+ What is the Law and the Gospel?

The gospel is not the entry point for Christianity but a way of life, a way of life radically different than the world offers. The Christian faith can only be fully understood when one distinguishes between the law and the gospel. As Martin Luther, the great Reformer of the 1500’s, whose thoughts launched the Protestant church, said, “Virtually the whole of the scriptures and the understanding of the whole of theology–the entire Christian life, even–depends upon the true understanding of the law and the gospel.”

Law in the Bible is any word of demand, all of which shows what people should be and do, thus revealing humanity’s shortcomings. The law reveals the differential between who we should be and who we are. This differential (our depravity or sinfulness) doesn’t need helpful tips for living, or any other demand that puts us to work. As Paul wrote in Galatians, “For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe (Galatians 3:21-22).”

The law simply doesn’t have power. We need to hear and know the law, but we must understand its role in our lives. French theologian Theordore Beza, who played a major role in the Protestant Reformation, said, “Ignorance of this distinction between Law and Gospel is one of the principal sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupts Christianity.” The law reveals our sin and points us to righteousness but cannot create righteousness in us. The only force strong enough to cover our shortcomings and give power to our weakness is grace experienced through unconditional love – this is known as the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The word gospel means “good news,” not “good advice.” Advice tells us what we should do, but news is entirely different. News is something that’s already been done that affects us. Let’s be clear: the gospel of grace is the good news that we can be made right with God through the imputation of our sins to Christ and his righteousness to us, so God’s justice is satisfied and we are beloved in his sight. As a Christian you no longer have to justify your existence by your achievements or approval or any other never-ending pursuit. They are the world’s laws – another demand that promises something it can’t deliver. The gospel rescues us from wearily trying to justify ourselves in such ways. Our justification to exist and our standing before God is secured solely by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It means we don’t have to do anything today to maintain our standing with God and to be loved by him. But this sort of freedom is often not the reality of the Christian.

While the true Christian message is summarized in the Reformation phraseology law-gospel, a preoccupation toward rules, behaviors, and application is law-gospel-law or moralism. This is not a vendetta against morality. We highly respect morality as it protects society and families from destruction, but this is a vendetta against moralism. Moralism is the practice of using your behaviors as to feel like your standing before God is secure. This results in a lack of security on a daily basis, self-dependency, self-righteousness, lack of compassion toward others, and a general anxiety over our level of intimacy with God. This is horribly anti-Christian and toilsome.

We love to prove ourselves and become exhausted in the process. The idea that the gospel of grace was not only meant to forgive us but also free us, and not just from sin but also from religious striving and self-justifying behavior, is often a foreign thought to people. Strive, earn, pray, give, attend: this is the message of law-gospel-law, but the gospel is actually radically different.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Jesus actually is our righteousness. None of us meet the standard of holiness – “be anxious over nothing” – “do not lust” – “do not covet” – “consider others better than yourselves.” Grace covers our shortcomings, and you no longer need to keep score on yourself, counting your godly behaviors and ungodly ones, as to justify yourself. Your justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. God isn’t keeping score on you, and he is waiting for you to quit keeping score on yourself.

Romans 10:1-4 1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Law-gospel is the teaching Martin Luther recovered from a grossly moralistic church in the 1500’s. This teaching started the Reformation and the beginning of the Protestant church. This teaching begs us, as Paul does in the New Testament, to refuse to add more law back to the gospel of grace. The Christian life is about deepening the return to God’s actions to pursue and rescue us, not setting our hearts and minds on what we should be doing. Simply, there is nothing for us to add. We are unimaginably weak yet unconditionally loved.

Moral principles and to do lists don’t make you a better Christian and don’t free you. Actually, they will in time act as law, as they will accuse and condemn you when you don’t live up to them. Or the pendulum may swing and you’ll suddenly feel good about your spiritual progress. You’ll become prideful and judgmental, either way the focus becomes self-bent and narcissistic, which is exactly the opposite of what the Bible calls maturity. The gospel of grace frees us from all of this insecurity, relieved from using our experiences and behaviors as the legitimacy of our faith and identity.

