WHEN SHOULD I BRING

MY CHILD TO BE BAPTIZED?

Should I bring my little child to Jesus in baptism now, or should I wait until he is old enough to make his own decision for Christ? Many would tell you to wait until your child is old enough to make his own decision for Christ; but you must remember that no one, child or adult, can come to faith in Christ except by the gracious working of God the Holy Ghost. The Bible says: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Corinthians 12:3). And Jesus said, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing...No man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father" (John 6:63,65; cf. 1:12-13). Some would deny that little children can believe in Jesus, but Jesus said of a "little child," "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in Me...." (Matthew 18:2,6). Some say that little children are not yet sinners and guilty before God; therefore they do not need to be baptized. But David writes in Psalm 51: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (v. 5).

When should you bring your child to Jesus in Baptism? Jesus Himself said, even when they brought "infants" to Him that He should touch them: "Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein" (Luke 18:15-17). Jesus also has commanded us to "disciple all nations" by "going" out, baptizing" them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and "teaching" them to observe all that Christ has commanded us (Matthew 28:19,20). Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39). Nowhere does the Bible ever say that infants and children should not be baptized! They are a part of "all nations" and "every one of you." Even the ancient opponents of infant baptism acknowledged that the apostles of Jesus baptized infants and children. Your child needs God's pardon and forgiveness. He needs that "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" that he might be born of God and be a part of God's kingdom (Titus 3:5). Baptism is that "circumcision made without hands" through which God graciously works to remove our sin and guilt and to make us alive in Christ by faith (Colossians 2:11ff.). Bring your child to Jesus NOW that he may receive the gracious blessings which God has promised through the waters of Christian Baptism!

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