What’s the problem that needs to be solved? The myriad examples of baptized folks who live unrepentant wicked lives and treat their baptism presumptuously as if it were a talisman or coupon for a free meal rather than as a covenant with promises. It’s like admiring the deed to some property because it was printed on some awesome high-quality paper rather than because of the ownership it represents. It’s absolutely silly, but folks do it. That’s the reason the Reformers rejected “ex opere operato." They’d seen some crazy abuse (as do we all). If faith truly is synonamous with “trust” (and it is), we can certainly trust in the Sacrament because we trust in the God who has made the promises. We can indeed be assured of God’s goodness towards us (as the Baptismal BCP service says). And we also are called to repentance so that we truly live in light of those promises and in the covenant God makes with us through baptism. Not presumptuous, but assured. We probably ought not to try to dig into the parts of this that God simply doesn’t tell us about. That’s something of a besetting sin of Western theology. – Isaac Rehberg