07.11.07
The Kingdom, Baptism, and Children
After hearing Peter preach on the feast of Pentecost many asked, “What shall we do?” Peter responded, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Here, some fundamentalists stop reading and say, “Children cannot repent, and they have nothing to repent of, so baptism is not for them.”
But let us take John the Baptist’s declaration, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt. 3:2). And then let’s compare that with a paraphrase of Peter’s direction above: Repent for your baptism is at hand. No fundamentalist would look at the first statement and say that children should be denied the kingdom because repentance does not pertain to them. So why deny children baptism in the latter statement, binding on the same basis one is loosing? Even if one does not accept the paraphrase, the reasoning behind it is the same: no one would force the criteria of being repentant, having faith, doing good works, etc, upon a child for admittance into the kingdom, so why do so with baptism? The reason is because some theologies are afraid of sacramental understandings of sacraments!, and have reduced mysteries like baptism to a mere declaration of one’s faith or something similar. Without action from God in the sacrament, all of the responsibility is hoisted upon the human participant, and if he is not of age to really be responsible, to understand, to put forth faith or repentance, then what is the point? Maintaining such a desacralized position leads to inconsistent applications of reason when interpreting Scripture, as seen above.
Jesus says in John 3:5: “Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” In Matthew 18:3 He also says, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are coverted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Here are two prerequisites for entering the kingdom according to Jesus, baptism and becoming as children. Just as children are the ones of whom “such is the kingdom of heaven,” they are also the prime candidates for baptism. Peter tells us to repent and be baptized for it is through repentance that adults become like children. “Repent” and “be converted” both have the same sense of turning around, of becoming something new. (Their connection is evidenced in Peter’s phrase, “Repent and be converted” (Acts 3:19)). Peter says to “repent and be baptized,” and Christ says to be “converted and become as little children” (some translations simply say “turn and become as little children”). We need to repent (turn around) and be converted (be turned) and become as little children to really be prepared for baptism (not that we’re ever fully prepared), and in being baptized truly become children: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:12-13). Later in John 3 Jesus describes being “born again,” literally “born from above” (i.e., from God), in the context of baptism: according to Christ we are born again, or born from above, by being “born of water and the Spirit.” It is in this being born of God that we become children of God.
Finally, let us read the entire answer Peter gave to the thirsting crowd at the feast of Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). Too many stop reading at v. 38 while the very next verse tells us that the promise of baptism (remission of sins and the gifts of the Holy Spirit) is “to you and to your children.” Not only that but it is to “as many as the Lord our God will call,” and our Lord is the one who called, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 19:14).
MCO
Rhoda said,
July 16, 2007 at 6:08 pm
In the first paragraph you refer to babies but the rest of the writing refers to children. Are you trying to make a case for infant baptism or child baptism or both?
whatisassumed said,
July 16, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I ammended the first paragraph to say children instead of babies because that is much better rhetorically, since, as you pointed out, the rest of the post refers specifically to children. So, now the piece consistantly uses the word “children,” however, by using the word “children” I have no intention of distinguishing them from infants. Do you see any reason it would be important to make a distinction between children and infants relevant to this post?
rhoda said,
July 18, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Yes, I do, in that scripture seems to make that distinction.
For example, the shepherds came to see the babe/baby, Jesus. (Luke 2) The magi, arriving later, saw the (young) child, Jesus. (Matthew’s account).
whatisassumed said,
July 18, 2007 at 6:30 pm
You still have yet to answer the question: Do you see any reason to make the distinction RELEVANT TO THIS POST? If we are trying to decide who to give mushed fruits to and who to give a hamburger to it would be relevant to the subject of food distribution to distinguish infants from, say, 6 year olds. But is it relevant to distinguish between infants and children with regard to the subject of baptism?
Some Protestants point to some age of reason as a marker between who can and cannot be baptized. If that’s what you really have in mind then I don’t see why you need to distinguish between children and infants. Some children are past the age of reason and would be grouped with adolescents and adults; some children have not reached the age of reason and would be grouped with infants, babies, whatever. That would be the relevant distinction for someone dealing with the notion of an “age of reason.” If that is the important issue for you please tell me why some of what I said in the post did not (at least in part) refute the necessity for such a distinction. If that is not the important issue for, but the distinction between infants and children, please tell me why (would it be improper to baptize children but not infants, or something like that).
God bless.
rhoda said,
July 20, 2007 at 8:47 am
Relevant to this post, I do see the necessity for distinction between infants and children because you utilize words such as “believe”, “repent” and “receive” in relation to baptism. All of these require an ability to reason and understand which is not possible for an infant.
I do not believe any infant is denied the Kingdom because they cannot repent. Could it be that when Christ speaks of being born of water and of the Spirit, He is referring to physical birth (the water breaks then the baby can emerge)?
Yes, we need to repent and become as little children (but not infants)…and does that not imply that Christ is speaking to adults and/or adolescents?
Also, if little children are whom Christ says “of such is the kingdom of God”, does it not stand to reason that theirs is the kingdom, whether or not they are baptized?
Just a few points of pondering…
rhoda said,
July 20, 2007 at 8:48 am
By the way, I appreciate your time in conversing with me on this subject. It is thought-provoking and soul-stirring. Thank you. May God bless you as well.
whatisassumed said,
July 20, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Ok, so, like I said, the important distinction for you is between those who have reached and not reached the “age of reason” at which point someone has the intellectual capacity for believing, repenting, etc (though certainly you don’t need an intellectual ability to receive). So it doesn’t matter whether or not we distinguish children from infants. There are children who also don’t have the intellectual ability to believe, repent, etc (these are those who have not yet reached the age of reason); it doesn’t matter whether they are infants, 4 years old, or a 30 year old person with mental handicaps, it only matters if they can reason. Now, a good portion of this post demonstrated reasoning is not a requirement of those who can’t yet reason; you have yet to engage those arguments (reread the 2nd paragraph of the post for starters).
