Who Should Be Baptized? A Biblical Case for Believer’s Baptism
Who Should Be Baptized? A Biblical Case for Believer’s Baptism
Among the many millions of Christians around the world, there’s a variety of views on baptism. This paper will try to answer the question. Does the Bible support baptizing infants or only believers? This question is of tantamount importance as it provides clarity as to who is actually a Christian. This paper seeks to give clarity to an issue that often divides the church. This paper will argue that baptism is a public decoration of personal faith in Christ, and therefore belongs to those who have consciously repented and believed.
Why it matters who is baptized in the when
The issue as infant baptism matters because it is a symptom of broader within Christianity. The way in which we approach this issue and interpret truth, informs our understanding of the gospel, the church and the nature of faith itself. Therefore, this is not a secondary question but rather a question that shapes how we obey Christ and define a Christian identity.
It Touches The Meaning of The Gospel
The message of Faith and Grace must be clear. Therefore, there must be clarity around whether or not baptism is connected to salvation or covenant membership within Christianity. The key biblical text surrounding this issue is Ephesians 2:8–9 or Romans 3:28, which will be considered in turn. Ephesians 2:8–9 reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”[1] Baptism may be considered a kind of work, and therefore something not necessary to baptism. Furthermore, it is the grace of God through faith that saves us not any sort of work. This biblical explanation of salvation does not include any mention of baptism. Again, when we consider Romans 3:28 it says, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” [2] This verse well, not directly about baptism clearly indicates that we are justified by faith not by Old Testament law or any sort of works.
It Affects The Nature of Faith
Furthermore, or understanding a baptism reflects whether or not we believe faith in Christ is something inherited through family, tradition, or by personal belief. John 1:12–13 provides insight, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” [3] Becoming a child of God is clearly the result of receiving Christ. Receiving here seems to clearly indicate a level of understanding and acceptance that a young child is incapable of. Meaning that salvation is only available to be received by an adult or someone who has achieved some level of maturity. Furthermore, you must be able to understand the name of Christ that is his purpose, why he came, and why that matters to you.
Another key text within this conversation is Acts 16:31, “They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”” [4] It is commonly argued by paedobaptists that this means that children were baptized. This passage gives us the normative order for baptism and salvation. First you must believe and then you may be baptized. Within this line of thought belief clearly requires maturity. Therefore, baptism requires the same level of maturity as it takes to become a believer. Acts 16:33 shows that the household was all baptized after they believed. The paedobaptist position here is that there must have been children in the household as that would’ve been normal for the time and place. This is far from proof that there were children present and baptized. This is a detail that Luke likely thought was unimportant. There is no example of children being baptized in the Bible, nor is there any example of children being called believers.
It Shapes The Identity of The Church
This issue is further important considering the issue of church membership and how we view young people in the church. We might accept for the moment that the majority of Christians view all young children before the age of reason to be saved. The paedobaptist position muddies the situation. By claiming that they have received salvation. The issue is then pushed down the line to the question of can you lose your salvation? If the answer is that you cannot lose yourself and you hold a paedobaptist view then you end up at a place where children do not need to be evangelized too. On the other hand, you might view that children are not saved through infant baptism, and therefore must be evangelized too in order to be saved as they come into the age of reason. Taking a look at Acts 2:41–42, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” [5] In this example from acts, we see that children automatically would be excluded from those who are able to devote themselves to all of these acts of Christian Fellowship. Each of these acts of Christian Fellowship is part of what it means to be a member of the church. Our understanding of baptism therefore informs the place of children in the church. Again, we may look at 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” [6] We might note that children are not mentioned to here. We further note that the verses that follow define how part of the body interact with each other, making an analogy for how the church and its members are to act towards one another. Be at hand or foot or eye or mouth. In this analogy, if part of the body does not build up and help the rest of the body, it is removed. Children of necessity do not fit in this analogy.
It Impacts Discipleship and Obedience
Another thing to consider is that baptism is supposed to be the immediate response to belief. If baptism is delayed or detached from the moment of faith, it can weaken the expectation of immediate obedience to Christ. If a child believes in Christ, then they ought to be baptized sooner than later, according to what we read in the Bible. Yet the question of when you are able to truly reach out your beliefs, such that you can truly say you are saved is worth considering. In Matthew 28:19–20 Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [7] this indicates that baptism is the immediate response to Faith. This clearly indicates that babies are incapable of faith, and therefore should not be baptized because baptism is a response to faith. For young children on the other hand, baptism may be a reasonable response to Faith. The question becomes has the child reached the age of reason. Another text worth considering for this case is Acts 2:38, “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” [8] the age of reason, then happened at the point at which a child is capable of repenting and fully understanding the ways in which they do not live up to God. Based on this definition of the age of reason it would seem that it may be earlier or later depending on the child.
It Influences Assurance and Clarity of Salvation
If baptism takes place too early, it can lead to confusion or misplaced confidence or doubts about salvation. John writes in 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” [9] Assurance follows belief. One of the goals of the disciples of Christ in writing down their experiences, and the words of Jesus was to give us assurance of our salvation to help us know if we truly are saved. This does not necessarily mean that if we cannot read or understand the Scriptures that we are not saved. But it does give us an indication of the expectations generally speaking of the disciples. Another indication of the age of reason is that we have a sense of the spirit working in us as it says in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” [10] In conclusion, we must let the Bible define our understanding of baptism and its limits.
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Eph 2:8–9.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 3:28.
[3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 1:12–13.
[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ac 16:31.
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ac 2:41–42.
[6] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 1 Co 12:13.
[7] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 28:19–20.
[8] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ac 2:38.
[9] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 1 Jn 5:13.
[10] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 8:16.
