In Defence Of Baptizing Believing Young Children | Perspective 2

A brief clip did the rounds online recently in which Justin Peters answered a question from Todd Friel, host of Wretched Radio, on ‘Should We Allow Young Kids To Be Baptized?’. It specifically referenced an 8-year-old son. Peters’ response was, to put it succinctly, ‘No’. Instead he recommended praying, going to church, encouraging the child, and waiting “well into their teenage years” before offering them baptism.  

I do not agree. Ironically, Peters opened his answer to the question with the phrase, “You never want to throw cold water on a child’s profession of faith.” He’s somewhat correct I suppose. I’d much prefer you submerged the child’s faith in water, and that said water be at least room temperature, if not pleasantly heated. Oh, and also they should be swiftly lifted up out of the water again—the new creation depicted in baptism does not, as far as we know, grant believers gills.

But as this discussion is well within our Overton window here at Clear Truth (where we even welcome those crazy infant baptists) we thought we’d outline some thoughts on both sides within the credobaptist camp, to whom this particular debate pertains. Last week Brandon D. Myers offered a very adept defence of Peters’ position, which I encourage you to read, and this week it’s my turn. I won’t attempt to make this the ‘rebuttal’ stage of a debate, which would grant me an advantage having already read his arguments and with him having no opportunity at present to respond to mine. Instead, consider this more of an opening statement outlining why I think even young children who make a credible profession of faith should be baptized.

The Biblical Timing Of Baptism

The credobaptist position (and—cough—biblical one—cough) is that baptism follows the profession of faith. So much so that it is almost indistinguishable from said profession. The Apostle Peter’s instruction to the crowd as they were convicted of their sin in Acts 2 was to, “Repent and be baptized every one of you,” (Acts 2:38) and we are told that this was precisely what happened: “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41). 

Similarly in Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch requests baptism immediately upon hearing the gospel. What is he told? “‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” (Acts 8:37). 

Even perhaps the kind of profession about which believers would have had the greatest right to be circumspect, that of the great persecutor of the church, Saul, was not delayed. Immediately upon believing, we are told, “At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.” (Acts 9:18).

The question must then be asked: if these believers weren’t subjected to a decade of scrutiny to prove their sincerity and longevity before baptism, why should children be? Is a seven year old not able to believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Can he or she not repent of their sin? Do we have more reason to doubt their profession than Ananias had to doubt Saul’s? And what right have we as the church to erect further barriers to baptism than Scripture does? 

Furthermore, there is strong reason to believe the contrary. Like other credobaptists, I do not believe that merely because the Roman jailer’s entire ‘household’ was baptised in Acts 16 that this necessarily entails there were young infants there who could not understand the implications of such an act. But I do find the claim that there were no children at all present to stretch the bounds of credulity.  

Certainly, Jesus himself seems to view the faith of young children as very real and of great potency. In Matthew 19:14, Christ tells us, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 

Furthermore, in the preceding chapter, Jesus describes young children as believing in him, when he says in one of his strongest warnings, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck...” (Matthew 18:6).

Over and over again in the Bible, baptism is not an affirmation of spiritual maturity, it is an affirmation of profession. Yes, it must be a credible profession, based on faith that is seemingly sincere and understands the core tenets of the faith. But it does not need to be fully formed, perfectly informed, or proven by years of service to receive baptism. It would seem to me that Christ Himself tells us that children are capable of such belief. So why would we deny them this right?

Baptismal Age In Church History

I’m not alone in thinking this. The church throughout history, in times and places where it did not baptize infants, was very aware of baptizing young children.

Bunsen, in his work, Hippolytus And His Age, writes, “As a general rule, the ancient Church fixed three years for this preparation, supposing the candidate, whether heathen or Jew, to be competent to receive it. With Christian children the condition was the same, except that the term of probation was curtailed according to circumstances. Pedobaptism in the more modern sense, meaning thereby the baptism of new-born infants with the vicarious promises of parents and other sponsors, was utterly unknown to the early Church, not only down to the end of the second, but indeed to the middle of the third century.”*

Similarly Tertullian, while arguing strongly against infant baptism, gives the following advice to those who would consider baptizing children, “Let them know how to “ask” for salvation, that you may seem (at least) to have given “to him that asks.”” There does not seem to be to be any reason why he would exclude a child who does ask for salvation from baptism.  

