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Both these words represent an important aspect of spiritual growth. At some point, Christians hear the good news (gospel) proclaimed, or receive instruction on the beliefs of the church. What is fostered and nurtured is faith. That word itself is complex, it is not only a system of religious belief and values we may have, but it may reflect actions taken by people. Often, it is defined not by what we can measure, or factual evidence, but something we believe in spite of evidence to the contrary. Religious faith should never be placed in opposition to the natural world or the discipline of science. Christians may hold to main stream science regarding a host of things that we know about the universe. Yet faith may transcend what we know from the sciences. It may sometimes account for that which we do not yet know or grasp, or a hope that we look for in the future. We can never know through science that God exists, yet by faith, we may believe that God is and that God has created us and our world for a good purpose.
Faith begins with God. It is God that creates, strengthens, and nurtures faith in the human heart. We love God only because God first loved us, and it is God that pursues us out of love and grace (1 John 4:19). St Augustine wrote, “You never go away from us, O God, yet we have difficulty in returning to you. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love, let us run.” Faith is not something that we can earn or achieve on our own, it cannot be stolen or purchased, it is ours only to receive.
Ordinarily, faith is nurtured through Word and Sacrament. The gifts of God's grace comes to us through the hearing of God's word, at the font, and at the Lord's table. It is Christ, who comes to us, meets with us, and encounters us in the reading of the gospels. The promises of scripture are sealed for us in when we eat together Holy Communion. We enact and demonstrate our faith in the sacraments. For example, at the table, all are welcome, there is equality, diversity and inclusion at the table. All are welcome who come to partake in faith by grace regardless of social or economic standing.
What exactly is the message of the “good news” (which means gospel). Simply put, it is the proclamation that God loves us, that Jesus embodied that love in his death, and through the Holy Spirit, was raised from the dead, vindicated by God, and empowers us for life and ministry (1 Tim 3:6). In the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's table), we are claimed, sustained and empowered for a life of faith. We are accepted as the people God created, forgiven of our sin, engrafted into the body of Christ, and called to exhibit the love of God in our world. Often Jesus spoke of God and God's kingdom, this is the 'realm' or the way in which we live to extend God's grace and mercy in our world. All are welcomed to be part of this family or community of faith, as God in Christ has made a new covenant or agreement, accepting all into God's family who come by grace through faith.
This is why infant baptism as a sacrament is essential in the life of the church. Peter the apostle offers baptism for adults, children and infants after his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:39). Similar to the covenant with the Hebrew people that had circumcision a sign of the covenant so the early followers of Jesus adopted water baptism as a sign of the covenant God makes with all people. Infants are also included in this covenant relationship with God. Infant baptism emphasizes a life long journey to which we are called, as well as the assurance of God's sustaining grace.
An Infant in baptism becomes a child of the covenant but must likewise grow into a living faith just as all Christians. This leads us to see salvation (life in this life and the next) as a process, a journey, or a cycle of growth. Christian education and spiritual formation is vital in the life of all christians as we grow into our faith. Too often, “salvation” has been seen by Christians as something that is only individual while it is in reality corporate as well as individual, and extends to our world as well. Christians are called to bring healing to the natural world as well.
The sacraments are themselves a means of grace. It is important often in areas that are spiritual, to embody meaning in physical tangible ways. This is not only because we should not make a division between the physical and spiritual, mind and body, but also because the spiritual is often something unseen, just as faith often is a belief in spite of evidence. In the sacraments we see outwards signs of spiritual realities, of God's work in our lives. Water, bread and wine, are taken as representing the daily life giving elements that we require, that brings life, joy and nourishment. We gather as we are, a group of often cantankerous, grumping, annoying, sinful, people, different in many ways. Regardless of our gender, sexual orientation, nationality, economic status, racial identities, or social differences, we gather to partake together as family and as neighbors, in the worship and work of the church.
Lastly, the often of re-baptism often comes into discussion. Too often, infant baptism may be rejected by some Christians because they were not old enough when they received the sacrament to speak for themselves. This is wrong thinking. It places the entirety of the spiritual work of God on the individual's decision and ignores the unseen work and promises of God. People may always make a recommitment of their faith or even a public re-affirmation of their faith. Christians may practice daily reminders of their baptism like placing hands in water from the front at church or renewing baptismal vows. The initial trinitarian baptism remains valid because it is God's work in the Spirit and never stopped working in our lives. It doesn't depend on our faithfulness, but on God's.
Faith comes to us as a gift from God, whether it is the first time we hear the story of Jesus or if we are seasoned Christians having attended worship our entire lives, the Spirit continues to be active awakening and strengthening faith in our hearts and lives in us and in our churches. It is faith that flows out of the faithfulness of Jesus to God, and the invitation to walk the same path as Jesus. It is a faith that invites all to be part of the family and people of God. The blessings of the Hebrew Scriptures and the blessings given to Abraham have now been made available to all who will follow after the path of righteousness.
Many questions remain, for example, at what age should a child receive catechism, what is the nature of that catechism? Should adults receive initial instruction prior to their baptism? What is effective faith formation? While the church will continue to wrestle with these questions, both in proclamation and in instruction, the message is always clear, that God continually calls to us, beckoning us to enter into a divine relationship with God, others, and our world, and to continue to learn, grow and explore that relationship.
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