My dear readers,

Infant Baptism – A Spiritual Blessing!

Many protestant believers reject the doctrine of infant baptism because they understand only the Roman Catholic teaching of the doctrine. The Roman Catholic’s belief is one of baptismal regeneration, i.e. a person is saved by being baptized. To believe in baptismal regeneration is to believe that Christ’s vicarious work of salvation at Calvary was not finished. Christ declared that it was finished. God the Father agreed and accepted what His only begotten Son did to be sufficient to take away the sins of the world by raising Him from the dead for man’s justification. The Roman Catholic version of the doctrine of infant baptism is unbiblical and thus it is correct to reject it. However, just because a doctrine has been distorted does not mean that the correct biblical understanding of it should be rejected. For example, the Roman Catholics also distort the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper but we believe in the right understanding of the doctrine. 

What is the biblical understanding of infant baptism that is practised by covenantal churches like the Presbyterians? God bestows His covenantal blessings to the whole family when there is one believing parent in the family. This is clearly taught in 1 Corinthians 7:14: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” The unbelievers in the family of the believer are considered holy in God’s sight. Blessing for the believer will also be given to the unbelievers in that family. Therefore, when parents bring their infants in faith for baptism, they are claiming God’s covenant blessings for their children. Salvation is personal but the blessings of salvation is covenantal and to the family.

Baptism has replaced circumcision as the sacrament for the New Testament church just as the Lord’s Supper has replaced the Passover feast. Just as circumcision applied to both believers (Abraham was circumcised at the age of 99 years) and infants (Isaac was circumcised at 8 days old), so does the sacrament of water baptism. Infant baptism is not to bring the child into the covenant blessing because the child is already part of the covenantal family by God’s design, just like circumcision.

Why is the doctrine of infant baptism so difficult for some to accept? The fundamental differences between Christians who reject and Christians who accept the doctrine of infant baptism are serious:

• God’s Plan of Salvation – Some Christians, called Dispensationalists, believe that God saved sinners through seven dispensations discovered from the Bible. They are: Innocence (Genesis 1-3); Conscience (Genesis 4-7); Government (Genesis 8-11); Promise (Genesis 12-50); Law (Exodus to Malachi); Grace (Acts 1 to Revelation 19); and Kingdom (Revelation 20). Different dispensations, different ways of salvation. After a dispensation ends, that mode of salvation ends and a new mode begins until the end of the Kingdom period which is the end of the world and the beginning of the new heaven and new earth.

Presbyterians see God’s plan of salvation as only in Christ. The moment Adam sinned, God’s covenant of grace came into operation: God preached the first gospel of Christ in Genesis 3:15 whereby the seed of the woman (i.e. Christ) will bruise the head of the serpent, but the serpent will bruise His heel. Before the fall of man, it was the covenant of works. If Adam and Eve had passed the test, they would have been given eternal life. Tragically they failed. When Adam, who was the representative man, sinned, all humanity fell into sin with him. God could have destroyed Adam and Eve immediately but He showed them grace. Thus, the covenant of grace began. The whole Bible, from Genesis 3 to the end of the Book of Revelation, is under the covenant of grace. Salvation is in Christ only from the beginning of the fall to the end of the world. There are no different ways of salvation, as dispensationalists intimated.

• Differences in Theology – Because of the differences between Dispensationalists and Covenantalists in their approach to the doctrine of salvation, the interpretation of the whole Bible has many differences as well. Some of these differences are:

The Dispensationalists see the Old Testament as primarily historical in nature with little or no emphasis on the laws including the Ten Commandments. But the Ten Commandments are the moral laws of God that are timeless. However, Dispensationalists reject them as one would reject old newspapers. Therefore, for them, keeping the Sabbath Day or the Lord’s Day holy is disdained. On the other hand, the Covenantalists will keep the Lord’s Day holy, changing only the day itself but keeping the principles. The Levitical and civil laws are also taught by way of drawing principles and understanding their spiritual significance. The civil laws are the applications of the moral laws. The Levitical laws complement the moral laws as the means to restoring their broken relationship and fellowship with God for they are types of Christ. Christ is our burnt offering, peace offering, thank offering, gift offering, sin offering, etc. instead of just understanding Him as our offering in the New Testament. This helps us understand the richness of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The Dispensationalists believe that the Holy Spirit did not indwell believers until after Pentecost. Therefore, the understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is curtailed. Whereas the Covenantalists believe that the Holy Spirit indwells, fills, leads, illuminates, and guides God's children from the time of Adam just like He did in the New Testament. There is no difference in His ministry to the Old and New Testaments saints. The revelation of the Spirit’s ministry is in greater abundance in the New Testament because of progressive revelation. This must not be mistaken as the beginning of His ministry.

• Mode of Baptism – Dispensationalists believe that the only legitimate mode of baptism is by immersion, and that any other modes of baptism are unbiblical. The believer who is not baptized by immersion is regarded as not baptized. Even though Covenantalists practise baptism by sprinkling, they accept and recognize both modes of baptism, i.e. sprinkling and immersion. Dispensationalists will not immerse an infant, for obvious reasons; and they will also not baptize a new believer who is in ICU. But the Covenantalists will do so by sprinkling.

• Sacraments versus ordinance – Dispensationalists regard the Lord’s Supper and water baptism as ordained by God but not as sacraments with sacred significance. They reject them as sacraments because they do not see them as a means of grace.

Covenantalists see them as ordained by God and as sacraments, i.e. as a means of grace towards re-consecration but not salvation. The sacraments are not just symbolic but have a spiritual significance. In the case of believer’s water baptism, the spiritual significance is the believer’s declaration of his faith in Christ. In the case of infant baptism, it is the Christian parent’s claim of God’s covenantal blessing upon the child and the parent’s covenant with God that the child will come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour when the child is of age. The parent will bear a holy witness and promises to bring the child up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. He does so by faith.

Lord’s Supper – The believer searches his heart before the Lord and confesses his sins and seeks the cleansing blood of Christ to wash away his sins. He makes right his relationship with God and with all whom he has sinned against. This is a means of grace toward sanctification.

The doctrine of infant baptism, like infant circumcision, is a blessed spiritual doctrine to help Christian parents bring their children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord as they are already holy in God’s sight. They claim God’s promise by oath which is sealed in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No believer ought to make an oath flippantly. The parents will then be consciously aware of the gravity of bringing up their children. The covenant reminds them that their children belong to God. They must return their children to God one day and only in Christ can this be accomplished. The fear of God will be in their heart to ensure that they live in holiness for the salvation of their children and God’s glory. Infant baptism brings much blessing. Those who do not baptize their infants miss out on God’s blessings for their children and themselves.