Defining Baptism Part 3: Its Candidates

Read Part 1: Its Institution

Read Part 2: Its Mode

Inherent to the baptism debate is whether or not an infant can be baptized. Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists and the like practice paedo-baptism, but many protestant churches practice only believers baptism. 

Believer’s Baptism
The only baptism described in the New Testament is the baptism of a believer. Every instance or teaching on baptism relates to those who have repented of sin and those who came to faith in Christ.[1] Even John’s baptisms were made in anticipation of a coming Messiah and a repentance of sin (Mark 1:4-8). The practice of John’s baptism where the person baptizing had to confess with his lips his sin cannot align with infant baptism. Two passages clearly suggest that baptism is for believers only. Matthew 28:19 exhorts us to “go” and “teach all nations, baptizing them.” The word translated teach literally means make disciples of.[2] The objective is making disciples and the follow-up step is baptism. Acts 2:18 also serves as an indicator that baptism is for believers only. Here, baptism follows repentance: “Repent, and be baptized.”

Infant Baptism
Scripture nowhere indicates that a child was baptized. It is impossible to directly prove from Scripture the rite of infant baptism. This serves as a presupposition that the person being baptized must be a Christian. Those who practice paedo-baptism will likely point to Matthew 18 where it says, “Except you become a child you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” However, there is no reference to baptism here. Likewise Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:16 which all say, “Let the little children come to Me for such is the Kingdom of Heaven” do not have any reference to baptism.[3] While Christ says that children are precious he never baptized any children nor did he teach any of his followers to baptize children.

Five times in Acts and 1 Corinthians we read of households being baptized. It is important to note that in the discussion about the household no children are ever mentioned. It is also of import that Acts 16:32 notes that Paul and Silas “spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his house.” The context suggests that the people were old enough to understand Paul and Silas’ message and respond to it. A few verses later we read that the jailor was rejoicing and believing “with all his house.” From this we can infer that those in his house were old enough to have knowledge of what they were rejoicing about. To say that these passages indicate that infants were baptized is to miss the point of the passages. These passages form a model for the Christian: hear, believe, and get baptized.

[1] Wright, 23.
[2] Alexander Carson, Baptism, its Mode and its Subjects (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1981), 169. 
[3] John MacArthur. “Is Infant Baptism Biblical.” Grace to You, 2011. http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/80-369/Is-Infant-Baptism-Biblical (accessed April 12, 2014).

Posted by Caleb