Is Anyone Ever Born Again in Infant Baptism?
Some Roman Catholics claim that they are the true "born again Christian" while those who call themselves born again Christians just belong to a manmade group. Their reason for being supposedly born again was because they were baptized as infants. The idea of being born again at infant baptism is absurd for these reasons. But does the Bible support any claim anybody is ever born again through infant baptism? Note that some Protestant denominations that practice infant baptism have a very different view from the Roman Catholic view of infant baptism.
Let's take a look at Acts 2:38. Acts 2:38 says that you must repent and be baptized. Repent of what? Repent of your sins. This is not about getting baptism in order to be saved but because one is saved. If they misuse the verse Matthew 21:16 to say that babies can believe but here's another question - can babies even repent of their sins? They say the parents repented of their sin and had the babies baptized. Again, I'd like to ask where's the context and that it doesn't change the fact you must first repent of your sins before you get baptized.
The Biblical context is that you must be first repent of your sins. What does repentance mean? Metanoneia means a change of mind which begets a change in purpose. Babies can't repent and don't need to repent because they haven't committed their first sin yet. The moment people are lost and need to be saved is when they've committed their first violation (James 2:10-11). Can a baby repent of its sins? It can't repent of its sins because it's not yet in the age of accountability. But little children are already able to tell right from wrong. That's why churches should never adhere to the heresy of adult only baptism.
Let's take a look at Acts 2:38. Acts 2:38 says that you must repent and be baptized. Repent of what? Repent of your sins. This is not about getting baptism in order to be saved but because one is saved. If they misuse the verse Matthew 21:16 to say that babies can believe but here's another question - can babies even repent of their sins? They say the parents repented of their sin and had the babies baptized. Again, I'd like to ask where's the context and that it doesn't change the fact you must first repent of your sins before you get baptized.
The Biblical context is that you must be first repent of your sins. What does repentance mean? Metanoneia means a change of mind which begets a change in purpose. Babies can't repent and don't need to repent because they haven't committed their first sin yet. The moment people are lost and need to be saved is when they've committed their first violation (James 2:10-11). Can a baby repent of its sins? It can't repent of its sins because it's not yet in the age of accountability. But little children are already able to tell right from wrong. That's why churches should never adhere to the heresy of adult only baptism.
The second is to understand the purpose of baptism for the saved person. It's stupid to misquote Acts 2:38 and 16:30-31 to say babies got baptized. Baptism for your house is for anyone who gets saved. You must first believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Acts 2:41 says first they believe then they were baptized. Baptism isn't doesn't save it certainly follows after salvation. If anybody claims to be a Christian and doesn't think of baptism and Lord's supper to be part of the Christian life then that person isn't saved. True salvation results to true obedience even if it won't always be immediate. But they have their desire to get baptized even if the hindrance is there.
Should a person also wait until they're adults to be baptized? No. The moment a person is saved even if they are legally underaged is the moment to be baptized. If you think of Peter's sermon in Acts 2 it would be safe to assume there were teenagers and children in that crowd. If a seven year old accepts Jesus as one's Lord and Savior then that person is already accepted for baptism. He or she doesn't have to wait eleven more years as the proper time to get baptized is when a person is already saved.
See also: