Baptizing our child?

Question

my wife and I were both brought up in the Lutheran Church where baptizing children as infants is the norm and practice, we now attend a Baptist Church and follow the word of the Bible which talks about being Baptized after you have accepted Christ. We both believe this as well now, but my wife still has a sick feeling in her stomach about not Baptizing our daughter...can anyone explain this better?

Answer 1

well I think that it is very important to keep in mind that water baptism does not save a person.

While we should preach that all men are commanded to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), adding any other requirement to salvation by grace becomes "works" in disguise. Even though numerous Scriptures speak of the importance of water baptism, adding anything to the work of the cross demeans the sacrifice of the Savior. It implies that His finished work wasn’t enough. But the Bible makes clear that we are saved by grace, and grace alone (Ephesians 2:8,9). Baptism is simply a step of obedience to the Lord following our repentance and confession of sin. Our obedience— water baptism, prayer, good works, fellowship, witnessing, etc.—issues from our faith in Christ. Salvation is not what we do, but Who we have: "He that has the Son has life" (1 John 5:12).

Answer 2

Since I am a Baptist, I will try to give you an answer, even though I'm not really sure that I understand the question.

Simply ask yourself, what is the point of baptism?

Since baptism is symbolic, then baptizing a sinner simply gives you a wet sinner. If your daughter is not old enough to choose to obey God, what makes you believe that you can force her to repent of her sins and become a Christian? She may say what she thinks that you want to hear, and do what she thinks that you want her to do (while you are watching), but unless she is sincere, then God knows that nothing has changed, and the act was useless.

Baptism cannot save anyone if it is done involuntarily. Baptism should be an act of obedience to God, and as such, cannot be forced upon anyone, because the harsh truth is that you cannot save anyone but yourself.

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VII. Baptism and the Lord's Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.

Answer 3

Your baptist church will be able to help your wife with this one.

There is a ceremony (without water) where you can dedicate your child to God. It is a simple ceremony and during it, you and your wife simply declare before God and the congregation that you will raise this child in Gods will and way.

It is much like the dedication ceremonies that the old testament Israelites did with their children. They brought them to temple and dedicated them to God.

Knowing more and more about the bible and Gods will for us gives us growing peace and calm in a conflicting unpeaceful world. Your pastor should be able to show you and your wife that not one child was baptized in the holy spirit in the bible.

All baptisms were done "after" people had heard and accepted the Gospel (good news) A baby cannot accept the gospel yet, but you can surely tell it to them all the while they are growing up and one day, they will not only hear it, but accept it on their own.

Answer 4

I grew up in a similar church so infant baptism seems strange to me.

When you look at the Bible, no place is there any indication of a baby ever being baptised. Dedicated yes (Jesus brought to the temple as an infant) but not baptised.

But talk with your minister about this concern. In the Baptist churches, your pastor will most likely offer to do a baby dedication if you ask him to do so.

Baby dedication and Infant baptism are very similar in the fact that with a dedication, you are promising to raise your child in a home that will love Him and train her spiritually to love God.

Baptists also believe in the verses (I don't have the source) which shows that when we are intellectually unable to comprehend the difference between right or wrong ("after we receive knowledge of the fact" in either Galatians or Ephesians). God does not hold that sin against us in terms of heaven or hell. That means that God will not send your child to hell because he or she was not baptised.

I'd encourage you and your wife to seriously pray about this, and ask God to guide you both on what to do.

When your child is older, he or she can then make a decision about salvation and then baptism. God loves you and if you pray over your child daily, they will not stray.

Answer 5

In our churches (Non- denominational) they have a service where the couple dedicates the baby to the Lord and professes before the church that they will raise the child up to know the Lord and learn the word of God... Maybe you could have your pastor do this, or just to put your wife at ease go and baptise the child. You could do it in your own house if you want. It can't hurt. But as you know it is not the same as being baptised as an adult when you know why you are doing it. God bless you both.

Answer 6

As a Pastor I will not perform a baptism on anyone until they have accepted Christ and are of the age of understanding. For infants however I will "dedicate" them with their parents present. Speak with your Pastor there about a dedication....

As for Baptism.... Baptism is an outward expression of what Christ has already done in our hearts. It is part of the "confession" talked about in Romans 10 when it tells us to confess with our tongues. When someone is Baptized ... normally there is an expression of faith given prior to the baptism by the person of their belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior.
I can understand your wifes discomfort if infant baptism is something she was raised with and has always done. I think if you talk with your Pastor about an infant dedication it will give you some peace and comfort :)

God bless you will be keeping your family in prayer

Answer 7

I don't understand if you can be baptised after following the word of the bible and accepting Christ that is OK for you but does your child understand?. Their are so many different beliefs in to days world that I truly believe that a simply naming ceremony for your child is enough. Isn't it better for a child to make up their own mind on religion? I do not think that your wife should feel sick over this in my mind god loves everybody no matter the religion.

Answer 8

You should wait until your daughter to grow up and let her make the decision to show her love to Jesus by getting baptized. When I got baptized there was an older man that was getting baptized the same time I was. He said that he ahd been baptized that when he was a child. But he wanted to make the confession of his faith in God, the faith he did not know when he was an infant. I hope this helps and just remeber to bring up your daughter in the Lord and when she is ready she will confess her faith. In Christ

Answer 9

I would suggest doing a baby dedication to the Lord..there is nothing wrong with that and it will probably make you wife at rest...Jesus was dedicated in the temple as was the custom when the Jews would have the child circumcised at 8 days old..the man who did this for Jesus as a baby was a man named Simeon..story found in Luke Chapter 2 verses 22-35...A lot of denominations do "infant dedications" and anoint them with oil instead of baptism..just a thought

Answer 10

It is possible that because you both had reasons to leave the luthern church, than the church biblically was off most likely.
So.......the fealing inside would come from doing something that was out of order,wrong.
It is not wrong to be baptized again.
IT IS A HEART ISSUE ANYWAYS NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS....THOUGH GOOD TO DO OUTWARDLY "IF" YOU CAN.
*soldiers converted on the battlefield-DO NOT HAVE TIME TO BE BAPTIZED RIGHT?! OF COURSE NOT.
AND FOR THE RECORD(BIBLE)! THE THEIF ON THE CROSS WAS NOT BAPTIZED BUT 4GIVEN AND TOLD BY JESUS HIMSELF TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE. =]
*If the church mandates it for salvation....they are off in this area.
My advice- UNDERSTAND FIRST THE TRUE MEANING BEHIND THE SYMBOLISM OF BAPTISM, than go get the kiddos baptizes again-IT WILL NOT HURT ANYTHING.
*P.S. IM TALKING FROM EXPERIENCE. I TO WAS BAPTIZED YOUNG, BUT WHEN I WAS BORNAGAIN- I CHOOSE PERSONALLY TO BE BAPTIZED.
GODBLESS, HOPE THIS HELPS. -LIVE4TRUTH=]