Why Does Your Church Baptize Babies?
People were bringing little children to [Jesus] in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” - Mark 10:13-14 NRSV
Note: A colleague and friend of mine, Clifton Hanson, who now serves as a Lutheran Air Force chaplain in England, wrote this fine article a few years ago, explaining why Lutherans baptize infants and young children. I enjoyed it and thought you might as well. With his permission, I provide it here with a few slight edits. Next month, I will begin a series of newsletter articles about the Ten Commandments, which will last until the end of this calendar year. – Pr. Tom Jacobson
Many of us have been in that conversation: a Baptist or Pentecostal or non-denominational friend asks you, “So why does your church baptize infants? You know that’s not in the Bible, right?” We’re immediately on the defensive, trying to explain our faith, feeling very judged and very judgmental, too! To understand our own tradition and to help others understand it, we need to follow two easy steps: 1) Use the Bible. Lutherans have a wonderful theological tradition, but we often forget to talk about its biblical basis; 2) Repeat step one. We actually don’t need to go outside the Bible to talk about this. We just have to let the Bible tell its story.
The practice of adult-only baptism draws a line and claims that under a certain age you don’t really need Jesus (or that Jesus covers you without your knowledge)—you’re innocent by virtue of ignorance and therefore Jesus’ forgiveness and healing aren’t necessary—not yet, anyway. When you become aware of your own sin, any coverage you might have had from Jesus or your own innocent ignorance lapses and you need to go and consciously get yourself saved. This is what’s commonly referred to as the “age of accountability.” This division-by-age is a concept utterly foreign to the Bible.
In the Bible, from the first time God spoke to Abraham, God’s work and promise weren’t age dependent. Abraham was circumcised as an old man, but Israelite boys after him were marked with the sign of God’s promise at eight days old. John the Baptist was already preaching Christ in his mother’s womb (see Luke 1:44). When God became flesh, he came as a newborn baby. This is why the command of Jesus to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…” is so broad—"all nations” is about as inclusive a group as there is, and last I checked, most nations include babies.
God’s work could not operate otherwise, because sin, death, and the devil do not discriminate based on age—Pharaoh ordered Israelite babies murdered; Herod sent out his soldiers to kill infant boys in order to protect his throne; you, I’m sure, can think of a dozen more examples of little ones being victimized or treated as expendable—the powers of evil do not discriminate in dealing death, so our Lord does not put up walls when giving his promise. Infancy is no barrier to God’s work. So, it’s no surprise that Jesus is indignant when the disciples try to keep the little ones from him.
Other Christians also claim that because no babies were baptized in the book of Acts, we have no command from God to do so now. There are three reasons that this is a bit misleading and, finally, simply untrue.
First, the book of Acts in the New Testament recounts a very brief period of church history and tells only a handful of baptism stories. To claim that we can’t baptize babies because there’s no specific story about it in the Bible is just an argument from silence. No Swedes or Norwegians or Germans were baptized in the Bible either, and yet, here you all are.
Second, the criteria for baptism are set out clearly at the beginning of the book, and kiddos are included: “Get up and be baptized, every one of you…this promise is for you and your children…” (Acts 2:38-39). Peter, who speaks this sentence, seems to be assuming, as the Old Testament does, that children were just as much a part of God’s people as adults. So, even if we have no stories of specific babies being baptized in Acts, the book itself includes the children of Christians as eligible to receive the promises given in baptism.
Third, we actually do have some stories of children being baptized in Acts; there are three instances where an entire “house” is baptized. In the world of Acts, a “house” included all members of the family and their children, and all household slaves and their children. The most remarkable thing about these stories is that the only people who demonstrate faith in them are the heads of the households—they have faith and are baptized, but the rest of the members of the household (some of whom are presumably children) are baptized with nothing said about their belief or lack thereof. They are simply baptized—washed in a promise that they could not ask for, but which they receive because God only gives his promises to those who need them so badly they could never ask for them.
That brings us to the final point: the go-to argument for those who baptize only adults is that a baby or young child is unable to choose Jesus for themselves (and therefore unable to choose to be baptized). So, even if God has always included infants in his work, he can’t include them in this. And even if Acts says stuff about whole families being baptized and about baptism being for “children,” it couldn’t possibly mean babies. Why? Because babies can’t choose anything.
For these Christians, baptism is something the believer does to demonstrate their faith, but a baby can’t demonstrate much of anything…except displeasure and adorableness. But, again, this doesn’t follow Scripture. The Bible never talks about baptism as something that I do for God or anyone else. And it never talks about baptism as a mere demonstration of something else that happened already. Every single time the Bible talks about baptism, it is said to be God’s work—a work that he does to bind a person to Jesus in his death and resurrection. Humans receive baptism passively, the same way a baby boy receives circumcision—we sit back and take it, not necessarily by our own choice! In fact, Paul even compares baptism to circumcision in Colossians 2:11-12.
Elsewhere, he says that baptism is being “buried with Christ” (Romans 6:1-6), and that it is a “washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5-8). Peter says that “baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21). Ephesians 5:26 says that Jesus has cleansed us by the “washing of water with the word,” so that the word of God’s promise comes to us in the waters of baptism and speaks—preaches even! These are all rather strong statements about the power of God working in the waters of baptism. They certainly give the impression that the baptism God gives is much more wonderful than a mere “outward sign.”
That’s what it comes down to in the end: baptism is not something that I do; at least the Bible says it’s not. Baptism is something that God does to me. So, for a Lutheran, baptism is not a sign of my faith; it is God giving me his promise in and through a thing (water), the same as he gives his promise to me in and through the mouth of a preacher, and in and through bread and wine. Baptism isn’t made good by my commitment; it’s made good by God’s promise. So, instead of using baptism like a flag that I wave to show which team I’m cheering for, I use baptism like a hat rack, and I hang my faith on it, because God made me a promise there, and when God makes a promise, I can count on it.
Baptizing a baby is about proclaiming God’s promise to someone who can do nothing to earn that promise (in this way all baptisms, whether given to babies or octogenarians, are really infant baptisms). So we don’t baptize a baby because it’s just so darn cute, and we don’t do it as “fire insurance”; we do it because our little ones also need a promise from God to hang onto. They need something to which they can cling all the days of their life—something to which their parents and pastors can point and to which they can return when they’ve gone wayward for a time. They need something that can hold them through whatever life may throw their way. This is what God gives in baptism. It’s not my work. It’s not magic. It’s a promise for you and for your children. Amen.
(From Pr. Clifton Hanson, formerly of Faith Lutheran Church, Isanti, Minnesota)
Blessed New Year as we cling to faith in God’s promises for us in Jesus Christ!
Pr. Tom Jacobson