In Defense of the Believer's Baptism

We would like to write a defense of the believer's baptism and debunking the following heresies concerning baptism aside from the heresy of baptismal salvation:

• Infant baptism as practiced by Catholicism and its similar off-shoots like the Orthodox churches (ex. Filipino, Greek, Romanian, Russian, whatever...)
  
• Adult only baptism which is done in some churches which means nobody below 18 (or 21) is ever allowed to be identified for baptism

So first, in defense of why Baptists do baptism by immersion. Let's refer to the Bible and don't start looking for a Baptist confession of faith. You'll find our confession of faith is in the Bible. Baptism after all means immersion so sprinkling is NOT baptism.

Let's start with the ministry of John the Baptist. The Lord Jesus was baptized at the Jordan river. Notice that John the Baptist in Matthew 3:16 says, "And Jesus when He was baptized went up straightway out of the water and lo the heavens were opened unto Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending liek a dove and lightning upon Him." See- Jesus went into the water and out of the water which is in contrast to the "baptism" by sprinkling. In Matthew 28:19 it says, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." which affirms the fact that it's One God, three distinct Persons.

Now let's move to the sermon of Peter the first pastor of the church in Jerusalem. Peter's fiery sermon that converted a lot of Jews and made the Pharisees mad would have said this in summary in Acts 2:14-39 which in Acts 2:38 he says, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Note here that repent here means "change of mind for the better" or metanoeo and for here is "eis" meaning "because of" otherwise, it would contradict the fact that baptism does not save anybody or keep anybody saved (which is still saving). He was proclaiming the Gospel of salvation especially in Acts 2:21 He says, "And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." and declared the Gospel of Christ. Quite different from the Pope's message of salvation.

Now here's what- in the name of Jesus Christ means to exercise authority like when somebody tells me, "In the name of God please stop what you're doing." The person is quoting God's authority over me. To do baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ would be to do as He had authorized it- the Trinitarian formula which is in the Name (singular) of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. However Pentecostal groups (whether pro-Catholic or anti-Catholic) have gone too far as to even say that the Trinity is pagan (especially the Oneness Groups) and that it has to be baptism said, "I baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ." which also, they require for salvation. They are intrepid heretics and foes of the cross of Jesus Christ because they make it of none effect with the baptismal salvation heresy (1 Corinthians 1:17, Philippians 3:18).

However the Bible is clear now that it's first salvation (which baptizes the person INTO the Body of Christ, the Church, as a result- 1 Corinthians 12:12-13) then baptism as said in Acts 2:41, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.". This again states that it's baptism AFTER salvation NOT before like salvation before service.

Why can't infants be included in that list? First and foremost, infants have no discernment and can't be taught. Infants no matter how Catholic faith defenders try to "defend" their heresy of infant baptism CANNOT believe. Preach to them the Gospel, they can't even believe. On the other hand, children to adults can learn of their sinful nature and the need to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As said, Acts 2:41 required believing before baptizing. Children can get saved so once a child learns of sin and the Savior, he/she can repent towards salvation making them valid candidates as much as every saved teenager and adult.

Why is the adult only baptism also wrong? If anybody below 18 (or 21) can receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that makes him/her a valid candidate to be baptized. To restrict the baptism to adults only is a serious heresy and violation of the call for believers (which includes minors) to be baptized.

Before I end we'll review Acts 8:36-38 says, "And as they went on their way they came unto a certain water and that eunuch said, See here is water what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still and they went both down into the water both Philip and the eunuch and he baptized him.". So here we see, first the candidate must be a Christian, then they went down into the water. That's the Scriptural believer's baptism.