We read the Word of God from Matthew 19. We'll read the first 15 verses. And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee and came into the coast of Judea beyond Jordan, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read? that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female and said for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh what therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder they saying to him why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away. He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives. But from the beginning, it was not so. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery. And whoso marrieth her which is put away, doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb, and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men, And there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Then, where they are brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them and pray. And the disciples rebuked him. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' And he laid his hands on them and departed thence." Thus far the reading of the Holy and Divine Scripture is on the basis of that passage. Many others in the Word of God that we have the teaching of our Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day 27, Lord's Day 27. Is then the external baptism with water the washing away of sin itself? Not at all, for the blood of Jesus Christ only and the Holy Ghost cleanse us from all sin. Why then doth the Holy Ghost call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins? God speaks thus not without great cause to wit not only thereby to teach us that as the filth of the body is purged away by water so our sins are removed by the blood and spirit of Jesus Christ but especially that by this divine pledge and sign he may assure us that we are spiritually cleansed from our sins as really as we are externally washed with water our infants also to be baptized Yes, for since they, as well as the adult, are included in the covenant and church of God, and since redemption from sin by the blood of Christ and the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, is promised to them, no less than to the adult, they must, therefore, by baptism, as a sign of the covenant, be also admitted into the Christian church and be distinguished from the children of unbelievers, as was done in the Old Covenant or Testament by circumcision, instead of which baptism is instituted in the New Covenant. Beloved Lords, Day 27 is the second Lord's Day in the Catechism on the Sacrament of Baptism. And I remind you that Although the catechism does not have a specific treatment of the doctrine of the preaching of the gospel, nevertheless, in its treatment of the sacraments, the Heidelberg catechism explains to us what the gospel is. That is because all of the sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, are signs and seals of the gospel promise And therefore, they are signs and seals of the gospel itself. And therefore, in their doctrine, teach us what the doctrine of the gospel is. That doctrine of the gospel is the only doctrine that may be proclaimed from the pulpit of the church, and specifically from the pulpit of a Protestant Reformed church, and even more specifically from the pulpit of this Protestant Reformed church, the gospel. The gospel as it is revealed in the sacred scripture, and the gospel as that gospel is signified and sealed to us in the sacraments In its first Lord's Day on the gospel signified and sealed by baptism, Heidelberg Catechism taught us the basic meaning of baptism. And here in this Lord's Day, the Heidelberg Catechism advances in its doctrine of the gospel. You have to understand that this Lord's Day has in view the corruption of the gospel by Rome. That's why the first two questions of the Lord's Day are asked the way that they are asked. Rome's gospel, which was no gospel, was this. God gives grace, not merely offers grace. That wasn't Rome's corruption. Rome says God gives grace to all who are baptized. Rome said that all who are sprinkled with the administration of Rome's water, are given the grace of the washing away of sins. They are incorporated into the church. They're in God's covenant. Rome simply assumed that. You are in until you are out. And how did you get out? You resisted that grace of God. You frustrated that grace of God. You overcame that grace of God. That's the false doctrine that's in view in this Lord's day. And that's why the catechism asked those questions. Is the washing away with water the washing away of sin itself? No, not at all. There is no administration of grace in every administration of baptism to every single child who is baptized. And then the second question comes. Well, why then does the Holy Ghost call baptism the washing away of sins and the washing of regeneration? That's a Roman Catholic responding to the insistence that there is not grace in the sacrament to all. Well, if there is not the washing away of sins in every administration of the sacrament, if there is not grace to all in the sacrament, why in the world then does the Holy Ghost call baptism by those names? And the catechism teaches us what we learned last time already. That's for our assurance. God wants to assure his people of the certainty of the washing away of their sins. And so you have to ask yourself, what is the main theme of Lords Day 27? What is it getting at? And you can summarize what the Lord's Day is getting at by this. Who are the proper objects of the grace of baptism? Is it all upon whom the sacrament comes? Catechism obviously says no. Not at all. And then also. The Catechism brings up that among the proper objects of the grace of baptism are