What Bible verses say that infants should be baptized?

Question

I was baptized as an infant but I would like to know where the Bible tells me to.

Answer 1

Well of course the correct response is that it really doesn't matter whether the Bible states it or not. Christ gave His teaching and full authority to the Church, not to a book compiled by the Church 350 years later.

The Bible tells us the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth. The Bible tells us that whatsoever the Church binds upon Earth is bound in heaven. The Bible tells us that anyone who listens to the Church is listening to Christ. So, the fact that the Church of the Living God approves infant baptism, as it did for 1,500 years before the Protestant tradition began, should be enough for any real follower of Christ.

But I realize that Protestants are trapped in the manmade tradition of sola scriptura, and in spite of the destruction and doctrinal chaos that false doctrine has created since it was invented a few hundred years ago, let's see what the Bible does say ...

First, the Bible says that no-one will enter the kingdom without being born of water and the Spirit. This obvious reference to the water of baptism doesn't exclude children. It says "no-one". Therefore it is crucial to have children baptized as promptly as possible after they are born.

Secondly, even though Christ said no-one will enter the Kingdom without baptism, in another place He looked upon a group of small children including babes in arms, and said "to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven". (Matt 19:14) He could not have made that statement unless these children were at least eligible for baptism, or more likely already baptized. Otherwise He would have been contradicting Himself.

Thirdly, the Bible tells us that baptism under the New Covenant replaces circumcision under the Old Covenant. (Col. 2:11–12) Circumcision was almost always performed on infants, so if Paul wished to exclude infants from baptism, comparing it to circumcision was a very poor example to use.

Fourthly, we see in acts that it was the common practice of the early Church to baptize the entire families of new converts.(Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33; 1 Cor 1:16 ). Obviously most of these households included children, some of them very young. There was no such thing as birth control in those days. Scripture does not make exceptions for young children. It says the entire household was baptized.

The Catholic Church of course looks beyond what the Apostles mentioned in their correspondence. When the Church wants to know what happened in the early Cdays of Christianity, it looks at history, not just at the Bible, which was never intended to be a history book. First, consider this ... if baptism of infants was not the original practice of the early Church, but was introduced, or "invented" as some non-Catholics like to say, at a later date, surely such a radical change would have generated a lot of debate, both verbal and in writing, with some supporting the change and others opposing it. Yet, throughout history we do not find a single word of debate or protest about such a change.This plainly shows that such a change never occurred, and that infant baptism was therefore the norm from the beginning.

If infant baptism was the norm from the beginning, we would expect to see writings about it very early in the history of the Christian Church. Protestants typically ignore early historical writings and look only at the Bible, which is why they know so little about early Church history. But here are some examples of early Christian texts ...

Irenaeus, 180 AD ..."He came to save all through himself; all, I say, who through him are reborn in God: infants, and children, and youths, and old men ... For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: ‘Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven'"

Hippolytus,215 AD ... "Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them."

Origen, 248 AD ..."In the Church, baptism is given for the remission of sins, and, according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants ... The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. The apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of the divine sacraments, knew there are in everyone innate strains of sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit"

Finally, in the third century there was one major debate in the Church over infant baptism, which became so heated it almost divided the Church. The subject of the debate was whether infants should be baptized immediately after birth, or on the 8th day after birth. So, there you have it. That was the only controversy in the Christian Church regarding infant baptism until it was rejected under the new doctrines of one rebellious Catholic priest 1,500 years later.

Answer 2

You ARE NOT to baptize an infant. You are not baptized until you come to the age of accountability, and understand why Christ came into this world, and why he did what He done for us.There is no Scripture about baptizing infants. You can dedicate your child to God, but to baptize them, NO. Also to follow Christs example to be baptized you have to be fully immersed into the water. Not sprinkled with it. When you go down into the water you are showing the death to sin and arising a new person in Christ. A new life.

Answer 3

1st of all , "Is an infant born with the knowlege of God?
Acts 8:12: "when they believed Philip, who was declaring the good news of the kindom of God and of the name of Jesus Christ, they proceeded to be baptized, both men and women."
1)When they believed philip.... Has an infant enough knowlege to believe.
Acts 2:41: " Those who embraced his word hearily were baptized."...
2) How can an infant embrace his word heartily.
Mark 1:9,10: " Jesus.... was baptized in the Jordan by John. And immediately on coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being parted."
3)If Jesus needed to be baptized, then he must have not counted infant baptism sufficient.

Answer 4

There isn't one. Jesus was baptized at 30 and all accounts show adults were baptized......only.

I lived in Italy for some time and learned that infant baptism started as a Catholic tax. Once that child grew up and began to work, they paid a Catholic tax. Like our tax ID (SSN #).

This became tradition to the point where people from my culture believe a child baptized = salvation or protection from the devil.

Answer 5

Baptizing infants comes from Catholicism. It is not in the Bible. I hope this helps.

Answer 6

There is not any verses, It came from the Catholic teachings. A person first must repent of all their sins, Then be baptized in the Name of The Lord Jesus Christ & then receive the Holy Ghost

Answer 7

None. Although some Churches have pushed it not understanding that God does not hold a child responsible until it reaches the age of accountability. Until then, what the parents choose to do as far as God and Jesus is the way the child will be saved.

Answer 8

People who are baptised are suppose to repent and decide to follow Jesus, since babies can't repent and they're not old enough to understand things so complex then they can't make a decision obiously. I was baptised when I was like 16 and that was my choice. The best way to go is to dedicate your baby God. Baptism also means to be fully imerged

Answer 9

There are none. Infant baptism is seen as a sign of the Covenant, just as circumcision was.

Answer 10

there wasnt any. no infants.
thats just a manmade tradition.

the prerequisite of baptism, is this:

that you understand what you are doing, because you have made the choice to do it because you believe in God and that Jesus is your savior.

thats it. Babies, are unable to do this. they have no understanding of whats going on, let alone have made a decicion to be baptised. therefore, there baptisms are not valid. they are just tradition ceremonies.

if you would like to truly be baptised, ask a Christian who can explain to you what it really means, then be baptised for real :-)

God bless you on your journey in seeking God :-)