Why Do We Baptize Little Children?

No one can deny that children in the Old Testament were given the sign and seal of God’s promises. So the question then comes to “How does the New Testament look upon children of believers?” In other words, are children of believers seen as being identified with the “set apart” people or are they viewed and treated as pagan unbelievers?

The whole thrust of the New Testament includes children of believers as set apart (termed “holy”) to God:

1. Jesus blessed the little infants (Matt. 19:13). As Messiah and God He placed upon them a blessing reserved only for God’s people.

2. He honors the praise of babes. God reveals things to little ones (Luke 10:21).

3. Children can believe in Him (Matt. 18:6).

4. Children are of the kingdom (Matt. 18:3; 19), because Jesus sees little children as special, set apart from the world.

5. In the New Testament book of Ephesians children are addressed as members of the church of God. In the beginning of Ephesians, Paul addresses all the “saints,” that is people specially set apart to God. Then in chapter 6, Paul makes a direct command to children. Among the various classes of those who are called saints are children.

6. In 1 Corinthians 7:14, children of a believer are considered holy (set apart to God). The question is, how can these children be holy when they are not pure and righteous? Well, they are holy in this sense that they are ceremonially set apart from common use and dedicated to God. Not all things that are cleansed and holy in the ????ures are saved (ex: holy mount, holy land, holy city, holy utensils, holy firstfruits, holy kiss, etc.). See Matt. 23:25; Jn 13:10-11; Acts 10. To be clean means to be separate from the world (2 Cor. 6:17; Titus 2:14). So here, children are set apart out of the world’s use and claimed for God’s purposes because they are related to the believer to whom the covenant blessings are made real by faith.

7. Those who are holy and cleansed in the New Testament were marked by ritual baptism (Rom. 4:11; Eph. 5:25f; Heb. 10:22). Yet, just as with the Old Covenant, the children of believers who have been ceremonially cleansed and made holy (set apart) are under a strong obligation to be a true child of God by personally believing in Jesus Christ.

8. So when God enters into a covenant with you by faith, He also enters into a covenantal relationship with your family, setting your family apart for a special purpose. The sign and seal of this covenant blessing is baptism (Col. 2:10) and it is for you and your children.

9. Finally, one thing must be clear – only those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ with a saving faith are spiritually and eternally set apart to God. Only those who have such a faith will receive all the promises that come with the sign and seal of baptism.