Few topics spark more debate in the church than who should be baptized. Should it only be professing believers who are old enough to understand and choose faith for themselves? Or should the children of believers also be baptized as part of God’s covenant family?
This question has been a dividing line among Christian traditions for centuries. But instead of fueling more division, let’s take a step back and understand why sincere Christians differ—and what we can learn from both sides.
What We Agree On: Baptism Is About Grace
Before we get into the differences, it’s important to say up front: most Christians—whether they baptize infants or not—agree that baptism is about grace. It’s not something we earn or achieve. It’s a gift from God, a sign of what He has done and is doing in our lives.
Both traditions also agree that baptism is not the end goal—it’s the beginning of a lifelong journey of discipleship.
So where do the views diverge?
Believer’s Baptism: Faith First, Then Baptism
This is the view held by Baptists and many evangelical churches.
The core idea: Baptism should follow a personal confession of faith. Since baptism represents dying and rising with Christ, only those who can personally trust in Christ should receive it.
Biblical Support:
- Acts 2:38 – “Repent and be baptized…”
- Acts 8:12 – “…they believed Philip… and were baptized.”
- Every clear example of baptism in the New Testament involves people who first heard, believed, and then were baptized.
Theological Reasoning:
Baptism, in this view, is a public profession of personal faith. It’s an outward sign of an inward conversion. Therefore, infants—who can’t yet understand or believe—should not be baptized until they can make that decision for themselves.
Infant Baptism: God Acts First, We Respond Over Time
This is the view held by many mainline Protestants (Presbyterians, Methodists, Anglicans), the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The core idea: Baptism is not just our response to God—it’s primarily God’s action toward us. Just as God welcomed the children of believers into the covenant in the Old Testament (through circumcision), He continues to do so now through baptism.
Biblical Support:
- Acts 2:39 – “The promise is for you and your children…”
- Household baptisms in Acts 16 and 1 Corinthians 1
- Jesus’ welcome of children in passages like Mark 10:13–16
Theological Reasoning:
Baptism is the sign of the new covenant, like circumcision was in the old. It’s not about the child’s understanding, but about God’s claim on their life. Parents and the church raise the child in faith, trusting that the seed planted at baptism will grow into a living faith as the child matures.
What’s Really at Stake: How We View Grace, Faith, and the Church
At the heart of this debate are some deep theological questions:
- Is baptism mainly our response to grace or a means by which God gives grace?
- Is the church a gathered community of professing believers or a covenant family that includes children?
- Does faith need to be fully formed before baptism, or can it grow in response to it?
These aren’t easy questions. Both views are trying to be faithful to Scripture and to the gospel of grace. And both want to nurture true disciples of Jesus.
Can We Find Common Ground?
Yes—and we should.
Even though we may differ on when baptism should happen, most Christians agree on the why: to mark someone as belonging to Christ and to welcome them into the life of the church.
Whether baptism happens at infancy or after conversion, the goal is the same: a life of faithfulness to Jesus. That’s what matters most.
And in both cases, baptism requires follow-through. Baptized infants must be raised in the faith. Baptized adults must walk in the Spirit. Without discipleship, baptism becomes an empty ritual.
Conclusion: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
Paul writes in Ephesians 4:5 that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” That doesn’t mean we all baptize the same way—but it does mean that our unity in Christ is deeper than our differences.
Baptism, whether of an infant or an adult, points us to God’s faithfulness. It marks the beginning of a journey of grace—a journey that only makes sense if it leads us deeper into Christ and His church.
So let’s baptize boldly, disciple faithfully, and remember that the water that unites us is stronger than the debates that divide us.
