Ep 1213 ｜ Infant Baptism vs. Believers' Baptism： What’s Biblical？
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Summary
Infant baptism vs. believer's baptism: The age old debate! On today's episode of Relatable, Allie and Allie debate the difference between infant and believer's baptisms, and why they are different.
Transcript
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Infant baptism versus believer's baptism, the age-old debate.
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We are having it today on today's episode of Relatable.
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It's brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers.
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Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far.
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I had to remind myself what day it is because typically the second episode that is out in
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a week comes out on Tuesday, but with our new schedule with Relatable coming out on Monday,
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Wednesdays, and Fridays now, it is indeed Wednesday.
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Even with so much going on on the news on Wednesday, we are going to do a theological topic.
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Now, sometimes it might be something that's going on in the news that fits into a broader
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theological theme that we can dissect, but today we are not talking about anything news
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If you go back to some episodes that I did in 2019, those were strictly topical when I was
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I think there were like nine weeks of episodes we had pre-recorded to come out after I had my
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first child six years ago, and we covered a lot of political and theological topics.
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But one topic that I don't believe we have ever covered in depth is baptism.
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That's paedo-baptism, infant baptism, versus credo-baptism, which is not necessarily adult
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So today we are going to get into those two perspectives.
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As always, I am going to try my very best to steel man both arguments.
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A straw man is a logical fallacy where you build up your opponent's argument in a fictitious
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So you try to articulate something that they're not actually arguing, that they're not actually
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And a straw man would be, so you're saying that being barefoot in your own home is disgusting
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I am arguing just that being barefoot on airplanes is gross.
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I'm not also arguing that you should never fly or that you should never take your shoes
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But if you are steel manning someone's argument, which is really the only way to be honest and
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therefore persuasive, you are trying to actually articulate what they believe in the most charitable
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You are trying to truly understand, if it's there, the logic behind what someone believes.
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That is way more conducive to productive conversations and, again, is actually a lot more effective
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Now, sometimes someone's argument is completely illogical.
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And sometimes they do have ulterior motives and malicious intent behind what they're saying.
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If you're pointing that out, that's not always fallacious.
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But if you are doing that dishonestly without trying to articulate what they actually believe
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and the coherence, if any, behind what they're saying, then that is indeed fallacious.
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That means I am a believer in believer's baptism.
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That baptism is an outward sign of inward regeneration.
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And I believe that this is the best and most biblical way to follow the example of Christ
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and the believers and their response to repentance that we see throughout Scripture.
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At the end, I will articulate why I have the position that I do.
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But I am going to do my very best at articulating why the infant baptism camp,
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both in the Catholic world and in the Protestant world, believe the things they do,
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And for those of you who, like me, you grew up maybe Southern Baptist or in a non-denominational church,
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and you've never really given much thought to why there are Christians that we truly consider
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brothers and sisters in Christ, why they believe in the sprinkling,
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And I think it's important to know for us to have discussions and to see why this really matters.
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And of course, the Bible, truth, always really matters.
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And so, us knowing, understanding everything that is going on in these theological camps
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So the word baptism comes from the Greek word that is used in the New Testament, baptizo,
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There really is no controversy surrounding that.
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The controversy is around the interpretation of what that actually means for believers today.
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Baptism, all denominations, all forms of Christian believe that it is a form of identification as a Christian,
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that it is a public profession of our faith and identification with Christ.
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There are several verses that refer to baptism in the New Testament.
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Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
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We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
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And actually, at my church and at most Baptist churches, I believe that is what is said when a believer is baptized,
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buried with Christ in his death and raised to walk in the newness of life.
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All denominations agree that baptism is an act of obedience to Jesus's instructions.
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Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
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For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off,
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everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
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And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying,
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So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
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Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body,
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but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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So different parts of Christianity interpret these verses differently to support their view of either believer's baptism,
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either as a child or as an adult or infant baptism.
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There is sprinkling a few drops on someone's head.
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This is practiced by Methodists, by Roman Catholics, by Presbyterians, by Lutherans.
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There is pouring, also called effusion, pouring of water over someone's head.