So, this brings up an important issue, how are Christians to respond to “demand” (or law) in the Bible, as we know we are constantly falling short of it? Martin Luther said to use the law to return us to the gospel, but never rest in the law. John Calvin came along a little later and said you can also use the law as a guide to Christian behavior. There is much debate between those two statements. The important thing, whether you agree with Luther or Calvin, is that we know what it means to be godly, and we should hope and make decisions as to be godly, yet we are humbled by the reality in our hearts. We turn to the grace of God known in Jesus for our acceptance and validation. Here we find rest and freedom and the power to live in godliness. This is the journey of turning one’s focus from one’s own life (merits, etc.) to Christ’s life and God’s one-way unconditional love.

In summary, we find there are three ways to live life: first, a journey of self-actualization by justifying oneself through self-absorbed pursuits (money, achievement, appearance, sex). Secondly, self-righteous living created by law-gospel-law (moralism), or, thirdly, the gospel, which rescues us from the toil and exhaustion of the first two. This is the story and message of the Bible. This is what it means, as the author of Hebrews writes, “to enter his rest.” This is the gospel of grace.

By Russ Masterson / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

+ What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

To believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Christians believe they are unbelievably messed up yet perfectly loved. Christians are those who have entered God’s rest, known solely in Jesus Christ, believing Jesus to have taken on their guilt and sin, giving them His righteousness. They are at rest from the toil of self-righteousness and self-justification. Christians live by faith in what has been DONE not based in what we DO.

By Russ Masterson / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

+ What does Covenantal Mean?

We join the rich history of Covenant Theology (also referred to as Reformed Theology) and churches that understand the overarching narrative of the Bible as God’s plan of redemption worked out through the covenants God sovereignly established.

The Bible is divided into two covenants: the “Covenant of Law” (or works) and the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Law began with Adam in the Garden as he was promised eternal life if he refused the temptation of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This Covenant of Law is clearly seen with Moses at Mount Sinai as the Ten Commandments are given to the people. Law reveals the holiness of God and the brokenness of man to live up to it. Relief comes with the Covenant of Grace, which also began with Adam as God initiated relationship with Adam directly after his rebellion. God promised to send a Seed of the woman (Jesus) who would defeat evil (Genesis 3:15) and destroy the power of the law over man (Galatians 3). In the Covenant of Grace God promises, and brings forth, Jesus Christ to fulfill the broken Covenant of the Law as a representative of all people. For more on law and grace please read the FAQ article “What is the law? What is the Gospel?”

By Russ Masterson / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

+ What about Giving and Stewardship?

The following content on giving includes some teaching adapted from Redeemer Church NYC, which provides excellent theological insight into what Redeemer believes and how it influences our stewardship and giving. This information comes from their stewardship webpage, which can be found at https://www.redeemer.com/generosity/stewardship.

First, the Gospel Shapes Everything

At Redeemer we believe that the only way to understand any aspect of life is to view it through the lens of Scripture and the gospel.

In 2 Corinthians 8:9, the Apostle Paul discusses how the gospel affects the way Christians understand finances and generosity, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that by his poverty, you might become rich.”

Jesus our Lord models the way for his people! He gave up everything so that we could inherit the riches of heaven. Knowing his sacrificial limitless love for us frees our hearts from slavery to our material possessions and wealth and allows us to become people who are joyfully generous.

Understanding the riches we have already received in Christ not only liberates us from excessive concern over our wealth, talents, and time, but also empowers us to invest them in God’s eternal kingdom.

What is Generosity?

Generosity is the intentional, and sometimes spontaneous, giving of our material possessions, our time, or our finances to God’s service and to our communities because of and modeled after what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. As God “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32), so our posture toward God and others in response to his love should be one of cheerful sacrifice and generosity (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Tithing and Stewardship

When we talk about tithing, we must always do so under the biblical understanding of stewardship. A steward is a person who has been entrusted with another’s resources and who seeks to manage those resources according to the owner’s vision and values.

