Lee Gatis: Infant Baptism [PDF]

The Thirty-nine Articles say that “the Baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the Institution of Christ” (Article 27). Is this something which we can still believe today? Or was it perhaps just a remnant of medieval Roman Catholicism which the Reformers didn’t get around to changing? Is there a biblical case for baptising infants?

To begin with, I think it’s important to say that I believe in baptism, per se. I do believe that the Bible says we should baptise people with water in the name of Jesus or in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are some people who deny this completely. They say that the references to baptism in the New Testament are all metaphorical, or that the command to baptise is no longer binding on us today. Jesus said “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” But some interpret that to mean we should immerse the world in the gospel, flood the earth with the teaching of Jesus. They say it is not meant to be taken literally. But I think it was, and I think that is almost the universal consensus of all churches for 2000 years.

I also want to say that I believe in believer’s baptism, or as it is sometimes called, credobaptism! That is, I love baptising adults who have come to a living faith in the Lord Jesus (if they have not been baptised before). I’ve done it many times myself. Indeed, the Church of England baptises three times more adults on profession of faith than the largest Baptist denomination in the UK. Keep reading

Photo: Diocese of Bristol, UK