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.
後來,我決定辦一所加爾文基督教學校,我對 Ivan 牧師說:「你為我預備老師,明年我就開學校」,他說:「好的,就走了」。三百六十五天後,Ivan 牧師來找我,「唐牧師,我預備的老師已經好了,一共有三十五個老師,他們願意放下他們的工作,拿很少的薪水,來這裡一同創建加爾文基督教學校」。感謝上帝,現在學校已經十四年,沒有缺乏老師,但薪水不高,大家努力拚命地做,大家甘心殷勤地做,大家很有智慧地做,十四年內使加爾文基督教學校變成全雅加達最好的學校之一,在全印尼四千間學校中排名第十七;學生參加國際奧林匹克比賽常常得獎,國際、國內都有我們學校的高中畢業生、初中畢業生畢業之後報名美國最好的學校,因成績很好而被錄取。有一個人已經去了哈佛,也被接受在麻省理工就讀。
感謝上帝,從零開始一個教會,三十三年後的今天有八十多間分堂,散布在雅加達、泗水、萬隆、棉蘭、三寶瓏、梭羅、日惹、萬鴉老、古幫、安汶、錫江、巨港、占碑等許多地方;也在外國開了很多分堂,台北、香港、新加坡、吉隆坡、古晉、詩巫及馬來西亞其他地方。感謝上帝,我們不是靠錢,我們不是靠人,我們是靠上帝、靠信心,照聖經給我們的應許,相信上帝是真的、是我的。二十天以前,我對建築部門的同工說:「快快把我們建禮拜堂的模型一個個用三D印表機印出來」。一個個建築模型都做好了。最大的是還沒有建的加爾文大學校址,第二大的是已經建好的印尼歸正千禧中心(Reformed Millennium Center of Indonesia,簡稱 RMCI),第三個是快要建成功的加爾文基督教中小學新校址。在大學旁邊,我們要建一個交響音樂廳,就是歌劇院。除此以外,我們還要在PIK地區建立一間可坐兩千四百座位的大禮拜堂。加爾文大學的禮堂可以坐三千人,歌劇院可以坐一千三百人;瑪琅的禮拜堂可坐一千八百人,萬鴉老一千兩百人,古邦一千三百人,安汶八、九百人,萬隆一千兩百六十人,棉蘭一千三百五十人,還有其他的小教會,日惹可坐六百人,很多教會一間間做起來。這些禮拜堂建起來,可以容納四萬多人參加,建起來要很多錢,椅子還要很多錢,講台還要很多錢。我不是談錢,要自己發財;我乃是盼望在我沒有死以前,看見上帝的工作成全。建大學,就需要大約1萬億印尼盾,建造20座禮拜堂的建築所需的資金約為9000億印尼盾,我們需要大約2萬億印尼盾的資金,才能完成所有這些建設。全印尼沒有任何教會這麼勇敢建禮拜堂,我們只有仰望上帝。