As people created in the image of God, the gospel calls us to recognize that everything we have is a gift from God (1 Corinthians 4:7) — and that those gifts are to be used for His glory and to further His kingdom. Scripture even calls Christians caretakers of God’s gifts and grace (1 Peter 4:10-11; 1 Corinthians 4:1).

We at Redeemer recognize that in addition to acting as responsible stewards of our talents and skills, we must also be stewards of our possessions and finances.

Where does the concept of the tithe (10%) come from?

In the Old Testament, believers were required to give a tenth of their income to the support of the work of the temple and the needs of the poor. The New Testament teaches that we should give as we are “able, and even beyond [our] ability” (2 Corinthians 8:3). Therefore, the tithe (10%) is seen as a kind of guideline and starting point for our giving.

How does the gospel shape our view of tithing?

We do not make ourselves righteous by giving generously. We are righteous because God has declared it so through Jesus Christ. Giving is simply another way we can communicate and see the gospel work itself out in our lives rather than the burden and toil of demand. All of Jesus’s words on money, whether in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6) or his words to the rich young ruler (Luke 18) and Zacchaeus (Luke 19), center around the notion of finding your treasure in him, not in temporal things. The New Testament assumes that a portion of your income will be given away for the work of God’s Kingdom, while never specifying any given amount (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Jesus's words on money call us not to give an obligatory, prescribed 10% but to give generously and sacrificially.

Do I give 10% of my gross or net income?

This question is secondary to our hearts growing to be joyful and thankful in our giving. But once we are there, Scripture teaches that we are to give back to God our “first fruits” (Exodus 23:16, 19). Proverbs 3:9 encourages us to “honor the Lord with [our] wealth, with the first fruits of [our] crops,” meaning the primary and choicest of our possessions, rather than the leftovers. God has modeled “first fruits” by giving us his Son, Jesus Christ. Our response to God is in gratitude, worship, and service to him.

This concept of “first fruits” helps us develop a stewardship lifestyle where we give joyfully (and save wisely) before we begin to spend on the rest of our needs. By giving (and saving) first we build in stewardship practices, and grow in our giving and saving overtime, rather than always giving and saving in reaction after we spend.

What if I am unable to give 10% right now?

There are different seasons in our economic life. There are financial responsibilities to our families, friends, communities, and in some cases, creditors. Honoring those obligations is just as important as worshiping the Lord through our tithes and offerings (Matthew 15:5-7; 23:23). In any stage of life, good planning is necessary to increase our giving over time without neglecting our legal and personal financial obligations. For some people, 10% is too low a starting point. For others, giving even 5% is a sacrifice. The goal is to increase one’s commitment up to and above 10%, so that it models Christ’s love to our communities (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Should I give all of my tithe and offering to Redeemer?

The answer to this is…maybe not. There is certainly no requirement, or biblical basis, for that practice. Your gift is an act of personal worship to God in response to his grace in your life and the gift of his Son (2 Corinthians 8:8). The allocation of your money and time to God’s service should be a byproduct of prayer and of consultation with other Christians whom you respect. However, if you consider Redeemer your “home church,” you should consider allocating a significant portion of your tithe and offering to the community where you invest most of your time and where others are investing in you.

So, what if people give very little or nothing at all?

We entrust these things to the power of the gospel and also a proper understanding of the nature of demand and guilt versus grace and freedom (Galatians 3). The law of tithing, as with the entire law, is counterproductive to forming true, free, and joyous living and giving. The gospel sets us free from having to tithe 10% in order to maintain our right standing with God. Rather, the Scriptures teach the importance of listening to and obeying the Spirit of God in our giving (Acts 5:1-11). As Paul writes, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Redeemer believes giving 10% from your income is good to consider, but the guide is joyful sacrificial giving. It is this freedom from the law and reliance on the Spirit—and love for a church that preaches it—that creates hearts that give joyfully without obligation, guilt, or burden. Law obligates people. Grace compels them. We long to be a people compelled by grace to give generously to the God who so generously and lavishly loves, cares for, and gives to us.

