I might be the only one, but sometimes I wish I had a little more time during the Sunday sermon! Or, more often, I sometimes wish I could redo parts of the sermon and add a little more clarity. If I could do either of those things, I might go back and clarify the distinction between those who baptize infants (paedobaptists), and those who do not (credobaptists, i.e. us), and how they differ in their understanding of the new covenant (the subject of Jeremiah 31:31-34). I think that might have been helpful, as we may not all have that framework. First, here's where we all agree. Christians of all stripes agree that baptism and communion are the signs of the new covenant (just as circumcision—maybe along with the Sabbath—was the sign of the old covenant). This does not mean we are saved by baptism! We are saved by faith. But, the external signs, the outward expressions, that we belong to the new covenant are the observance of baptism and communion. On that we are agreed.

Where we differ is in our understanding of who belongs to that new covenant. Those who baptize infants believe that believers and their children belong to the new covenant. They believe that the new covenant is made up of all those who belong to the visible church - those who outwardly are part of the community of God. And since believers and their children belong to the new covenant, believers and their children should all be baptized. We, however, as those who hold to believers' baptism (credobaptists), believe that only those who believe and have been born again truly belong to the new covenant. This is in part (but not totally) based off of Jeremiah 31:31-34, which seems to be describing the new covenant member as one who has been born again and who relationally knows the Lord. So, we believe that those who belong to the new covenant are those who belong to the invisible/universal church; all those who are truly born again. So, we do not baptize our infants, but rather only baptize upon profession of faith (indeed, baptism is the profession of faith).

All of this shapes how we approach church membership. While all are invited to attend the church, and all are welcome to participate to some degree to worship and experience the life of the church (and wisdom must be exercised to determine what degree all are allowed to participate), only those who are born again and belong to the new covenant would be qualified to be members. Over the next few weeks, we'll continue to unpack what it means to be a formal member of the church.