Gregory Nyzianzus explicitly agrees, saying, “But in respect of others I give my advice to wait till the end of the third year, or a little more or less, when they may be able to listen and to answer something about the Sacrament; that, even though they do not perfectly understand it, yet at any rate they may know the outlines; and then to sanctify them in soul and body with the great sacrament of our consecration.” He argues for my position, namely that the child should know the basics of what they are entering into, though not by any means the fullness (which none of us ultimately know) with the age of around four being a good starting point for considering such a step. 

Later in church history, Ulrich Zwingli wrote, “Although I know, as the Fathers show, that infants have been baptised occasionally from the earliest times, still it was not so universal a custom as it is now, but the common practice was as soon as they arrived at the age of reason to form them into classes for instruction in the Word of Salvation (hence they were called catechumens, i. e., persons under instruction). And after a firm faith had been implanted in their hearts and they had confessed the same with their mouth, then they were baptised. I could wish that this custom of giving instruction were revived to-day.” Once again, an age of understanding, and a faith that was personally confessed, was all he thought necessary to baptise a believing child.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, though not addressing age specifically, says of baptism, “Those who do actually profess repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience to, our Lord Jesus Christ, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.”** I cannot find within those words anything that would prevent children, whose repentance, faith and obedience may be childlike but is no less real, from receiving baptism. 

And finally Charles Spurgeon, who famously waited until his sons’ eighteenth birthdays to baptize them, did not believe this to be required. Indeed he said of baptism, “I repeat what I have already said, that the fencing of both Christ’s ordinances can be accomplished by the condition laid down in our text, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” I cannot thrust my brethren and sisters from the Lord’s table if they believe in Him with all their heart, nor can I keep back from baptism any child who believes in Jesus with all his heart….Well, dear friend, if you can truly make that declaration, however feeble your faith may be, this ordinance is for you, the communion table is for you, the doctrines of the Gospel are yours, the promises of Christ are yours, yea, Christ Himself is yours. And Christ is all, therefore “all things are yours; and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”. 

So if Spurgeon said it, all credobaptists basically have to agree.

Potential objections

The reasons for delaying baptism for children largely focus on two main concerns. First that the child may fall away. To that, I would say that baptism never guarantees perseverance; it signifies professed obedience and apparent faith at that moment. Adults, too, can fall away after baptism. The focus should be on the present evidence of faith, not the possibility of future failure.

Second, there seems to be a perception that baptism is more ‘meaningful’ as an adult than as a child. To that I would respond that it is a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of baptism. We were not commanded to be baptised in order to facilitate either a cathartic emotional moment or a genuine ‘spiritual’ experience. Those may happen at baptism, and praise God if so, but that is not the intent. A child’s obedience to Christ’s command is no less meaningful than an adult’s, and should not be dismissed because they didn’t “feel it.”

Conclusion

Naturally some diligence is required to ensure the child understands the step they are taking in baptism. There should be evidence that they are not acting under pressure from parents or peers, or because there was a scary message about hell and they want some fire insurance. They should be asked good questions. “Who is Jesus?” “What has He done for you?” “What is sin?” “What has Jesus done with your sin?” “Do you trust Jesus?” “Do you love God?” 

But the key question for credobaptists is this: do you accept the faith of children to be real faith? If little Johnny says he wants to get baptized because, “I love Jesus and want to follow Him,” and he knows, albeit in the language of a child, what that means, then that’s all I need. And I believe that’s all God needs too. Let the little children come to Him.

Footnotes

* Hippolytus and His Age; Or, The Doctrine and Practice of the Church of Rome Under Commodus and Alexander SeverusAn Ancient and Modern Christianity and Divinity Compared · Volume 3 - Page 180

** 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith Chapter 29: Of Baptism

NB - All emphasis in this article is mine.