Category: Covenant Baptism

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Baptism Covenant Baptism

Infant baptism: a practise fully agreeable to the institution of Christ

On Sunday we had the privilege of baptizing the small baby of Christian parents at our church service.  I suppose many Baptists (who hold to only believers’ baptism) would cry “heresy!” or mumble a something about the influence of Roman Catholicism under their breath.  Why did we baptise that young child?

Circumcision

Baptism is the sign of the new covenant in Jesus, just as circumcision was the sign of the old covenant with Abraham (Romans 4:11).  All New Testament doctrine and practise have their beginnings in the Old Testament; baptism is no different.

 

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Categories
Baptism Covenant Baptism

Covenant baptism: Why we baptise some babies and some adults

Who do we baptise some babies and some adults at our church?  Baptizing babies seems to be quite a controversial practise these days and often the baptizers are accused of flouting biblical principles for the sake of unbiblical tradition.

Convinced Baptists argue that we should only be baptising believing adults because there are, they maintain, only explicit biblical examples of believers’ baptism in the New Testament and because, they maintain, baptism is reserved only for those that have expressed faith in Jesus.

I would like to challenge both those assertions.

REACH SA  is certainly not opposed to baptising believers, and regards that practise as biblical and indeed mandatory.  Article 27 of our statement of faith (the 39 Articles of Religion) reads:

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