water on them, saying

N, I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

9. After all the candidates have been baptised the minister and congregation address them

God has called you into his church.

We therefore receive and welcome you

as a fellow member of the body of Christ,

as a child of the same heavenly Father,

and as an inheritor with us of the kingdom of God.

10. The minister makes a sign of the cross on each candidate’s forehead and says

I sign you with the sign of the cross

to show that you are to be true to Christ crucified

and that you are not to be ashamed

to confess your faith in him.

Fight bravely under his banner

against sin, the world and the devil,

and continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant

to your life’s end.

11. The minister continues

God has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light

Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father

12. The minister continues with this prayer

Gracious God, through the death and resurrection of your Son, you have brought us from death to life. Enable us by your Spirit to resist the power of sin and give ourselves to you as a living sacrifice. May we not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we serve and please you in every way. Amen.

13. If it is not used elsewhere in the service, the Lord’s Prayer may be said together here.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

14. The service may conclude with these words

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

be with us all evermore. Amen

The Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel followed the pattern of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and compiled two baptismal services, one for infants and young children and one for individuals who have reached an age and level of maturity at which they can make the baptismal vows for themselves. Like the baptismal service for infants and young children, the baptismal service for those able to answer for themselves consists of three primary elements—prayers for the candidate, the symbolic washing of the candidate with water, and the making of the sign of the cross on the forehead of the newly baptized. The main difference between the two services is that the candidates make their baptismal vows for themselves rather than their godparents or sponsors making the vows for them. Like the baptismal service for infants and young children, the service exhibits the simplicity and restraint that is the mark of the Anglican genius.

The service has five key texts that merit our attention. The first text is the opening address to the congregation which briefly explains baptism.  The address draws to the congregation’s attention that “ordinary water is used” in baptism “to point to the extraordinary work of God in cleansing us from sin and giving us a new heart to trust and serve him, through the death and resurrection of his Son.” Baptism signifies outwardly what God does inwardly. “The address goes on to explain that baptism provides a opportunity for the baptismal candidates to do two things:

1. To make a public profession of repentance, faith and commitment to Christ;

 2. To receive the prayers of the congregation for “the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.”

The second text is the prayer which follows the opening address. All join in this prayer.

Heavenly Father,
we thank you that in your great love
you have called us to know you
and to trust you.
Increase this knowledge and strengthen our faith.
Grant these people what they cannot have by nature
that being born again by the Holy Spirit,
they may be cleansed from all sin,
and inherit your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer is adapted from a prayer in the 1552 Baptismal Office and incorporates language from the Exhortation in the same office. It acknowledges that God calls us. We do not seek God on our own. It also recognizes that our knowledge of God and our faith in Christ comes from God. It further acknowledges that the new birth is God’s doing, the work of the Holy Spirit, and only those who are born again “may be cleansed from all sin” and “inherit” God’s “eternal kingdom.” These things are not ours by nature but a gift from God.

The third text is the prayer that precedes the symbolic washing with water.

Merciful God, for Jesus Christ’s sake, grant that N, whom we baptise in this water, may be saved through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. May he/she die to sin and rise again to righteousness. May your Spirit live and work in him/her, that he/she may be yours forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord who died and rose again for us Amen.

Like the prayer at this point in the 1552 Baptismal Office, this prayer contains no petition for the sanctification of the water. Note the wording of the first petition of the prayer which is taken from the New Testament—“may be saved through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit….” The washing to which it refers is not by water but by the Holy Spirit. The water in which the candidates are baptized is not the medium by which their rebirth and renewal occur. It is the Holy Spirit. The water is a visible physical sign pointing to an invisible spiritual reality.

The concluding petition asks that God complete in the candidate the work that he has begun.

The fourth text is the reception and welcoming of the newly baptized which follows his or her baptism.

God has called you into his church.
We therefore receive and welcome you
as a fellow member of the body of Christ,
as a child of the same heavenly Father,
and as an inheritor with us of the kingdom of God.

Note that the text uses presumptive language and generously assumes that God has called the newly baptized and that the newly baptized was responding to God’s call. The congregation receives and welcomes the newly baptized on the assumption that this is indeed the case.

The underlying theology is that God calls those whom he has elected and predestined for salvation and enables them to respond to his call. God quickens them to spiritual life without which they cannot heed his call. Without this divine intervention they cannot turn from sin to Christ and trust in Christ.

Ultimately the fruit that they bear will show whether God has called them. The work of the Holy Spirit is not only regeneration but also sanctification. Having been quickened to spiritual life, they will grow in every way into the likeness of Christ.

The New Testament account of the baptism of Simon Magus is a reminder that all who seek baptism are not necessarily responding to God’s call. As in Simon Magus’ case, they may have ulterior motives.

The fifth text is the prayer that follows the signation.

Gracious God, through the death and resurrection of your Son, you have brought us from death to life. Enable us by your Spirit to resist the power of sin and give ourselves to you as a living sacrifice. May we not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we serve and please you in every way. Amen.

This prayer is not just for the newly baptized but for the whole congregation. It acknowledges that only through God’s grace, through the death and resurrection of his Son, have we been brought from death to life. It implores God to make us able to resist our natural inclination to evil, which the Thirty-Nine Articles reminds us “remains even in those who in Christ are reborn,” and to give ourselves completely to God. It concludes with the plea that God make the kind of changes in us that enable us to serve and please him “in every way.”

What is notable about these texts is that the texts do not tie the spiritual renewal of the newly baptized to their baptism. Rather their baptism is a sign of that renewal, which began the very moment that the Holy Spirit quickened them to spiritual life, enabling them to respond to God’s call and turn to Christ and trust in him.

Their baptism is not, however, a bare sign as Article 25 points to our attention. By it God arouses, strengthens, and confirms the faith of the newly baptized in him. It accomplishes what God purposes.

Like the service of baptism for infants and children, the service of baptism for those able to answer for themselves is well-suited for the mission field. It lends itself to a variety of worship settings and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.