Infant Baptism The Biblical Case for Baptizing Infants and Young Children Rev. Nate Atwood Baptism Copyright © 2014 by Rev. Nate Atwood Seven Arrow Press, Charlotte, NC All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. NIV ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publisher. Nate Atwood is the pastor of St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC. To learn more, go to www.stgilesepc.org 2 Foreword When I was a new Christian I believed that only someone who had come to personal faith in Christ should be baptized. That was the practice of the church that led me to Christ and so Infant Baptism seemed to me just a church tradition that had little to do with the Bible. However, as I began to earnestly study the Bible for myself I was surprised to learn that a strong case could be made for baptizing infants and very young children. Maybe you’re like I was and you’re trying to figure out this baptism business. Perhaps you have children or grandchildren and you are sincerely asking the question as to whether or not baptizing infants is Biblical or not. Perhaps you’ve already baptized your children when they were infants but you’re not sure of the Scriptural basis for having done so. Or, perhaps, you’re a part of St. Giles and you wonder why we baptize infants and whether we do so simply because of “church tradition” or because of Scriptural conviction. This booklet makes the case that a fully Biblical view of baptism embraces infant baptism (or “covenantal” baptism), as well as believer’s baptism. It’s important to understand that at St. Giles, we do nothing out of mere “church tradition” but rather seek to conform our lives to the pattern and teaching of Scripture. This comes from our deeply held conviction that at the very foundation of our faith is the principle of “Scripture alone” (or, sola Scriptura). It’s also important to say that while we joyfully baptize infants because of our Scriptural convictions, at the same time we affirm the right of conscience and recognize that not all Christians believe as we do. Within St. Giles, sincere and devoted believers have chosen a different path for their children and we seek to diligently support all Christian parents whose heart’s desire is to raise their children in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6). One more thing. While certainly not a long read this is more of a booklet than a pamphlet. Because baptism is “the sign of the covenant,” a real conversation about baptism means that we’ll step still more deeply into the amazing “covenant of grace” we have in Christ. When the early Protestants were defending their new statement of faith to the governing powers they began by saying, “But since this controversy deals with the most important topic of Christian teaching … we ask His Imperial Majesty to kindly hear us out on this matter.” In other words, some subjects are weighty enough that they require more than a five-minute conversation. If you’ll take the time to thoughtfully read through what follows I 4 believe you’ll not only grow in your understanding of baptism, your grasp on the covenant of grace which baptism represents may well become still deeper. Rev. Nate Atwood 5 INFANT BAPTISM Topline Summary In this booklet you’ll learn the following: Ø There is meaningful Scriptural support for those who support Believer’s Baptism only, as well as for those who support both Believer’s Baptism and Infant Baptism. Both positions are considered to be in the mainstream of Protestant Christianity. Ø Both Infant Baptism and Believer’s Baptism have been abused at differing points in church history. We should make our decisions based on Scriptural doctrine, not on errant church practice. Ø St. Giles’ position on Infant Baptism is significantly different than Catholic doctrine and practice. Ø Unlike the doctrine of Believer’s Baptism only (what’s known as the “Anabaptist” position) which draws its Scriptural support from just the New Testament, the doctrine of Infant Baptism draws its support 6 from both the New and Old Testaments. As we will see, including the Old Testament considerably changes the conversation. Ø While the constitutional doctrine of St. Giles is Reformed and Presbyterian and therefore includes the practice of infant baptism, we allow for personal liberty of conscience in this matter. Ø A copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith’s chapter on baptism is at the back of this booklet. This is the doctrinal position of St. Giles and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The Power of Family When I first came to faith in Jesus Christ I was baptized. Having grown up in a secular home, my faith in Christ began when I was 20 years old. Prior to then, I had never even heard the Name of Jesus Christ in any meaningful way. I suspect every Bible believing Christian would agree that my baptism was appropriate. I was born again through faith in Christ and so I was baptized. Easy peasy. Yet, while all Biblically faithful Christians affirm “believer’s baptism” such as I experienced as a young man, not all agree that infants or very young children should be baptized. Should an infant be baptized or not? That’s the “hot” question which this booklet is meant to address. How can Christians who hold a high view of Scripture take such differing positions on this question? I want to begin by setting some terminology. While baptism for those who have come to personal faith in Christ is known as “believer’s baptism,” the practice of baptizing infants or young children is known as “infant baptism” or “covenantal baptism.” The proper term for “infant” “Covenantal” baptism is a preferable baptism is actually “covenantal” term for two reasons. First of all, this baptism. This is the term that I will entire understanding of baptism is be using. built around the conviction that young children born to believers are “in the covenant” until such time as they are able to make their own decision for Christ. More about that shortly. Secondly, those who baptize infants also baptize young children and so the term “infant” baptism is not entirely accurate. From this point on I’ll use the term “covenantal baptism” rather than “infant baptism.” Let me set you at ease. Covenantal baptism is not an essential of the faith. Yes, we at St. Giles practice covenantal baptism and you may have been in a service wherein we have done so. My goal, in the next few pages is to help you understand the Biblical reasoning behind covenantal baptism. If, however, after reading this you still end up holding a different set of convictions, that’s okay. Well-meaning Christians have disagreed about this for centuries. Furthermore, if at an earlier season in your life you dedicated your children and are now beginning to wonder if you did the right thing, that’s okay too. You 7 can be sure that God saw your heart – as He does now. You intended to ask God into your family and committed to Him to raise your children in the Lord. There’s much there to celebrate in what you’ve done though I would add that if you want to re-think this I’d love to spend some time with you. Remember, we can always share a cup of coffee, pray together, and study the Scriptures. I love being with the people of St. Giles. The Case for Believer’s Baptism Alone Historically, the “Believer’s Baptism”-only position is known as the “Anabaptist” doctrine. The appeal of this classic “Baptist” position is its simplicity. Given that baptism is largely a New Testament practice, Baptists (or, “Anabaptists”) and those who support them build their theology solely out of the New Testament. In addition to Romans 6, there are numerous passages they point to which connect baptism to being born again including Acts 8:12, 9:18, 16:15, 19:5 and 1 Peter 3:21. Jesus himself was baptized (Matthew 3:13-16) as an adult, modeling for us the essence of the baptism’s expression. Perhaps the prototypical Baptist passage would be Acts 8, wherein the Ethiopian eunuch is baptized immediately upon trusting Christ his savior: Acts 8:35-38 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 8 Additionally, those who hold this belief rightly point out that there is no clear record of an infant or young child being baptized in the New Testament.