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And this is primarily used by Baptists and by non-denominational churches that are basically functionally Baptist,
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even if they are not officially part of the Southern Baptist Convention,
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which is the largest denomination in the United States.
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So the question is, when should we be baptized?
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And the question is, how should we be baptized?
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But there's also a debate about what this baptism actually means.
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So first, we're going to look at the paedo-baptist side.
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Paedo-baptism, this comes from the Greek word paes, or child.
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That's probably what you've heard it referred to as in layman's terms.
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It is the Christian practice of baptizing infants or young children, typically infants.
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This is those who are born to believing parents.
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This is within Protestantism, at least, as a means of incorporating them into the faith and the church community.
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It is also, however, practiced by non-Protestants, by Roman Catholic Church,
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by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches.
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But there is a difference in what these people believe infant baptism actually means.
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The Presbyterian Church in America, for example, practices infant baptism.
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They don't teach that this baptism actually saves the child,
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but they teach that infant baptism is actually a covenant sign.
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It's not salvific, but it is the same as Old Testament circumcision.
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It's a covenantal sign that shows welcoming this child into the Christian family.
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And, of course, they still believe that a true profession of faith needs to be made at some point in that child's life,
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in that person's life, for them to actually be saved and go to heaven.
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This is a difference between covenantal theology, which we talked about a little bit last week on Thursday,
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and sacramental theology, which is what the Roman Catholic Church teaches.
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many prominent people in church history who were Paedo-Baptists,
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Augustine of Hippo, John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley.
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I mean, many of the people that Baptists hold in high regard for their theology
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Of course, R.C. Sproul, he's a Reformed theologian, the founder of Ligonier Ministries.
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You've got all of the Catholic teachers and popes.
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And so let's break down the difference between the Paedo-Baptist Protestant view,
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what Presbyterians and other denominations believe,
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and what the Roman Catholic Church teaches when it comes to infant baptism.
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That is the ministry that was started by the Presbyterian Reformed theologian, R.C. Sproul.
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They say that the New Testament nowhere commands us to baptize infants,
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Okay, a circumcision and baptism are linked in Colossians 2.11-12, for example.
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And so baptism, like circumcision, need not be tied to the moment of profession.
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So Presbyterians, those who are on the infant baptism site in the Protestant world would say,
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okay, this is a symbol of God's covenant to his people that is similar to or a parallel to
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the outward sign of God's covenant to his people in the Old Testament, which was circumcision.
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So this camp would argue that Old Covenant promises were given to adults and their children,
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Ligonier says that the greater new covenant promises and signs should not also be given
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The Old Testament taught that those entire households were circumcised, obviously not the females,
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as were entire households baptized in the New Testament.
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And so they'd go to the Old Testament, Genesis 17.11-13, for example,
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You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins.
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It shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you, God says to Abraham.
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Passages like Acts 16.15 say that Lydia's household was baptized.
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So Pado-Baptists argue that these texts imply baptism was not restricted to believers.
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They would say that one person believed, and therefore their household could be baptized,
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again, as a sign of the covenant that at least one person in the household had accepted through
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Paul says, this camp argues, that the children of a Christian parent are set apart to God.
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for the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife,
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and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband.
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They would also say that like circumcision, baptism without personal faith has no effect.
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However, it does identify the child as part of the visible church community and holds them
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to a higher standard of judgment if they never come to trust in God.
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And where they support this claim is Luke 12.48.
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But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating.
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Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.
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And from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
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But they use the principle that he is articulating there to say,
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okay, a lot is going to be expected and required of this child who was baptized
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This is from the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,
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who gives us a detailed historical analysis of this position.
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If you look back to why Augustine, for example, believed in infant baptism,
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he didn't believe that it was just a New Testament covenant sign of a child being welcomed into the
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church, but he truly believed, as Catholics do, that it was cleansing of original sin.
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They hadn't knowingly sinned yet because they don't have the capacity to do that.
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But that even newborns carry the weight of original sin, which, by the way,
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Reformed people, Baptists also believe that everyone has inherited original sin from Adam.
