When a friend announced to a bunch of dads in their 30s and 40s that he was going in for ‘the snip,’ we all knew what it meant—and made jokes at his expense.
Someone told an urban-myth-type legend about a procedure gone horribly wrong. Then the conversation moved on, but with the understanding we probably wouldn’t see our friend for a few days. He certainly wouldn’t be riding his bike for a week or two.
Our modern-day ‘snip’ is of course different to the procedure Abraham submitted to in Genesis, or the Israelites in Joshua or even Timothy in Acts.
A different part of the anatomy, their snip would’ve taken longer to recover from, and, according to a new book on the topic, was done for almost opposite reasons. Rather than a surgical intervention to stop a man fathering children, this new book argues that circumcision was a sign to Abraham that he would father children—one child in particular, a seed through whom the world would be blessed.
Please excuse this middle-aged-dad introduction. I assure you I’m not reviewing a men’s ministry manual. Actually, it’s a new exploration of baptism, Washed by God. But according to its author, Karl Deenick, baptism is so intimately connected to circumcision that you can’t talk about one without mentioning the other.
Baptism: The New Circumcision?
You’ve probably heard there’s a view that matches circumcision with baptism; that they’re the Old and New Testament equivalent of each other. Like me, you’re probably hazy on exactly how and why. Perhaps the topic of circumcision is not so much eye-watering as it is eye-glazing.
To put it simply: many theologians and pastors argue the connection is about promise and obligation. These signs—circumcision and baptism—are a promise from God to save and then a ‘covenant seal’ that, should the recipient continue in faith, God will be faithful to them. This connection is found in passages like Colossians 2 which puts both baptism and circumcision side-by-side. It’s also argued from the similarities between the testaments: the same God, the same Saviour, the same faith, the same work through families.
Washed By God: The Story of Baptism
Karl Deenick
Baptism is a subject which has caused confusion amongst Christians for many years. Jesus included it in his final charge to the disciples. It is clearly important, so why do we spend so much time arguing about it? Baptism is a God–given sign, not to obscure the gospel, but to make it clearer. Karl Deenick explains not only what baptism is, what it isn’t, and who should be baptised, but he follows the threads of symbolic cleansing through both the Old and New Testaments. He explains and exalts the gospel as he shows how the Old Testament foreshadows and finds its fulfillment in Jesus.
One of the most important outcomes of this connection is the practise of infant baptism. Just as children of believers received the sign in the Old Testament, so they should receive it in the New. But remember, this is not a sign that they are saved, but of a promise and an obligation.
Could this be correct? What is the relation between ‘the snip’ and ‘the dip?’ Should believers’ children be baptised, and if so, why?
Purified By Abraham’s Son
Deenick’s exploration, Washed By God: The Story of Baptism, offers a fresh take. His PhD was on the topic of circumcision, and that’s how many Christians know him: ‘Oh, you’re the circumcision guy!’ Now the research and deep thinking that earned this reputation have been put to further use.
According to Deenick, water washings in Leviticus were not fulfilled by baptism but by Jesus, who lovingly washes us of our impurity before a Holy God. In the same way, circumcision was not fulfilled by baptism but by Jesus, the promised seed to come.
Baptism points back to Jesus, who fulfilled all God’s promises. Prior to that, circumcision pointed forward to him in hopeful expectation. So, whenever a person links to Jesus by faith, they are united to the blessed descendant of Abraham and washed of their impurity in him. In Deenick’s words:
When people think of baptism, they often think of covenant… But that’s not the main way that baptism language is deployed in the New Testament. In fact, baptism has a great Old Testament pedigree both in cleansing and circumcision. Baptism is a sign of the cleansing that God promised in the Old Testament which has now been fulfilled in the promised descendant of Abraham, Jesus Christ. (148-49)
To be in Christ is to be united to the One in whom all the signs come true. To be in Christ is to be washed by the son God promised Abraham.
Baptism points back to Jesus… [and] circumcision pointed forward to him.
Individuals and The Sign
But don’t think Deenick’s view simply gives the covenant idea ‘the chop’ in favour of a ‘profession of faith’ baptism.
Drawing on Genesis 15, 17, and Romans 4, he shows that it was only Abraham (and his son) who received the promise. It was only Abraham who received the seal of righteousness and sign of what would be.
According to Washed by God, every other subsequent circumcision was not a sign God was giving to the individual who received it, but a sign for the whole community to believe what God said and did for Abraham. Let that sink in: circumcision was not a sign for each individual but for the community connected to God’s promise; an invitation and a call to wait for its fulfillment.
Ccircumcision was not a sign for each individual but for the community connected to God’s promise.
The same is true in the New Testament, Deenick argues. Baptism is not a sign to each individual of something that has or will happen to them personally. Instead, it’s a sign to the whole church, (and even the world beyond), that God has fulfilled his promises. Each act of baptism therefore does not guarantee the salvation of the individual receiving it. Rather, it proclaims the promise come to the world: anyone can be washed and blameless in Jesus Christ.
Baptism will now be practised wherever this good news is proclaimed and received. To receive the sign is to be brought under the promise and discipled in what it is holding out. In the case of adults, they’ll need to make a conscious decision to come in connection with it. In the case of children, their parents will bring them. Both are now being discipled under the message of Jesus’ complete cleansing.
Take the Plunge
Deenick’s book is full of sustained and masterful biblical exposition. Exegeting key Old and New Testament passages, I’d say he’s got a good package. Best of all, it’s a book that points to Jesus, enabling us to grow in awe and thanks for the cleansing work of his blood.
He shows us how baptism is the new circumcision—personally I was convinced. Not that the former fulfills the latter, but that in Christ, both find their realisation.
If you ask me, I’m ready to take the plunge.
