CHAPTER VIII.A

A. The Sacrament of Baptism

1. General
The Sacrament of Baptism is the Word made visible as ordained by Jesus Christ. Primarily, it represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the lives of God's people. It may also be understood as a sign of God's power and mercy in cleansing men of their sin, and as a means whereby men are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection, entering with Him into His death and raising with Him to newness of life. (Romans 6:4 following). It is to be regarded as the sign of their ingrafting into Christ, and of their entrance into the Church, inasmuch as that which unites them with Christ unites them also with His Church.
As a Sacrament, Baptism is an act of the whole Church and normally should be a administered in the presence of the worshipping community. Since the Sacrament is a means by which the Gospel is proclaimed to all who receive it or witness it, and yet cannot be separated from the Word, it should be administered ordinarily at a service at which the written Word is expounded, inasmuch as the Word sets forth the promises which the Sacrament seals to man.
The Sacrament is both a means of testifying to the reality of God's grace, and also a means by which all faithful members of the Church show forth publicly their own faith and trust in Him.
Since no person is worthy by his own merit to receive the gift of God's grace shown forth in Baptism, all those present when the Sacrament is administered are to recall their dependence on God's grace, trusting that in the Sacrament He will certify to them His promises, and draw men closer to one another through their common acknowledgment of the need in which they stand.
The Sacrament of Baptism not only shows God's grace but is a means by which His grace is communicated to men. Thus the visible Word of the Gospel in Baptism points toward, and is fulfilled by, Christ Himself.
This Sacrament shall be administered only once to each person.

2. The Baptism of Children
The Baptism sets forth the grace of God in Jesus Christ and affirms that all who are children of believers are heirs of this covenant of grace, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself. In Sacrament of Baptism they are acknowledged to be members of the household and family of God. It is therefore appropriate that at an early age the children of believers are baptized.
The baptism of a covenant child has particular significance for the Church as that Sacrament of God's grace, His unmerited love, which shows forth that, long before the child is conscious of God or confesses Him, God has set him apart, loving him with a love which is eternal. The Sacrament declares publicly and openly to all assembled that the parents claim for their child the covenant promise. Whenever the Sacrament is administered it is to be understood as a declaration of the Word of God in its grace and power to all. Believers present are called upon to see themselves likewise as helpless children, whom God in His mercy has called to eternal life in the Spirit.
The parents of the child promise to bring him up to love God and serve Him, and the members of the congregation likewise promise to surround the child with their concern and love in Christ, that he may continue in the fellowship of the Church, confess Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and live in His eternal Kingdom.
It is desirable that a minister, before baptizing a child, engage in instructions and discussion with the parents, to acquaint them with the responsibilities which it lays upon them.
The parents having presented their child for baptism at a service of public worship, the minister shall make declaration of the meaning of the Sacrament and the gifts of God which it exhibits and offers to all assembled. At least one parent, or one rightly exercising parental authority, shall be asked to make affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. He shall also promise publicly, in dependence on the grace of God, to raise the child to love God and to serve Him, to the end that the child may come to commit his life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. [The parent or parents shall give affirmative answer to the following questions:
a. Do you renew the vows which you made when you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and entered into the full Communion of this Church?
b. Do you acknowledge that your child is a sinner in need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit?
c. Do you claim God's Covenant promises on this child's behalf, and do you look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ for this child's salvation, as you do for your own?
d. Do you now covenant and promise in humble reliance on the Grace of God to bring up your child to love God and to serve Him, to the end that your child may come to commit his life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour?] The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church does not recognize sponsors customarily called Godparents.
The congregation shall then, in the name of the whole Church of Christ, be asked to undertake responsibility for the growth of the child in Christian nurture; and members of the congregation shall indicate their intention to do so in an appropriate manner. [The Congregation shall give affirmative answer to the following or equivalent question: Do you the members of this Congregation in the name of the Church of Christ, undertake with these parents the Covenant responsibility for the Christian nurture of this child?]
After prayer, the minister shall baptize the child with water alone, declaring, "_________________________ I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
The minister shall then charge the parents and the members of the congregation to be faithful in their response to God, in bringing up the child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
The Sacrament shall conclude with prayer for the child, the parents, and all those of the household of faith.
At the time of baptism the child shall be recorded as a baptized "non-communicant" member of the Church, and shall be numbered among those for whom the session has responsibility.

3. The Baptism of Adults
When persons who have not been baptized as children desire to commit their lives to Christ and become incorporated into the membership of His Church, they shall, upon their public profession of faith, receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
Before the Sacrament is administered, such persons shall receive instruction concerning the meaning of the Sacrament, the nature of the Church and the Christian faith, and the privileges and obligations attendant upon membership in the Church.

After they have satisfied the session as to their Christian purpose and given assent to the formula of questions required for membership in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, they shall ordinarily be presented before the congregation for baptism in a service of public worship which includes the reading, hearing, and preaching of the Word.
The minister shall declare the meaning of the Sacrament and of the gifts of God which it exhibits and offers to all assembled. Such persons as are to be baptized shall, in response to the prescribed questions in the Form of Government, publicly profess their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and in the power and readiness of God in Christ to forgive their sins; and shall promise in dependence on the grace of God to live as faithful members of His Church.