July 24, 2022

Infant baptism vs. Believer Baptism?

 

Exodus 2:1-10; Mark 1:1-11

 

This morning's topic from the congregation has to do with the sacrament of baptism. The question is, Is infant baptism just as good as believer baptism? In other words, if you are baptized as a baby, with no say in the sacrament, does it hold the same meaning as when a child or adult professes their faith and requests baptism? First, a confession- I was baptized as an infant. Here is proof of that day, June 10th, 1962, with my mother Rosamond and my Grandfather Archie holding me. So, my response to this question is admittedly biased. In being baptized this way, I can say that, although it wasn't meaningful at the time (my mother told me I threw up on the shoulder of Rev. Nelson), it certainly is now. I learned of being baptized as a young boy and remembered my mother saying something about "being claimed by God" on that day. In the back of my mind, I knew that, through this act, somehow, I was connected to God, and I think it influenced me as I grew.

 

Is infant baptism scriptural?

 

Acts chapter 2:38-39 certainly seems to suggest the answer is yes. In his first sermon, Peter tells the crowds gathered, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven…For the promise is for You, for your children, and for everyone far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls…." Peter did not say that only those who could proclaim their faith should be baptized. This sacrament was meant for everyone. Peter's behavior demonstrates this later in Acts.

 

There are at least two or three instances when entire households are baptized in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter ten, we learn of the faithful centurion, Cornelius, a Roman a Gentile who Peter visits. Peter baptized them all as the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius' household. This passage doesn't specifically say that there were babies in that household, but neither does it say, "All were baptized, except for the infants, who needed to proclaim their faith in God first."

 

Then in Acts 16, we learn of Paul baptizing the entire household of Lydia. (Acts 16:15) Just a few verses later, after an earthquake freed Paul and Silas from prison, they encountered the jailer, who was ready to slit his own throat because prisoners had escaped on his watch. Paul and Silas reached out to him and, in time, baptized the jailer "And his entire household." (Acts 16:33)

 

So there is support for infant and child baptism in the book of Acts. When did the Christian church start officially baptizing infants? We can trace that time back to the mid-third century. Here is an excerpt from Cyprian (210-258 A.D.), who wrote, "But in respect of the case of the infants, which you say ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the law of ancient circumcision should be regarded, so that you think that one who is just born should not be baptized and sanctified within [i.e., before] the eighth day, we all thought very differently in our council. For in this course which you thought was to be taken, no one agreed; but we all rather judge that the mercy and grace of God is not to be refused to any one born of man. (Cyprian, Letter 58:2 from Ante-Nicene Fathers)

 

Even earlier than Cyprian, another early church leader, Irenaeus, wrote the following about being saved through Baptism in the second century. "Irenaeus, c. A.D. 185: He came to save all through means of Himself—all … who through Him are born again to God—infants, and children, and boys, and youths, and old men. He, therefore, passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission …" (Against Heresies II:22:4)

 

Some disagreed with this practice, but in time, baptizing infants was an accepted practice by the One catholic (that is universal) church. Infants were baptized, greatly due to the belief that all human beings are born into sin because we are from the lineage of Adam and Eve. This thought is fully expressed in Psalm 51:5, attributed to David, who writes, "Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me." And further on, in Psalm 58, David writes, "They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies." (Psalm 58:3). Paul suggests this same idea, that we are born into sin. In Romans 5:12, he writes, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned…."

 

The early church believed that baptism saved infants from sin and guaranteed them being sent to heaven upon their death, which was very important in those days since the percentages of infant mortality were quite high in the first through third centuries. According to Our World in Data.com, in discussing infant mortality during that time, "Historical studies suggest that around one-quarter of infants died in their first year of life and around half of all children died before they reached the end of puberty."

