Ordinarily the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments according to divine institution belong to the ministers of the church, who have been legitimately called to that office, as we have shown [§§ 51–63]. Against this divinely established order one cannot and should not set forth extraordinary examples of extreme necessity, which are indeed exempted from the common law but which do not at all overturn the general rule. Thus in the case of extreme necessity when either a man must die without Baptism or a private person must confer Baptism, it is better for a private person to administer Baptism than that the man die without being baptized. Nonetheless the administration of Baptism ordinarily belongs to the ministers of the church, as is gathered from Matt. 28:19 and Mark 16:15, where the duty both of preaching and of baptizing is committed to the apostles.
Translations, summaries, and conversations of the great writings of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1700)
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Baptism and Emergency Situations (Johann Gerhard)
Lutherans now and in the age of Lutheran Orthodoxy held that any Christian may perform a Baptism in a case of emergency, whether he is a pastor or not. But does this mean that there is no need for the office of the ministry? And how should the institution of Baptism in Matt. 28:16-20 be understood? Johann Gerhard comments on this issue in Theological Commonplaces: On the Ministry, Part One (St. Louis: Concordia, 2011), § 74, pp. 97-98.
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I think that a pastor ought bring up a layperson, once in a great while (to do the Baptism) just to make clear that it is the Word, attached to the water that makes Baptism effective...and not the person doing the actual dunking, sprinkling, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree...as a general rule and for good order, the pastor ought to be the one who baptizes.
Thanks.
theoldadam
"Nonetheless the administration of Baptism ordinarily belongs to the ministers of the church, as is gathered from Matt. 28:19 and Mark 16:15, where the duty both of preaching and of baptizing is committed to the apostles." We ought to teach what extreme necessity is, and instruct our people about the order of emergency baptism. But any time a pastor is present, he is the one who should do the Baptism. That is his God-given duty. That is the whole point of what Gerhard is saying here.
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