Why the True Universal Faith Teaches Infant Baptism
Matthew 28:18—20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” Notice that we make disciples by baptizing.
1 Peter 3:21 And this water symbolizes Baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism saves us.
Ephesians 2:8—10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Even our faith is a gift from God. It is not based on our decision or experience, but on God’s workmanship. We are God’s creation in Christ Jesus; therefore the pledge spoken of in 1 Peter 3: 21 is not a pledge we make to God, it is a pledge that God makes to us. Otherwise our salvation would be a work we do, and not grace.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Unless we are baptized with water, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God, just like Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16: 16). Some will argue from this that a person must believe before he can be baptized, but the passage does not indicate a relationship of time. Also, if we must believe before we can be baptized, then Baptism would not save us and Saint Peter lied. Since we know that there is no salvation apart from belief (faith) in Christ (John 3: 36), Baptism itself must create faith, or it again could not save us.
For those who continue to argue against infant Baptism, we point out that infants were circumcised in ancient times when they were eight days old. Circumcision gave them salvation because it placed them under the covenant. Infants are also part of all nations, and all nations are to be baptized (see Matthew 28: 18—20 above). If it is true that infants were not considered part of all nations when Christ gave the command, then women also must not be baptized, because only men were numbered in those days.
In the same way, children are part of the entire households that were baptized, and are the recipients of the promise spoken in Acts 2:38, 39 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." Baptism forgives sins. In this passage we also see that Baptism is for those whom God calls, not those who have decided they will follow God, accepted Christ, or prayed a certain prayer.
Against those who protest that a child is innocent, or that it cannot believe because faith is an act of conscious will, we say, “They are mislead.” By Jesus’ words, “Let the little children (infants) come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” (Mark 10: 14), we see that children are sinful, or they would not need to come to Christ; they would already be with Him. This is in complete agreement with Psalm 51: 5 “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me,” and the many places in Scripture that state to the effect: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23). Children are sinful from conception. They have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But we also see that infants are able to believe or they could not come to Jesus. Since infants are not capable of verbal comprehension, they are normally brought to faith through the great mystery of Baptism, which has the power to save because it forgives sins (see 1 Peter 3:21 and Acts 2: 38 above).
To those who claim that they do not make faith a work of man, nor slander Holy Baptism, but will not baptize infants, we say: “It is only those who deny the power of Baptism, which God Himself claims it has, that will not baptize infants.” They deny its power because they believe that Baptism is a public confession of faith that we make before God and man, rather than something God does for us to save us. On the other hand, those who understand the great power of Baptism are not concerned about the form (immersion, sprinkling, pouring, or washing) that is used in baptizing. Again it is those who make Baptism a work of man, who insist on a particular form.
Even the act of Baptism shows that it is God’s work and not man’s, since we do not baptize ourselves, but are baptized by the hand of a Christian. Christ Jesus our Savior said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples” (John 8: 23); Baptism is one of the most basic teachings of our Lord. It was commanded by Him just before He ascended to heaven. His teaching is that Baptism forgives sins and saves us.
Infant Baptism has always been the practice of the Church until the time of the Reformation. However, in the Reformation, the Lutheran Church held to the true, universal, and scriptural practice of infant Baptism. Other churches did not. The only time in history prior to the reformation that infant Baptism was not practiced, and then only by some, was around the fourth century. At that time a false teaching was promoted saying that Baptism forgave only the sins committed before Baptism, rather than all sins even after Baptism. Therefore some people put off Baptism until the moment of death so that they would not later sin and negate the great benefit of Baptism (according to their misguided thought). Not only was this a false understanding, it was a dangerous practice because a person might die suddenly. The people who held to this false teaching did not say that infant Baptism was wrong; they simply misunderstood that Baptism forgives all sins—even those later in life.
Contrary to this false understanding we have the voice of some very early church fathers (100-200 A.D.—students of the Apostles) who wrote that they were baptized as infants. They understood and taught this as the correct, normal Biblical practice.
If there is still any question whether it is proper to baptize infants, the Holy Christian Church will always do what is safe for salvation. We know that no harm is done if a person is baptized as an infant when he should not have been. On the other hand there can be great harm done if one should have been baptized, and was not.
Lord have mercy on our understanding. Help us to be Your disciples by holding to your teaching. Amen.
