I am reproducing this paper in its entirety for discussion purposes. This paper was written by Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller of Hope Lutheran Church of Aurora, Colorado. I think it provides an excellent Biblical look at this topic. Please read it with an open mind to what the scriptures are teaching. If you disagree with his conclusions, then spend the time in the scriptures searching what the scriptures teach.
I would also recommend listening to Pastor Wolfmueller's recent interview on the Issues Etc. radio program. Click here to listen.
Now for the Paper...
Infant Faith a List of Scriptures
“Will you have your baby baptized?” I asked a friend who is also a pastor of a non-denominational church in town.
“No, Bryan,” he responded, “You know we believe in believer's baptism.”
Such was the conversation that provoked this short essay, for suddenly, and with profound clarity, did the connection between rejecting infant baptism and rejecting infant faith become apparent. The thinking is this, “If we only baptize believers, then of course we don't baptize babies, because babies do not and can not believe.”1 Baptizing an infant is understood to be an “unbelievers baptism.” It is this thought which I propose to contradict with the Holy Scriptures by showing not only the possibility but also the reality of infant faith.
Infant Faith, Old Testament and New
Do babies have faith? While we might be tempted to answer this question with reason or by experience, there is only one trustworthy place to find the answer: the Holy Scriptures. What, then, does the Bible say?
Psalm 71:5-6 (NKJV)
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
6 By You I have been upheld from my birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother's womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
Note, first of all, that the word 'youth' is expansive in Hebrew, used as a word for infants even unto young men and women2. The context of this word indicates what the Psalmist (presumably King David) means by 'youth', adding to the text 'birth' and coming out of the womb. This is as young as young can be, and to this young youth the Lord is his 'trust', his faith, his Confidence.
In verse 6 we would perhaps prefer a more literal translation. The word translated “have been upheld” by the New King James Version is reflexive, to 'support' or 'brace oneself'.3 Here are a few different versions:
New International Version: “From birth I have relied on you.”
Revised Standard Version: “Upon thee have I leaned from my birth.”
An American Translation: “I have depended on you from birth.”
These phrases, 'relied upon, leaned upon, depended on', certainly imply faith. This verse, as the one before it, extols the faith and trust of the child “from birth.” This text tells of the trust and reliance of an infant in the true God, and this text is not alone in the Scriptures.
As we turn to the pages of the New Testament we find a number of passages discussing the possibility and the reality of infant faith. There are a number of Greek words for 'child', and a quick survey of these words will help set the stage for our review of these passages.4
paidion- This is the most common word used of a very young child, infant, child, both boys and girls.
brephos- This word can be used of unborn babies in the womb [St Luke 1:41,44] or of nursing babies and infants [St Luke 2:12,16].
mikron- Literally, “small one,” this word can be used to describe one's stature [St Luke 19:3], one's age [St Matthew 18:6,10,14], or in esteem, influence and power.
napion- [nhpiwn] This word can be used of an infant, often nursing [Hebrews 5:13], or, in the legal sense, of a minor. [Galatians 4:1].
thalazonton - One who is nursing [St Matthew 21:16].
teknon- [teknon] Child, with special reference to the relationship with the parents, used even for unborn babies in the womb.
Jesus Blesses the Children
St Luke 18:15-17 [And parallels in St Matthew 19:13-15 and St Mark 10:13-16] (NKJV)
“15 Then they also brought infants (brephos) to Him that He might touch them; but when His disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, 'Let the little children (paidion) come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child (paidion) will by no means enter it.'”
Jesus would have the children come to Him, and would have no one forbid them. Why? Because “of such is the kingdom of God.” The children who possess the kingdom are the infants, the nursing babies being carried in their mother's arms. (Infant and children are used interchangeably in this passage, the infants [brephos] that are being brought are the same children [paidios] that Jesus receives.) And their possessing of the kingdom is not accidental; as if Jesus says, “Because they have not attained the age of accountability I will overlook the necessity of faith and give these babies the kingdom because the are innocent” or some other such thing. No, theirs is the kingdom of heaven in such a sense that the children are the very picture of faith. The children are such a picture of faith that even adults must be like them in order to attain the kingdom of heaven. This same teaching is heard in the following text, where Jesus again talks of the necessity of becoming as a child to have the gift of the heavenly kingdom.