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But Augustine believed that this baptism in infancy actually cleansed them of any responsibility,
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of any guilt that was inherited because of original sin.
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By the 3rd century, baptizing babies became more common, partly because so many infants died young then,
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Many Christians then saw it as protection from hell or damnation.
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Parents and church leaders wanted to make sure that babies were, quote-unquote,
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safe spiritually, and this article says that due to the dual pressures of infant mortality
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and evolving views of the sinfulness of newborn infants, the novel practice of baptizing infants
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This practice was not accepted as universal, even in the 4th century, as infants' need for forgiveness
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Okay, and then we've got the Catholic view, which we kind of already touched on a little bit
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with what Augustine believes, but we'll get into that in more detail in just a second.
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So in Catholic teaching, baptism is seen as a sacrament that conveys grace.
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It spiritually renews a person and serves as the primary way to enter the Christian faith.
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So it is believed, like Augustine believed, to wash away original sin, unite the person
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They also believe there is a regenerative effect, a salvific effect there of infant baptism.
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So this is from a Vatican doctrinal document that was released in 1980.
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However, the Catholic Church would say, in the case of infants, it is the faith of the
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church, so not necessarily their individual faith.
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Furthermore, in accordance with the teaching of the Council of Trent on the sacraments, baptism
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is not just a sign of faith, but a cause of faith.
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So they really see that baptism as necessary for salvation.
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We've already read Acts 2, 38 through 41, where Peter says the promise is for you and
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We've got 1 Peter 3, 21 that says, again, that baptism saves you.
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And they would also point to the verses that we've already read about baptism occurring in
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entire households when just one person was saved.
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So same basic act between those who are Pado-Baptists in the Protestant world and in the Catholic world,
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but there is a different meaning behind them based on covenantal theology, which Protestants
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believe, those Pado-Protestants believe, Pado-Baptists believe, and then the sacramental
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theology that the Catholics believe, where baptism is truly salvific, versus the covenantal
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A little bit more than just an outward sign, because it is an inward covenant, but again,
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they don't believe that it's actually salvific.
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Credo-Baptist, that word credo comes from the Latin word for creed or belief.
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So we believe, this is according to Desiring God, this is John Piper's ministry, he is a
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Baptism is an appeal to God and a symbol of the decisive act of the Holy Spirit.
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The Holy Spirit is who washes us, regenerates us, renews us in his application of Christ's
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Christian baptism is the way someone publicly declares their faith and commitment to following
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From Believer's Baptism and the Petristic Writings, this is by Stephen A. McKinnon.
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Believer's Baptism is the practice of baptizing only those who profess faith in Jesus Christ
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for their salvation, having repented of their sin.
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So we have said, I don't want to live that life anymore.
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I have accepted by faith in Christ according to the grace that was given to me that Jesus
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Christ is who he says he is, that he died for my sins, that I have forgiveness and reconciliation
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And because of that grace that is in me, because of the faith that I now have, I want to walk
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I want to turn away from my old self and my old ways, and I want to walk in the example
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That would be a long-winded way to define what repentance is.
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An essential element of the practice is that baptism is subsequent to repentance and faith.
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That is the distinctive of what credo-baptists believe.
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While both Baptists and pedo-baptists may agree that the function of the ordinance is to outwardly
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profess faith, Baptists deny that the action professes future faith.
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And we certainly deny that it is salvific in any way, that it has the power to wash away
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original sin, or that it is necessary or even right to baptize infants.
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Baptists, churches of Christ, Pentecostals, non-denominational churches reject infant baptism,
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arguing that personal belief must come before baptism.
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Several Baptists throughout history, however, definitely later than most of the church fathers,
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although that's not to say that credo-baptism wasn't believed by the earliest Christians,
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because again, we see that the earliest Christians, including Jesus himself, were submerged,
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The prominent contemporary supporters of believers' baptism, John Piper, Al Mohler,
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John MacArthur, many others, if we look at some of the earliest writings that were against
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infant baptism, we do have a church father, Tertullian, for example, and he wrote a book
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on baptism called The Baptismo in the First Decade of the Third Century.
