Should I Baptize my Infant or Toddler?
Should I Baptize my Infant or Toddler?
First off, in order to get this answer, we must take a look at what baptism actually is.
What is Baptism?
Baptism is simple. It is an act of an individual whose heart has turned to Jesus and it’s their outward declaration of this newfound faith and a commitment to walk with the Lord.
Ultimately, a baptism in a persons public ceremony, that let’s others know that they are proclaiming that Jesus is their Lord and Savior.
In the Bible we see countless individuals offer this public declaration and become baptized in the name of Jesus. All originating with John the Baptist.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Matthew 3:11
All in all, baptism is for individuals regardless of age who have made the conscious decision in their heart to follow Jesus.
So, what about babies and toddlers?
Should I baptize my infant or Toddler?
There is no need for an infant or toddler to be baptized. Let me explain why.
Again, I go into a more in depth study of baptism here in this link, but I will explain briefly here.
- Baptism is a full submersion action. An individual goes completely under the water and back up again following in Jesus’ and the baptisms presented in the Bible (Mark 1:9-10, Acts 8:36-39)
- Baptism is a conscious decision an individual makes when their hearts have turned towards Jesus. It is a choice a person must make for themselves when they choose to commit their heart, mind, soul, and spirit to the Lord. (Acts 8:12, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 10: 41-48)
- Baptism is not salvation, meaning it will not guarantee your entrance into Heaven and will not save you. (I will explain this specific point in a section down below.)
Will Baptism save me?
No! This is a common misconception. Let me explain.
The Bible clearly states what gives us our salvation and it is the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 says it clearly:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
As well as,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
Therefore, baptism in not salvation, it does not have the ability to save you from a sinful death. Baptism is a symbol of our newfound faith and commitment to the Lord and is an important step in your Christian walk, but being baptized is not a surety ticket in Heaven. It will not grant you salvation—only the blood of Christ can do that.
Because only the Blood of Christ can give you salvation, it it when you fully acknowledge the Lord as your savior and live for Him through Him can you be saved. Therefore, it is this conscious decision that leads an individual towards baptism.
Which is why baptizing an infant or toddler is not necessary, as they cannot make that decision consciously yet.
That being said, Jesus says “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Little children are not infants and toddlers, they can in their childlike ways understand the gift of Jesus, but a newborn or a two year old doesn’t have that cognitive ability.
What do I do then, if I don’t need to baptize them?
A baby dedication is a beautiful way to commit your child to the Lord who is not yet fully cognizant and aware of Jesus and what He has done.
Dedicated your infant to the Lord is like what Hannah did with Samuel (1 Samuel 1:28). A baby dedication is just that, you ask the Lord’s blessings on your newborn child, to guide him/her, to protect him/her, to fill them with His Holy Spirit, to help you and your spouse is raising the child to know Him, so that when they are older can commit their lives to Him as well.
Why do some denominations baptize babies?
Some believe that this is the way into the Christian faith, an initiation sort of things. Almost like how Abraham got the command from God to circumcise male infants on the eighth day.
Babies are born into this sinful DNA just like we all were, so they baptize their infants to cleanse them of this sinful nature.
However, these two points are invalid. Because the Bible doesn’t teach that we need circumcision anymore, as an initiation into the Christian faith—instead we just believe in our hearts and accept Christ as our living sacrifice.
As well as, we can never be cleansed of our sinful nature. It is in our DNA, we were all born sinners and we will die sinners. That’s why we needed Jesus to die on the cross.
So, baptizing an infant to cleanse them of this sinful nature is fruitless. The infant will still have the blood of a sinner within them. And because we learned that baptism does not give salvation, this symbolic cleansing does nothing for the infant.
God’s grace through our faith in Christ is what saves an individual, there are no outward physical actions we can take that will save us, just like Ephesians 2:8-9 says.
Should I Baptize my Infant or Toddler?
Baptism is a beautiful commitment to God, and Jesus preached being baptized, but it must be a conscious decision you make that no one can make for you, not mom, not dad, not your pastor, not your friends, its your decision.
It’s your commitment to following the Lord all the day of your life.