True Greatness
St Matthew 18:1-5 [And parallels in St Mark 9:33-37 and St Luke 9:46-48] (NKJV)
“1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' 2 Then Jesus called a little child (paidion) to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children (paidion), you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child (paidion) is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child (paidion) like this in My name receives Me.'”
Here Jesus sets a child before His disciples to teach them who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is, and, what's more, says that unless we, too, become as children, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. There are not two ways to obtain the kingdom of heaven, one for adults (faith) and another for children (apparently just being children). Possessing the kingdom of heaven is the sole result of faith (faith alone). According to Jesus the children are the possessors of the kingdom and, therefore, the very picture of humility and faith. This is said plainly in the next verse.
The Little One Who Believe in Me
St Matthew 18:6 [And parallels in St Mark 9:42-43 and St Luke 17:2, see also 18:10 and 14] (NKJV)
“6 But whoever causes on of these little ones (mikron) who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
The little ones of verse six is the little child of the previous passage whom Jesus sets before His disciples. These “little ones” are explicitly described as the ones “who believe in” Jesus. The clarity of the text needs no comment.
Later in the text these little ones are described as the possessors of angels who “behold the face of the Father” [18:10] and as those whom the “Father desires that they do not perish” [18:14].
Jesus Gives Thanks to the Father
St Matthew 11:25-27 [And parallel in St Luke 10:21-22] (NKJV)
“25 At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes (napion). 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
It is, Jesus teaches us, the Father's will to reveal 'these things' to babies. What are “these things' which the babes have? They are not offended by Christ, but trust that He is the Coming One, sent from God. [St Matthew 11:3-6] It is the wise and the prudent that have so much trouble with the works of Christ, but not the babes. These are the ones to whom the kingdom is revealed.
While it might be a mystery to us, it is becoming clear that in the mind of Jesus and the context of the Scriptures it is not strange thing to think of babes, infants and children as those who believe in Christ. It might not seem good to us to ascribe to infants faith and trust in Christ, but it does seem good in the Father's sight [11:26].
Out of the Mouths of Babes and Nursing Infants
St Matthew 21:15-16 (NKJV)
“15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children (paidion) crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,
‘ Out of the mouth of babes (napion) and nursing infants (thalazonton)
You have perfected praise’?”
Jesus here quotes Psalm 8:2 to support the accolades that the children are offering Him as He makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Lord enlists children, babies, and nursing infants to sing His praises and announce His coming. While it is possible for the Lord to call forth His praises even from stones [St Luke 19:40], it is His good pleasure to perfect (or complete) His praise with the confession and singing of babes and nursing infants. This praise is certainly a fruit of faith.
John the Baptist
St Luke 1:15,41
“15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mther's womb.”
“41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The circumstances of John the Baptists conception and birth are certainly unique, and we should, therefore not presume too much from it. What is clear is that it is certainly possible for the Holy Spirit to fill a child even in the womb, and that this child even responds with joy at the presence of His Lord (who is also in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary).
From Childhood You have Know the Scriptures
2 Timothy 3:14,15
“14 But as for you, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood (brephos) you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
The word 'childhood' would lead us to think of this as a young person, studying and leaning from a teacher, but the Greek word 'brephos' pushes us back further, to infancy. (NIV: “how from infancy you have know the holy Scriptures.”) Again, the Scriptures do not think it a strange thing for an infant to trust, believe, know, and praise the Lord.
Because You Have Known the Father
1 John 2:12,13
“12 I write to you, little children (teknon),
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake...
13 I write to you, little children (paidion),
Because you have known the Father.”
