Should We Baptize Infants?
In this context, we are talking about water baptism. Often, when infant baptism is practiced the baby has water sprinkled or poured on him in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the original Koine Greek New Testament, the word translated “baptize” is βαπτίζω (baptizo), which means to immerse or dunk. It does not mean to pour or sprinkle. The words for pour and sprinkle are translated from entirely different Greek words.
In fact, what is commonly practiced today as infant baptism is not actually baptism at all. So, we shouldn’t really call it infant baptism; we should call it infant pouring or infant sprinkling. If we are going to baptize infants, they should be immersed, not sprinkled or poured on. If your church baptizes babies by immersion, please let me know in the comments!
Are There Any Prerequisites to Baptism?
Belief
A Biblical baptism requires faith. For example, let’s look at the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. This man was a Jew who had been worshipping in Jerusalem and was on his way back to Ethiopia. Philip met him and found him reading from Isaiah. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, and the eunuch ended up inviting him to sit in his chariot and explain things to him. Here’s what happened next:
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:35–38 | NKJV)
God, through Philip, told the man that he could be baptized if he believed. Apparently, a lack of belief would be a hindrance to being baptized.
My question is, can infants believe? I don’t think so.
Repentance
In Acts chapter 2, when Peter convinced the Jews that they had crucified their Lord and Christ, they asked him and the other apostles, “What shall we do?” Notice that he didn’t tell them to believe. They already believed, they were even cut to the heart. This is what the text says.
“‘Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:36–38 | NKJV)
Can infants repent? And if they could, what would they repent of?
So, the first thing to need to recognize about “infant baptism" is that it is not baptism in the strict sense of the word; it is pouring or sprinkling. Nor is infant baptism in the New Testament; New Testament baptism requires faith and repentance.
Is Infant Baptism Even Necessary?
The earliest recorded mention of babies being baptized is from around 200 A.D, over 100 years after the New Testament was written.
The reason given by many for baptizing babies is “Because babies are born with original sin, they need baptism to cleanse them, so that they may become adopted sons and daughters of God and receive the grace of the Holy Spirit” (Simply Catholic).
But are babies really born in sin and in need of salvation? Here are three reasons why they are not:
#1 The Bible teaches that people are not held accountable for the guilt of their ancestors.
God has clearly said that He does not hold the child guilty for the sins of the father:
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:20 | NKJV)
#2 Paul described a time in his life when he was alive before he became a sinner.
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet. But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.” (Romans 7:7-11 | NKJV)
According to the common idea of original sin, this would have been impossible! But not if children are born free from the guilt of sin and remain so until they reach a state of accountability.
#3 The nature of the New Covenant doesn’t allow infant baptism.
One of the key features of the New Covenant is that:
“None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” (Hebrews 8:11 | NKJV)
In other words, no one enters into this New Covenant without already knowing the Lord! This is very different from the Old Covenant where people entered into it by birth into the family of Israel and male circumcision on the 8th day.
Infant baptism attempts to destroy this distinct feature of the New Covenant.
Conclusion
So, should infants be baptized? The answer is "yes" if:
We can show one example in the N.T. where infants were baptized.
We can show that infants meet the prerequisites of faith and repentance to be baptized.
We can show that infants can know the Lord before they enter into a convenient relationship with Him.
But we can’t show that. The Biblical facts are:
There is not one case of infant baptism in the NT!
Only those who believe and have repented may be baptized!
To baptize infants would make Hebrews 8:11 pointless.
The logical conclusion from the Biblical evidence is that babies are born into this world without the personal guilt of their ancestors. They are not lost and in need of salvation, instead, they are "safe," not “saved,” and they will remain so until they reach a state of accountability where they become guilty of their sins and in need of salvation
Babies should not be baptized according to the Bible. But what if you were "baptized" as an infant? You might find this next article or video helpful.
