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  (7) Isaac and Mount Moriah Genesis 22:1-2 “ After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘ Abraham! ’ And he said, ‘ Here I am. ’ Then the LORD said, ‘ Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. ’” God wanted to test Abraham. What was this test? It had to do with Beersheba. The well symbolized the promise, and Christ, the embodiment of that promise, symbolized it. Exodus 15:25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them. Exodus 16:4 tells us why this test is being conducted: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'See, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a certain amount each day, so that I may test them to see whether they will wa...

  (On the Holy Communion) Question 75: How does the Holy Communion remind and assure us that we participate in the one sacrifice of Christ offered on the cross and in all his blessings? Answer: This is as follows: Christ commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and drink this cup. And with this command, he made this promise: First, as I clearly see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely the Lord's body was offered and broken for me and his blood shed for me on the cross. Second, as I clearly receive from the minister the bread and cup of the Lord given to me as symbols of his body and blood and taste them with my mouth, so surely the Lord renews and nourishes my soul with his crucified body and his shed blood for everlasting life. Those who can participate in the Lord's Supper must be born again of water and the Spirit. These are believers who believe that they died with Jesus Christ on the cross (baptism by wate...

  Question 74: Should infants also be baptized? Answer: Yes. Infants, as well as adults, are God's people under His covenant. Like adults, infants have been promised forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit, who gives faith. Therefore, through baptism, a sign of the covenant, infants are incorporated into the church of Christ and are distinguished from the children of unbelievers. In the Old Testament, this was accomplished by circumcision, which in the New Testament was replaced by baptism. There is no specific mention of infant baptism in Scripture, other than the Old Testament law requiring circumcision on the eighth day after birth. However, in the New Testament, Jesus speaks of this through the parable of a young child. Matthew 19:14 “ Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. ” This is a message that the saints should simply accept the word of God like children. When Abra...

Question 73: Why, then, does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins? Answer: There is sufficient reason for this. God intends to teach us that just as water washes away our filth, so the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins. But more importantly, by this divine pledge and sign, God assures us that our spiritual washing away of sins is as real as our physical washing with water. When a person washes his body, he becomes clean at the time, but over time, he becomes dirty again. Therefore, when he becomes dirty, he must wash again. This is the same concept that believers use to wash away sins with the blood of Jesus. However, Jesus' blood accomplished a single atonement, and all sins are forgiven once for all for those who enter Christ. Hebrews 10:17-18, "And their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more." Where these are forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. The blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cr...

Question 72: Does external washing with water itself wash away sins? Answer: No. Only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit wash away all our sins. Matthew 3:11 "I truly baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to remove. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." John the Baptist baptized with water. The baptism John the Baptist administered was for the washing away of sins. Matthew 3:6 states, "Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." Since this was before Jesus' ministry on the cross, the concept of atonement did not apply. However, when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Matthew 3:15 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John gave him permission.” It was to save those who would come into Christ as sons of God in the future.  “To fulfill all right...

Question 71: Where is the sure promise that we are washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ just as we are washed with water in baptism? Answer: When Christ instituted baptism, he said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” and “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” This promise is repeated in other passages where baptism is spoken of as the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins. Acts 22:16 "And now why do you delay? Rise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord (aporousai tas hamartias)." Aporousai tas hamartias (ἀπόλουσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας) means "be forgiven of your sins." Aporousai means to remove (take off), and is translated as wash away (to clean with water). Washing away sins implies that sins accumulate again and must be washed away, but removing sins means completely...