St John, here, addresses the little children much as our Lord did, as those who believe. In the first instance (verse twelve), this could be seen as a familiar address, as John does in 2:1 (My little children, teknia) and other places. But that John changes the word in verse thirteen is striking, and leads us to interpret the little children referred to as actual youths, babies, etc. This is certainly not out of the ordinary in the Word of the Scriptures.
We see from the testimony of the Scriptures that infants can and do have faith. What this means is that infant baptism is believer's baptism. So to the original conversation concerning infant faith,
“Will you have your baby baptized?” I asked.
“No, Bryan, You know we believe in believer's baptism.”
“Well,” and here comes the answer, “so do I.”5 While the faith does not give validity to the baptism, when we baptize an infant we are not just splashing water on a rock. This child can and does, by the power of God's Word, have faith in Christ Jesus, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What has now become apparent is that there are two different understandings of faith at work. On one hand, faith is seen as a gift of God, on the other, faith is the response of man to the offer of salvation. These two different understandings of faith we now take up as we consider faith as gift.
Faith as Gift
To get a handle on the Baptist/Evangelical conception of faith, we turn to a classic tract that has been used as a 'witnessing tool' for years: The Four Spiritual Laws. The Four Spiritual Laws are:
God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
Notice that the Gospel, as expressed in the third law, is potential. “Through [Christ] you can know and experience God's love.” It is possible to know God's love, but there is a necessary first step for the potential Christian, there must be a response to God's love and plan. Faith, then, is the “must” of the fourth law, “we must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.” In The Four Spiritual Laws, this “receiving” takes the form of the “sinner's prayer”, asking Jesus into our heart. There are any number of ways that this “receiving” occurs in different churches, but all are a response to the offer of salvation. Faith, then, is a “response,” an act of man to whom the Gospel is offered.
If this is how faith is understood, it is understandable that infants would be excluded. Infants have trouble praying the sinners prayer and walking forward for the altar call; infants have trouble talking and walking at all. So the inability to respond is equated with the inability to believe.
The Bible, on the other hand, is careful to show how faith is a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” [Ephesians 2:8] The gift of God is precisely the faith through which salvation comes. “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” [Philippians 1:29] “You were raised with Him through faith in the working of God.” [Colossians 2:12]
Faith, then, is a gift, created by God's Word. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” [Romans 10:17] Of course, God does not do the believing for us. It is we, infants and adults, who believe, just as it is we who live, and yet just as God gives and sustains our life, so God gives and sustains our faith. Though infants cannot speak, they certainly can hear. Though infants cannot respond, they can receive gifts. As we saw in the survey of Biblical texts, the trust and dependence and receptiveness of infants is very picture of faith.
It might offend our reason and sensibilities, but the Scriptures are clear that infants and children can and do have faith. May God grant to all of His people, both young and old, the faith of a child in order that ours would be the kingdom of heaven.
INJ
Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Oculi, Lent III, 2006
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NOTES
1It is interesting to note that most (if not all) of the official statements of the Baptist church do not explicitly make the connection between believer's baptism and the lack of infant baptism; it is, I suppose, assumed. I could find no official, “Therefore we do not baptize babies.” Here are a few examples:
The Baptist Confession of 1688, Of Baptism
“1. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into him; of remission of sins; and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
2. Those who do actually profess repentance toward God, faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.” (Shaff, Philip. The Creeds of Christendom, III.741)
The New Hampshire Baptist Confession, 1833
“We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is a prerequisite to the privileges of a Church relation.” (Shaff, Philip. The Creeds of Christendom, III.747)
The Baptist Faith and Message, Revised 2000
“Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.” (From www.sbc.net/bfm)
On the other hand, the connection is explicit in the very first article of the Anabaptist Schleitheim Confession of 1527. (Written two years before Luther's Catechisms.)
