Where in the Bible does it say and/or sanction infant Baptism?

Question

I find that this practice is not Biblical.

Answer 1

You want evidence? I'll give you evidence:

Let's start with Peter, the "rock" on which our Lord founded his church, OK? When Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). he did not restrict this teaching to adults. He SAID "EVERY ONE OF YOU." And went on to say, in 2:39, "For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him"

And in Matthew 19:14, Jesus said: "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

And then, as if to anticipate the adult baptism heresy, Luke 18:15 says, "Now they were bringing even infants to him...". The word, "infants" is a DIRECT translation from the Greek "brepha" -not something made up later on. The disciples, of course, tried to tell the people to hold their kids back, but then Jesus told them to let them come to him and even used the children as an example of who REALLY gets to heaven. Read all about it.

The whole argument against infant baptism centers on the idea that only an adult can choose to be saved -to accept Jesus. That may be true, but it has nothing to do with whether Jesus has chosen to save us through grace. Think about it this way: at what age and stage is even an ADULT able to choose Jesus as Lord and Savior? When is any of us truly "ready?" And when is any of us truly worthy? Does a 7 year old know enough? Maye 15? 30? The whole problem -aside from the fact that Jesus commanded to let the children come to Him- is that leaving the matter to adult discretion means we end up playing the role of judge, the role of "God," if you will, when such a role is reserved for -guess who?- GOD HIMSELF! And this presumption of judgement is EXACTLY what got us into trouble in the Garden of Eden in the FIRST place! If your current age and stage is to be taken as even the slightest indication of being "ready," then who could be more ready than one who is innocent -a baby!

More: salvation is a gift, given to us by God in the sacrifice of His only Son our Lord. Got a problem with that? I didn't think so. Key word -a GIFT- not something that is or ever can be earned -certainly not by merely uttering some words. And so, through the church -the community of believers- ordained by God and established under Peter, we are able to spread the gift of salvation and the benefit of indentity with a holy institution. Exactly what Jesus commanded Peter and company to do. If we are loved by God at all, certainly we are loved as infants. What, then, would be the rationale for depriving a helpless infant of God's grace any more than we would withhold food?

Does that mean that, as adults, we can deny it all and turn away? You bet it does, and that happens for people baptized at any age. But that's a different chapter.

I trust this answers your question and at the very least provides the support for a practice you say is not Biblical. The New Testament is the very place where people (the disciples, no less) first resisted infant baptism -and were told by our Lord rather to "let the children come to me."

Answer 2

A better question than when did they start baptizing infants is when did they stop. Many things could be inferred from the silence of Scripture. Personally I am convinced that households mean all. You would not deny your children the food of your table, why deny them the life of your Lord? Romans did not believe a child became a human person until the age of 10, they could be destroyed or done away with by their fathers up to that age. There were actually many Christians who did not believe a woman possessed a sould, and could not therefore be baptised. Many so limit their reading of the Bible to nothing but isolated and exclusive proof-texts, that the Scriptures don't in any way contribute to their growth, repentance, hope, or faith. Others are far more concerned with telling what they DON'T believe than in communicating and living out anything they actually do believe; they build such a wall around heaven it's hard to see how they'll ever get there. Baptism is Biblical and sanctioned period, leave it at that.

Answer 3

Your findings are true. Children under the age of twelve should not be baptised. After age twelve they must be able to demonstrate that they have an understanding of what they are committing too before they are baptised. Baptism is a life decision just like marriage. Would you let your eleven year old get married or for that matter your twelve year old? Most of our children in western culture aren't mature enough at eighteen to make this kind of decision. There are some exceptions. I will be baptising a sixteen year old on Pentecost and she is miles ahead of most believers I know in her understanding.

Col 2:11-12 does not say that baptism is the new circumcision. 12 mentions being baptised and raised with him through your faith. Since and infant can have no faith since he has no concept of God your arguement is not only wrong but immoral as you are teaching false doctrine.

The circumcision of Messiah is of the heart by the Spirit. Rom 2:29

Children are sanctified by their believing parents faith until they reach adulthood. 1 Cor. 7:14

I picked age twelve because according to Jewish custom, and remember we are quoting from a book for the most part written my Jews to Jews, is the age that a boy becomes a son of the conventent "Bar Mitzvah" and is considered responsible for his own actions.

Answer 4

I agree it is not mentioned in the Bible. It is based on the concept that the death and resurrection fulled the old covenant between God and the Jewish people, and created a new covenant between God and all man. There are new equivalents to the regulations of the old Jewish law. According to Jewish law, all infant boys are circumcised. This is what marked the boys as Jewish and set them apart from other people. Infant baptism is considered the equivalent of circumcism. Christians are mark as Christians by baptism so it is argued that Christian children should be mark by baptism as infants in place of being circumcised.

Answer 5

Baptising infants is not Biblical...and it is my personal belief that someone should not be baptized until they are able to make a committment to Christ of their own choice. I just got baptized last year. Catholics do this because they believe that as long as a baby is baptized before they die, regardless of the kind of life they lead...they will go to heaven. This isn't true and nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about obtaining salvation through baptism...only that it is something one who is fully committed to Christ should do.

Answer 6

whole households are baptizedActs16:15,33 and 31 and 1 Cor16 and it doesn't say just people who are of the "age of reason"
Coll2:11-12 Baptism has replaced circumcision,which brought infants into the Covenant

Answer 7

baptism is nothing without accepting Jesus as your lord and savior,,,baptism does not wash away sins,,only the blood of Jesus Christ washes away sins,,Baptism is a symbal of public confession ,,,,the bible plainly states the only way to the Father is thru Jesus Christ,,,the practice of infant baptism is in error of scripture, its not in the bible that ive found,,,the bible also says to worship no gods other than GOD the FATHER,,,,praying to mother mary is in error of scripture as well, it also says GOD can only forgive your sins,,but for some reason some people confess to a priest, or father so in so,,,a catholic priest cannot forgive sins, thats in error as well, the bible is the inspired word of God,,its not ment to have anything added or deleted.

Answer 8

It depends on how you interpret the Bible. NOTHING in the Bible prohibits the baptizing of infants. Jewish law gives us the presentation of the baby to the church/temple/Synagogue/etc. as was done with the infant Jesus.

It would be interesting to find out when in the early church that baptizing infants began.

Answer 9

Nowhere that I know of.
Biblical baptism takes place after the individual has made a decision to become a believer and has accepted Christ into his/her heart as Lord and Savior.

Answer 10

Yeah right. babies do not have any idea about baptisim. Besides, John the baptist only baptized full grown men.