Liberty University

“Infant Baptism”

A research paper submitted to Professor Seth Johnson
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements For
THEO 350-D07

Liberty University Online

By
Jeffrey Robinson
L21932989

Lynchburg, Virginia
April 24, 2012

I did not come to the saving knowledge of the Lord until I was twenty-four years old. By this time I had two small children that were four years old and two months old. My wife was born and raised in the church. She wanted to get the children baptized. I did not know what that meant. So being the inquisitive new covert that I was, I went to the pastor and asked what the meaning of the infant baptism was. He explained that it was just an outward sign that I was going to raise my children in the church and the ways of Christ. I thought that was a great idea. Until this class, I did not know that there was any other reason than the one explained to me by my pastor nineteen years ago. The topic just never came up. Since I believe that this is the true reason I had my children baptized, this paper will try to argue that infant baptism is not for salvation purposes. I believe in true faith. I also believe that baptism can be an empty ritual. Through research and prayer, God has been teaching me about the church and the communal nature of faith. I have learned that a person’s view of the meaning of the sacraments, the Church, covenant theology, individualism, and God’s grace have a great deal to do with the different views of baptism. Christians throughout history have almost always agreed that baptism is important. It historically has not been understood to be an optional practice. God has commanded it. However, there is much argument over whom it is for, how it should be done, and why is it done.Throughout history the dominant practice of baptizing infants was to sprinkle or pour water on them. According to Catholic theology it was done to wash away sins. In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is a rite by which the infant is joined to the church. Some Lutheran churches believe just as the Catholics do that it to wash away original sin. Presbyterian churches believe that infant baptism is a way for the infants to be included in the covenant God made with His people, similar to that of circumcision. 1 Peter 3:21 says, “this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” The word ‘pledge’ in this verse is translated from the Greek word ‘eperoteina’ which can also mean ‘answer’ or ‘response’. So this could mean a pledge or response to God. Therefore, the sacrament of water baptism is more of our response to God. The Greek word ‘musterion’ can be translated as either ‘secret’ or ‘mystery’. This is where we got the idea of sacraments. It comes from the idea of the silence applied by initiation into religious rites. It is where the English word ‘mystery’ is derived. Often the New Testament writers speak of the ‘mystery’ of Christ and how we are invited to be a part of it. Baptism can be our initiation into the mystery and knowledge of God through Christ. As a sacrament, baptism is both an initiation and a response. Does the act of baptism play a role in our salvation? What a person’s theology of baptism is to one degree is a function of a person’s soteriology. To understand this we must differentiate between water baptism and Spirit baptism. Acts 11:16 states, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”, this is a clear distinction. We can use the book of Acts as a source for a biblical basis of baptism. Acts shows that Spirit baptism was almost always prior to water baptism. The two baptisms were never synonymous. Water baptism was and is a sign of Spirit baptism. Water baptism is not a saving act in and of itself. Acts 8:16-17 further shows the distinction when it says, “the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit”. They had been initiated into the covenant of God’s grace through Jesus Christ; however they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. These were two separate occurrences. Baptism cannot bring salvation automatically by the work being worked. However it is not merely symbolic either. Baptism is a sacrament that brings grace through faith. Baptism is part of the obedience of faith. The act of baptism demonstrates that faith is active for salvation. Baptism is a sign that can be seen as the activity on our end, meaning our response or pledge. However, baptism is also an initiation which can be seen as the activity on God’s end, which welcomes us into the covenant of God’s grace. The modern understanding of the sacrament of baptism is a sign of individual response. For us to understand this aspect of baptism means that we must have an understanding of God’s covenant grace seen throughout the entire Bible. The Israelites were in a covenant relationship with God throughout the Old Testament. Everything in their community revolved around this covenant. Their religion, government, private lives, and social lives all were centered on this covenant. The covenant was a promise or contract between God and His chosen people. Exodus 6:7 states, “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” The initiation into this covenant was the act of circumcision. Eight days after birth all male children born into Israelite families were to be circumcised to signify their entrance into the community of God. Any Gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism would have to be circumcised to signal their entrance into the covenant promise also. When Jesus came, He inaugurated a new covenant. The new covenant still falls under God’s covenant of grace. The initiation into this new covenant is done through baptism. Just like with circumcision in the old covenant, both infants and adults can be initiated into this covenant. Part of the reason of the new covenants superiority is because of its inclusive outreach. The old covenant applied to Jews alone, while the new covenant is for Jews and Gentiles. Circumcision in the old covenant was for males only, while baptism is for all. No one can be denied the grace offered by Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” A Jewish child was born into a Jewish inheritance. Therefore, a Christian child, before the age of accountability, enters by grace into a community that promises to care for and nurture the child. This community also promises to teach the heart to obey God’s command and receive God’s promise. Critical to understanding covenant baptism is the understanding of the differences in culture today verses what we see through Scriptures. We as Americans are very individualistic. We are masters of our own domains with individual rights. Therefore, we often see baptism as our own individual response and pledge of faith. However, throughout most of history, and throughout Scripture, people lived in collectivist cultures. People were defined by the groups they associated with, not as individuals. Most often family or clan was the primary group that they were associated with. In the time period of the Scriptures, family was literally considered one unit. Acts 16:30-34 states, “He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.” This shows the collective mindset of the family; however it does not prove that any children or infants were baptized. The Scripture says that “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house” This explains why his entire household could be saved. They were old enough to hear the Word. In the Old Testament the covenant love of God was passed down from generation to generation. The parents had the sons circumcised as infants, initiating them into the covenant. They then raised them in the knowledge and love of the covenant grace. It could be the same with the initiation of baptism into the covenant of Christ. Perhaps this is why the parents are questioned of their faith and promise to raise their child in the love of God at infant baptisms. So what role does God’s grace play in the infant baptism? Can we say that this infant is saved? Bridge and Phyphers suggest that baptized children should be regarded as Christians until their actions and lives prove otherwise through evidence. They suggest that just because a child is baptized does not mean that they will always be Christians. I have to believe just as they do. I could find no evidence to the contrary.

Bibliography

Boyd, Gregory A. & Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. 2d ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.

Bridge, Donald and David Phypers. The Water that Divides: The Baptism Debate. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977.

Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines that Divide. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1998.

Oden, Thomas C. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. San Francisco: Harper &Row Publishers, 1983.

Vander Zee, Leonard J. Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Witherington III, Ben. Troubled Waters: Rethinking the Theology of Baptism. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2007.

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[ 1 ]. Boyd, Gregory A. & Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. 2d ed. (215)
[ 2 ]. Ibid
[ 3 ]. Boyd, Gregory A. & Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. 2d ed. (215)
[ 4 ]. Witherington III, Ben. Troubled Waters: Rethinking the Theology of Baptism. (113-118).
[ 5 ]. Ibid
[ 6 ]. Ibid
[ 7 ]. Bridge, Donald and David Phypers. The Water that Divides: The Baptism Debate. (181).
[ 8 ]. Bridge, Donald and David Phypers. The Water that Divides: The Baptism Debate. (47-48).
[ 9 ]. Oden, Thomas C. Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry. (116).
[ 10 ]. Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines that Divide. (118).
[ 11 ]. Vander Zee, Leonard J. Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship. (124-125).
[ 12 ]. Bridge, Donald and David Phypers. The Water that Divides: The Baptism Debate. (50).