“I. Observe concerning baptism: Baptism shall be given to all those who have learned repentance and amendment of life, and who believe truly that their sins are taken away by Christ, and to all those who walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and wish to be buried with Him in death, so that they may be resurrected with Him and to all those who with this significance request it (baptism) of us and demand it for themselves. This excludes all infant baptism, the highest and chief abomination of the Pope. In this you have the foundation and testimony of the apostles. Matt. 28, Mark 16, Acts 2, 8, 16, 19. This we wish to hold simply, yet firmly and with assurance.” (www.anabaptists.org/history/schleith.html) This Confession is quoted on the Southern Baptist website in an article explaining the Baptist understanding of baptism. (www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=14103)
2R[n “'Boy, lad, youth' a. of infant [Exodus 2:6], to be born [Judges 13:5,7,8,12], just born [1 Samuel 4:21], not weaned [1 Samuel 1:24; also Isaiah 8:4, cf. 7:16+]. b. of lad just weaned [1 Samuel 1:24,25,27], etc. c. youth: of youth Ishmael [Genesis 21:12f], Isaac [Genesis 22:5,12]... d. with special stress on youthfulness [Judges 8:20; 1 Samuel 17:33,42]... e. of marriageable age [Genesis 34:19], warrior Absalom, [2 Samuel 18:5,12]” The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Hendrickson Publishers: Peabody, MA. 1906, Sixth Printing, 2001, p. 654-655).
3Jm's; is in the Niphal, as in Isaiah 48:2. See BDB, p. 701-702.
4Definitions are taken from A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Walter Bauer, William Arndt and Wilbur Gingrich (The University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL. 1979)
5That Lutheran baptism assumes faith in the infant being baptized can be seen in the Lutheran baptismal liturgy. Before the child is baptized they are asked:
“N., do you renounce the devil?”
Answer: “Yes.”
“And all his works?”
Answer: “Yes.”
“And all his ways?”
Answer: “Yes.”
Then he shall ask:
“Do you believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?”
Answer: “Yes.”
“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was born and suffered?”
Answer: “Yes.”
“Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Christian church, the community of saints, forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the body, and after death an eternal life?”
Answer: “Yes.”
“Do you want to be baptized?”
Answer: “Yes.”
This liturgy is taken from Luther's baptismal book, published in 1523 and republished in 1526 (on which this text is taken). This translation is taken for the Book of Concord, ed. Kolb and Wengert (Augsburg Fortress. Minneapolis, MN, 2000. p. 374-375).
The rubric calls for the sponsors to answer the questions in the place of the child, but never-the-less, it is the child who is asked the question, and so it is the child who says, “Yes, I renounce the devil. Yes, I believe in God the Father. Yes, I believe in God the Son. Yes, I believe in God the Holy Spirit. Yes, I want to be baptized.” This assumes that the child has faith before they are baptized. So Lutherans, following the Lutheran liturgy, baptize believers.
6The Four Spiritual Laws were written in 1965 by Bill Bright, the founder of “Campus Crusade for Christ.” Approximately 1.5 billion copies of this tract have been printed according to the evangelical website of Campus Crusade: www.greatcom.org.laws.
There are three aspect of infant baptism that many American "evanglicals" reject: 1) infants have original sin and are subject to the same judgement as all people (enternal seperation from God), 2) faith in something God gives us so that we may believe and we cannot generate faith due to original sin and 3) baptism regernates sinners to new life in Christ.
Posted by: Steve | June 26, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Chris, great post, many thanks to Pastor Wolfmueller and you. The section on St Luke 18:15-17 rung especially true to me and the use of original Greek leaves little room on who the Saviour was specifically speaking of. Thanks again, really like your site.
Jack
Posted by: wheylay | August 02, 2006 at 03:21 PM
I'm presbyterian and agree that infant baptism is fine as part of the covenantal promise of God. But one rather worrying thing I have picked up on is in steve's comment above.
Steve says 3)Baptism regenerates sinners to new life in Christ.
I may be misunderstood here but that is not actually true. It is genuine repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ that causes the Holy Spirit to regenerate a person's heart enabling them to follow Christ/ have new life in Him. Baptismal regeneration is actually a heresy that is not Biblical and is practiced by "the church of Christ" which is actually a cult. Faith and faith alone saves.
Posted by: reformed pilgrim | November 27, 2008 at 05:20 AM
To give a relatively brief contrary view...
