Baptism of Adults – Form 2
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Just as the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7
, 10), so too is it our joy as a congregation to receive new believers into our fellowship. At a recent consistory meeting, __________ declared his/her faith in Christ and expressed his/her desire to receive the sacrament of baptism. Today we are happy that he/she will confess his/her faith before us all and receive the sacrament of holy baptism.
The Vows
__________, will you now stand, and in the presence of God and His people, respond to the following questions:
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent to redeem the world, do you love and trust Him as the One who saves you from your sin, and do you with repentance and joy embrace Him as Lord of your life?
Answer: I do.Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, revealing Christ and His redemption, and that the confessions of this church faithfully reflect this revelation?
Answer: I do.Do you promise to do all you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen your love and commitment to Christ by sharing faithfully in the life of the church, receiving thankfully and partaking diligently of the means of grace given to her, and honoring and submitting to her authority; and do you join with the people of God in doing the work of the Lord everywhere?
Answer: I do.
(The response may be asked for after the last question only.)
The Institution
Let us hear our Lord’s command concerning the sacrament of holy baptism. After He had risen victoriously from the grave, Jesus said to His disciples:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:18–20)
The Promises
Now listen to the promises of God that are confirmed in baptism. The Lord made this great promise to Abraham: “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Gen. 17:7).
Generations later, though Israel was unfaithful to this covenant, the Lord renewed His promise through the prophet: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.… I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:33–34).
“When the fullness of time had come” (Gal. 4:4), God came to earth in Jesus Christ to give pardon and peace through the blood of the cross, the “blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
After Jesus had risen from the dead, the apostles proclaimed: “Repent and be baptized 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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:38–39).
Anticipating the fulfillment of all God’s promises, Paul assures us, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:11–12).
These are the unfailing promises of our Lord to those who are baptized.
The Instruction
Finally, recall the teaching of Holy Scripture concerning the sacrament of baptism.
The water of baptism signifies the washing away of our sin by the blood of Christ and the renewal of our lives by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). It also signifies that we are buried with Christ (Rom. 6:4). From this we learn that our sin has been condemned by God, that we are to hate it, and that we must consider ourselves as having died to it. Moreover, the water of baptism signifies that we are raised with Christ (Col. 2:12). From this we learn that we are to walk with Christ in newness of life. All this tells us that God has adopted us as His children, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17).
Thus, in baptism God seals the promises He gave when He made His covenant of grace with us, calling us and our children to put our trust for life and death in Christ our Savior, to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow Him in obedience and love.
The Prayer of Preparation
Let us pray:
Our Father in heaven, we pray that You will never destroy us in our sin, as You once did with the flood upon the world, but save us, as You saved believing Noah and his family, and spare us, as You spared the Israelites who walked safely through the Red Sea.
We pray that Jesus Christ, who went down into the Jordan River and came up to receive the Holy Spirit, who sank deep into death and was raised up as the Lord of life, will always keep us and our little ones in the grip of His hand.
We pray, O holy Father, that Your Spirit will separate us from sin and openly mark us with a faith that can stand the light of day and endure the dark of night.
Prepare us now, O Lord, to respond with glad hope to Your promises, so that we and all entrusted to our care may drink deeply from the well of living water. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Sacrament
The minister addresses the confessor(s), standing near the water:
Do you now wish to be baptized in the name of the triune God, and will you embrace your baptism as a sign and seal that God receives you as His own in Christ, forgives all your sins, and incorporates you into His church?
Answer:
I do, with all my heart. (This is to be said by each confessor, if there are more than one.)
In administering the sacrament, the minister shall say:
__________, I baptize you into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I now welcome you to all the privileges of full communion. I welcome you to full participation in the life of the church. I welcome you to its responsibilities, its privileges, its sufferings, and its joys.
Optional: The minister addresses the congregation:
Do you, the people of the Lord, promise to receive __________ into your fellowship as a member of the body of Christ, and do you promise to encourage him/her in the Christian faith and help him/her in doing the work of the Lord?
Congregation:
We do, God helping us.
A triumphant song may be sung.
The Baptismal Prayer
Let us pray:
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Jesus Christ, for the new life given in Him, and for the one faith, one hope, and one baptism that Your people have shared through the ages. We rejoice that __________ is now one with Your church and that we may receive him/her as a member of this congregation. Guide him/her in the Christian life of discipleship and sustain us all in the fellowship and service of You, our Lord. Amen.