Isn’t there more to generosity and stewardship than money?

Yes! We are certainly called to be good stewards of all that God has given us: money, time, skills, influence and position (Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore, generosity and stewardship are about much more, but not less, than our financial resources. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Our heart’s inclination is to worship anything other than God. Money can become one of those things; what the Bible calls an idol. Therefore, giving it away generously to God’s service can liberate us from our idolatry and fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).

Does the pastor or leadership know what I give?

Our church believes in “blind giving,” which allows people to give free from the pastors, staff, or leadership knowing how much they have given. This practice prevents favoritism or condemnation based on giving. We want to preserve the act of giving as pure worship, and we believe giving in secrecy best supports this conviction (Matthew 6:3-4). All tithes and offerings are managed by a third-party accounting firm, which individuals receive their year end tax deductible receipt from at year end on behalf of the church.

By Matt Armstrong / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

+ What About Obedience and Sin?

Antinomianism is a big theological term for those who use grace as an excuse to do whatever they like in regards to their behavior. The preaching of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone has always brought charges as being such, and at times these charges are true and at times they are false. Christ the Redeemer is not antinomianist. Meaning, we know and proclaim that sin is destructive, and Christians should be obedient to the way of life God instructs in the Bible. While sin is an offence to God it destroys people and families and the good God wants for us.

Redeemer cares about obedience and godliness, but we don’t believe someone (neither Christian or non-Christian) becomes godly (truly, from the heart outward) by simply telling them to be obedient. Yet, we do need to be told to be godly and what godliness is, but this call cannot be the core and end of the message. The call to be godly does not bring about the power to become godly. This is the core message of the book of Galatians, Paul writing to Christians who departed from grace as to live a merit-based “Christian” life. The freedom of the gospel, and the truth of implementing faith in Christ as to be saved, is not something just for the lost person to become a Christian but also for the Christian to rest in each day.

As for obedience: God’s love, known in Jesus, changes the human heart, births new life and a desire for godliness, even while the Christian will continue to struggle against the inner condition of sin. Redeemer talks a lot about the grace of God simply because we believe it is by grace we are saved and by grace we will be transformed into a people who glorify God.

In Paul’s letters in the New Testament he inspires Christians toward godliness by teaching them the gospel over and over again, reminding them of the grace of God. Paul communicates what godliness is, calls people to be godly, and then reminds people of the gospel so that they might remember positionally (in Jesus) they are already godly even while practically they are still becoming godly. In Titus, Paul writes that grace is more than forgiveness, that it doesn’t pardon and quit, but it inspires and animates.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:11-14).”

The grace of God known in Jesus saves and transforms. This happens as we implement faith and rest in His sufficiency and righteousness more and more.

2 Peter 1:3-8

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This passage appears to be a list of things we should be and could easily feel like a to-do list, or even a list condemning us as we are not always these things. But, these traits are good, and we should desire and be these things, even though none of us are these things perfectly. We need the call to be godly, not the call for just godly behavior but one of pure heart and pure deed, yet the demand to be this is not enough to create the change we need to move in that direction. This is because we are not as we should be even once we are told what we should be. The Apostle Paul wasn’t shy in speaking of the ongoing shortcomings he knew within himself. He wrote Romans toward the end of his life and ministry, after being a Christian for some time.

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin.

