The Three “O’s” of Baptism

I want to explain why we baptize little babies here at Tenth. My title for these brief comments is The Three O’s of Baptism. I say “O’s” because when a baby is born, parents and grandparents look at them and say, “Oh, aren’t they beautiful?” And here are three beautiful “O’s” that help us understand baptism.

The Ordinance of Baptism

First, the ordinance of baptism. By ordinance, I mean a ritual practiced by the Christian church. The church has two such ordinances—also called sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism marks our spiritual entrance into the visible Christian church, and the Lord’s Supper marks our ongoing spiritual nourishment within it.
We have these two ordinances because Jesus himself gave them to his church before he ascended into heaven. In the Great Commission, he said:

“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 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.”
Matthew 28:19-20

So baptism is one of the two ordinances instituted by Christ. As such, it is a sign and seal of God’s covenant love for his people. In baptism, the water symbolizes—and assures us of—the cleansing we receive through Christ: by his blood and by the Spirit’s work of washing and renewal as we trust in him.
This morning, we apply this ordinance to this child, and we pray that it might become a means of grace in her life, bringing her in time to saving faith in Christ.

But that raises an important question: Why apply baptism to this child now? Why not wait until she grows up, repents, and believes? Should we not wait for evidence of faith first?

The Order of Baptism

That brings us to the second “O”: the order of baptism. By order, I mean the timing of baptism in relation to repentance and faith. Should the order be:

Repentance → Faith → Baptism?

Baptism → Repentance → Faith?

To answer that, it helps to look at the Old Testament equivalent of baptism, which is circumcision.
For Abraham himself, the order was clear: repentance and faith came first, and then circumcision. He believed God’s promises and afterward received the sign.

But for Abraham’s children—like Isaac—the order was different. Isaac received the sign of circumcision on the eighth day and then, in time, grew up to repent and believe. From that point forward, throughout Israel’s generations, the pattern was first the sign, then repentance and faith.
If baptism is the New Testament counterpart to circumcision, then the pattern continues:

For new converts (like Abraham): repentance, faith, then baptism.
For the children of believers (like Isaac): baptism, then repentance and faith.

And this pattern appears in the New Testament. In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, adults hear Peter’s preaching and ask what they should do. Peter tells them to repent and believe for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then he adds:

“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.”

The adults repented, believed, and were baptized. But what about their children—those little ones surely present in such a large crowd?

The most natural conclusion is that they were baptized as well. For the adults, the order was repentance, faith, then baptism. For their children, the order was baptism, then repentance and faith.
Another way to see this is that the adult and household baptisms in Acts resemble Abraham’s experience: new believers coming to faith and then receiving the sign. But just as Abraham applied the sign to his household, so too these believers would have applied the sign to their children—even before visible evidence of faith.

The Obligation of Baptism

Finally, the third “O”: the obligation of baptism. In the Old Testament, when God commanded Abraham to apply the covenant sign of circumcision to his children, it was not optional—it was an obligation. Genesis 17 makes that clear and even includes a solemn warning: those who refused to apply the sign to their children were to be cut off from the covenant community.

Now, it may not be popular to say, but if that obligation existed in the Old Testament, it does not simply disappear in the New. If baptism is the covenant sign in the New Testament, then the responsibility to apply that sign to the children of believers remains.

And so, as a church, we are delighted that this child is being brought for baptism. There can only be blessing for this child in receiving the sign of God’s covenant promises in this way.

Conclusion

So there you have it: the three “O’s” of baptism—

The Ordinance: Christ has given baptism to his church as a sign and seal of his grace.
The Order: For believers and their children, the timing reflects God’s covenant pattern—sometimes after faith, sometimes before.
The Obligation: God calls his people to apply the covenant sign faithfully to their children.

And with that understanding, we rejoice in the privilege of baptizing today.

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