Infants are different than the rest of us. When you or I want to start doing something new it's a change for us. To eat healthier we have to stop one thing and start another. Infants don't have this hump to overcome. They don't have one thing to stop when they start something opposed to that. It is virtually a clean slate. So, when we talk about how they can have a relationship with God we need to treat it differently than an adult that comes to know God. Yet, there are some things, like baptism, that apply to all ages. Let me try to explain...

When An Infant Meets God For The First Time

I claim they virtually have a clean slate because they have not learned our culture, our language, or our ways. But, while they are in the womb God forms them (Job 31:15). He gives them such things as his moral law. Passages like Luke 1:39-45 show us examples of in the womb infants being filled by the spirit. Here John the baptist leaps for joy at Jesus presence.

To put it simply, infants don't have a clean slate because they have already been touched and molded by God before they ever left the womb.

Sinful Nature

Modern psychology tells us that people are basically good and do bad things on occasion. The bible paints a different picture. The bible teaches that we are sinful and by the grace of God we are able to do good. While this is a different picture it shows us the other way infants don't have a clean slate. Infants are born with a sinful nature. Romans 8:5 tells us:

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

You might be thinking that infants minds don't think about sinful things. They are just to cute. Sadly, every one of us is plagued by our sinful nature all the way down to the most basic of thoughts. It's something that affects infants and adults alike.

Becoming a Disciple

Infants are the perfect ones to start being disciples. They don't have to unlearn something to learn to follow God. Where an adult may have to learn to block out time in their day to study Gods word or pray an infant can learn to do that from day 1.

We can ask who can be a disciple? What mental abilities do they need to have? What language skills should they possess? What level of wisdom should they have? I find no place in the bible that gives limitations. Jesus, in Matthew 28:19 says it should be all nations. Who are we to exclude people based on age or mental ability? If we do that, are we to exclude the mentally handicapped? What about the elderly who no longer have those mental skills? Are they out now? The answer is no. Jesus didn't make this an exclusive group. He charged us with including everyone.

You might be asking yourself what baptism has to do with becoming a disciple. Well, what does it take to become a disciple? Matthew 28:19-20 sheds more light on the subject. The two criteria here are:

• "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
• "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you"

Now, let's hold up for a second. Matthew 28:19 says, "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in...". From this we can get the impression that after someone becomes a disciple they are to be baptized and taught. According to Joe this is not the case and it's a Greek thing. Joe pointed out that "in Matthew 28 Jesus tells us to make disciples and then goes on to identify how we make disciples ... by baptizing and teaching." Curious why that's the case? I was and Joe provided an explanation. You can read it here (be warned, this is deep in Greek grammer).

Infant Baptism

There are two reasons, that I see, for infant baptism. First, we have the discipleship. All people are called to be disciples and age isn't a factor. Someone could be 90 years old or 1 week old.

The teaching part of making disciples isn't that hard to understand. Infants can be taught from day one about God. This can be simply by praying at their bedside or reading them the bible. There are so many ways to teach them from the earliest ages. Even if they don't pick up much of what's going on.

The other part of making a disciple is baptizing. So, to start infants off on the right track of being a disciple means to baptize them.

The second reason relates directly to that sinful nature. How can we deal with that sinful nature right from the start? How about having them be "buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:4)

Faith Not Personal

What about that child not making a personal commitment to Christ? Infants can't make that commitment.

In Hebraic culture where Jesus lived and ministered, where the Gospels are set, and where baptism is described faith is communal. Get that? Living out faith as described in the bible is not personal but communal. This is part of the difference we hear about between western and eastern thought. So, the parents faith (or lack of) is shared and transfered to the children as they grow as disciples.

As responsible parents they can make that commitment for their child to be a disciple where the child is not yet ready to make that commitment for themselves. This is part of communal family living.

Conclusion

When parents are going to raise their children as disciples of Christ than infant baptism makes sense and should be done. If parents are going to get their children baptized but not raise them as disciples (the bait and switch) than what's the point of the baptism? Baptism shouldn't just be done to be done. It's done when creating disciples. If someone is going to raise some disciples from infancy than baptism fits in that infant picture.