The Forum
Dear Brother G.
I have just completed reading the December issue of Food for the Flock, and must say there is much in it to lift the heart to God. The article on “Myrrh” and the other one on “Our Lovely Saviour” present pictures of the Lord that thrill the soul. The beauty of it is He is all ours, to love, to enjoy.
Those who teach and practise infant baptism argue that before a child is old enough to decide for Christ this baptism places him in a sphere of security. Could you discuss this in The Forum, and also answer the question, “What Scriptural justification have we for saying that children who have not reached the age of accountability will go to Heaven if they die in innocency?”
Yours in His service,
G. D. R.
Dear brother G. D. R.
We appreciate your kind comments on our December issue. It is a joy to be of some assistance to God’s people.
You have actually opened for discussion two quite comprehensive subjects, two subjects that need much prayerful consideration.
Infant baptism is an insidious error very prevalent throughout all Christendom. Let us think over some of the arguments used to support its practice.
1. All Roman Catholics and certain Protestant denominations hold baptismal regeneration, and one form of this belief assumes that there is saving value in the ritual, therefore, the infant should receive this benefit.
2. Many in denominational circles believe that baptism is somehow connected with the Old Testament rite of circumcision, and that as a Jewish child is circumcized when eight days old, even so all children should be baptized.
3. There are others who conclude that infants were present in the five households which were baptized as recorded in the Book of Acts.
4. Still others believe that in baptizing their children they are claiming a promise from God, “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” (1 Cor. 7:14). This surely is inductive reading of this Scripture… .
Let us notice:
1. There is no command given by either Christ or His Apostles to baptize children.
2. There is no example of the baptism of infants in the history of the primitive Church.
3. The Word of God makes faith a prerequisite to baptism, and this is impossible in a baby (Acts 8:37; 16:31; 18:8).
4. The New Testament gives neither directly nor indirectly any instruction for its administration.
5. The very symbolism of believer’s baptism refutes the practice. In baptism we express in symbol form the experience of the soul in regeneration; namely, that of death, burial, and resurrection with Christ.
The baneful influences of infant or household baptism are many because it imparts a false security. Many are deluded into thinking that by it they became children of God, that by it they were committed to the arms of Jesus. Moreover, it hinders simple faith in the Saviour for the remission of sins. Furthermore, it corrupts the Word of God by displacing Divine silence by the ordinances of men.
Sincerely in Christ
J. G.