Many Baptist, Pentecostal and non-denominational churches practice what is called believer's baptism, in which one is not baptized until one willingly makes a public profession of faith. Faith precedes baptism. Baptism in this tradition is a sign of obedience to God's command. Some extreme proponents of believer's baptism even claim that infant baptism is a great evil, because it gives families false hope. Such churches will rebaptize someone who joins their congregation, often by full immersion (most babies are not immersed, though some are) believing one is not truly baptized unless every inch is submerged.

Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal and other churches practice infant baptism, in which infants and children are baptized at any age based on their parents' profession of faith. In this tradition, there may never be a time the child can’t remember not being a Christian. Catholics, Orthodox and mainline protestants recognize the baptism of other non-infant baptizing churches, and do not practice rebaptism.

Which came first?

Ah, this is one of those chicken and the egg questions. Both practices existed pretty early in the life of the church. But in the book of Acts, it is clear that whole households are being baptized. This would have been a common practice in antiquity. When the father converted to a new religion, the rest of the family did as well.

“It is generally agreed by most objective scholars that infant baptism for children of Christian parents was practiced by most of the early Church Fathers such as Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Augustine, etc. Other church fathers do not mention infant baptism, but they do not speak against it either. The sole known opponent to infant baptism in the early church was Tertullian.”*

Today the question revolves around whether baptism is a sign of our obedience/faith, or God's grace. Lutherans are big on grace. Luther said that baptism was a seal of God’s promises to us — promises that are free, unearned and undeserved. Think of the rainbow that God puts in the sky to seal the promise, “Never again will I flood the earth…”

Another way to look at the question is this: When do you become a Christian? When you can make a profession of faith? When you fully understand the gospel? (Do we ever?) When you come up for an altar call?

Let’s refocus the question. When did you become an American? Was it when you first said the pledge of allegiance? Most would say “no.” We were raised in the promise of freedom. We’ve been breathing liberty from our very first breath.

One more approach. Luther would agree: One must have faith before baptism. But he would quickly add that children and even infants do have faith. Faith is not intellectual assent to a series of propositions. Faith is trusting in God. Infants and children have an immense amount of trust. They have to trust in God, in life, in parents for every need. It's when we become adults that we believe the lie of our self-sufficiency. For Jesus children are role models for faith. "Unless you have the faith of a child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

Baptism is a time when we splash our children with promise. We celebrate the gift of faith in the child, and in the family. And we kick off the child’s journey of faith, their instruction in the Christian faith. We commission the sacred mentors: parents, grandparents, members, pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders, and so on, who will shape this child’s faith. It is a time of great joy.

When children are baptized, the parents (and sponsors, if the parents choose to have sponsors/godparents) make some commitments:

· to faithfully bring their child to worship, where the child will learn corporate prayer, sing hymns of faith, hear Scripture, experience the love of Christ, and develop loving relationships with Christian role models who will help them develop and internal moral compass and Christian outlook

· to teach them the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Commandments, so that they will learn the heart of Jesus through his great prayer, know the basic beliefs of Christians around the world and throughout time, and the law and covenants of Scripture

· to place in their hands the Holy Scriptures and provide for their instruction in the Christian faith, so that living in their baptism, they may know the stories of the faith and lead godly lives until the day of Jesus Christ.

Families often do a party or lunch to celebrate. If children are old enough, gifts are often given to the child that support these commitments: children's Bibles, crosses, story books, etc. At Grace we usually present the families with a gift from the church, a reminder that you have a church family that is helping you with this sacred task of parents. You are not alone.

There will always be those who want to "have the baby done," with no intent to follow through. For them baptism is like a magic ritual, rather than an immersion into a church family and a life of faith. But our unfaithfulness in no way negates God’s faithfulness. The Holy Spirit will be at work in the life of our children, even when we drop the ball. Thank goodness!

If you ever want to talk about baptizing your child, call me at the church office any time (588-1944). It would be my great joy to visit with you about this special gift.

Much love,

Pastor Mike

Our view

(the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America): www.elca.org/questions/Results.asp?recid=29

Luther on infant baptism:

www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/catechism/web/cat-13a.html

The LCMS view:

www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=4411

The Southern Baptist view:

www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=14103

The view of a Baptist who changed his mind:

www.apuritansmind.com/Baptism/MyRetraction.htm

The Roman Catholic view:

www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm

* Dr. Jack Arnold at www.thirdmill.org/files/english/html/ch/CH.h.Arnold.CH.11.html