infants. Infants. Infants of believers. Are all infants of believers the proper objects? No. Not at all. And so really you can get at all the ideas, wonderful gospel ideas, of the Lord's Day, if you treat the whole thing from the viewpoint of infant baptism. There you have to answer all the questions that the Lord's Day brings up. And there's another reason why focusing on the baptism of infants is important and enlightening and comforting for God's people. It's this. In the baptism of those infants, and the promise of God to those infants who are His, and therefore in the salvation of those infants, and in the Gospel, the truth about the salvation of those infants, we see in a mirror the salvation of all of God's people. How much do those infants have to do in order to enjoy Christ and all of Christ's salvation? Nothing. How much do you then, how much are you responsible for before you can enjoy Christ and all of Christ's salvation? Nothing. It's a free gift to infants and it's a free gift to all of God's people. So let's consider the gospel of our salvation here from this Lord's Day under the theme, infant baptism. Infant baptism. Notice first of all, the idea of infant baptism. Notice secondly, the particular grace of infant baptism. And notice finally, the admonition of infant baptism. Not, of course, an exhaustive admonition, but a brief application of what the truth of infant baptism must tell us parents about what we tell our children. The Reformed faith here insists on the baptism of the infant children of believers. The Reformed faith makes it a matter of must Are infants also to be baptized? You have to understand that this way. Yes, they must be baptized. It isn't optional whether a member of a Reformed church brings his child or her child for baptism. It is the command of God. It is the command of Jesus Christ. And therefore, it is required by the parents who are members of a Reformed church, that they bring their children for baptism. Now you say to me, why in the world are you emphasizing that? We all know that already. And I say to you, that's taken for granted today. There are Reformed churches, Reformed churches where there are members in those churches who refuse to bring their children for baptism. And the consistories and the denominations of those churches allow them to do that. They say, we'll only bring our children for dedication. We won't allow them to be baptized. We don't believe in the baptism of infants. So far, has the Baptist error infiltrated and taken over in Reformed churches? You may not take it for granted that those who call themselves Reformed believe in the infant baptism of the children of believers. That's how fire apostasy has worked in the churches. Something so basic, and it is basic. The Christian church, all through the history of the New Testament, took it for granted, and maybe that was the problem. They took it for granted. They took for granted the baptism of the infant children of believers. We may not. We must know We must understand, we must teach to our children why they are baptized. Why did we bring you when you couldn't even understand the Word God? Why did we bring you to be baptized in the name of the Triune God? Why did we begin to teach you about Jesus when you didn't even know who Jesus was? Why do we insist that you be sprinkled When you had no idea what was happening to you, why? Thus the question confronts us in this Lord's Day. Why must the infant children of believers be baptized? First of all, the infant children of believers must be baptized because infants as well as adults are included in the covenant and the church of God. Understand that the argument of the catechism there Why the infant children of believers must be baptized is not addressing yet which children of believers are included in the covenant of God. It's simply making a general argument in God's covenant in church. There are children. That's not true of a Baptist church. There isn't a single child in a Baptist church, not one. Therefore, in as much as a Baptist speaks of the covenant, there isn't a single child in a Baptist covenant. There isn't, because all of the little ones who are included in a Baptist church have made confession of faith. That's an adult act. They aren't included by virtue of their being children. without ever having made confession of faith. There are no children in a Baptist church. Not so in a Reformed church. There are children in that church. Not so in God's covenant. There are children in God's covenant. God is not ashamed to call himself the friend of little babies. God is not afraid to be the God of a tiny little child God is the God, the Friend and the Sovereign of the little ones, without those little ones having done a single thing. He's their Friend and their Sovereign, we understand, in a Reformed church. And in the sphere of God's covenant, He's their Friend and their Sovereign, ordinarily even in the womb of their mother. Before they're even born, He says, that's My child. Indeed, from all eternity, He said, that's My child. There are children in God's covenant. That covenant that is the relationship of fellowship and friendship between the triune God and His people in Christ. The covenant that is the revelation of God's own relationship in Himself as the triune God. A Father who fellowships with His Son in the Spirit. And a Son who fellowships with His Father in the Spirit. That is God's life. He's the covenant God. He has a child in His covenant. What an offense to God. to kick all the children out of His covenant. That's who He is. You kick the Son in God's own being out of the covenant. God has a Son in His covenant, in His own being. And in the revelation of who God is as the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the