This sort of honesty about our condition is the beginning of Christianity, true godliness, and love. If we go back to the list in 2 Peter 1, verses 5-7, and we are honest, we know we are not always exemplifying such motives and actions, even while as Christians we aim to be such. So, the question becomes, what is the reason a Christian is not moving in this direction? Verse 9 speaks to this, “9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”

We lack these traits when we forget the grace of God known in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grace-centeredness (or gospel-centeredness) isn’t about not being kind or pure or loving. It is about how we become these very things. When it comes to grace and obedience people often speak of balance. As if to say, “Don’t get to extreme talking about grace or people will go hog wild,” but this contradicts the very way grace works in a person’s heart., what it calls and compels us toward. 1 Peter 1 is a great passage rooting us into God’s grace and calling us to be holy.

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

There is no balance between grace and obedience. There is an order, as the New Testament teaches a vine that creates fruit. V.13 and 18 and 21 clearly speak of the core (beginning and end) of the holiness the other verses call us to. It’s not that you move on from one thing to the next. You implement faith and rest in Jesus’ work and righteousness as to know you are godly even when in your heart or in deed you are ungodly. This is the gospel that creates a heart that is at rest and peace and secure, a heart that can begin to love God and love people.

By Russ Masterson / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

+ What about Baptism?

Baptism at Christ the Redeemer

We do not believe in baptismal regeneration. Meaning, baptism is not required for someone to become a Christian or for a Christian to keep or maintain right position with God. Baptism is not at the core of our theology, as the core of our theology is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This document is not intended to be a thorough theological explanation or biblical exposition of the practice of Christian baptism, nor is it intended to be a defense or argument for or against Paedobaptism or Credobaptism. There are many, many resources that are available for research on the understanding of baptism throughout Christian history. Please see Russ for research recommendations.

Definitions

Since the Reformation there have been two major, differing views of baptism within Protestant Christianity – Covenantal Paedobaptism, and Credobaptism.

Covenantal Paedobaptism is the baptism of an infant or small child with the understanding that baptism is the symbol of God’s promise of salvation to the child. It is also seen as the initial welcoming of the child into the community of the church family. The basis for an infant being baptized is that their parents received Christ by faith alone and the seal of baptism is put on them based on their parents’ faith (Genesis 12.3 and Acts 16.31). Covenantal Paedobaptists do not believe the water of baptism saves the child, but that the sacrament of baptism is an “instrument,” a “visible word” in and through which God speaks and seals the promise of future forgiveness and salvation to the child. In other words, the God-given faith of the child is the instrument that receives Christ, and that faith is realized and actualized not at baptism, but by hearing the gospel message (Rom 10.17) and responding to it with the God-given gifts of repentance and belief.

Covenantal Paedobaptism is also seen by many as simply the sign of the new covenant of Christ, replacing the sign of the old covenant, which was circumcision. As in the old covenant, God’s grace, realized through the God-given gifts of repentance, belief and faith justifies a believer. But under the old covenant all male infants were circumcised as a sign of the covenant. Today, under the new covenant, Covenantal Paedobaptists believe baptism applies to the same objects: infants.

Covenantal Paedobaptists, like all orthodox Christians, believe that no one is truly saved until God opens their eyes to their own depravity and he brings them to a point of repentance and they believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This sets Covenantal Paedobaptism apart from, say, Catholic christening or other types of infant baptisms found in Orthodox traditions that teach baptism is actual salvation for the child.

Additionally, Covenantal Paedobaptists gladly baptize new adult Christians who have never before been baptized as children.

Credobaptism, or believer’s baptism, has been the dominant baptistic form and belief in evangelical churches over the last 50 years, especially in the South. It is probably fair to speculate that a majority of future new members of Redeemer will come from a Credobaptist background.

Credobaptism is the belief that baptism is only for a person who is able to say she has called on the name of Jesus for salvation, so it is obviously reserved only for adults or older children who are at an age of self-awareness. In other words, baptism comes after a person hears the gospel message and responds to it with the God-given gifts of repentance, belief and faith. It teaches that baptism is the “first act of obedience” for a new Christian and that it is an outward sign and seal of the salvation God has given to him. The water of baptism does not save the person, but the sacrament of baptism is a sign in and through which God speaks the promise of forgiveness and salvation that the person has already received. Another aspect of Credobaptism is that it is the act when a new Christian proudly “goes public” with her faith and is accepted and received into the church family.

