Judging Others - 10

Sermon on the Mount-81 (Infant Baptism)

Matthew 7:1–5 (NIV84)

1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Disputable Matters

Romans 14:1 (NIV84)

1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

Romans 14:1 (NLT)

1Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.

A disputable matter is any practice which God has not labeled sin that some Christians feel is all right, and others feel is wrong.

Unless God has clearly stated a practice is sin; our opinion is disputable.

Disputable matters are matters where believing or not believing in certain things, practicing or not practicing certain things do not keep a person from inheriting the kingdom of God.

Indisputable Matters

What places something in the indisputable column is not whether or not it is disputed by some people, or has ever been disputed, but what the Scriptures consistently say about the topic, and how the Scriptures tie it to other matters.

What constitutes an indisputable matter?

An indisputable matter is anything that God has called sin.

What About Water Baptism?

Is Water Baptism a disputable matter or an indisputable matter when it comes to the matter of salvation?

Acts 2:38–41 (NIV84)

38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Charles Ryrie: Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ meant for these people a severing of their ties with Judaism and an association with the messages of Jesus and His people.

Baptism was the line of demarcation.

Even today for a Jew it is not his profession of Christianity nor his attendance at Christian services nor his acceptance of the New Testament, but his submission to water baptism that definitely and finally excludes him from the Jewish community and marks him off as a Christian.

Baptism publicly demonstrated their allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah, even when that allegiance brought opposition from their fellow Jews.

Their willingness to be baptized, despite the potential consequences, demonstrated the seriousness of their commitment to Jesus Christ.

For believers, baptism is visible proof of repentance and commitment to follow Jesus, the Messiah.

The idea of baptism “for the forgiveness of sins” does not mean that baptism results in forgiveness of sins but rather that having received forgiveness of sins through accepting Jesus as Savior should lead a person to be baptized as an outward expression of that inner conviction.

Repentance, not baptism, is what brings forgiveness.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV84)

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9not by works, so that no one can boast.

Although, often disputed, it is an indisputable fact that water baptism does not save anyone.

You do not have to be baptized in order to be saved.

Remember the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43).

What about infant baptism?

A Disputable Matter or an Indisputable Matter?

What about Infant Baptism?

The practice of infant baptism has existed in the Christian church for many centuries. Although we do not know exactly when the practice began or who introduced it, historical writings confirm that infants were being baptized by the early third century.

Everett Ferguson: The most plausible explanation for the origin of infant baptism is found in the emergency baptism of sick children expected to die soon so that they would be assured of entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

When the Protestant Reformation began in the sixteenth century, Martin Luther continued the practice of infant baptism, which he had inherited from the Roman Catholic Church, believing that God could grant saving faith to infants through baptism. This understanding remains an important part of Lutheran doctrine today.

Even though Martin Luther concurred with infant baptism, he taught in his Large Catechism, Part IV, paragraph 34, that baptism without faith does not benefit the recipient.

He regarded baptism as God’s gracious work but insisted that its saving benefits must be received through faith.

The practice of infant baptism accelerated in the early middle ages when so many infants were dying in infancy, and it came to be believed that without baptism they were going to hell or at least to limbo.

Some Christians believe the infant children of believers should be baptized as a sign of God's covenant promises. Other Christians—and this is the position I believe best fits the New Testament—believe baptism follows an individual's personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Both positions have been held by Christians who sincerely desire to submit themselves to Scripture.

So, our question is not, ‘Are these people Christians?’ Our question is, ‘What pattern for baptism do we see in the New Testament?’

The question of whether or not infant baptism is biblically valid is a disputable matter. To believe one way or another is not critical to one’s salvation.

“Child of the Covenant”

Genesis 17:7 (NIV84)

7I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Those who practice infant baptism within traditional Reformed theology generally reason as follows:

Under the Old Covenant, children of believing Israelites received circumcision.

Under the New Covenant, baptism replaces circumcision as the outward covenant sign.

Therefore, children of Christian believers should receive baptism, just as Israelite infants received circumcision.

In this understanding, baptism identifies the infant as a member of the visible covenant community.

Many believe that a baptized infant may be considered a covenant child without necessarily being a regenerate believer.

Covenant Children vs. Children of Believers

There is a difference between saying: "This child belongs to Christian parents and is being raised under the teaching and influence of God's Word."

And saying: "This child is a member of the New Covenant because of his parents' faith."

The first statement is clearly consistent with Scripture.

The second requires additional theological argument.

Abraham’s covenant children included Isaac and his descendants.

Ishmael, even though he was circumcised (vss. 23-27), was not a covenant child or a child of the covenant.

Neither circumcision nor baptism makes a person a child of the covenant.

Romans 2:28–29 (NIV84)

28A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.

29No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

Romans 2:28-29 (NLT)

28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.

29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

A child of the covenant is one who is born again.

Luke 18:15–17 (NIV84)

15People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.

16But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

17I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Nothing is said about the parents’ faith, nothing is said about a covenant as if there was some family covenant. Nothing is said about baptism. Nothing is said about circumcision. Nothing is said about any rite, any ritual, any parental promise, parental covenant, or any national covenant.

His words simply and completely engulf all babies.

They belong to the Kingdom, the Kingdom belongs to them.

