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| Q: | I was sent to this site by a friend of mine. I was reading the Q & A about baptism, especially the Infant portion. I was wondering, do you all have any New Testament verses to correspond with the infants being baptized in the New Testament times? Also, how do infants or even small children sin? They don't even realize what a sin is, not really. They don't understand enough to know they are capable of doing such things. Baptism I thought was for remission of sins. Remission means washing away of. Please help me understand. Thanks. | ||||||
| A: | If, as you indicate, you have been reading the (archived) section of Q & A regarding baptism and infant baptism, you already know that many Bible verses have been cited repeatedly. Your question, I assume, asks if there are any passages that explicitly or specifically refer to infants being baptized. The answer is that there are none. We baptize infants and children because they are included in Christ's sweeping command to baptize all nations, they have need for the Holy Spirit's converting and faith-giving work, and they are able to be brought to saving faith in Christ by God's power. The mention of whole families being baptized at the same time does not prove there were infants involved, only that the New Testament is not at all hesitant to use words and phrases that can be understood that way. So we have several Bible-based reasons for baptizing infants and small children even though there is no explicit mention of such an event in Scripture. We also believe that the burden of proof is on those who would limit baptism and exclude some human beings like infants. Those who exclude infants base their arguments on non-biblical arguments and have yet to vindicate their position on the basis of Scripture. You also ask "how" infants and small children sin. You are working with the assumption that to sin requires a conscious, deliberate, and identifiable process of the human mind, emotion, or will--or that such activities be discernible to others. We do not. Because Scripture declares all human beings, including infants and small children, to be sinful from conception and birth, that's all we need to recognize their sinful condition and capability to express sin in thoughts and deeds. We adults often sin while ignorant of doing so. With David we pray for pardon for this (Psalm 19:12), and with Jeremiah we admit that the wickedness of the human heart goes beyond comprehension (Jeremiah 17:9). You are correct in saying baptism is for the remission or forgiveness of sins. This promise is attached to baptism repeatedly in Scripture. This is also a major reason why we baptize infants and small children. We take God's promises of pardon, for us and for our children (Acts 2:38-39) seriously, just as we do his declarations regarding universal sinfulness and the need for forgiveness. | ||||||
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