Redeemer also accepts, welcomes and celebrates the baptism of adults and older children after they have become Christians.

Divisions

Baptism has been a controversial, divisive subject in the church, especially since the Reformation in the 15th and 16th centuries. Churches have been split over the issue. People have been killed over the issue. It continues to be a divisive issue today. We, however, do not want it to be a divisive issue at Christ the Redeemer.

Unity and Gospel Centrality

What we believe about baptism is important. Because it is important, we do not and will not accept or practice some forms and beliefs of baptism. As a church we affirm and teach Covenantal Paedobaptistism while recognizing and respecting many of our members may subscribe to Credobaptism. Additionally, we baptize with water by pouring or immersing, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

But, we believe the difference between Credobaptism and Covenantal Paedobaptism is not of utmost importance. It is not what unites us and we do not want it to divide us. There are things to be dogmatic about, but we do not believe the difference between these two forms of baptism is one of them.

At the same time, there is no getting around the fact that these are two different views of baptism, but it is also true that both views have solid biblical, historical and traditional legitimacy, and that there are and have been millions of committed Christians who love the gospel who subscribe to each view.

The big questions for us are these: is the differentiation between Credobaptism and Covenantal Paedobaptism worth fighting over? Is it worth splitting over? Is it worth sending away an individual or family who desires to be a part of Redeemer who may believe one way or the other? We believe the answer to these three questions is an unwavering “no.”

What unites us is the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified, not the way we baptize. We welcome people from all beliefs and walks of life to worship with us, and membership is open to all who profess Jesus to be their only hope for salvation.

To that end, Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta will accept and practice both Credobaptism and Covenantal Paedobaptism as differing-yet-valid and acceptable forms of Christian baptism. This does not mean that you cannot have a view on baptism. This does not mean your pastors do not have a view on baptism.

What it does mean is that we must hold those views loosely and be willing to submit our conviction and conscience concerning the doctrine and practice of baptism to the greater cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the unity of Christ’s church. What it does mean is that Credobaptists at Redeemer are called to fully accept Covenantal Paedobaptists as members of the Body of Christ as well as member of this church, and Covenantal Paedobaptists at Redeemer are called to fully accept Credobaptists as members of the Body of Christ as well as members of this church.

What will this look like?

If you believe in Covenantal Paedobaptism, we will gladly baptize your baby before the congregation in accordance with our baptism policies.

If you believe in Credobaptism, we will gladly dedicate your baby before the congregation in accordance with our baby dedication policies.

If you believe in Credobaptism, we will gladly baptize your child before the congregation once he/she can consciously articulate his/her faith in Christ, according to our baptism policies.

We will gladly baptize new adult believers who have never been baptized, according to our baptism policies.

We all will accept and love those of differing views on baptism within Redeemer.

FAQs

What if someone baptized as an infant in our church (or in another Christian context) later grows up to change their baptismal view from that of their family and wants to be baptized as a believer?

We generally feel uneasy with re-baptisms, but here are some basic parameters:

-As with all baptismal candidates, an interview process would sort this out on a case-by-case basis. There is no one-size-fits-all template for re-baptisms.

-If the candidate for believer’s baptism is a minor and his Christian parents are opposed to his re-baptism, we would not baptize him.

-If the candidate for believer’s baptism is a minor and her parents support their change of position while maintaining Paedobaptism themselves, we would consider baptizing her.

-If the candidate for believer’s baptism was baptized as an infant in a non-covenantal context and desires to be re-baptized, we would carefully consider baptizing him.

-If the candidate for believer’s baptism had already received believer’s baptism, we probably would not baptize her.

In every case, we would confirm as best as we are able that the candidate for believer’s baptism understands credobaptism. And in every case, we would confirm as best as we are able that candidates for infant baptism have parents who understand Covenantal Paedobaptism.

