Infant baptism is a huge error!

[mpchristian]

They only sprinkle babies. It's supposed to be full immersion as I understand it. I'm not sure how strict the Lord is about it, but it does say to do it and we should obey. True enough it is a showing to the world that you have dedicated your life to Christ, but it does mean something to the Lord too, or else it wouldn't be in scripture. I'd get baptised if I were you, just to be sure and to obey.

I'm not sure I understand how you're rationalizing that your children should be baptised, yet you don't feel the need to?

My children would be baptized this way because that's how it's done in this church.

 

[mpchristian]

Acts 2:38 -

Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit./

That's enough reason right there in my mind!

See here is my point though. I think i havent explained very well. All of those people were being baptized immediately as they came believers. Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. You don't have to be immersed to receive the Holy Spirit. I've received the Holy Spirit many many years ago. If I had just made the decision it would make plenty of sense to me, but I have been a follower of Christ for 15 years now. Do you see at all that being immersed at this point doesn't make a ton of sense to me?

 

[handy]

While it seems the discussion of this topic has ended, I have a question to which I would appreciate everyone's opinion. I grew up in a church that practiced infant baptism. At middle school age, I went through "confirmation" which served as an outward profession of my faith that Jesus Christ was my lord and savior. This involved classes to orient us with what it meant to be a Christian, and in the end involved a ceremony in which we stood in front of our large church congregation and stated that we believed in Jesus Christ as our lord and savior.

Now, I am nearly 30 years old, and I am involved in a baptist church which believes in baptism by immersion. At this point in my life, I have decided that when I have children, they will be baptized by immersion as this is how they do it in the baptist church. It was suggested at one point that I should be baptized by immersion as I was only baptized as an infant. However, it seems to me that baptism is also an outward profession of one's faith in Jesus Christ. I have already experienced and shown this at another church.

I have been involved in this church for several years now. It just doesn't seem like it would make sense for me to get baptized by immersion at this point in my life as I have been a follower of Jesus for over 15 years now and decently involved at this church for several years now. I'm interested to hear every ones' input on this issue?

Thanks

I have three older siblings who were all baptized as infants. Then between the time my brother was born and the time I was born four years later, my parents fell completely away from God and I was raised in a non-Christian home.

When I was 13, I became a Christian and prayed for my family... later, when I was about 18, those prayers (and the prayers of many others, to be sure) began to be answered. Within a few years, my parents were following Christ and it wasn't much later that my whole family, sisters, brothers and their husbands and my sister-in-law were Christians. (S-i-l already was, but that's a different story).

Now my father and siblings had a choice set before them. Whether or not to be re-baptized. My mother had been baptized when she was a teen, but my dad never once, in all his years, questioned the validity of his infant baptism. My eldest sister questioned it, as the issue was one she had never studied, but she prayerfully and with much biblical study on the issue came to the decision that there was no need to be re-baptized. She saw the promises that were made upon her baptism and saw that, even though mom and dad were not faithful to those promises, God had been and God had followed through, bringing her into salvation.

My other sister though, through much prayer and study, came to the decision to be baptized again, as did my brother. My brother wound up going to the type of Baptist Church that baptizes everyone when they become members, no matter how many times they've been baptized before.

Myself, since I wasn't baptized as an infant, I didn't have to struggle with this issue, but, I believe in believers baptism. Our kids weren't infants when we brought them home to us, so we allowed them time to grow and decide whether or not they wanted to be baptized as believers (they did). My husband was baptized as an infant, and he's just as secure that his baptism is valid as my eldest sister is and Dad was.

I think this is an issue that one should prayerfully study, then follow the Spirit's prompting. If one struggles with the idea that their infant baptism somehow wasn't valid or somehow didn't "count" with God, then they should be baptized again.

But my sister once said of this issue: "Why are we baptized in the first place? To be cleansed of our sins, to receive the Holy Spirit and to enter into God's saving grace. Well, my sins have been cleansed, I have the Spirit, I am saved. All the reasons why the Bible says to be baptized have been fulfilled. For what purpose would I be baptized again."

As far as baptism being a public confession... that isn't one of the reasons to be baptized. We have made baptism into a public confession and many even believe that is the purpose of baptism... but it's not. Nowhere in Scripture is baptism equated with making a public confession of one's faith. That, my friends, is simply a very false teaching. We confess with our mouths, not by getting wet.