MOUNTAIN VIEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

 

WHY DO WE BAPTIZE BABIES

(AND GOD'S CHILDREN OF ALL AGES)?

 

Presbyterians emphasize God's action over human action in salvation. This is why we baptize babies. Because we believe salvation is not initiated by our actions but, in fact, is God's gift to all, then baptizing a child affirms that God's grace comes to us long before we ever realize it. God is shaping our souls and lives, and sometimes we are not even aware of how God is involved in forming us into the people we are becoming.

 

So, when we baptize a baby or person of any age, we believe (trust) that this child belongs to God and is being formed by God even without any visible signs of this forming. The parents and the community of faith promise that this child will be raised in the Christian Faith and will experience the grace of God in their midst. When a child is baptized, the church promises to join with the parents in taking responsibility for the child's spiritual development. The baptism becomes a starting point rather than an end in itself-the beginning of a lifelong conversion to God's grace. The power of baptism is not tied to the moment when it is administered but only dramatizes the beginning of the journey bringing us deeper and deeper into Christ.

 

By contrast, for the neo-evangelical the emphasis is on the believer's actions, the believer's words and. commitment, the believer's ability to embrace the faith. For Presbyterians, baptism is something "done for us" by God through the community of faith. It is about how God embraces us. This is why baptism is received only once in the Presbyterian Church. Our Directory of Worship states, "God's faithfulness needs no renewal." We may need renewal and recommitment at times in our life. We may need to embrace God's love in a renewed way, but Gods faithfulness to us does not need renewal. There is no need for repeated baptisms because God has claimed us once and for all as God's own in our baptism. What God has begun in our baptism, God faithfully continues throughout our lives. This is the truth we embrace as Presbyterians.

 

From: "Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt: Ted Foote and Alex Thornburg 2000 Geneva Press