1. Jesus called children to himself, saying, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17)
2. Matt. 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. “Them” is a pronoun used as the object of a verb or preposition to refer to two or more persons. “Them” as used in this Great Commission does not exclude infants. Even Jesus was presented in the Temple as an infant (Luke 2:21-22).
3. Paul says; “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). Household includes; father, mother, children, relatives and more. Household was commonly used in the following biblical references; Acts 16:15, 33; Acts; 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:16. Thus, babies should not be denied baptism.
4. Those who say children should not be baptized often quote Mark 16:16 “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved”. For them, believe or faith preceeds baptism. Children are not capable of expressing their faith in Christ therefore they should not be baptized. The error of this claim is that it limits such faith to children alone. Yet we see pastors praying for infants when they are sick. Whose faith is it?
5. The faith of parents suffices for the baptism of their children. The paralytic in Matthew 9:2-6 was brought to Jesus by his friends and he was restored by the reason of their faith. The Gospel says in Matt. 9:2 “…When Jesus saw THEIR FAITH, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven’”. The parents’ faith is sufficient for their children’s baptism. Sometimes we are accountable not just for ourselves, but for others as well (Cf. Ezek. 3:18-19)
6. Each and every one of us has to be set free from original sin. Rom. 5:12 says; “Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.” Are infants excluded from original sin? God’s promise of grace after the fall was for all his children.
7. Infants require the new birth in baptism since they are born with a fallen human nature and are contaminated by original sin. The Church and the parents would deny children this priceless grace if they don’t get them baptized. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1250).
8. To be saved, Chrisians were challenged to circumcise their children. Acts 15:1 “…Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” For Paul this circumcision is baptism. Paul in Col. 2:11-12 says “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, …” Circumcision without hands refers to the transformation of the inward man through baptism.
9. The covenant God established was between Himself and the patriarchs as well as their descendants forever. (Cf. Gen. 9:9; Gen. 17:7; Gen.26:4; Gen 28:4). Where in the New Testament is the covenant specifically stated to exclude children?
10. In Acts 2:38–39 Peter relates this covenantal promise to his discussion of baptism “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, ..…the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
~Witnessline
Father Daniel