covenant of grace, there are children in that covenant. I recognize, of course, that the Catechism says covenant and church. But you have to see what the Catechism is doing there. The Catechism is not making a distinction between the covenant and the church. The Catechism is joining together the covenant and church. The covenant and the church are basically one. Whenever I say the word church, you have to understand covenant. And whenever I say the word covenant, you have to understand the word church. They're the same. They simply look at God's people from two different points of view. The church, when I call God's people the church and you call God's people the church, you're looking at God's people from the viewpoint of their election. God's people are not all people. God's people are elect people only. Those whom He chose before the foundation of the world to be His people. And furthermore, the word church looks at God's people as those who are called out of the world. Election always demands the calling. We're born by nature part of the world. We have to be gathered out of the world. And so we are the church by virtue of election. and by virtue of the calling and the word covenant looks at God's people from the viewpoint of their fellowship with God that church whom God's elect and that church whom God calls out of the world he doesn't hold off at arm's length and says come not near me that church whom God elects and that church whom God gathers he gathers into his fellowship and his friendship yea as his very sons and daughters now among that elect church called out of the world and in that covenant of God which is his his family there are infants that's what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 19 Matthew chapter 19 he speaks about little children Then they were brought unto Him little children. And in the parallel passages, it's made clear that they were infants who were held in the arms of their parents. That's even implied in this passage. The little children were not of their own accord walking up to Jesus. They were brought to Him. They were brought to Him holding the hands of their parents. As their parents walked up to Jesus, they brought towing behind them their little children. Or the mother or the father had their child in their arms and they brought that child to Jesus and they wanted Jesus to bless those children. And to pray over those children. They wanted Jesus to impart to those children His grace. take those children into his fellowship to bestow upon those children all of his riches and gifts that's what they wanted and the disciples rebuked him know what they said he's too busy he doesn't have time for little babies Really implied it that isn't the time for the parents with their little babies either That was all that was the whole life of those parents, you know Their whole life was wrapped up in their children They really didn't care about anything else in the world except their children That was their life Yeah, and furthermore They really were wrapped up in the salvation of those children That's what they wanted And the disciples said, Jesus, we don't have time for that. Get away. Get out of here. And Jesus was fierce against that attitude, and he rebuked them sharply and publicly. And he took those little children in his arms and he blessed them. That wasn't the kiss of a politician. That was the sovereign, gracious, and saving blessing of the mediator of the covenant. That was the incorporation of those children into his covenant and his fellowship and his friendship. That was his public declaration that those little children were his friends. And then he grounds that. Why did Jesus bless the children? For of such, he says, is the kingdom of God. There's another concept. Church, covenant and kingdom of God and kingdom of God really isn't any different from the church and the covenant. It's the same thing. It simply looks now at the people of God from another point of view. And this point of view is God's gracious rule in their heart. By Jesus Christ, so that God comes into the heart of those who are in his kingdom and he rules in their heart by his word and spirit so that he is Lord of that heart. And in that heart, therefore ruling, he's Lord of their entire life. Jesus says, in my kingdom, in God's kingdom, and in the kingdom of heaven, there are infants. Indeed, he says something even more startling. He says, of the kingdom of heaven. For the kingdom of heaven is made up of infants. He doesn't only say they're included in the Kingdom of Heaven. He says the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of infants. Now that means two things, of course. That means, first of all, that the Kingdom of Heaven includes infants. That the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of infants means the Kingdom of Heaven includes infants. But there's a broader application there that the Lord has in mind, and that He makes clearer in the parallel passage that the kingdom of heaven being made up of infants means that there is no one in the kingdom of heaven who does not receive that kingdom like an infant. That's the sharper application. There is no one in the kingdom of heaven who has not entered that kingdom like an infant. Not as an infant, there are some people whom God brings into his kingdom later in life but they receive it as an infant like an infant and I asked you how in the world does an infant receive the kingdom that's a rhetorical question but that's to make foolish this this idea a notion that man receives the kingdom by his decision, or man receives the kingdom by his efforts, or man receives the kingdom because he did something real nice for God, or man receives the kingdom because he does something, anything. You don't receive the kingdom because you do something. The kingdom of heaven does not have that kind of people in it. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is made up of infants. Infants don't do anything. Everybody knows that. How much does an infant take care of himself? How much does he change his diaper? How much does he wash himself? How much does he put himself to bed? little too does that kingdom or the kingdom become the infants by the infants doing something so with you and me now does an adult become active in his life well of course of course he does adult is not an infant but you understand All of your and my activity, all of our activity is in the kingdom. And that activity does not give us something extra that the infant doesn't already have. That's how we receive the kingdom. Because the kingdom of heaven is made up of infants who receive their kingdom and all of its blessings and grace as a free gift of God. That's why you have to baptize babies. That really should be enough. The fact that God has babies in His covenant in church Ought to make the church fall all over itself to baptize the babies. But the Catechism, willing to demolish this idea that you don't have to baptize babies, adds something and says, redemption from sin by the blood of Christ and the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, is promised to babies, no less than to the adult. has to do with God's promise. To whom does God promise to give redemption from sin? And to whom does God promise to give the Holy Ghost, the author of faith? And do you understand when the catechism says promise to give, the catechism means give. God's promise is not something that depends on man. When the catechism says God promises to give redemption from sin and the promise of the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, the catechism means to whom does God give redemption from sin and to whom does God give the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, and therefore to whom does God give faith? He he gives it. Of course, by gracious promise, but he gives it. No less to adults than to children. Isn't that clear? That Jesus blessed the babies. He blessed them. What is the blessing of Jesus Christ but grace? And what does the grace of God accomplish except the salvation of those to whom it comes? He washes them from all their sins. He forgives all their guilt. He cleanses them from all of sin's pollution and dominion. He enters into their hearts and He takes His abode up in those hearts. And He rules in those hearts by His Holy Spirit. That's what the blessing of God is. And that's what Jesus gave to those infants when He blessed them. Jesus gives infant salvation. Not just. Not just the possibility of salvation. That's really. What the corruption of the conditional promise is, it's a corruption of the very idea of the promise. When you have a conditional promise, God's really always holding something back. I promise to give you redemption from sin and the Holy Ghost if you do this. God's always holding it back. That's not a promise. It might be an offer. It's not a promise, though. God gives redemption from sin and the Holy Ghost by promise. That means He does it. And He gives it to infants so that He actually gives them their salvation. What more do they need if they have the redemption from sin and the Holy Ghost and faith? Because if they have redemption from sin and the Holy Ghost and faith, that means they have Jesus Christ and all of Christ's riches and gifts. They don't need anything more. That's why you have to baptize babies. Remember, the Catechism isn't saying which babies yet. Simply pointing out God gives to babies salvation. That's really what the baptism form talks about when the baptism form says to ask the parents, do you believe that your children are conceived and born in sin? And the parent has to say, yes, I do. But do you also believe that that same child who is conceived and born in sin is sanctified in Christ? The baptism form there is asking, do you believe that God gives to the infant children of believers salvation. Do you believe that he separates them from the world and incorporates them into Jesus and washes their guilt and their pollution and bestows upon them the spirit? That's what sanctified in Christ means. Do you believe that fundamentally that child is in a no different position as regards salvation than the adult? And the parent says, yes, yes, I do. Well, then you have to baptize them. You have to baptize them because they are members of God's covenant. And you have to baptize them because God gives them salvation. And that's what baptism is. It is a sign and seal of God's covenant and of salvation in God's covenant. You see, it's really foolish if that's true. And it is true. That's the gospel. If the baby has everything that baptism signifies and seals, why do you not baptize them? He already has everything. He's not going to get anything more by baptism. He has it all already. Therefore, because the baby has it all, you have to baptize them. You have to sprinkle them with water. You have to separate them by that sprinkling from profane and heathen children. And you have to incorporate them into God's visible church because they already are members of His church. And that question, therefore, of why must you baptize babies, that immediately leads into, well, which babies are the object of God's grace? Are they all? You must baptize them all. You can't distinguish between baby. They haven't done anything yet. They haven't shown who they are yet. They are something. When you baptize a baby, that baby already is something. That baby, according to God's eternal decree, is either elect or reprobate. That baby, according