 

The Roman Catholic church holds onto that belief about infant baptism today, that a baptism is a salvific act, and that "Babies need to have original sin removed from their souls." (Catholic Answers.com)

What, then, do Presbyterians believe regarding infant baptism? Are we in agreement with Roman Catholics? The answer is a bit complicated. Our Presbyterian Book of Order says, "Children of believers are to be baptized without undue delay, but without undue haste." In my understanding of that phrase, inherent sinfulness has less to do with infants and baptism. More important is how baptism is a sacrament where God claims us before we can respond in faith, which is how I was raised to understand my own baptism. God's grace claims us through this act. Again, the Book of Order states, "The Baptism of children witnesses to the truth that God's love claims people before they are able to respond in faith." (Book of Order, W-2.3006-2.3008c & W-2.3014).

 

So, the idea of saving anyone through the sacrament of baptism is lessened but not thrown out altogether. In infant baptism, God's grace and claim on all people as they come into this world is emphasized. That emphasis is why I chose this passage from Exodus. Moses is placed in the water to save him from the Pharaoh's decree to throw all Hebrew male children into the Nile River, for Pharaoh did not want the Hebrew people to grow too strong in number. Ironically, Moses is saved from being placed in a basket on the same river. The water, in this case, is salvific, as the water of baptism is. Then Moses is claimed by Pharaoh's daughter out of the water. Her act of claiming the Hebrew child, whom she called Moses, is like God claiming us through this holy sacrament.

 

There are even more connections to baptism and the story of Moses. Theologian Rev. David Gambrell, the pastor of Centerville Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, writes, "Jesus gave two sacraments to his church, and they both re-enact the Exodus. In Baptism, we celebrate the burial of the old, the passing from death into life, and the drowning of our enemies in floodwaters...Whenever we baptize someone…, we're witnessing both to ourselves and to the world around us that all of us have known slavery. But now, we all have hope because Israel's God has stepped down to liberate us and take us triumphantly to live in a land flowing with milk and honey."

 

When an infant is baptized, we celebrate that liberation through the grace of God. As an infant is baptized, we visibly proclaim that grace towards humanity. God's grace is for us, and God acts in love and grace upon our behalf even before we can respond to it.

 

Some essential ground rules exist when an infant is baptized in the Presbyterian church. First, we do not sanction an infant being baptized, surrounded only by their immediate family during someone's garden brunch in the backyard. I am actually not allowed to do a baptism in that manner. Infants are to be baptized in common worship only. Why is that?

 

I have not baptized an infant for a while in the church. When I have had that privilege, after baptizing them, I bring them down the center aisle of the church and say to them, "This is your new family!" That new family has a responsibility, as the congregation is asked amid the Baptism, "Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture this child by word and deed, with love and prayer? Will you encourage them to know and follow Christ and to be a faithful member of Christ's church?" I love the intentionality of those questions. When an infant is baptized, there is a communal responsibility that we as a congregation embrace. The Old African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," fits well- It takes a congregation to raise a child into faith.

 

Believer or adult baptism is, of course, also accepted within the Presbyterian church. In this case, the person about to be baptized proclaims their faith. We celebrate this proclamation of faith in Christ Jesus and God's claim upon that person through the gift of grace. Yet if this is the only kind of baptism allowed, in my mind, it makes it seem that you have to earn your baptism, which overshadows God's claim upon us from the moment we are born- God's amazing, unconditional love.

 

The Presbyterian Church of Scotland, known simply as "The Church of Scotland," uses a beautiful liturgy when an infant is baptized. It says in part,

"For you, Jesus Christ came into the world:

For you, he lived and showed God's love;

For you, he suffered the darkness of Calvary

And cried at the last, "It is accomplished";

For you, he triumphed over death

And rose in newness of life;

For you, he ascended to reign at God's right hand.

All this he did for you, little one,

Though you do not know it yet.

And so the word of Scripture is fulfilled:

"We love because God loved us first."— Book of Common Order, Church of Scotland

 

So, whether you were baptized as an infant, a youth, or an adult, remember God loved you first, from the moment you were born, and through the waters of baptism, has claimed you as a beloved child. Remember WHO you are and WHOSE you are! You are God's beloved. You will be God's beloved each and every moment until you no longer walk this earth. Then, your baptism will be complete, and you will be home. Alleluia! Amen.