Introduction
Infant baptism is the practice of baptizing infants and children in our case into the church. It is the use of water [modes: sprinkling, aspersion, or emersion] to baptize [in the name of God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit]. Children are baptized not for fun, superstition, or tradition. We baptize infants and children because they are covenant children and ought to receive the sign of the covenant. Baptism is an initiation into the Christian community. A way of incorporating new babies into the Christian fraternity and inducting them into the teaching of the Christian faith.
Baptism as a Covenant Seal
In Gen. 15:18, God made a covenant with Abraham and sealed it with the physical sign of circumcision (Gen. 17:9-14). At the heart of this covenant promise is that He would be a God to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:7-8). Circumcision was full of spiritual meaning rather than a physical or ethnic act. Circumcision pointed to the heart (Rom. 2:25-29), humility, new birth, and a new way of life (Lev. 26:40-42; Deut. 10:16, 30:6; Jer. 4:4, 6:10, 9:25).
In Romans 4:11, Paul says Abraham "received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised." It is worthy to note that the spiritual sign was not for only those who believed in promise and covenant but for everyone in the household of Abraham. Circumcision like baptism is about belonging, discipleship, covenant requirement, and future actualization of the promise.
Paul explains that there were people who were circumcised but not circumcised, children of Abraham but not children of Abraham (Rom. 2:25-29; 9:6-8). The same applies to baptism today, some are baptized but not truly baptized. The sign of the Old Testament covenant involved infants of 8 days (Gen. 17:12), why should they be excluded from the New Testament sign of the covenant.
From Colossians 2:11-12, baptism and circumcision carry the same spiritual import and must be treated as such. Usually, after Abraham and his household were circumcised, the regular practice of circumcision was done for infants. If Paul meant to exclude infants from baptism, he would not have discussed circumcision as parallel to baptism.
In the Old Testament, if a man wanted to become a Jew, he had to believe in the God of Israel and be circumcised. In the New Testament, if one wants to become a Christian, one must believe in God and Jesus and be baptized.
Again, those born into Jewish households were to be circumcised in anticipation of the Jewish faith in which they would be raised. Thus, in the New Testament, those born in Christian households ought to be baptized in anticipation of the Christian faith in which they will be raised. The pattern is the same.
Jesus Calls All (including infants) to Baptism
Jesus said, "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." (John 5:5). This is about anyone capable of belonging to His kingdom.
"And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them." Luke 18:15 (KJV)
He elaborates on this kingdom membership in Matt. 19:14 saying, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence." (KJV) Jesus is telling us that the call into the kingdom of God includes children. If baptism is the covenant sign of our acceptance into God's kingdom, why should owners be excluded from it? The laying on of hands is a sign of blessing them.
Who was Baptised; Adults only?
In the New Testament, children were raised in the first family Christian homes. It was always known that the children of Christian homes are already Christians, and so take their baptism from the household.
When Lydia of Thyatira was converted, "she and the members of her household were baptized" (Acts 16:15 NIV).
The Philippian jailer whom Paul and Silas had converted to the faith was baptized that night along with his household. We are told that “the same hour of the night . . . he was baptized, with all his family” (Acts 16:33). And in his greetings to the Corinthians, Paul recalled that, “I did baptize also the household of Stephanas” (1 Cor. 1:16).
Just like Abraham and his household including 8 days old babies, the household baptism is more than father and mother; the children too were included.
In any case, Paul teaches that the believing mother or father sanctifies each other, "Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." (1 Cor. 7:14). Children of Christian homes come under the covenant and also receive the sign of the covenant which is baptism. One believing parent in a household makes the children and even the unbelieving spouse “holy”.
Does this mean unbelieving spouses should be baptized? Of course not. The kingdom of God is not theirs; they cannot be “brought to Christ” in their unbelief. But infants have no such impediment. The kingdom is theirs, Jesus says, and they should be brought to him, and this means baptism.
No child in the Apostolic age was allowed to grow and believe before their baptism. We, of the Reformed heritage, will want to go the way of the age of the Apostles and get all our households baptised. Like Timothy’s mother Lois, we will baptize our children and teach them to grow in the faith than evangelize them and baptize them later.
Earlier Church Practices.
Origen, for instance, wrote in the third century that “according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants” (Homilies on Leviticus, 8:3:11 [A.D. 244]).
“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 [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit” (Commentaries on Romans 5:9 [A.D. 248]).
The Council of Carthage, in 253, condemned the opinion that baptism should be withheld from infants until the eighth day after birth.
Later, Augustine taught, “The custom of Mother Church in baptizing infants is certainly not to be scorned . . . nor is it to be believed that its tradition is anything except apostolic” (Literal Interpretation of Genesis 10:23:39 [A.D. 408]).
Hippolytus: “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” (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]).
Gregory of Nazianz: “Do you have an infant child? Allow sin no opportunity; rather, let the infant be sanctified from childhood. From his most tender age let him be consecrated by the Spirit. Do you fear the seal [of baptism] because of the weakness of nature? Oh, what a pusillanimous mother, and of how little faith!” (Oration on Holy Baptism 40:7 [A.D. 388]).
Conclusion
In reality, the Bible indicates that infants are to be baptized and that they too are meant to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Shalom aleichem...