to God's gracious operation of regeneration, is either regenerated or not. baby already is either a child of God or not a child of God a child of the devil you have to baptize them all but are they all the object of the grace of God see this is where the rubber hits the road there's never been a problem in the Reformed church world, let's just say there, never been a problem in the Reformed church world with people admitting that you have to baptize infants. That's what separates the Reformed from the Baptist. The issue in the Reformed church world, and this is one of the greatest single issues of the day. I believe it's why God raised our churches up. That's why you exist. You exist to testify to the truth about this question, which of the baptized infants of believers are the objects of the grace and salvation of God? That's the most important question. Our main polemic, and polemic means fighting, Our main fight as a church isn't with the Baptists. You and I have to demolish the Baptist error so that it never finds a place in our hearts or in our families or in our church. But that's not our main opponent. Our main opponent is those Reformed, confessing Reformed churches who say yes you must baptize all the infants and fundamentally God gives grace to all those infants now their answers may differ as to what the nature of that grace is but fundamentally this is the answer God gives grace to all basically there's a promise to all every single one Whether that grace takes the form that God extends to them merely an offer of salvation. Or God actually gives them salvation and conditions the continuation of that child in salvation upon that child's doing. It's the same error. And the error is this, there's grace of God to all the children. That is the most dangerous error that you and I face today. If there is going to be apostasy in our churches, in our generations, that will be the apostasy. If you start seeing our children take up with the Baptists, that wasn't the first problem. The first problem was they fundamentally adhered to a general promise of salvation. God was basically gracious to all the children who were baptized. So that salvation to that child was conditioned on what that child does. Now from there, it's an easy step to become a Baptist. And the Catechism has this question in view. This grace that God gives in baptism. And God gives grace in baptism. Don't you ever forget it. It is a means of grace. All your life long. And all my life long, there is grace in the sacrament. Does He give it to all? That's the question that the Catechism is asking. in an historical form in the first question, question answer 72. Is then the external baptism with water the washing away of sin itself? You can, without any injustice to that question, rephrase it this way. Is there grace in baptism to all who have the water put on Now the historical form of the error was Rome's. Rome said if you baptize every baby, and you have to, Rome always said that, you have to baptize all the babies. Still today, Rome insists you have to baptize the babies. That doesn't make you a friend of Rome's. Because when Rome says you have to baptize the baby, Rome says this, when you baptize the baby, That baptism washes away every single baby's sins. It doesn't matter if that baby later goes to hell. That baby had their sins washed away in baptism. There was grace to that baby in baptism. And that's fundamentally the position of the Reformed church world today. I don't know of any denomination, I do not know of, there may be one that we don't know of. I would love to meet the people. I would be instantly one with them if we found them. But it's us and our sisters are the only ones that I know of that teach there is grace of God only to the elect in the sacrament. Nobody else teaches that. There may be people in the Reformed churches who believe that, but their churches don't teach it. Their ministers don't teach it. Their magazines don't teach it. And that isn't Reformed. The Catechism, as much as says In words so plain they can hardly be misunderstood. Is there a washing away of sins in every single baptism? No. No. No, there's not. And the Catechism says, what's the reason? Why is there not a washing away of sins in every baptism? Because the blood of Jesus Christ only and the Holy Ghost cleanse us from all sin. Now you can't think that the catechism, suppose we were all so naive that we thought that it was the water of baptism that washed away sins and we forgot that it was the blood of Jesus and the Holy Ghost that washes away sins. That's not what the catechism means. The catechism is teaching that that sacrament is a sign and a seal of the actual power of washing away sins, which is the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. That is the only thing that washes away sins, the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The church doesn't. Baptism fundamentally doesn't. Parents don't. The blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit washes away sins. Now the question is this, who gets that? Who gets that? Of all the children that are brought for baptism, they all get the water. Who gets the blood and the Holy Ghost? Well, first of all you have to say, all those and those only for whom Christ died. There's no blood shed except that was shed for those who get it in their own mind, conscience and experience. Do you see? If there's grace to every single child that was baptized and is baptized, first of all you have to teach this. Christ died then for every single child who was baptized. If they get His blood, He died for them. Then you also have a universal atonement. But still more. Who gets the blood? and the spirit of Jesus Christ. Really, who for whom did he