Infant Baptism

Articles

Derek Long
07/26/20 - Calvinism

Infant Baptism By Derek Long

Infant baptism is a practice engaged in by many denominations. The typical arguments for infant baptism are based upon several factors: 1. The idea a baby inherits the sin of Adam and must be forgiven of this inherited sin in order to be in a saved condition. 2. The idea a baby can have some droplets of water placed upon him and such is acceptable baptism. 3. Attempts are made to justify the practice of baptizing infants from the various household conversions mentioned in Acts and in other places in the New Testament. We will attempt to see what the Bible has to say about each of these three different areas as we examine the topic of infant baptism in light of the Scriptures. Does a Baby Inherit the Sin of Adam? The Bible plainly teaches sin is not something we inherit from our parents or ancestors. In the Law of Moses, we read, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deuteronomy 24:16, NKJV). In 2 Chronicles 25:4, we read of a time during the reign of Amaziah when such a law was followed. Ezekiel 18:4 plainly states, “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die” (NKJV). The individual who commits the sin will be held accountable for the sin and not his descendants. The rest of Ezekiel 18 shows how the principle stated in verse 4 works. If we do not inherit the sin of Adam, how do we become guilty of sin? James 1:14-15 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (NKJV). Sin comes when we act upon our own ungodly desires in doing something God does not authorize us to do or by failing to do what God requires us to do. A baby is incapable of having the sorts of lusts or desires which lead a person into sin. The Bible clearly shows babies are not depraved individuals but come into the world innocent (Ecclesiastes 7:29; Ezekiel 28:15; Matthew 18:3; 19:14; Romans 7:9; 1 Corinthians 14:20). Romans 5 is often cited as a passage proving we all inherit the sin of Adam. Yet notice what is said in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (NKJV). How did death spread to all men according to this passage? Was it because Adam sinned many years before we were born? No! Death spread to all men because all sinned! Does Sprinkling a Baby’s Head Meet the Requirement of Being Baptized? The Bible describes baptism in terms of it being a burial (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12). When we bury something, we do not sprinkled a little bit of dirt on top of it. When we bury something, we completely immerse it in the ground, etc. If baptism is a burial, then it is a complete immersion and not a sprinkling. The New Testament depicts for us people who were baptized as going down into the water and coming out of the water (Matthew 3:16; Acts 8:38-39). A person does not go down into the water and come up out of the water when a few drops of water are placed upon their head. Immersion in water does require a person to go down into the water and come up out of the water though. Remember what was said of John baptizing people. It says, “Now John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized” (John 3:23, NKJV). It does not take much water to sprinkle some upon a person’s head. It does take much water though to immerse a person in water. Finally, consider the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV). If sprinkling is equivalent to baptism, we should be able to replace the term baptizing with the term sprinkling. Yet if you do it in the above passage we see it does not make sense. If immersion is equivalent to baptism, we should be able to replace the term baptizing with immersing and the text make sense. If you replace baptizing with immersing, the text still makes sense. Baptism is where a person is immersed in water not where water is sprinkled upon a person. Do Passages Mentioning a Household Being Baptized Authorize Infant Baptism? In Acts 10-11, we read about the conversion of Cornelius and those in his household. In Acts 16:15, we read about Lydia and her household being baptized. In Acts 16:33, we read of the Philippian jailer and all his family being baptized. One thing none of these text mention is the fact there were infants in these households. There are many households today which are without infants and certainly were in the first century as well. In Acts 10:43 and Acts 11:18, those who were baptized were individuals who were capable of believing and repenting. In Acts 16:32-34, those who were baptized were capable of hearing the word of the Lord and believing. Infants are incapable of believing and repenting. Therefore, infants must not have been part of these households who were all baptized. Remember the Bible clearly places belief and repentance as prerequisites to baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:36-38). If a person cannot believe, repent, and confess, they are not proper candidates for Bible baptism. Since babies are incapable of believing, repenting, and confessing, they are not to be baptized.