We who have received the grace of God (His undeserved favour) therefore become children of God which we can only do with the same innocence as a little child as proof cannot be offered. This is only possible with a child-like trust (faith/belief) in God. So you can't enter into the Kingdom of God (join His family) and so receive His grace without faith in Jesus Christ (which is trust in God). In becoming a believer we become a child of God, adopted into His family, and relate to Him as our Heavenly Father; this is the basic explanation of the 'child/children' references.
Now about faith: Faith is our response to God's grace as revealed by what He has done in and through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Faith is from a word in Greek meaning trust (which is based on God's Word and believing what the Word says, hence faith comes by hearing the Word).
The critical scripture always used to reference faith as being a gift of God is indeed “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” [Ephesians 2:8] In context with other scriptures it makes sense to state that grace is the gift of God referred to rather than faith, which is our believing God, our trust in Him and His promises. Why? Because grace is mentioned multiple times in such a context, unlike 'our faith', which is not.
The other scripture sometimes relied on is Galatians 5:22, which lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit and includes faith. That makes sense in this way: as you walk with and trust God, He repays that trust (faith) and so the 'fruit' remains and becomes better founded in the truth of God. Trust builds trust. If your faith is real it will survive the refiner's fire. Can an unbeliever have joy, longsuffering, etc? Yes, of course, but that does not mean they are believers and yet these are listed as fruits of the Spirit. In the same way faith is a fruit, so your joy in the Lord, your ability to suffer long, and so forth are a byproduct of who you are when you walk with the Holy Spirit, of who you are in Christ, but this does not mean faith is absent prior to conversion, otherwise no one would ever place their trust/faith in Christ in the first place.
Having opened up a hornet's nest, think I'll go and hide!!!
Grace & Peace
Posted by: Richard | December 02, 2008 at 08:20 AM
Richard,
Ephesians 2:8 must also be read in the context of Ephesian 2:1-7. First, Paul clearly states that prior to our salvation, we are dead in our sin. A spiritually dead person has no ability to believe on their own just as a physically dead person had no ability to move through their own efforts. Second, it is God who gives us life. This "new life" or "rebirth", is completely due to God's grace. Again, we have no part in this. Third, In order for us to believe God, he must give us the ability to believe, thus faith is a gift. On our own, we do not any faith prior to God giving us life since we were just spiritual corpus.
Posted by: Steve Newell | December 02, 2008 at 09:24 AM
Thanks for responding Steve.
But... surely the word repentance means 'think differently' (at least in the Greek), so why did John the Baptist (and when he was imprisoned and so couldn't, Jesus Christ then took up the same message) declare 'repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand', if the unbelieving sinners they addressed couldn't think differently and turn from sin to our merciful God?
I guess you could then argue that as the Lord made us all so He knows how we will respond, but just interested to read how you handle this?
Posted by: Richard | December 02, 2008 at 10:07 AM
Repentance is also a gift of God. Repentence can only come after hearing the Word of God. God works the gift of faith what gives us the ability to repent. In Acts 11, the Apostles states that it is God who give repentance to the Gentiles for eternal life.
We call people to repent when we proclaim Law and Gospel. Repentance is not the cause of our salvation but the result of our salvation. The unregenerate person will not and cannot repent. That is why repentance has been part of historic Christian worship for centuries. Only in Christ, do we understand that we are sin and desire present and eternal punishment for our sins and we repent of our sins.
One turns repentance into a work when repentance a precondition to salvation.
Posted by: Steve Newell | December 02, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Richard,
Because the Holy Spirit operates through the preached Word to regenerate and convert us.
We all generally believe that God's Word is powerful, but there may be some disagreement over why it's powerful.
Lutherans believe the Word is powerful because of the Holy Spirit who operates through it, not because it appeals to our human rationality in some kind of special way. Whereas others seem to believe essentially the opposite.