die? I lay down my life, he said, for my sheep. That isn't a new thing. That's an old thing. That's what God taught in the Old Testament with Jacob and Esau. They both were circumcised. The Catechism says circumcision came in the place of baptism. They both were circumcised. Was Esau part of God's covenant? No, he was not. God said about Esau that He hated him. And Jacob. Jacob was included. Why? Because he was a better person? He certainly was not. All that Jacob ever was and any love that Jacob ever had for God was because God loved Jacob. There isn't a general grace in the sacrament. Of that the catechism is clear. There is not a washing away of sins for all. To whom then does that washing come? To the elect. And that really answers the question of then who are incorporated and become members of God's covenant, who are the citizens of God's kingdom, and who are the members of His church. It's the elect. They are and they are alone the recipients of the grace of God. But the Catechism also contradicts that idea that there's a general grace in the sacrament another way. The Catechism denies that the universally admitted condition of the grace of God is, in fact, a condition. When you ask that Reformed person who says, well, yes, God gives a promise to every child. He's a loving God, after all. And God even incorporates that child in a certain way in His covenant. And you say to them, God, has that child become a real member of God's covenant then? And how is that child really saved? They say to you, well, that child has to decide to believe. Faith. Faith is the universally admitted condition. You have to decide to believe. God gives you all these grand promises. All you have to do is sign the check. God gives you all these wonderful promises, all you have to do is reach out your hand and take it. And what they mean by that is faith is a condition. Faith is man's doing by which man receives all that God promises. And the Catechism says, no it isn't. No it is not. God promises, that means God gives. The Holy Spirit, and what does it call the Holy Spirit? The author of faith. He's the author of faith. Author, you know what an author is, don't you? An author conceives, plans, writes, and finally publishes his book. That's an author. That's his book. That's not anybody else's book. That's His book. His name is on it. And if you claim it for yourself, you're a plagiarist. Now, in spiritual matters, spiritual plagiarism is really bad. The Holy Spirit says about your and my faith, faith that He planned, because He elected you, Faith that he earned because he was involved at the cross. Faith that he gives because he works it. He says, I'm the author of it. That's my faith. Because I gave it to you. Working in you both the will to believe and the act of believing also. There's a condition. You don't do anything to believe. He gives you faith. He's its author. You see? And you can't claim it for yourself as your act or work without being a spiritual plagiarist. And spiritual plagiarists are damned. Faith isn't a condition. And therefore the grace of baptism isn't conditional. It's particular. It's given to all God's elect. as a free and a gracious gift. And besides, baptism has to do with God's promise. Doesn't that move anybody? It's His promise promise if I promise something and I don't do it shame on me indeed I become a liar God promised he promises to every single one of his elect I will save you from your sins and I will bring you to heavenly glory in Christ Jesus. I promise. That's what baptism is all about. The promise of God. Do you understand that's a twofold significance if he promises to someone. And doesn't do it. I don't know that God. I don't want that God. I'm opposed to that God. He's a liar. And secondly, that isn't our God. He promised, and He does it. That's what baptism teaches. That's even why God called it the washing away of sins and the washing of regeneration, not to teach us that he does that for every person who was baptized. He does it for most of our children, even all of our children. He's a gracious God. But that's not why he calls it the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins to teach that he does that for every person who was baptized, because he does not. He calls it that to assure us. To teach us about his faithfulness and his goodness and his graciousness and his power and his the surety of his promise. He saves us and our seed. He does. That's what we have to teach our children. We have to teach them the truth of their baptism. The God of heaven and earth had you sprinkled with water. And this is what that means. It means a gracious, faithful, and unfailing promise. Believe it with all your heart. Don't believe anything else or you depart from that God. It demands that we teach our children the truth, not just the generic Christianity, but the truth of the Reformed faith about the covenant and God's unconditional promise. That's what we have to teach them. We may never neglect that. We may not take that for granted. And we have to teach them to love that God. To cleave to Him. To forsake everything for His sake. Never to despair of His mercy. but in all their life, in all of their trials and tribulations, to seek Him, to turn to Him, to love Him. Then we teach them the gospel in harmony with their baptism. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy holy Word. Apply it to our hearts. Cause us to love it, Lord, and put the love of that truth in the hearts of our children. And give us grace as church and parents and school too, to teach them this truth and all things in light of this truth. For Jesus' sake, amen. We pray that you were edified by the preaching of the gospel today. 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