Baptists believe that Baptism shall be given to all those who have learned repentance and improvement of life. Who believe truly that their sins are taken away by Christ, to all those who walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and wish to be buried with Him in death, so that they may be resurrected with Him. To all those who with this significance request baptism and demand it for themselves.
“Go and make disciples ... baptising them ... and teaching them." Discipleship comes first, then baptism and that order is always the same in the New Testament. A person becomes a believer first and is then baptised. That is why we talk about "believer’s baptism". In the New Testament a person was not brought to baptism. A person came to baptism.
However, the Roman Catholic Church mainly practise Infant baptism, but adults can also be baptised. The Roman catholic church believe that:
1) Infants are born with original sin and the reality of original sin makes baptism desirable as soon as possible, since it removes the punishment and guilt due to sin. Through the symbolism of water, the sacrament is a sign of God’s forgiveness of sin and his power to save us from all evil.
The Bible teaches quite clearly that with Adam’s sin, all the human race was infected with sin. Sin is on the soul. Through Adam’s sin, sin touches even the soul of the infant. Psalm 51:5:
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”. David shows that when someone comes into the world the person has sin on the soul.
2) Christ welcomes little children and likewise the catholic church welcome children into the church through baptism. The sacrament is a bringing of the child into the life of faith and grace within the church, and a welcoming of a new member into the Christian community, which promises to care for the child’s deepest needs.
3) It is important to have a ‘sense of belonging’. When a child is baptised it becomes a member of the catholic church and is part of a large family or community.
4) The child has the opportunity of growing up in the faith. There is a sense of direction. Being christened at Baptism involves a call to spend our lives trying to become like Christ - a true follower. The sacrament is an assurance that God, who saves us, also gives us his spirit to dwell within us and to teach us how to live.
5) Catholics have to receive baptism in order to receive the sacrament of confirmation and the Eucharist.
In the catholic church the parents or guardians supply the faith on behalf of the child, the parents are taking on the responsibility to make sure the child grows up according to the Christian ways, being a follower of Jesus. Likewise, the child can always confirm his or her faith later at the Sacrament of Confirmation.
"Baptise first the children; and if they can speak for themselves, let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them."
St. Hippolytus of Rome ("The Apostolic Tradition," 215 AD)
Although children do not have faith they also do not have disbelief, they do not reject the first grace that God grants through baptism. Once children reach the "age of reason" they must believe and keep the faith, for at that point failure to do so is to reject grace. Multitudes of people baptised as infants grow up thinking they are ready for Heaven even though they have never been born again through personal faith in Christ. They are trusting in their infant baptism. But you also need to act godly and orthodox towards each other to get into the Kingdom of heaven, baptism does not guarantee you a place in heaven.
The case for infant baptism grows directly out of how you read the bible. It is often argued by those who deny the practice of infant baptism that there is a not a single text anywhere in Scripture which exactly commands or demonstrates the practice of infant baptism. This is true. But this does not mean that infant baptism is unbiblical. While there is not an exact command in Scripture to baptise the infant children of believers in the New Testament, I will argue that infant baptism is biblical because the New Testament stands in direct constancy to the Old. Take, for instance, the household baptisms which are mentioned throughout the New Testament.
Lydia was converted by Paul's preaching. "She was baptised, with her household" (Acts 16:15).
The Philippian jailer whom Paul and Silas had converted to the faith, who had been about to commit suicide when they were miraculously freed from their imprisonment, was baptised that night along with his household. We are told that "the same hour of the night . . . he was baptised, with all his family"
(Acts 16:33).
And in his greetings to the Corinthians, Paul recalled that, "I did baptise also the household of Stephanas." In all these cases, whole households or families were baptised.
( Corinthians 1:6)
After considering both infant and adult baptism I will conclude that I am in favour of infant baptism. Jesus himself said that little children can believe in Him and used them as examples of faith. Jesus said that if someone does not have the faith of a child, trusting completely in Jesus alone for salvation, then they would not enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus used a child as an example because they simply believe and do not yet have reasoning abilities which interfere with faith. Jesus loved all children and in early Christian times children were baptised as well as adults to remove original sin.
All children need guidance in their lives and I feel that they would have to have a strong faith in their religion to help them grow into a good Christian, baptised at a young age gives the child a sense of direction and involves the child in a Christian community from birth. If baptism was left to when the child was older then in my opinion the person would never be baptised because it would be hard to accept a completely new religion at a late stage.