No one will walk in and just say “Please baptize my baby” and have us simply say “Okay.”

Will Redeemer baptize both infants and adults?

Yes.

What will we tell our children? We have raised them to believe in Credobaptism or Covenant Paedobaptism. Won’t this confuse them?

It might, but this is a fantastic opportunity to teach your children about the utmost importance of the gospel and the foundational beliefs of Christian orthodoxy as well as the humility that unity in the church demands.

You can explain it like this:

Our family believes that baptism is for those who are able to say they have received Jesus for salvation. But some other families in our church believe baptism is for babies in Christian families, as a sign of God’s promise to save them. We disagree with them about baptism, but we agree with them that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again, and because we agree on the most important things we are happy to be a part of the same church. What we agree on is better and bigger than what we disagree on.

Or like this:

Our family believes that baptism is for babies in Christian families, as a sign of God’s promise to save. But some families in our church believe that baptism is for those who are able to say they have received Jesus for salvation. We disagree with them about baptism, but we agree with them that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again, and because we agree on the most important things, we are happy to be a part of the same church. What we agree on is better and bigger than what we disagree on.

+ What is Communion?

Communion is a Sacrament

A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Jesus for the Church that both symbolizes the gospel and is a “means of grace” for those who receive them by faith. Jesus gave us two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper or Communion. By partaking in these sacraments by faith, we celebrate what Jesus has done for us in his death and resurrection, and we are strengthened in our faith. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

How does Communion show us the gospel?

Communion symbolizes what Christ has done for us on the cross, dying for the forgiveness of ours sins and giving us his righteous standing before God. Communion reminds us that we are acceptable to God not because of any work we have done, but because of the work Jesus Christ has done for us. The bread is a symbol of his broken body, and the juice/wine is a symbol of his shed blood. (Matthew 26:26-28)

What is the importance of Communion?

Worship: It can be easy to think that the sacraments are simply an act of obedience to Christ’s invitations in the Gospels. However, it is clear that Communion is a physical means of endless grace to us, so when we partake, we “proclaim the Lord’s death (publicly) until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). When we take communion we proclaim a message of our need and Jesus’ sufficiency.

Remembrance: “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:26–29)

Jesus allowed his body to be broken and thus gave Himself wholly to us in His crucifixion, so as we take the bread and the wine, we remember the work that Christ our Lord completed on the cross. Jesus has invited us to share in His sacrifice for us by remembering what He did through receiving the Lord’s Supper.

Means of Grace: Communion is also (along with baptism, prayer, and the preached Word) something God has given to support and fortify our faith: a means of grace. When we eat the bread and drink the cup, by faith and the work of the Spirit, we participate mysteriously in Christ’s death and resurrection. (1 Corinthians 10:16)

Who may take Communion?

At Redeemer, we believe that the Lord’s table is holy, meaning “set apart”; therefore, the Lord’s Supper is reserved for those who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior. This includes children who believe in Christ as Savior.

When can children take Communion?

We do not have a minimum age requirement for a child to receive. Some children understand the sacrament as young as 4 or 5, others not until they are 10 or 11 or 12 and so on. Therefore, we encourage parents to attend the communion class with their child, discuss faith in Jesus and the meaning of communion, and evaluate their child’s readiness to receive as they come to faith in Christ. We are happy to assist you in the process in any way we can help (1 Corinthians 11:27-32). Communion classes are offered (but not required) once a semester for children, and their parents, and again to fifth graders upon fifth grade graduation. These classes will be posted on the calendar page of the website as they are scheduled.

Conclusion

Communion is one of the most holy and sacred administrations of the Church. For that reason, Redeemer celebrates the Supper each week during worship. We believe communion should be celebrated under the authority of a local church body, and we discourage private Communion (1 Cor. 14:40).

By Matt Armstrong / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

+ What about Grace in Parenting?

Parenting by Grace Not Law

(Please read the articles on Law and Grace, and Obedience and Sin before reading this article.)

