Pastor, I Have a Question March-April 2013

QUESTION: On the way to church one Sunday, on the radio a preacher claimed that the Bible never commands us to baptize babies. Is that true?
ANSWER: False prophets have different and interesting ways to confuse us. We might counter by saying that the Bible never forbids us from baptizing babies. The Bible neither directly commands nor forbids applying the “washing of generation and the renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5) to little ones.
Sometimes it seems that those opposing infant baptism dominate. We might think that most Christian denominations forbid it. However, the vast majority of Christian churches baptize babies. The practice is traced to the earliest Christians and Jesus’ great commission. Jesus said: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). He does not mention babies or adults. Nations are peopled by both.
The early Church obeyed. Men and women were baptized. (See Acts 8:12.) Whole households were baptized. (See Acts 16:15, 33, Acts 18:8.) The passages mention a prominent person (Lydia, the jailer of Philippi, Crispus) and all those belonging to the households. Babies are not specifically mentioned, nor are wives or servants. One household might be childless and even two. It seems unlikely that three households contained no children. Babies were baptized.
Jesus welcomed and blessed little children. He said they believed. “They brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’” (Mark 10:13–15).
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Jesus explained the way to eternal life. He said no one at all could enter God’s kingdom unless they are regenerated. Nicodemus wondered how. Jesus connected rebirth to Baptism, saying, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5–6).
Children are born in sin, as God says in Psalm 51:5 and Romans 3:23. Jesus is the only Savior. God forgives sin by the power of the Spirit calling us to faith in Jesus. The Spirit creates faith in our hearts. God wants little children to be in His Kingdom of Grace. We want them to be born anew of water and the Spirit. On Pentecost, when God’s Law brought the people to repentance, they asked what they could do. Peter answered, “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. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39).
We want our children to repent and believe. The Bible may not specifically command us to baptize babies, but it does specifically command us to bring them to Him. We obey Jesus and “bury” them into Jesus’ death by Baptism so that they may be raised with Jesus and “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
Rev. Charles Keeler
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Winter Haven, FL
cjohnk@aol.com