>[email protected] Sean Monaghan wrote:
>Re: The question of baptism
> The issue of baptism has recently been raised in my home. My
> girlfriend is a non-practicing Anglican; I was raised Roman Catholic,
> but I lean toward agnosticism.
>
> We are thinking about baptising our first child, but we aren't sure of
> the appropriate age. Some people believe that infant baptism "does
> not count" because the child is too young to understand what is
> happening. Others believe that infant basptism is a must.
>
> Also - does it matter in what church the baptism occurs? If we
> baptise the child in, say, an Anglican church, would the baptism be
> recognised by other Christian disciplines?
>
> Thanks, in advance.
Hello,
The Bible shows us that infant baptism is not a Bible practice. In the
Bible, there is no mention of any baby being baptized in the first
century. Thus infant baptism is a practice that started OUTSIDE of the
Bible, and AFTER the first century. This was at a time when false
teachers were around. (see 2 Pe 2:1-3)
And there is a very good reason why infants were not baptized. Notice
Jesus' command concerning baptism and think of this applying to a
baby. Mt 28:19,20,
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age." (NIV)
Notice the words "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you.". Thus the person being baptized was aware what he was doing, and
believed in Jesus and his teachings. Babies and really small children
cannot do that.
Again notice who was baptized at Ac 8:12,
"But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both
men and women." (NIV)
Observe here "both men and women" were baptized. These were people who
"believed Philip" concerning what he was preaching. If babies or small
children were present, they could not have "believed" and took to
heart what Philip was preaching, so that is why they would not have
been baptized.
Thus in the Bible (which is God's inspired word; 2 Ti 3:16), the
emphasis is on first believing and understanding what was preached,
and THEN getting baptized, thus infant baptism is not a teaching of
scripture, but a tradition of men. (see also Jesus' words at Mark 7:9)
Concerning what religion the baptism occurs in, yes that would be
paramount in order for the baptism to be accepted by God. The Bible
tells us that there is only "one faith" (one true religion). Eph 4:5,
"one Lord, one faith, one baptism;" (NIV)
Thus the baptism is to occur in the "one faith" religion.
The next logical question would be then, which of the many churches
out there is it? If you ask each each faithful church member, I doubt
if you would get one of them saying, 'It is not mine'. No, each one
would claim that his or hers is the "one faith" religion.
Therefore, the only way to tell would be to compare what that church
teaches and does, with what God had written in the Bible. If they are
the same, then you have found the "one faith" religion to do your
baptism in. God knew that many false religions would be around, so He
had this written for our benefit. Ac 17:11,
"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians,
for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the
Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (NIV)
Yes, that Scripture gives us the principle that we are to look up and
VERIFY in the Scriptures any religious teachings taught us.
Here is one tiny example. Most churches participate in, or support the
wars of the lands they function in. (I was raised a Catholic also, and
even went into the military when called to do so. And I never heard
the Church say not to do that) Since those churches claim to be
'Christian', then that means they are saying that they believe and
follow Jesus' teachings. And here is what Jesus said. Mt 5:44,
"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you," (NASB)
Now, does riddling your enemy with bullets, or vaporizing him with
powerful bombs, etc, really show him LOVE as Jesus commanded? That
would certainly be a most unusual way to do it. No, the "one faith"
religion really does follow Jesus' commands, and really does "love"
their enemies, not kill them.
So in conclusion, when you have found the true "one faith" religion
that follows ALL of the Bible, then you have found the correct
'church' to do your baptizing in.
Sincerely, James
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