The Basics of Infant Baptism

This is an overview of the main points of a Sunday School sermon by Richard Pratt. He gives the reasons why infant baptism is scriptural and what one has to believe about the scriptures in order to understand why Reformed Christians baptize their children. The sermon can be found here. Click on "Infant Baptism" and it will be the second sermon.


I. The Unity of the Bible
-Bible is not to be looked at as segments or different (i.e."God of the Old Testament" and "God of the New Testament").
-The Bible is unified through the various Covenants (cov. of works and cov. of grace)
-When God saves somebody, He makes a relationship between the believer AND their children Genesis 9-Noah and his children; Genesis 15:17-Abraham and his children; Deutornomy 29:29-The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law; 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89, and Psalm 132.
-Pratt compares children being included to built up momentum (Rock rolling downhill)
--Acts 2:37ff: children still apart of covenant or else Peter would have needed to stop the momentum
-New Testament cannot be understood w/o the Old



II. The Relationship of Implicit and Explicit Teachings in the Bible
-Explicit verses are those which are plain in the text
-Implicit are those which are under the surface (which are made doctrine through gathering of various texts).
-The most fundamental teachings of the New Testament are implicit (i.e. Trinity, the 2 natures of Christ, Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King).
-Circumcision was the sign of the Old, Baptism the sign of the New (Col. 2:11-12)



III. The Origins and the Purpose of Baptism
-Baptism comes from the intertestamental period in which Jews went out and converted Gentiles. When Gentiles were converted, they had to be baptized as a ritual washing. After this, they would be circumcised.
-John the Baptist was telling the JEWS to be baptized. His message: If you want to be in the Kingdom of God, you too must be baptized and cleansed. The sign of the Old Testament, circumcision, was fading
-Replaced by Baptism in Acts 15
-We have been spriritually circumcized in Baptism