WHY CHRISTIANS BAPTIZE INFANTS?

It was Black Saturday of 2010 when I attend the christening of son of my friend and actually also his husband is my uncle who works now in Korea. The mass started on the dusk of that day in St. Rita of Cassia Parish in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental.

Baptism as one of the Holy Sacraments creates an issue on other sects. “Don’t baptize children” is also a new dogma that the world heard from them, 1500 years after the beginning of Christianity, which was not demanded by Jesus nor practiced by His apostles in the early Church”. Baptism is an external sign of an internal grace that we received by the acceptance of Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. The Bible says, it was given to children, adults and old ones alike by the apostles. The children were  never denied baptism. No early documents of Christianity, supports that.

Acts2:38-39 Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call”.

At the time of Jesus, circumcision was the way to be consecrated to God. Apostles replaced baptism for circumcision. Circumcision was administered to children eight days after birth.

Col 2:11-12- “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand , by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. You were buried with him in baptism.

In the New Testament,  Baptism was administered to the whole family  including children and adults. Baptism was never denied to children: Paul baptized the household of Stephanas (I Cor. 1:26) “After she and her household had been baptized’ (Acts 11:13-14) “Believe in Lord Jesus you and your household will be saved. (Acts 16:30) “Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord, alone with his entire household”(Acts18:8) Here the Greek usage of “whole household” was a normal usage at that time which included children and adults in a house.

Jesus commanded baptism as a necessity for everyone to enter into the kingdom of God. (Jn 3:5) Jesus answered Nicodemus, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit. Jesus didn’t say “except children,” but he said ‘no one can enter’. Children should not be banned from entering into the kingdom of God as Jesus wished.

Mk 10:13-16-“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belong to such as these.”…Denying baptism to children is just preventing them from entering His Kingdom. So, it becomes the duty and responsibility of parents to give the child the most urgent thing that they have to give—‘Grace of God!’