1 CORINTHIANS 1:13–17
Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas
(1 Corinthians 1:16a).
The Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed churches all practice infant baptism. Today we want to look at three lines of evidence that show the validity of this practice.
First, just as baptism is the sign of entrance into the community of the new covenant, so circumcision was the sign of entrance into the old covenant community. Circumcision was a sign of faith and was performed on the infant sons of covenant members. It called them to hold the faith as they grew up, and as a sign that they, even as children, were part of God’s household.
The analogies between circumcision and baptism validate baptizing infants. Also, if children were suddenly excluded in the new covenant from the sign of the covenant, this would have been very controversial with the early Jewish believers. The silence of the New Testament indicates that there was no such controversy and points to the continuation of including children.
Second, the household baptisms of the New Testament (Acts 16:15, 33, etc.) indicate infant baptism. The term oikos (house, household) has been studied carefully in recent years. In classical Greek usage and in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this word often has a particular reference to infants. Thus, the use of oikos strongly suggests the baptism of infants.
Third, the writings of the apostolic fathers of the second century reveal that infant baptism was being practiced in the church at that early date. Perhaps this shows that the New Testament church had lapsed into an erroneous “Old Testament” practice. If this were true, however, we would expect some indication of controversy over infant baptism. The absence of controversy indicates that the church was carrying on the apostolic tradition of the New Testament.
CORAM DEO
Ezekiel 40
1 Peter 5
God has only given us two rituals as signs of His covenant: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. If we are to take Him seriously, we must take baptism and the question of household baptism seriously. If today’s lesson was full of new ideas to you, take a closer look at this important question.
For further study: Genesis 17:9–27; Acts 16:11–15, 25–34; What Are the Sacraments? series
thursday
november