Infant Baptism

Infant Baptism

I often hear criticism of the Catholic practice of infant baptism coming from some of the Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide crowd, and I believe that these Protestants are contradicting their own doctrines by failing to appreciate the practice of infant baptism.

Catholics are accused of performing needless works to earn Heaven by the ‘faith alone’ bunch, and yet Catholics are the ones who seem to understand that because Baptism is a free gift that we cannot earn, babies who have no ability to perform a work of acceptance of the gift of Baptism, are eligible to receive this gift.

What Does Scripture Say about Infant Baptism?

It is true that Scripture doesn’t say in so many words that babies should be baptized or were baptized, but there are scriptural references to whole households being baptized which suggests that any babies who were part of these households would have also been baptized. (Acts 16:15,18:8). Paul makes a reference to baptizing a whole household in 1 Corinthians 1:16. It is also important to note that nowhere in Scripture does it say NOT to baptize infants. Jesus says, “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. . .” (Matthew 28:19). Why would we assume this command doesn’t include babies? Infant Baptism is certainly not omitted from Scripture.

Infant Baptism and Grace

I have also heard it said time and time again that all that is needed in order to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit is a simple verbal confession of faith and a heartfelt acceptance of Jesus as one’s personal Lord and Savior. According to those who subscribe to this notion, since a baby cannot give a verbal confession of this sort or accept Jesus into his heart, baptism should wait until he is old enough to perform these works. These people ask, “Why all the fuss over the ritualistic celebration involving water and a priest? Is Infant Baptism really necessary?"

Indeed, if we examine Scripture we find that faith is vital. In Acts 16 we read about the jailer who asked Paul and Silas how he might be saved. They tell him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31. But, upon examination of the words following this passage, we see that Paul employs actions involving water which is described as a washing away of wounds. “And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with all his family.” Acts 16:32-33. Here we see Paul baptizing a whole family, water being used to wash wounds, and though it is not stated who the members of the family included, no reason is given to assume that infants were not part of the jailer’s family. Now, our ‘faith alone’ friend might say that Paul states that the conditions for salvation were ‘believing’. But that statement from Paul makes total sense in light of the fact that the jailer would not have allowed his family to be baptized if he didn’t believe in the Lord. For adults, believing is necessary in order for one to enter into the sacrament of his or her own free will. The same cannot be said of infants. They are too young to believe - they need, Infant Baptism.

The jailer’s belief was important so that Baptism might take place. Paul doesn’t say the rest of the family has to believe. He says only that the jailer has to believe in order that his family be saved. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31. If Paul’s emphasis on receiving Grace only included a personal acceptance of the Lord and nothing else, he would not have said that the jailer’s belief could save his family. Clearly he meant that the jailer’s belief would allow him and his family to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.

I think the most compelling reason we should baptize infants is stated in John 3:5, “. . . unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Why would we withhold such a vital re-birth from infants?

Circumcision was performed on babies at the age of 8 days. This sign of one’s entering into covenant relationship with God was a precursor to the Sacrament of Baptism which we celebrate today. In Colossians 2:11-12 we read, “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.” It doesn’t make any logical sense to believe that although babies were welcomed into covenant relationship with God at the age of 8 days through circumcision, now that Christ has come to fulfill this covenant, the conditions for eligibility are different. With a proper knowledge of Scripture, no parent would keep their child from the Sacrament of Infant Baptism.

How is Christ present in the earthly liturgy?  This was a question on my homework for class on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  In paragraph 1088 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read: “.. . He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of the minister, the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross, but especially in the Eucharistic species.  By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes.  He is present in his words since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scripture are read in the Church.  Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.”

I think that Tim Gray’s book, Sacraments in Scripture, explains Christ’s presence in the Sacraments beautifully.

Tim Gray takes us back to the rock that Moses was instructed not to strike again.  The first time Moses strikes the rock, it yields water, but Moses is instructed not to strike the rock again, but to only speak the word and water would once again flow from the rock.  The salvation that God brought forth through Moses the first time he was instructed to strike the rock is made present through sign and word.  It did not need to be struck again.  Christ does not need to be sacrificed again.  Tim Gray explains it this way:

“  A sacrament makes present the saving grace wrought by God in the past.  For example, the Eucharist makes present the body and blood of Christ.  However, the Mass does not re-crucify Jesus.  In Mass, Jesus is not sacrificed another time.  Rather, the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross is made present through the words spoken over the elements of bread and wine by the priest.”

Two other paragraphs in the Catechism that I found especially enlightening were no. 1104, and 1092, but, these were only two of several great paragraphs.  In CCC 1104 we read,  “Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us, but actualizes them, makes them present.  The Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated.  It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy spirit that makes the unique mystery present.  In CCC 1092 we read, “In this sacramental dispensation of Christ’s mystery, the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation; he prepares the Church to encounter her Lord; he recalls and makes Christ manifest to the faith of the assembly.. . . .”

References:

Sacraments in Scripture

Catechism of the Catholic Church

As I study the Catholic Catechism this week in an effort to complete my homework for next week’s class on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the following question is of special interest: How can Catholics make the claim that a church full of sinners is holy? I would like to share some of what I learned, as well as my personal thoughts with you. Paragraphs for study are nos. 811-870.

The Church is holy because Christ loves her as His bride, He gives himself up for Her, joins Her to Himself as His Body, and endows Her with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Church is sanctified by the Grace of Christ and the Church is sanctifying because it is in the Church that the ‘full means of salvation’ has been deposited. (830) Though Her members are imperfect, it is through Her that Christ calls all men to perfect holiness (825). All sinners in the Church are on their way to salvation, and if the sinners live in Her, She will sanctify them with Her Grace. Like Christ, the Church suffers and does penance for the sins of Her members. (827). Read more...