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Let them become Christians when they are able to know Christ.
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And in that work that seems to be the earliest work that we see besides the Bible itself,
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Dallas Baptist University religion professor Mark Nickens explains the history of believers' baptism.
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He says that many reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin broke from the Catholic Church,
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creating new Christian groups with diverse beliefs about what it means to be Christian.
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He's just explaining very briefly the Reformation there.
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On January 21st, 1525, there were a variety of priests who acted on their beliefs about baptism
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that differed from the Catholic Church, with one of the reformers baptizing another,
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pouring water, marking the start of the Anabaptist movement.
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The Anabaptist movement rejected infant baptism for believers' baptism.
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The word Anabaptist means re-baptize, or it was originally used as kind of like a pejorative
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by their opponents, because Anabaptists believed in adult baptism,
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And during that time, a lot of them had already been baptized into the Catholic Church,
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but they were being baptized in a different way as adults.
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And many Baptists throughout history have been persecuted,
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especially in those early years of the Protestant Reformation,
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Of course, being called heretics, people being excommunicated
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from the Catholic Church for questioning baptism.
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And so this was a very hot topic back in the day, and still actually is in some ways.
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And so here are the verses that we use, the analysis that we use to come up with our belief
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We look at Acts 2.38 through 41, which is actually a verse that we have already read a couple times
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So yes, this verse does say for you and your children.
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However, it's very clear there that those who received his word were baptized.
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There is no implication whatsoever that those who did not receive his word,
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that those who did not believe were also baptized.
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Whenever we see in any verse that their household was baptized,
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it takes a lot of assumption to come to the conclusion that non-believing children or infants were baptized.
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We don't see that explicitly anywhere throughout Scripture.
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And actually, again, Ligonier Ministries, which is Presbyterian and Reformed,
00:32:27.080
They say that outright, that the Bible never commands infant baptism.
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It's not that it never commands infant baptism.
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We don't even see an implication of baptizing infants anywhere.
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And in fact, as we'll get into in a second, the idea of sprinkling baptism is really an oxymoron.
00:32:56.500
And so it seems to me that the writers of the New Testament who were watching the earliest Christians
00:33:02.040
understood that they weren't talking about a sprinkling,
00:33:08.620
That's not what Jesus actually partook in when he was baptized.
00:33:12.540
But this was actually an immersion and a dunking.
00:33:20.580
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
00:33:26.340
We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was
00:33:31.340
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life.
00:33:36.800
So that is what baptism is supposed to signify.
00:33:39.960
Just like Jesus rose from the dead, came out of the tomb, so Christians are rising out of the
00:33:50.140
Romans 6 makes it very clear what we are supposed to signify when we are being baptized.
00:33:59.980
In him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of
00:34:04.960
flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism.
00:34:09.960
So the baptism is supposed to be like a burial.
00:34:13.800
This is identification with Christ, his death, his resurrection, our identification with Christ
00:34:24.300
Baptists reject this idea that physical baptism actually saves you.
00:34:30.220
So this first, 1 Peter 3, 21, baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a
00:34:36.000
removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection
00:34:43.880
And so he actually makes clear there, Peter is making clear that we're not talking about
00:34:52.280
We are talking about the baptism that is internal, that can only come through the regeneration of
00:35:01.420
We are talking about the heart change by grace through faith that Jesus accomplishes in your
00:35:09.580
Titus 3, 5, God saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, that would include
00:35:15.360
baptism by the way, but according to his own mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal
00:35:23.020
So the renewal and the regeneration and the change comes through the Holy Spirit, not the physical
00:35:29.920
act of being baptized, which again is an external signifier of an inward reality, an external signifier
00:35:37.420
not only of identity with Christ, but identification of Christ's burial and his resurrection.
00:35:45.500
Okay, we've got a few more points on that, specifically about Jesus and his example that he set for us.
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Okay, I think the clearest argument for believer's baptism is in the example of Jesus.
