Baptism of Covenant Children

Baptism is not just for babies and new believers! Baptism is a sacrament, a seal, a sign, but for all of us it is also a reminder of the grace of God. How is our Baptism to be improved by each of us? (Larger Catechism Q. 167): "The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others; by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein; by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements; by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament; by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body."

Baptism is a sign, a visible object pointing to a different, greater reality. It signifies our union with Jesus Christ, our union with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. As Paul wrote in Romans 6:3-5, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his."

The water of baptism signifies the cleansing of our sins by the blood of Christ and the washing of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Baptism identifies us as belonging to the Lord, but it does not make us the Lord’s; it is simply a sign identifying us as belonging to him. In the Old Testament, the sign of the covenant was circumcision (Genesis 17:11); baptism is the “circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11), replacing circumcision as the sign of the covenant. Baptism is also a seal; an ancient use of a seal is to denote ownership. Baptism is God’s mark of ownership upon us; like circumcision, it is “a seal of the righteousness of the faith” (Romans 4:11). Baptism points not to what the recipient has done nor what the minister is doing; rather, it signifies the covenant of grace by which the recipient relates to God by his grace.

Why do we baptize infants? Infant baptism (paedobaptism) is based primarily on the continuity between baptism and the Old Covenant sign of circumcision. It is mentioned several places in Scripture (some of which are noted above); Colossians 2:11, 12 describes the one spiritual reality (separation from our sinful nature and our new life in Christ) signified by both circumcision and baptism. The signs and benefits of the Old Covenant extended to children, and the New Covenant is no different (…let every one of you be baptized…For the promise is to you and to your children…. Acts 2:38, 39). Entire households were baptized in the New Testament (Acts 16:15, 33-34, 1 Corinthians 1:16). By baptizing infants we take seriously the promise at the core of God’s covenant, “I will be your God and the God of your children after you” (Genesis 17:7). Infants who are baptized certainly do not understand what is happening, nor do they profess faith in Christ, just as eight-day old Israelite infants did not understand the meaning of their circumcision nor did they profess faith. Neither baptism nor circumcision signifies or guarantees regeneration or saving faith.

Baptism does not save anyone, adult, child or infant. Rather, it points to the grace of God and the promises He has made to us. It seals, it sets apart, it marks, it identifies, it claims the promises of God, “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself (Genesis 17:7, Acts 2:39). Infants and children were included in the covenant of grace and in the covenant community both in the Old and the New Testaments. It is because of Biblical evidence that our church, along with the early church and the whole of Reformed tradition, baptizes infants of adult church members. And for all of us let baptism be a reminder of the washing away of sins and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. We are a set apart people, separated from the world for the ownership of Jesus Christ. So let us live and draw strength from our baptism and endeavor by God’s grace to see the effects of our baptism displayed in our lives. Glory be to God for his covenant of grace!