You said: “Also, if little children are whom Christ says “of such is the kingdom of God”, does it not stand to reason that theirs is the kingdom, whether or not they are baptized?”
Sure, I’m not denying that (Jesus said this of unbaptized children after all); in fact, I’m not denying them anything: their childlikeness, the Kingdom, or baptism. I’m asking why Evangelicals would deny them baptism? If children are the model citizens of the Kingdom and baptism is part of the life of the Kingdom then children are the prime candidates for baptism. If, in order to enter the Kingdom, we adults need to become as children and be baptized then why would we deny baptism to those who are already children (who don’t even have to become children, who simply are children)?
You said: “Yes, we need to repent and become as little children (but not infants)”
This is an irrelevant distinction. The ways in which we are to become “like little children” are things that both little children and infants exemplify: purity, innocence, living in the moment, etc. The ways in which Jesus is not asking to become like children are in things that pertain both to little children and infants: immaturity, for example.
You said: “Yes, we need to repent and become as little children (but not infants)…and does that not imply that Christ is speaking to adults and/or adolescents?”
Of course he’s speaking to adults; and he’s telling these adults to become (in a sense) what children already are. Christ says that unless you become like little children you can’t enter the kingdom. By this Christ obviously does not mean that only those who BECOME like children can enter the Kingdom, and since children can’t BECOME children because they already are children they’re just plum out of luck. Children are the model citizens of the Kingdom (“of such is the kingdom”). So also when we adults turn and become as little children to be baptized it does not mean that only those who BECOME like children ought to get baptized; children are the models of those to be baptized, to “put on Christ,” to enter the Kingdom that is already their true home.
Again, the Kingdom is for those who repent and become as children. But we don’t deny children the Kingdom just because they can’t repent and can’t become as children. Instead Jesus says, “of such is the Kingdom” for they already are what sinful adults must strive to become. Now, also, baptism is for those who repent and become as children. So also we should not deny children baptism because they are already in the state that the repentant adult is striving to obtain in order to be baptized. (And here lies the irony: some Evangelicals are saying children need to grow up to be baptized but Jesus tells adults to bow down and become as children).
In Acts 2:38 it says, “to you and to your children.” Obviously the “you” is referring to those who have children, that is, adults. However, the promise of baptism is still “to you TO YOUR CHILDREN.”
whatisassumed said,
July 20, 2007 at 9:47 pm
As far as John 3:5 referring to birth waters goes . . .
Christian tradition has unanimously and universally interpreted this as referring to baptism, no one has taken “water” as “birth waters” until rather recent commentators have made this awkward attempt because understanding it as baptism was too problematic for their theology.
Aside from the witness of the Church Fathers (and even Luther and Calvin), the Scriptures give us no reason to think “birth waters” and every reason to think of baptism. The birth by water and Spirit is necessary for entering the Kingdom; in baptism we are baptized into the body of Christ, the Church, the Kingdom. Also, John 3 speaks of a birth by the Spirit and it is the Spirit who baptizes us (cf., 1 Cor. 12:13).
Finally, besides the unanimous witness of the Church and the myriad Scriptural connections between the Holy Spirit, baptism, the kingdom, and water, a “birth waters” interpretation would not comport with the nature of what happens in baptism:
Let us take Romans 6:3-8: Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.”
To quote another Orthodox site concerning the above passage: “If rebirth took place before baptism, then who would be that one who “dies along with Christ through baptism”? The reborn?” Of course this is not the case; it was the old man/self who was crucified with Him.
What if one was to still try to maintain such an interpretation and say that the old self continues to live even after rebirth (splitting us in to two persons!)?:
“If two people exist after baptism, then neither is the old self buried in baptism, nor does baptism resurrect the new self, since he already exists prior to baptism! Then the Apostle Paul had no idea what he was saying!”
I hope that helps.
rhoda said,
July 22, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Actually, I feel a bit more befuddled than previously.
You speak of “denying” baptism to a child. So, you believe baptism to be a gift and a blessing, correct?
You also speak of baptism as when the re-birth occurs.(2nd to last paragraph of last post)
Some religions teach that we will not enter Heaven upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ only: we must be baptized. Without water baptism, we will never enter the kingdom of God. Is that your belief as well?
whatisassumed said,
July 23, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Yes, baptism can be called a gift and a blessing.
We cannot know who is saved and who is not, or who enters the Kingdom and who doesn’t; only God knows. And, to be clear with regard to the young ones, I believe and am convicted that any theology which denies the Kingdom to babies, baptized or un-baptized, with the capacity for faith or without it, has taken a detour into hell.
Salvation is union with Christ, and: “As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). So, whatever is accomplished in baptism, it is salvific -it is something that unites us with Christ. We can only enter into heaven through Christ, being united to Him and dying with Him. I don’t know how Christ immerses one into that after he or she has passed on, but I know that He has given us the gift of baptism to live in now.
rhoda said,
July 26, 2007 at 9:31 am
I am in total agreement with that last comment. Thank you for the clarity therein. God bless.
Micky said,
August 1, 2007 at 7:39 am
Greetings Friend
I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. Ecclesiastes 2:13
About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staff was very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 2004, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.” I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages . God LOVES me so much. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17]. Are you in the kingdom of heaven? Leave a comment!!
PEACE BE WITH YOU
MICKY
whatisassumed said,
August 1, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Hi Micky,
I’m glad you found deliverance from your “psychological prison” and I hope the Holy Spirit will be your continued strength.