00:37:21.800
And it's interesting because Catholics will say, for example, and we'll do an episode on this,
00:37:27.280
the real presence of the Eucharist, whether this is a symbol of Jesus's body and blood,
00:37:33.580
or whether it is the real presence of Christ in the bread and the wine, they will say this
00:37:42.320
Jesus is not speaking in metaphors, even though Jesus spoke in symbolism and metaphors a lot
00:37:47.740
in his ministry, but they will say, no, this was literal.
00:37:51.520
But I do think it's interesting that for some reason, when it comes to baptism and what we
00:37:57.260
clearly see happening here, that was not supposed to be an example for believers, at least
00:38:03.380
according to Roman Catholic teaching and according to some Protestant teaching.
00:38:07.680
So we see in Matthew 3, 16, and when Jesus was baptized, baptizo, again, that word means
00:38:14.440
immersed, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened to him
00:38:18.920
and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest upon him.
00:38:23.920
And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the spirit
00:38:31.800
Okay, so here's what a Presbyterian, Pado-Baptist scholar would say.
00:38:40.460
And so he said, it, he came out of the water, literally means he, Jesus, went up directly
00:38:49.000
The original does not imply that they had descended into the river.
00:38:54.020
Therefore, from this passage, that his baptism was by immersion.
00:38:59.180
And so that view is that actually Jesus wasn't actually immersed.
00:39:02.860
I don't know if it's that he was sprinkled or like what the argument is there, but I
00:39:07.940
think it is kind of like another argument from absence.
00:39:11.240
While we don't see for absolute sure that he was immersed, and so we can't say this is
00:39:17.040
The Catholic view on Mark 1, 9 through 10, this is according to Catholic Answers, Mark
00:39:23.160
1, 9 through 10 doesn't say, Catholic Answers says, that Christ was baptized by immersion,
00:39:27.880
only that after his baptism, Jesus came up out of the water.
00:39:30.720
The phrase could refer to immersion, but it needn't.
00:39:33.780
Jesus could have stepped into the shallows and had John the Baptist pour water on his head.
00:39:37.320
Even if Jesus had been baptized by immersion, this wouldn't present a problem for Catholics.
00:39:41.600
We accept baptism by immersion as a valid mode of receiving the sacrament.
00:39:46.440
Okay, so I just do want to make that clear because I don't think I've specified that
00:39:50.060
yet, that I don't think Catholics would condemn baptism by immersion.
00:39:55.220
But again, this would be in accordance with sacramental theology, that this is a washing
00:40:00.820
away of original sin, which we Protestants do not hold to.
00:40:06.260
So here is an article in The Christian Courier by someone named Wayne Jackson.
00:40:11.120
I thought he explained the credo-baptist position well.
00:40:14.800
While he is refuting the Presbyterian scholar, Albert Barnes, that we cited just a minute ago.
00:40:22.440
He says, those who practice ritualistic sprinkling as a substitute for water immersion commonly
00:40:27.080
allege that baptism from the very commencement of the Christian age was implemented either
00:40:33.760
They claim that ancient literary sources and even a few scriptural references support this
00:40:38.800
He says, it must be noted that the expression baptismal sprinkling is a contradiction.
00:40:45.260
The Greek term baptismo means to dip, submerge, and immerse.
00:40:48.940
The Greek historian Polybius used the word to describe a sinking ship.
00:40:53.620
In the Greek version of the Old Testament, the cognate form bapto clearly is distinguished
00:40:58.840
from the term sprinkle, which is rantizo, and por, kio.
00:41:04.060
To speak of baptismal sprinkling would constitute a contradiction of terms.
00:41:08.580
The verbs represent entirely different actions.
00:41:11.720
Second, there is not a solitary passage in the New Testament, Wayne Jackson says, that
00:41:16.060
lends any support to the idea that the act called baptism by the New Testament writers
00:41:20.240
was administered by the sprinkling or pouring of water upon a person's head.
00:41:24.920
Albert Barnes, the Presbyterian scholar that we cited earlier, puts a lot of emphasis on
00:41:30.700
that word from, trying to argue that it doesn't necessarily mean that Jesus was immersed.
00:41:36.660
But Wayne Jackson points out the argument is based upon the fact that the term from is
00:41:41.740
the Greek word apo, which generally means away from.
