Baptism: What It Is And Who It’s For

As a final act of Lordship, before ascending to heaven to take His place at the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ gave one final command to His faithful followers; “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you…” (Matt 28:19–20) A disciple of Jesus Christ, according to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, speaks of someone who “believes His doctrine, rests on His sacrifice, imbibes His spirit, and imitates His example.”¹ Simply put, a follower, a student, and a servant. Teaching all that He commands us means simply to teach what He taught and commanded. The difficulty in the Christian life is not in understanding what Jesus taught, His words are His words. The difficulty comes in the doing. 

Only one of these points brings with it a surprising disagreement, even among otherwise theologically similar groups and denominations, and that is Baptism. The disagreements over this doctrine are so sharp that denominations have been formed largely around this practice—most notably Baptist denominations. Specific terms have been given to label the proponents of each camp. Are you a Paedobaptist or Credobaptist? And so, Baptism is what I want to focus on here. What is it and who is it for? 

What Is Baptism?

Let’s start by defining what Baptism is before delving into who it’s for. For the definition, The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion from the Church of England, and the 1689 London Baptist Confessional will be used to give a robust and theologically sound understanding. First, The Westminster Confession of Faith.

The Westminster, chapter 28 defines Baptism as “a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life.”²

^{(Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 12:13; Rom 4:11; Col 2:11-12; Rom 6:5; Gal 3:27; Titus 3:5; Mark 1:4; Rom 6:3-4; Mat 28:19-20)}

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, article 27 states, “Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.”³

Lastly, the 1689 London Baptist Confessional, chapter 29 defines Baptism as, “an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ. To those baptized it is a sign of their fellowship with him in his death and resurrection, of their being grafted into him, of remission of sins, and of submitting themselves to God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life.”⁴

^{(Rom 6:3-5; Col 2:12; Gal 3:27; Mark 1:4; Acts 22:16; Rom 6:4)}

While these three historic Christian documents have their differences in the way they define Baptism, they all share many similarities. They all identify Baptism as a visible sign of a spiritual truth, entry into the church, our union with Christ, forgiveness of sin, and spiritual renewal or a new life. And so, with the definitions given, let’s move on to who this ordinance is for.

Who Baptism Is For?

With these three definitions as a guide, it seems the natural conclusion would be to acknowledge that Baptism is reserved for believers. This is referred to as Believers Baptism or Credobaptism. And while the Westminster and Thirty-Nine Articles don’t come down to that same conclusion, they seem to do so against their own definitions. It seems disconnected to speak of a visible sign of union with Christ, forgiveness of sins and new life for those who have not yet joined in union with Christ, been forgiven of sins and granted new life. Paedobaptism (Infant Baptism) it would seem is incompatible with the definitions given by the very institutions that follow this practice. 

And when we turn from the definitions to look at scripture, Believers Baptism (Credobaptism) is what we find. In fact one of the strongest arguments against the idea of Infant Baptism is the fact that it is not taught or spoken about once in the New Testament. If Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament Christian church, then the fact that Infant Baptism isn’t taught or spoken of at all says a lot, because Baptism the practice is spoken about often. 

Baptism is mentioned 20 times, baptize 10 times, and baptized 51 times (in the ESV). And yet with all those mentions, none are in reference to infants or unbelievers. According to Louis Berkhof, “there is no explicit command in the Bible to baptize children…and there is not a single instance in which we are plainly told that children were baptized.”⁵ The silence regarding children of a practice so frequently spoken of speaks volumes. 

What speaks even louder is the Biblical testimony regarding Baptism. When we turn to scripture to examine the practice, we see a rather consistent theme, the word is taught or preached, the hearer believes, and then is baptized. And this is what we should expect to see as this follows the direction the Lord gave to His church that has become known as the Great Commission; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Matt 28:19-20) The word is preached, those who believe become disciples, they are then baptized, and spend their life under further teaching, growing in sanctification. 

This model—preaching, believing, baptizing—is what we see as we look through the book of Acts for example. In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, the word is preached, the people believe and ask Peter what they must do in response and his reply in Acts 2:38 is, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The same template the Lord laid out in Matthew 28; believe and repent (become a disciple), then be baptized. And this is what they did; “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41)

Later in Acts 8:12 we see this model play out again, “But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” In this text we also see the follow on, as Simeon the Magician continued in His spiritual growth, “Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip.” The word preached, those who believe are baptized, followed by continued teaching and spiritual growth. Again, that is the model we would expect to see given the Lord’s command. 

Even in the texts that highlight household conversions, this is the model that is seen. When Cornelius for example in Acts 10 is saved along with his household, they are saved as evidenced by them receiving the Holy Spirit, and only after receiving the Spirit are they instructed to be baptized; “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Notably, children are not mentioned as members of this household, only that all in the household were believers. The same is said of Crispus in Acts 18:8 where his whole household is baptized after believing Paul’s preaching. 

Given the textual evidence, it seems clear that Baptism in the New Testament was reserved for those who professed faith in Jesus Christ. That is, those who heard and believed, Whether young or old. And based on the definitions of what Baptism is and what it signifies, that is exactly what one should expect the New Testament to show. 

Covenantal Argument

Aside from the textual evidence, there is also the idea of covenantal consistency. The argument goes that if children were included in all previous covenants, then it should follow that they are included in the New Covenant as well. And so, unless specific instruction is given to withhold children from Baptism, Infant Baptism should be the standard. The New Covenant after all is more inclusive, more far reaching than the Old, not less. 

This argument can be challenged however as children were not always included in previous covenants. Circumcision was the sign given to Abraham (Gen 17:10) and to all male children after him. Male, not female, so there was exclusion. And prior to the Covenant of Grace established through Abraham, there was no covenantal sign given or placed on our children. 

Hebrews 11, the faith hall of fame as it’s been described, contains several saints that lived and died long before the practice of circumcision was given to Abraham as a covenantal sign. Abel, Enoch, and Noah are listed there as a small sampling. The Covenant of Works established in Adam was different than the Covenant of Grace established in Abraham. And so, it’s reasonable to assume the New Covenant established in Christ would differ as well. And that is what scripture seems to highlight. 

In addition, Baptism is not the New Testament fulfillment of circumcision, regeneration is, “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ…” (Col 2:11) This was foreseen in the Old Testament in places like Duet 10:12-16, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” (Duet 10:16) The problem with the heart is dealt with later in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 as prophecies regarding the New Covenant are delivered to God’s people. Jeremiah 31:32 is of special interest given that God explains precisely that the New Covenant will not be like the Old; “not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.” (Jer 31:32)

It seems God Himself was telling us there wouldn’t be covenantal consistency, but that in fact the New Covenant would be new. Also, there is no Biblical teaching that states simply because a previous covenant operated in one way, all future covenants must operate in the same fashion. It is the New Covenant after all. 

Conclusion

While there are other arguments made in favor of Infant Baptism (Paedobaptism), they all likewise are inferred without solid Biblical support, and many times against clearer teaching. The New Covenant has at its core the promise of a new heart. This includes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins, and Baptism being the outward sign of this inward work, should not be given to those who have not experienced that reality. Believers Baptism (Credobaptism) is therefore the proper and Biblically testified to understanding of the application of Baptism.

¹Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Baptism, Esword” (2012).

²The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 28, Baptism,

³The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Article 27, Baptism,

⁴1689 London Baptist Confessional, Chapter 29, Baptism

⁵Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1958), 632