The question is being asked: What is the role of grace in parenting when structure, responsibility, and consequences are so vital for children? Another way to speak of these parenting concerns is: what is the role of grace (unconditional acceptance, forgiveness) and what is the role of law (rules, structure, consequences) in parenting? This essay is not aimed to give you a solution, as to replace the need for parental discernment with a given child, but to help you think rightly about Christianity, and thus also parenting.

Law and Grace in Parenting:

Now, let’s discuss parenting, and remember law and grace are not forces to balance, but a framework to build upon in the goal of one day having a mature grace-filled relationship with our children.

We know the importance of relating with our children in grace, so they will feel unconditionally loved, free to fail and to be imperfect, yet we also know that our children must understand right and wrong, responsibility, and consequences. Children need clarity about authority and right and wrong. And, yes, even this is grace to them. We parent, especially at the young ages, as to instill in them these boundaries, using “law” for the well-being and growth of our children.

We say and mean things like: “Don’t hit your brother with your shoe” – “Don’t lick the bottom of your shoe” – “It is not okay to react out of anger” – “Be patient and kind” – “Clean your room” – “You are losing a privilege because you didn’t follow through.”

There are hundreds of formative rules and expectations we put on our children, and this is needed, yet if this demand is all we speak it will be to the detriment of our children as they will grow up with a confused notion of family and love. We should ask: What do they see in us as parents and authority? Do they see acceptance and repentance of depravity, gratitude for grace, and love for people and God’s truth?

It is important that even while we are parenting in the first use of the law we are also parenting in light of the burden of law. Meaning, we parent giving rules, structure, responsibility, and consequences while also refusing to allow the inevitable failure of standards and expectations to be what defines and maintains their acceptance, love, and value to us.

In light of the second use of the we say and mean things like: “You are not perfect and that is okay” – “Dad is not perfect and that is okay” – “God loves us all the time” – “I love you just because you are mine” – “Jesus gives you your righteousness.”

Well, okay, but what do we say to the child that continues to rebel and shows no remorse for disobedience? Good question. You say and mean (and follow through) with something like, “Child, you will always be loved here, in obedience and disobedience, we will love you, but your actions will have consequences.”

In review: law (rules and structure, your yes is yes and your no is no, responsibility and consequences) is used in parenting for the sake of grace working in the child, so they might understand and personalize the first and second use of the law, thus embracing grace.

The entire relationship from parent to child is one of loving grace-filled authority (as God is to man). As the child matures the goal is for the parent/child relationship to no longer be dependent upon the force of law but to transition into a relationship of grace. Judgment and consequences may adapt behavior to some degree, but they are not change agents that affect the heart, which we must ultimately be about.

Let me clarify: the ultimate goal is not to have successful, clean-cut, perfectly-spoken children. The goal is to have children ravished and changed by grace of God, known in Jesus, at the core of their beings, fully defined by God’s love to them, inspired to love God and love others.

As the child matures into adolescence, if law is continued to be the force of parenting, the child will react just as we do toward God when we misunderstand our relationship with him. The child may rebel, making his own way, or perform and pretend, trying to earn love and value. All of us will experience this in measure with our children, as we as parents, still live in such ways at times. We must relate to our children in this process with grace, understanding that both rebellion and performance are prisons we do not wish for our children. Grace is the place of rest for all people.

A resistance by the parent to season all parenting by grace, and to transition the parent/child relationship to become fully defined by grace, will strain the parent/child relationship as the child grows through their teen years and into adulthood. But, if grace is the overarching purpose, and becomes the defining characteristic of the parent/child relationship, no matter what trail the child may wander down they will have a more accurate view of God and have a parent they trust. The hope is for grace-ravished hearts that live in freedom and respond to the secure relationship they know they have in God and also in their family.

By Russ Masterson / Christ the Redeemer Church of Marietta

Recommended books:

Give them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Parenting by the Book by John Rosemond