There is much evidence in Scripture that man's powers of reason are corrupted by sin, such that man is not capable of rationally apprehending the Gospel. Man can understand the concept of works-righteousness; indeed, the concept is self-evident. But to the unregenerate, the Gospel is stupid, nonsensical, and illogical. This is why it is necessary for the Holy Spirit to first regenerate us; only then can we understand (at least to some small degree) and believe.
Posted by: Tim | December 02, 2008 at 10:55 AM
Thanks Steve and Tim. I'm now going to go away and study scripture and ask the Lord for wisdom to quicken this to my heart! I know of the scriptures mentioned, and can again give a contrary explanation, but sometimes think in our limited ways we can argue about words when we in reality mean the same thing, even though our understanding does of course mater as it can impact our actions differently. In the end I understand and believe it is by grace alone we are saved, by faith alone, by and through Jesus Christ alone, and that this has to be reality in our heart and our head to confess with the mouth and inwardly and not just as dogma. Where we have a different approach at the moment is not over grace, not over Jesus Christ and His atonement, but over how faith is arrived at. However the bottom line is the Lord has granted us life as a free gift, He has provided the Way to eternal life and relationship with Himself, He is our sovereign, His will be done! Amen! Soli Deo Gloria!
I just pray the Lord grant us all greater and greater wisdom and understanding to keep us from error as much as possible so we can walk in the Light of His glory and be good and faithful to Him. He promises that as we seek we shall find, and I believe Him.
It does make sense experientially to me that the Holy Spirit regenerates first and then, after, comes understanding. I liken it to being the opposite of the world's way: To take an exam, you study first, then take it, but when coming to Christ you know nothing and only have understanding revealed after you have done so rather than before.
Posted by: Richard | December 03, 2008 at 04:43 AM
As a Sovereign Grace Baptist I agree that infants can be saved just as well as anyone from conception to the oldest human but that has nothing to do with baptism infant or otherwise. Baptism is a work of the law and is a overflow of the grace given through the work of Christ Jesus on the human soul in regeneration and conviction by the Holy Spirit on the will of man to partake of this sacrament . In exercising faith given by Christ we are baptized by water to show outwardly what Christ has done inwardly on the soul and spirit of the individual. Only by Christ's obediance of the law in His life,His shed blood on the cross for our sins appeasing God the Father's just and holy wrath,plus Christ's death,burial and resurrection onto life;singnifing Christ's victory over Satan,death and sin is salvation accomplished.By indentifing with Christ's work we acknowdledge and confess we are incapable to save or keep ourselves by works of our own. So in regard to infant baptism it is not a issue of conversion of the child's soul being conducted by God but a matter of mankind falsly assuming a work of God has accured in the infant. In this Lutherans and others run the risk of accepting false converts as brothers and sisters, no differentdly than Evangelicals have done with Decisional confessionals. Even if the child grows up confessing Christian doctrine this is no gaurantee of redemption because the heart is decietful above measure that includes the young child's heart as well. In conclusion infant baptism can mask a child's sinful nature in the eyes of their parents,plus giving him or her false assurance to belive Christ is indeed their Lord and Savior causing them tow alk in life all the way to death and eternal judgement in hell without them seeing a need to repent of their sins. This is one reason among many why such denominations as the ELCA,UCC,PCUSA,RCA,ECUSA,UMC and Roman Catholic Church of old had fallen. And now the LCMS,PCA,CRC and others are in danger of apostasy in this as well. I may be wrong in this but Scripture gives no instance of infant baptism nor is it a command of God thus it could be a violation of Sola Scriptuta as well. In this post you have given Scripture to back salvation belongs to lost infants as well as lost adults but no proof of infant baptism. John 1:13 says we are born by the will of God not by our own will or by our parents will and this rebirth comes by the work of the Holy Spirit not by water as written in John 3.. Grace through Faith is indeed imparted to the believer but it is given during the conversion and regeneration of the soul done by the power of God which precedes confessions of sins and repentance. We are kept by God's grace thru Jesus Christ intercessionary work between us and the Father, by which The Father looks