And if our Lord was ever going to teach infant baptism, this would have been the perfect spot.

All He would have to have said was, “These children will possess the Kingdom if you baptize them.”

He said nothing and neither does anybody else in the Bible say anything about Infant Baptism.

This is not about personal faith either. He doesn’t commend the parents’ faith. He doesn’t commend the babies’ faith which would be non-existent. He simply says babies belong in the Kingdom, and the Kingdom belongs to them, as a category.

Infants who have not yet reached the stage of development where they can understand the gospel and personally respond in faith are under God's special care and mercy.

They have a place of care in His Kingdom.

He doesn’t say, “elect babies are in the Kingdom,” as some would espouse, and non-elect babies are not.

He doesn’t say elect babies being in the Kingdom will go to heaven, non-elect babies not being in the Kingdom will go to hell.

He simply says categorically babies are in the Kingdom, the Kingdom belongs to them.

Romans 7:9 (NIV84)

9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

“Before the commandment came”

“when I came to know about a commandment,”

“when I learned that I shouldn’t do certain things,”

“… that God said I shouldn’t do certain things.”

Until one reaches the age of accountability, they are going to heaven if they die.

Baptism is not a prerequisite.

There is no set age of accountability. It depends on the individual’s ability to understand the Gospel and personally respond in faith to the Gospel message.

John 1:12–13 (NIV84)

12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Becoming a child of God is not based upon natural descent.

It is connected to receiving Christ, believing in His name, and being born of God.

We must be careful not to confuse family relationships with spiritual regeneration.

Although children born to Christian parents enjoy the blessing of being raised in a Christian home, this does not automatically make them children of God.

Becoming a child of God is not something we inherit from our parents. It requires a spiritual birth that only God can accomplish.

A child of the covenant is one who receives and believes in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:26–29 (NIV84)

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,

27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

We are children of the covenant through faith in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:11–12 (AMP)

11In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts).

12[Thus you were circumcised when] you were buried with Him in [your] baptism, in which you were also raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God [as displayed] when He raised Him up from the dead.

Evangelicals who practice infant baptism (pedobaptists) equate baptism in the New Testament with circumcision in the Old Testament.

Every male child under the Old Covenant was circumcised because his parents wanted him to be included in the community and they wanted to be obedient to God.

Evangelical pedobaptists want the same thing for their infant children, and they realize that their children will have to later accept Christ on their own.

Pedobaptists also point out that the New Testament was written for first-generation Christians, so it stands to reason that everyone who was baptized in the New Testament was a new believer.

While this may be true, it is inconceivable that none of the people who came to faith in the early church had any children, yet

there is no example of any children being baptized because their parents believed,

there is no command for believing parents to have their children baptized, and

there is no passage that explicitly links baptism to circumcision.

Infant baptism is not directly commanded in Scripture. Rather, it is a practice based on the belief that baptism in the New Testament takes the place of circumcision in the Old Testament.

The Bible does not teach baptism brings about salvation or that it is required for salvation.

The Roman Catholic view that infant baptism removes original sin and returns the child to a “neutral” state of grace is simply not found in Scripture but is based on church teaching that Roman Catholics believe has the same authority as Scripture.

Acts 16:25–34 (NIV84)

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

The promise is not one of household salvation but is one that is entirely consistent with every other verse in the Bible that speaks of salvation.

It is the promise that if you believe in the Lord Jesus “you shall be saved.”

Salvation came as the result of hearing the Word of God and responding in faith (Acts 16:32).

This is consistent with every other verse in the Bible concerning salvation.

Individual people hear the gospel and respond in faith and are saved. They were not saved because they were part of the jailer’s household; instead, they were saved because they believed the Gospel message and responded in faith.

When it comes to the topic of infants, it is clear that they are unable to believe the Gospel and respond in faith.

Acts 16 does not establish infant baptism because the jailer’s household heard the word, believed, and then was baptized.

The promise of salvation was for the whole household;

the whole household heard the Word and believed,

the whole household was baptized.

There is nothing in this passage that indicates, much less commands, infant baptism.

Under the Old Covenant, circumcision identified a male child as belonging to the covenant community by physical descent.

Under the New Covenant, membership in Christ's redeemed people is associated with spiritual rebirth and faith in Jesus Christ.

The practice of infant baptism contributed to the increased use of sprinkling and pouring as methods of baptism, as it is unwise and unsafe to immerse an infant under water.

Even the method of infant baptism fails to agree with the Bible.

How does pouring or sprinkling illustrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Water baptism by immersion is a step of obedience to be done after salvation as a public profession of faith in Christ and identification with Him.

Infant baptism does not fit the Biblical definition of baptism or the Biblical method of baptism.

If Christian parents wish to dedicate their child to Christ, then a baby dedication service is entirely appropriate. However, even if infants are dedicated to the Lord, when they grow up, they will still have to make a personal decision to believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

Closing Prayer: “Lord, help us never to interpret Your Word simply through the teachings of a denomination, the traditions we grew up with, or beliefs we have held for many years.

“Father, help us never to approach Scripture looking for ways to defend what we already believe, but rather to allow Scripture to shape what we believe.

“May our loyalty always be to You and Your Word, rather than to any denomination, tradition, or theological system. Amen.”