HOW DID BABY BAPTISM START?
What Does The Bible Say About The Baptism Of Babies?
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: “Hoe het die Baba-doop ontstaan?”
Someone wrote to me and asked the following:
“How did infant baptism come about?
By way of introduction, before I answer the question, let me clearly point out the following fact:
One thing is certain –
It did not, so to speak, originate in the Bible.
Someone has also asked:
What does the Bible say about infant baptism?
The answer is simple:
Nothing.
Many Christians understand infant baptism as part of the New Testament covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ, and justify this by teaching their followers, for example, that, just as circumcision bind the Israelites to the covenant with Abraham, baptism by water sprinkling, connect a baby to Jesus.
It is simply not true that baptism and by name; water sprinkling, came in place of circumcision. I’m just going to mention a couple of examples very briefly regarding circumcision, to show how illogical it is to reason like that – and I’m putting it as mildly as I can.
GEN 17:10-13
10This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you. 12Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] a servant whether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. 13A servant who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Little girls were not circumcised. Yet, those who believe that baptism came in the place of circumcision, include baby girls in their baptism – and the right word in this case is ‘water sprinkling baptism.’
Then –
When whoever preaches that baptism, or sprinkling, has come in place of circumcision, they use baptism, or sprinkling, to give the child his/her name. Something that has nothing to do with circumcision.
To summarize this matter then:
According to what I see, there is no consistent logic behind this reasoning – but the strongest reasoning against this proclamation of Jesus’ salvation gospel, is that you do not find it in the Word/Bible.
Infant baptism, or sprinkling, came into being over the first 200 years of Christianity and, so to speak, came to full fruition in Emperor Constantine’s reign, but more on that a little later.
So, let’s quickly examine the first Christians and especially how the apostles understood and preached baptism, because this is how they received it from Jesus Christ. I only use a few examples from the Word, in order not to make this writing too long.
18Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Go therefore and make disciples (a disciple is a follower) of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing (after you have made them a disciple of Jesus) them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them (which of course you cannot do to a baby) to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”
ACTS 2:37-39
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart [with remorse and anxiety], and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” 38And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] (Something a baby cannot do) and be baptized, (after you have repented) each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all who are far away [including the Gentiles], as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself.”
ROMANS 6:3-4
3Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].
Baptism is a public declaration to all men and powers and spirits – and you can change the wording here in your heart when you are baptized – but this is ultimately what every true person then proclaims, as their first testimony to the world:
In this burial of my old man and the resurrection of me, a new man, I testify as follow:
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.
I believe that He is buried.
I believe that He rose from the dead.
I accepted this Jesus, God who became man, as my Lord and Saviour.
The old me is dead now.
I am now a new blood washed child of God.
Against this background of how the first Christians preached the gospel in truth, and how we find it in the Word, the following statistics, which you can Google yourself if you want and if you may not be able to find them, I can share the sources where I read it.
About a third of children in Jesus’ time died before they were one year old and about 5 out of every 10-year-old child, died before they were 10 years old.
If you reached the age of 10 or older, you could usually have reached the sixties and even the seventies and above in years.
The overall reason for the high child mortality was disease. Just think of all the illnesses that you or your children have had as a child, and now I’m not even talking about flu and bronchitis and colds, and they did not have antibiotics or medicines, pharmacies, and the hospitals and all that accompanied what we have today.
Add to that, poor diets and not always the best hygienic living conditions. Just think of your bath, lavatory, and drinking water.
I’m sure you will be able to think of other causes looking back on your own life, which can support these figures.
What our Lord used from my own life to give me just such a small glimpse into the new converts to Christianity in Jesus’ time, and let me stand slightly in their shoes, was the following:
My one daughter was still a baby when she became very, very ill on occasion.
We lived 12 kilometres outside Rustenburg at the time.
She just got sicker and sicker, and her fever was very high.
I didn’t have transportation at that time, and I couldn’t find anyone to take me and my child to hospital.
To this day, I can remember the terrifying feeling of powerlessness in me, while in my desperate state I let her lie on the kitchen table on a wet towel, and wiped her with a wet washcloth and then fanned her cold with the wet washcloth
So, I can think with compassion of those first Christians, who did not all have the knowledge we have today, regarding children who become seriously ill and die.
Remember that the Word in its written form at the beginning, was not yet as abundantly available to everyone as it is today, and that there was also not a minister or pastor to be found almost every few blocks around you, and those who were there, were also new converts themselves, who did not always have the Word in writing at hand. Because the Word was still taking shape and in many Christian households, where they believed like us – in life after death, and a heaven and a hell, one of two places to which man goes when he/she departs from this life, – there were many infant deaths and no Christian parent want his dying child to go to hell.
When I think how easily nowadays we take or add things from the Word to suit our likes or dislikes, or whether it is our whims, desires and egos, I can understand how they felt at the time, that, because of their love for their children, to rather use some kind of baptism for their babies – but like all the things we take out or change to suit us today, it remain unbiblical .
The sprinkling way of water baptism probably came about because you couldn’t immerse a baby, and you certainly wouldn’t want to do it with a sick child.
What we know for sure is that baby baptism or water sprinkling, started somewhere in the first 200 years after Christ – but not with the first preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that’s why you can’t find it in the Word either.
It had its origin somewhere in the first 200 years of Christianity and officially became part of the Christian theology in the reign of Emperor Constantine from 354 to 430 AD, when he was converted to Christ and was the first emperor who did not persecute Christianity of the gospel of Jesus according to the Catholic church.
Emperor Constantine then also introduced many other customs into the church to accommodate other religions in the Roman empire, because this was one of the methods he used to try to save the Roman empire which was falling apart and which then also happened.
This is also why there are so many customs in the Catholic church that you do not find in the Word/Bible.
I then conclude this letter to you with the following from our Lord’s precious Word:
MARK 16:15-16
15And He (JESUS) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God’s wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned.”
Greetings,
Sakkie