00:41:45.560
But, Jackson says, apo can also be used in the sense of out of, as in the case of Luke
00:41:52.440
The Pharisees wanted Jesus to show them a sign from apo, heaven.
00:41:56.980
However, in the parallel passages, in both Mark and Luke's accounts, the preposition used
00:42:05.300
So, those words, when used interchangeably, we see that ek literally means coming up out
00:42:13.500
So, he argues that the most likely and logical interpretation of that verse is that apo actually
00:42:22.220
means coming out of, since it is also sometimes interchangeably used with ek, which always
00:42:31.980
Mark also wrote that Jesus was baptized of John in the Jordan.
00:42:36.360
The preposition rendered in, in our common versions, is ais, which means in to.
00:42:43.740
Finally, the theological connection between baptism and the burial and resurrection of Christ,
00:42:48.920
Romans 6, 3-4, which we've read a couple times now, Colossians 2, 12, negates the notion that
00:42:54.880
the rite may be performed by sprinkling or pouring.
00:42:58.020
The prospective Christian is buried in the water of baptism with Christ, just as Jesus
00:43:03.200
was raised out of the tomb, so we also are raised from the liquid grave of baptism.
00:43:10.180
And I think that is exactly right, that that symbol, that that signifier really matters.
00:43:15.980
Now, Founders Ministry, it's a ministry that we have referred to several times.
00:43:21.400
In fact, if you are looking for a Bible-preaching church, I always recommend founders.org slash
00:43:28.940
I know people who have started going to a Bible-preaching church because of that link, because they found
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a church through that resource, and through the grace of God, it's been totally life-changing
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It's a Christian organization focused on promoting Reformed theology, but it's also Baptist,
00:43:47.620
just like me, and we are kind of like in a niche camp in the Reformed world.
00:43:57.880
Pado-Baptists look for a profession of faith from parents before baptizing their children,
00:44:01.960
but that requirement is not revealed in either the Old Testament nor in the New Testament.
00:44:06.780
Infant baptism requires parents to profess faith,
00:44:09.180
but this rule isn't clearly found in the Bible,
00:44:19.640
Credo-Baptists say that Pado-Baptists exclude unbelieving adult spouses from the covenant of grace,
00:44:25.820
but under the Old Covenant, all those in the Israelite household,
00:44:30.920
were in the covenant whether they believed or not.
00:44:36.280
And so what they're saying is that if the Pado-Baptists say that sprinkling baptism for infants
00:44:44.840
it is a reflection of what God did through circumcision in the Old Testament,
00:44:49.620
then why don't we also apply that to unbelieving adults in the household of,
00:44:55.980
say, a believing father in the way that God did in the Old Testament with circumcision?
00:45:02.460
The Old Testament included everyone in a household for circumcision,
00:45:05.480
but Pado-Baptists don't always baptize all household members,
00:45:08.640
which seems inconsistent since they use the Old Testament to justify infant baptism.
00:45:13.680
They argue Pado-Baptists see infants as part of the covenant community,
00:45:17.020
but this view doesn't fully match New Testament teachings about Jesus' role,
00:45:21.540
which stress faith, not infant inclusion, as the way to receive God's promises.
00:45:29.920
Know that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
00:45:37.000
They argue that these passages show the New Testament calls sons of Abraham those who believe,
00:45:59.780
not just physical descendants' baptism replaces circumcision through a person's faith,
00:46:06.860
challenging the idea that Old Testament circumcision supports infant baptism.
00:46:17.440
simply because that is the example that we see in the Old Testament.
00:46:20.480
I believe that at best, the Pado-Baptist position is an argument from absence and implication and assumptions.
00:46:29.680
Now, I am not against using deductive reasoning to come to a biblical principle.
00:46:34.660
For example, we have come up with the word Trinity based on what we see in Scripture
00:46:41.100
explained about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
00:46:45.000
even though we don't actually see the word Trinity in Scripture.
00:46:49.180
But when it comes to a practice, especially a practice when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church
00:46:55.260
that you're saying confers some sort of salvation,
00:46:58.800
it's really important that we understand where it's coming from.
