Dissertation on infant baptism

This article is the full dissertation submitted towards my BA (Hons) in Youth & Children’s Ministry at Oak Hill Theological College in May 2007. The full title for the dissertation is as follows: A defence of infant baptism in the context of the growing practice of the dedication of children of the church, with particular attention to “discipleship” in Matthew 28:18-22 and the New Testament.

It is my hope to provide an abridged version of this dissertation, one that is a bit more readable for people 'on the ground' (so to speak). For now, the full technical version will have to do.

Preface

In this preface I would like to state my own views on baptism: the who, when and why of baptism. This preface was not an original part of my submitted dissertation. I have added it because of the large number of conversations I have had with people on both sides of the baptismal fence (or should I say 'pool'?), and also the large number of people accessing the site to read my dissertation.

Why?
This is the simplest one to answer. We baptise people because Jesus tells us to (Matthew 28:18-20). It is worth stating here that water baptism is entirely external and symbolic. It is an external and symbolic sign of an internal reality: that Jesus died for our sins on the cross, cleansing us of sin and giving us new life - the baptism (into eternal life) of the Spirit. So, we baptise people to speak of, demonstrate, symbolise, point people to Jesus - first and foremost to the person being baptised, but also as a witness and testimony to those around them. Think of baptism as being like a person draping their national flag over them, declaring their citizenship to that nation. Their declaration of identity and citizenship is only as valid as their actual identity and citizenship. In the same way, a person's external water baptism is only as valid as their internal spiritual baptism, by the grace of God through faith in Jesus.

Who and when?

Because of the above point, only Christians should have anything to do with baptism. By Christians, I mean people who are called, chosen and faithful followers of Jesus (Revelation 17:14) - people who have heard the call to repent of sin and live by faith in Jesus, who have been chosen by God before the foundations of the world, and who follow him as a faithful, lifelong disciple.

For adults, this is quite straight forward - you just ask them. If their answers to your questions are positive, then baptise them (Acts 8:35-38). For children, this is a bit harder. But, I would argue, not as hard as people think.

The key issue is two fold. First, are the parents believers and second, will the parents bring their children up as disciples of Jesus (calling them to a life of repentance and faith and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded us)?

The best way of showing how this works itself out is with some examples:

• A person who has become a Christian as an adult and wants to be baptised.
  Baptise them.
• A non-Christian family who want to baptise their child.
  Do not baptise them, for their parents will not bring them up to be disciples of Jesus. This often only occurs when there is an ulterior motive for baptism (such as enrolment into a church school).
• A Christian family who want to baptise their newborn child.
  Because both parents are believers and as long as they commit to discipling their child in repentance and faith in Jesus, then they are free to baptise their child. The promise of salvation is available to their children (Acts 2:38-39) and they are baptising them into being disciples of Jesus, which the parents will fulfil by raising them as believers 'in the Lord' (Ephesians 6:1-4).
• A Christian who has a non-Christian spouse and wants to baptise their child.
  There are two key questions. First, will the Christian parent be committed/able to actively raise their child to be a disciple of Jesus? Second, will the baptism of the child be a stumbling block in some way to the non-Christian parent? If the answer to the first question is 'Yes' and the second question 'No', then baptise them (1 Corinthians 7:13-14) because the child will be brought up 'in the Lord' (Ephesians 6:1-4) and the unbelief of the spouse is not in itself an obstacle to the child being raised as believer.
• A Christian family who are new believers with children who are unbelievers.
  Because thus far the children have not been raised as disciples of Jesus, it is not appropriate for them to be baptised initially. However, in time, the children may start to come under the sound of Jesus' good news and start living as a follower of Jesus. In that instance, the child is free to be baptised.

In the grey-scale of life, things are not as clear cut as this, and Pastors need to pastor their flock both faithfully and carefully. In terms of baptismal position, I sit quite neatly between peadobaptism and credobaptism - some children are free to be baptised, but not every child should is free to be baptised.

The bottom line is that Christian parents who are committed to bringing their children up to know, love and follow Jesus are free to baptise their children. They do this trusting in the promises of Acts 2:38-39, out of obedience to Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20 and to honour and mark their parental responsibility in Ephesians 6:1-4. They are also free to dedicate their children, as a mark of their conviction in texts such as Acts 4:12 that it is only the name of Jesus that saves us, and to allow their children to personally own their decision to be baptised, like the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:36.