IOW, pedo-baptism isn’t scriptural; we pulled it out of our Made-up Doctrine file.
I used to be against infant baptism until I was exposed to this as a podcast on stitcher:
http://www.nakedbiblepodcast.com/episodes/page/23/
Episodes 1-5. Once you get an idea of the actual function of baptism, well, you see ALL baptism differently
Sprinkling some water on a baby is absolutely meaningless. An infant is not capable of sin. Catholics also have it wrong on being born again. When a person is old enough to decide on his or her own, they accept Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior. Forcing a 10 year old into communion is meaningless when the child has no idea what is going on. But, I don’t expect catholics to ever understand. They’re too wrapped up in meaningless (to God) acts that have no bearing on how one achieves true salvation.
Nor is there any example of baptizing infants, any reference to baptizing infants, or even the slightest hint at any concept remotely approaching the baptizing of infants in the entire New Testament.
1 Corinthians 7:13-14
13:And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
14:For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
I don’t know if this applies...
But it would seem that if one parent is Sanctified
The children are Holy, not unclean
So, as a non-Catholic, I take it the infant baptism lasts until the “age of reason”, in which then the person is responsible for their own belief; thus confirmation/first communion? Is that correct according to Catholic doctrine?
As a protestant i don’t believe it has any effect on whether or not a baby is saved. BUT there sure are worse things out there these days than consecration of a new baby to Jesus. Time for all sorts of Christians to only see the good in reach other and look outward at the common enemy.
i very much agree that understanding original sin, is central and important to any christian’s walk with Jesus. certainly scripturally, there was “original sin” by adam and eve.
and i sure would like a good definition and explanation of how this sin affected all of humanity. still studying this doctrine myself.
anyway, the article leaves at least 2 basic questions unanswered for me:
can/should a baby willfully repent of original sin or any sin?
can a baby willfully assent to believe on the Lord Jesus as it’s savior and redeemer?
if the answers to these questions are no, then one more question: how are those events not prerequisite to baptism?
According to Peter there was a heaven and earth age before the Adam was formed. II Peter 3. The allegorical ‘tree of the knowledge’ planted in the Garden of God, Eden, had already been judged to death. The serpent is the cause and reason for this flesh age. The devil committed the ‘original sin’ and a third of the souls followed him. This world that is now (Peter’s words) gives all who would (John 3) the choice to take this flesh journey. At conception the ‘soul/spirit’ is placed in the flesh body in ‘water’. Not all souls/spirits will take this flesh journey. The devil and his preachers will never be allowed to be born of woman.
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The ‘explanation’ for infant sprinkling is a total rejection of the scriptures.
Its a pagan ritual.
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“To Explain Infant Baptism You Must Explain Original Sin”
Original sin is a doctrine of the Bible, but nowhere do we find a single example of New Testament baptism being applied to infants. I will grant that all of Israel was baptized (unto Moses) when they passed through the Red Sea. See 1 Corinthians 10:2.
Water baptism does not save us from our sins but from the conscious conviction of our sins by our own conscience. See 1 Peter 3:21.
Where does this consciousness of sins come from? It comes from the Law:
Romans 7:7b
I would not have known sin except through the law.
The Law makes us aware of our sin and our need for a Savior:
Galatians 3:24
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Even without hearing the written ordinances of the Law, God has created within us a conscience which speaks to us when we break His laws:
Romans 2:15
[They] show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.
Believer’s baptism in the New Testament is a conscious declaration of faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. That is, we receive His forgiveness when we, under conviction of our own conscience, repent of our sins and trust in God’s provision for salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection. We declare this by baptism.
What is the prerequisite for believer’s baptism? Faith!
Acts 8:36-37
Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Though not specifically commanded in scripture, it was not unusual for new converts to confess (i.e. name) their sins when being baptized. We see this with John’s baptism of repentance:
Matthew 3:6
[They] were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
In Acts 19 we see the need to go beyond the baptism of John with believer’s baptism. This took place during a transitory period where all of the works of God through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit had not been fully communicated. In this case, in the same chapter, we see believers confessing their sins at some time after being baptized. Yet, repentance is clearly a prerequisite to salvation under the current dispensation:
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 24:47
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
So... Saving faith is a prerequisite of New Testament / believers’ baptism. And repentance is a prerequisite of saving faith. And an awareness of sin through the conviction of our consciences by the Law of God is a prerequisite of repentance.
In order to receive the forgiveness of sins and gift of eternal life there must be repentance and faith.
An infant does not meet the Biblical requirement of “believing with all of your heart” that Philip gave. An infant DOES indeed have original sin but DOES NOT yet have a consciousness of sin. An infant cannot consent to, or be a willing participant in, baptism.
There is a Biblical basis for the belief that God can and does show mercy on children who die before what we often refer to as the “age of accountability” (which is not a specific age but refers to the ability for individuals to understand their accountability for their actions). But such mercy is not Biblically based on performing any rituals on these children.
When an adult who was baptized as an infant comes to Christ through repentance and faith, he should be baptized with believer’s baptism. Being sprinkled with water in a ritual as a child may have given his parents some false sense of security, but it will have added nothing at all to his salvation. Such a person who understands his sinful condition before God, repents, and believes the Gospel message of Christ’s atoning work and deliverance, should follow these with obedience to Christ’s command to be baptized. This is a way to publicly confess Christ and to receive the healing of our conscience from the guilt of sin.
“Jesus is saying that a man must be born of water and the Spirit—in other words, he must be baptized. The Bible tells us that you cannot enter the kingdom of God if you are not baptized.”
Jesus clearly disagrees with you and your religion about this.
Luke 23:43
And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.
If you and your religion would read the verse before and after v.5 you would notice that the word womb/uterus, V.4 is used clearly meaning born in a physical sense and born in a spiritual sense.
V.6 even clarifies this truth by stating flesh and spirit.
6 That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
“But the Bible tells us that the flesh is of no avail because of the consequences of original sin.”
So baptism doesn’t’ fix the problem then. Baptism is of the flesh and the flesh still dies, so it doesn’t reverse the original sin.
Baptism isn’t a symbol of rebirth, but a symbol of death, burial, and the resurrection from the dead.
Romans 6:3-5 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
3 Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death?
4 For we are buried together with him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
“Adam is the representative of the flesh. Christ is the representative of the Spirit.”
Wrong again...
Adam is the partial example of flesh. Christ is our true example of dead flesh, resurrected perfected flesh, and Spirit. You know body, soul, and spirit three parts.
Christ is my example in all things and He wasn’t baptized until He was approximately 30 years of age (adult) and He wasn’t sprinkled, but submerged in the river Jordan. There isn’t one example of infant baptism or sprinkling in the entire Bible, so it’s not OT or NT doctrine. Both the Mikvah OT and NT baptism examples are by submersion.
Matthew 18:3
And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Notice that we adults must become as children. It’s not baptism by rcc standards as both would already have that. The one thing we lose as we go from childhood to adulthood is faith.
Rev 7:14
And I said to him: My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me: These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.