Baptism is the sacramental sign of the New Covenant. It is a sign by which God seals His pledge to the elect that they are included in the covenant of grace.
Baptism signifies several things:
In the first instance, it is a sign of cleansing and the remission of our sins.
It also signifies being regenerated by the Holy Spirit,
being buried and raised together with Christ,
being indwelt by the Holy Spirit,
being adopted into the family of God, and
being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Baptism was instituted by Christ and is to be administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The outward sign does not automatically or magically convey the realities that are signified. For example, though baptism signifies regeneration, or rebirth, it does not automatically convey rebirth. The power of baptism is not in the water but in the power of God.
The reality to which sacrament points may be present before or after the sign of baptism is given. In the Old Testament the sign of the covenant was circumcision. Circumcision was, among other things, a sign of faith. In the case of adults, such as Abraham, faith came prior to the sign of circumcision. With the children of believers, however, the sign of circumcision was given prior to their possession of faith, as was the case with Isaac. Likewise, in the New Covenant, Reformed theology requires adult converts to be baptized after making a profession of faith, while their children receive baptism before they profess faith.
Baptism signifies a washing with water. The command to baptize may be fulfilled by immersion, dipping, or sprinkling. The Greek word to baptize includes all three possibilities.
The validity of baptism does not rest upon the character of the minister who performs it or the character of the person who receives it. Baptism is a sign of the promise of God of salvation to all who believe in Christ. Since it is God’s promise, the validity of the promise rests on the trustworthiness of the character of God.
Because baptism is the sign of God’s promise, it is not to be administered to a person more than once. To be baptized more than once is to cast a shadow of doubt on the integrity and sincerity of God’s promise. Surely those who have been baptized two or more times do not intend to cast doubt on God’s integrity, but the action, if properly understood, would communicate such doubt. It is every Christian’s duty, however, to be baptized. It is not an empty ritual, but a sacrament commanded by our Lord.
后来,我决定办一所加尔文基督教学校,我对 Ivan 牧师说:「你为我预备老师,明年我就开学校」,他说:「好的,就走了」。三百六十五天后,Ivan 牧师来找我,「唐牧师,我预备的老师已经好了,一共有三十五个老师,他们愿意放下他们的工作,拿很少的薪水,来这里一同创建加尔文基督教学校」。感谢上帝,现在学校已经十四年,没有缺乏老师,但薪水不高,大家努力拼命地做,大家甘心殷勤地做,大家很有智慧地做,十四年内使加尔文基督教学校变成全雅加达最好的学校之一,在全印尼四千间学校中排名第十七;学生参加国际奥林匹克比赛常常得奖,国际、国内都有我们学校的高中毕业生、初中毕业生毕业之后报名美国最好的学校,因成绩很好而被录取。有一个人已经去了哈佛,也被接受在麻省理工就读。
感谢上帝,从零开始一个教会,三十三年后的今天有八十多间分堂,散布在雅加达、泗水、万隆、棉兰、三宝珑、梭罗、日惹、万鸦老、古帮、安汶、锡江、巨港、占碑等许多地方;也在外国开了很多分堂,台北、香港、新加坡、吉隆坡、古晋、诗巫及马来西亚其他地方。感谢上帝,我们不是靠钱,我们不是靠人,我们是靠上帝、靠信心,照圣经给我们的应许,相信上帝是真的、是我的。二十天以前,我对建筑部门的同工说:「快快把我们建礼拜堂的模型一个个用三D印表机印出来」。一个个建筑模型都做好了。最大的是还没有建的加尔文大学校址,第二大的是已经建好的印尼归正千禧中心(Reformed Millennium Center of Indonesia,简称 RMCI),第三个是快要建成功的加尔文基督教中小学新校址。在大学旁边,我们要建一个交响音乐厅,就是歌剧院。除此以外,我们还要在PIK地区建立一间可坐两千四百座位的大礼拜堂。加尔文大学的礼堂可以坐三千人,歌剧院可以坐一千三百人;玛琅的礼拜堂可坐一千八百人,万鸦老一千两百人,古邦一千三百人,安汶八、九百人,万隆一千两百六十人,棉兰一千三百五十人,还有其他的小教会,日惹可坐六百人,很多教会一间间做起来。这些礼拜堂建起来,可以容纳四万多人参加,建起来要很多钱,椅子还要很多钱,讲台还要很多钱。我不是谈钱,要自己发财;我乃是盼望在我没有死以前,看见上帝的工作成全。建大学,就需要大约1万亿印尼盾,建造20座礼拜堂的建筑所需的资金约为9000亿印尼盾,我们需要大约2万亿印尼盾的资金,才能完成所有这些建设。全印尼没有任何教会这么勇敢建礼拜堂,我们只有仰望上帝。