on His Only Begotten Son in favor and thus can justly pardon us because of The Lord Jesus Christ imputed righteousness which will never be ours even in Heaven. I know this is a long and confusing statement with badly parsed sentances,bad grammer,punctuation and spelling to boot but without Scriptual evidence given to instances of infant baptism I cannot concede it as a Bibical ordinance given by God and Jesus Christ Our Lord without violation of my conscience. I also believe the Doctrines of Sola Scripura,Sola Fide,Sola Gratia, Sola Christus, and Sola Dei Gloria disallow its practice but may God persude me otherwise through His Holy Word if i am wrong in this matter and cause me to repent of my sin both towards God and to you, but i also pray to God for your repentance if you are wrong in this matter and as humans and not God we can both be mistaken. May this drive us all to seek God's Holy Word . "May the Lord God be praised both in Heaven and on Earth and may Jesus Christ His Son be lifted up and confessed as both Lord and God and may we all be broken by His Holiness and Justice but healed by His Blood and Righteousness and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise until the Day of Judgement for our redemption of our bodies so we can serve and love The Lord Our God for all eternity "
Posted by: Philip | December 06, 2008 at 05:09 AM
PS to above comment Chris and numerous others rightly point out in countless articles and broadcasts the example of The Lord Jesus Christ not having female disciples plus the twelve apostles being all men as a valid reason of not ordaining women as pastor/teachers. In this light should not infant baptism be treated the same also. Also correcting above post in regard to spelling correctly Sola Deo Gloria. "Affirm when Scriture has spoken but be silent when Scripture has not spoken" To God only be glory and honor forever and ever.And may we trust Christ Jesus and Him alone in all things. PSS thank you for your work in Christ through His sovereign grace and mercy and may we all be kept faithful in Him.
Posted by: Philip L. Terry II | December 06, 2008 at 05:56 AM
Philip,
The chief source of our disagreement is when you say, "Baptism is a work of the law."
First, what makes you say this? One concern I have is that baptism is part of the New Covenant, and the reason I cling to the New Covenant is precisely because the only works of the law that matter in this covenant are the ones which Christ did on my behalf, which He imputes to me. If baptism is a work of the law, either Christ has fulfilled baptism for me, or it's got nothing to do with the New Covenant.
Second, you cannot point to a Scripture which explicitly makes your point ("baptism is a work of the law"). Rather, you deduce it by taking Scripture as a whole. Similarly, we deduce infant baptism by taking Scripture as a whole. (For my purposes here, there is no explicit "proof-text" for infant baptism.)
Grace through Faith is indeed imparted to the believer but it is given during the conversion and regeneration of the soul done by the power of God which precedes confessions of sins and repentance.
This is probably the most important point. When other churches split from Lutherans on this, talking about baptismal regeneration or baptizing infants or infant faith is a bit pointless. But we have significant common ground here. So the question is: "How or in what way does God's power operate?"
Lutherans teach, quite simply, that this "power of God" which effects conversion, regeneration, faith, etc. is delivered by the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments. (Of course, what makes sacraments sacraments? The Word!) Now, if God's power is not delivered through the sacraments, Lutherans don't have a particularly good reason to baptize infants.
But Christians do many things without explicit Scriptural direction. Broadcasting the Gospel via radio, for example. Baptizing people in tubs rather than in rivers. Using grape juice for the Lord's Supper. The list is endless. The primary issue is whether a practice is in keeping with Scripture, not necessarily whether it can be explicitly cited from Scripture. Yes?
But we teach that baptism IS that work of God.
Infant baptism doesn't encourage parents to be lax in bringing up their children. Quite the opposite, really. I am sure that lazy parents use infant baptism as an excuse, and that this excuse might be validated by lazy pastors/priests, but here the culprit is of course the lazy parents and/or lazy pastor.
Not "in this." :) All churches at all times and in all places run equal risk of accepting false converts. At most, we judge others in the church by their public confession and public works. But we can't see their private behaviors, let alone their hearts. The difficulty is that it's pretty easy to fake it on the outside.
Posted by: Tim the Cyanide-Gargling Faith Gladiator | December 08, 2008 at 11:36 AM