00:47:04.280
It's not enough to say that the early church did this,
00:47:07.840
because not everyone in the early church did this.
00:47:10.160
The only infallible and inerrant authority we have on what the early church was like
00:47:17.240
And it seems to me, when we look at the Greek word actually used for baptism,
00:47:23.280
when we look at the context of even the descriptions of households being baptized,
00:47:28.580
that this was immersion baptism for those who confessed faith in Christ.
00:47:35.180
And so the argument that, well, there were early church fathers who believed this,
00:47:41.640
there were even reformers who believed this, there were early Christians who believed this,
00:47:46.120
well, we can see in Paul's letters to the early church that Christians get things wrong,
00:47:52.260
and they need correction, and they need rebuke, and they need reformation,
00:47:56.720
to remember what was actually taught by Christ, the example that we learned in him.
00:48:03.080
And thankfully, God has divinely inspired the word of God to give us the best and most trustworthy
00:48:11.520
Now, do I believe that this is a salvation issue?
00:48:15.960
If you believe in infant baptism, I believe in credo baptism, but we both believe in the
00:48:22.500
true gospel that we are only saved by grace through faith in Jesus, no, I think that we're
00:48:29.500
However, it is very clear that baptism for believers, when we are going to making disciples
00:48:36.260
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
00:48:40.740
that is a command for believers, that that's not optional.
00:48:44.900
And so I remember when I had this back and forth before about what baptism actually means,
00:48:50.480
and I know this is a really big sticking point when I'm debating and discussing with Catholics,
00:48:57.500
that it cheapens baptism if something is just a symbol.
00:49:01.440
If it's just a symbol, then why doesn't it matter?
00:49:03.540
Well, there are a lot of things that are just a symbol that matter.
00:49:06.800
This wedding ring that I am wearing right now, it is just a symbol, but it carries significance.
00:49:13.160
It is an outward sign of a covenant that my husband and I have made to each other.
00:49:18.880
Now, if I take off this ring, I am still married because the covenant goes beyond this ring, but
00:49:25.540
this is an important signifier, an important symbol of a deeper reality.
00:49:31.100
And that's not even a perfect comparison because baptism is actually something that is required
00:49:41.660
However, it is not what saves us, because that would be to say that we could earn our salvation
00:49:47.400
in some way that is, there is a work of righteousness that we must do to be reconciled to God.
00:49:53.320
And Jesus has done all that work on our behalf.
00:50:02.760
So that is just kind of skimming the surface of this debate on pedo-baptism versus credo-baptism.
00:50:11.820
Please have respectful dialogue and debate over this.
00:50:15.340
It's an important subject, and we should be discussing it and asking our pastors about
00:50:21.700
this and trying to understand it better, but it is no reason for vitriol and for hatred.
00:50:29.020
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All right, guys, if you've got more suggestions for topics that we should cover on our Theology
00:52:08.960
and Topical Wednesday, please send those to me.
00:52:12.160
Y'all have sent some really good ones, and we are going to dive into those over the next
00:52:18.220
If you've got any spicy topics, like I said on Instagram, though, if you suggest something
00:52:23.100
that I've talked about a lot, then I'm going to fine you.
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I'm going to fine you, and you're going to get a bill in the mail because you did not do
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If you ever want to know if I've talked about something, you can type in either on YouTube.
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I think it works a little bit better on Apple Podcasts.
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You can type in the subject that you're looking for and relatable, and it should come up.
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On YouTube, you might have to be more specific and type in Ali Stuckey or a guest that you're
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I've probably talked about the thing that you are looking for, but if I have someone say,
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oh, you should talk about Israel and dispensational versus covenant theology, I'm going to bop you
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on the head, and I'm going to fine you $6,000, okay?
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But if you've done your due diligence and you still want me to cover something that either
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I haven't covered in a long time, haven't covered very much, or I have never covered, then
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One more thing, blazetv.com slash Ali has an awesome deal going in celebration of the 4th
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We will not be back here on Friday because it's the 4th of July.