In the coming days the young child of one of our families will be baptized. The practice of baptizing infants might seem foreign to some of us. Many of our members have spent time in churches that only baptized those who were old enough to profess faith in Christ. So why does Indelible Grace Church baptize infants?

First, a very truncated explanation of the theological reasoning:

The account of God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 and 17 is one of the foundational texts for the entire storyline of the Bible. In it God promises an everlasting covenant, not only with Abraham and his immediate family, but with all his descendants. 

It's important to point out that the promise doesn't belong only to Abraham and his immediate offspring. Galatians 3:7 tells us "it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ” That means that you and I - if we have placed our faith in Christ - are under the same promise that was given some 5000 years ago. If this is true, then the faith that the Old Testament believers expressed is the same type of faith that New Testament believers express; believers in both eras receive God's promise by grace through faith (Genesis 15:6, Ephesians 2:8-9). 

In the area of baptism, what differentiates Indelible Grace Church from our Baptist friends is our understanding of the relationship between circumcision in the Old Testament and baptism in the New Testament. There is a continuity between the promise that God made with Abraham and the promise he makes to New Testament believers. And the sign of God's covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament - circumcision - functions in the same way as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham's descendants in the New Testament - baptism. (See Colossians 2:11-12)

In receiving the covenant promise from God, the sign of faith that Abraham was to administer to himself and to his children was circumcision. To the children of Abraham, the circumcision was a sign of God's pledge to honor his promise to them when the conditions of the covenant - faith in God - were met. In the New Testament, baptism is administered as a sign of faith and a seal - a guarantee that God will honor his promise to the recipient. 

The apostle Peter makes it clear that the promise belongs not only to professing adults, but also to their children. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ... For the promise is for you and for your children...” (Acts 2:38–39)

God makes the promise to the child who receives baptism. Though she may be too young to understand the promise, God still pledges to honor his promise to wash her clean of sins by the blood of Christ when she meets the conditions of the covenant - by placing her faith in Christ. 

By being baptized, a child is not automatically saved. Nor is it guaranteed that she will ever come to faith in Christ. But when parents have their children baptized, they are claiming the covenant promises of God on their behalf. In effect, they're saying that they will raise their children as if the promise really does belong to them. And as long as the children are under the authority of their parents, they will be treated as a child of the covenant community.

In baptism, the parents are committing to spiritually nurture their children and teach them to trust God and believe in Christ; their home will be built on the promises of God. The goal is that the children would come to know and love the promises of God so much that they will one day receive the promise for themselves. 

This is grace! That God freely offers to us what we cannot earn - or even fully understand. 

Pastor Wade

To learn more about infant baptism, I recommend the following resources:
Why Do We Baptize Infants?, by Bryan Chapell
Infant Baptism, by John Currie
Infant Baptism: How My Mind Has Changed, by Dennis Johnson