APOLOGETICS 1O1 FOR INFANT BAPTISM By John D. Salvator

Apologetics 101 for INFANT BAPTISM
Referred to Scriptures and Church Teachings Side by Side.
By: John D. Salvator

Common Question: How does an infant/child fit for baptism if the Bible teaches that Baptism is for those who can repent (Acts 2:38), believe (Acts 16:31), and confess Jesus (Romans 10:9)?

Comprehensive Answer:

Peter is speaking to adults, so the circumstances would not have warranted him to speak about infants. Acts 2:38

On Acts 16:31 This verse says that if the jailer believes in the Lord Jesus, then he and his household will be saved. It says nothing about if he has infants, they too must believe or not be saved. In fact, the entire household was Baptized, which would include he and his family “and any infants he might have”, and including the servants and any infants they might have. Romans 10:9 doesn’t even deal with Baptism!

Comparing to infant circumcision in the Old Testament which was a foreshadowing of Baptism! If infants in the Old Testament were circumcised before being able to choose it, then why is that not the case with Baptism in the New Testament?

Circumcision is required to be a CHILD of God in the OLD testament, Baptism in the New Testament.

Common sense: Looking back in the early Church, there were very few births into the Church, because most of the members consisted of adult converts. Over time, more and more people were born into the early Church.

Galatians 4:6-7
6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

The sacrament of Baptism in the New Covenant in parallel of circumcision of Old Covenant.

Old Covenant:
• “He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17:12, RSV)

New Covenant
• “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:11-12, RSV)

Baptism in parallel with Scriptures and the Catechism;

1. The need of Baptism:

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21, RSV)

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments.Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.” (1213, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)

2. The Baptism of entire households includes children too:

• “And when (Lydia) was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us.” (Acts 16:15, RSV)

• “And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with all his family. Then he brought them up into his house, and set food before them; and he rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God.” (Acts16:33-34, RSV)

• “I did baptize also the household of Steph’anas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.” (1 Corinthians 1:16, RSV)

“For all the baptized, children or adults, faith must grow after Baptism. For this reason the Church celebrates each year at the Easter Vigil the renewal of baptismal promises. Preparation for Baptism leads only to the threshold of new life. Baptism is the source of that new life in Christ from which the entire Christian life springs forth.” (§1254, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)

“The ordinary ministers of Baptism are the bishop and priest and, in the Latin Church, also the deacon. In case of necessity, anyone, even a non-baptized person, with the required intention, can baptize, by using the Trinitarian baptismal formula. The intention required is to will to do what the Church does when she baptizes. The Church finds the reason for this possibility in the universal saving will of God and the necessity of Baptism for salvation.” (§1256, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)

3. Some Scripture verses that indicate the necessity and efficacy of Baptism include:

• “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:5, RSV)

• “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, RSV)

• “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you;” (Matthew 28:19-20, RSV)

• “He who believes and is baptized will be saved;” (Mark 16:16, RSV)

• “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:37-38, RSV)

• “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16, RSV)

• “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27, RSV)

4. Our Lord Jesus Christ wants children to come to him as we see in Scripture:

• “See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10, DRB)

• “Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 19:14, RSV) “Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called. The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.” (§1250, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)

“According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ’s death, is buried with him, and rises with him: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. The baptized have “put on Christ.” Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies.” (§1227, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)

“The baptismal water is consecrated by a prayer of epiclesis (either at this moment or at the Easter Vigil). The Church asks God that through his Son the power of the Holy Spirit may be sent upon the water, so that those who will be baptized in it may be “born of water and the Spirit.” The essential rite of the sacrament follows: Baptism properly speaking. It signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of Christ. Baptism is performed in the most expressive way by triple immersion in the baptismal water. However, from ancient times it has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three times over the candidate’s head. In the Latin Church this triple infusion is accompanied by the minister’s words: “N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In the Eastern liturgies the catechumen turns toward the East and the priest says: “The servant of God, N., is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” At the invocation of each person of the Most Holy Trinity, the priest immerses the candidate in the water and raises him up again. The anointing with sacred chrism, perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop, signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, who has become a Christian, that is, one “anointed” by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ who is anointed priest, prophet, and king.” (§1238-1241, CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)