and to accept Jesus and his cleansing blood and show this by getting baptized in Jesus’ name. Not that the baptismal water would itself wash away their sins; if that were the case they would have had to get rebaptized after every new sin. But as Acts 22:16 explains: “Now why are you delaying? Rise, get baptized and wash your sins away by your calling upon his name.” How are sins washed away? Not by the water itself but by “calling upon his name.”

So water baptism for Christians is a symbol of having repented of sins and of having accepted Jesus and of having dedicated one’s life to do Jehovah’s will faithfully, as Jesus did.

FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

The command given by Jesus was: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.”—Matt. 28:19, 20.

Did this term “people of all the nations” include babies? Manifestly not, for that would have changed the meaning of the baptism Jesus instituted! Babies cannot make a personal dedication to God, based on faith and knowledge. Further, baptism is not that which removes one’s sins. The apostle wrote: “Unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place.” (Heb. 9:22) It is Christ’s ransom sacrifice and the Christian’s repentance and acceptance of that ransom, as proved by his changed course in life, that makes such forgiveness possible. Moreover, the apostle explains: “For ‘anyone that calls upon the name of Jehovah will be saved’. However, how will they call upon him in whom they have not put faith? How, in turn, will they put faith in him of whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?” (Rom. 10:13, 14) No, the “people of all the nations” that were to be baptized did not include babies; they had to grow up first so they could understand the value of Jesus’ ransom sacrifice and put their faith in it, after hearing about the Messiah.

One of the reasons for the misunderstanding about Christian baptism is the belief that the “water” of which Jesus spoke at John 3:5 is the water of baptism. Said Jesus: “Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Those who read farther can see that this water is not the water of baptism. This water is mentioned at John 4:14 and also at Revelation 22:1, 17 as “water of life” and “life’s water.” In each of these instances it is not the water of baptism but is something that one is symbolically to drink. Instead of being the water of baptism it is the water of truth, the refreshing, life-giving, cleansing knowledge of God’s Word. This water of truth remakes a person’s disposition and opens the way to everlasting life.

Search as you will in the Holy Scriptures, you will never find a single example of the baptism of a newborn baby! Supporters of baby baptism try to defend the doctrine by saying that entire families accepted Christianity in the apostles’ days and were baptized. But if these families included tiny babies, the apostles failed to say so—despite the excellent opportunity this would have given them to underline the importance of such a doctrine.

CHILDREN HOLY WITHOUT BAPTISM

But what if a baby dies before it is able to grow up and learn about God’s way to salvation? In answering this question, the Scriptures spotlight a striking reason why the baptism of babies is not necessary: God views a baby as “holy” by reason of its having believing, Christian parents. What if only one of the parents is a believer? Declares the apostle Paul: “The unbelieving husband is sanctified in relation to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in relation to the brother; otherwise, your children would really be unclean, but now they are holy.” (1 Cor. 7:14) So babies are made “holy” in God’s eyes, not by a sprinkling ceremony, but because of their having a believing father or mother.

Instead of being concerned about baptizing their baby, Christian parents will heed the advice of the inspired Scriptures and bring up their child “in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah.” (Eph. 6:4) Teach the child the will and commandments of Jehovah God. Do as the inspired proverb says: “Train up a boy according to the way for him; even when he grows old he will not turn aside from it.” (Prov. 22:6) If parents have been diligent to teach their children God’s truth, then when they grow up they will be able to make a personal decision to dedicate their lives to God. After having made this decision, they will, like Jesus, symbolize that dedication by water immersion. By being faithful to that dedication, they will prove worthy of enjoying everlasting life on earth, under the kingdom of heaven.

What if the child dies before it is old enough to make a personal dedication to God? We can be sure that since God views the children of believing parents as “holy,” any child of such faithful parents who dies will be certain to be resurrected from the dead. Parents who obey and follow Jesus’ example never go wrong. Even the evildoer who was put to death on the torture stake next to Jesus was promised a resurrection and the opportunity of gaining everlasting life in the righteous new world. “You will be with me in Paradise,” said Jesus. (Luke 23:43) If this evildoer, up till then an unbaptized person, will be there when paradise is restored on earth, then certainly the children of believing parents who follow Jesus’ example, instead of having them baptized as babies, will enjoy a similar blessing.

To real Christians the words and example of Jesus Christ carry far more authority than the traditions of men. Real Christians follow the example of Christ closely. They see from a study of the Holy Scriptures overwhelming evidence that (1) no baby was ever baptized by the first-century Christians; (2) Christian baptism is not for washing away sins but is a symbol of a personal dedication to God, and (3) children of believing parents, without baptism, are viewed by God as “holy.”

Babies, then, need not and should not be baptized. Baptism is a ceremony that marks a personal commitment, a commitment that no one else can make for you and that certainly a babe-in-arms cannot make for itself. The Biblical doctrine of water baptism, and therefore the one water baptism that God really accepts, remains the same today as it was when Jesus began it.

Christ Would Condemn Modern World

● “If the historic Jesus were to return today,” said Aldous Huxley, “he would unquestionably condemn our civilization for its inhumanity, its systematic and organized lovelessness—in a word, for all the vices on account of which, two thousand years ago, he condemned the civilizations of Rome and the Near East. He would also, in all probability, talk about the end of the world and the day of judgment, but in contemporary terms and in the light of world history since Hiroshima.”—Cosmopolitan, December, 1958.