Should Infants Be Baptized?

For a number of centuries, infant baptism has been practiced by various denominations, but is it authorized by the word of God? Let us briefly study this issue and search the Scriptures to see what God says about it (2 Timothy 2:15).

It has been said by many proponents of infant baptism that a baby sins whenever it cries. To the contrary, infants do not have the ability to discern the difference between right and wrong, and are therefore unable to make any decision that results either in the enjoyment of its blessings or suffering the consequences. In other words, they are simply unable to live in such a way that would be either pleasing or displeasing in the sight of God. God gave this capability to adults when he first created Adam from the "dust of the ground," and later formed Eve, his wife, from one of his ribs (Genesis 2:7, 21-25).

When God spoke to them, He gave specific instructions about what they could and were not allowed to touch and eat while living in the Garden of Eden. In addition, He told them the consequences if they failed to obey his commandments. We can clearly see this in the mind of Eve as she inadvertently met Satan who was in the form of a serpent (Genesis 3:1-24).

At first, Satan tried to tempt Eve to give into his advances and sin. Eve countered by doing the right thing by explicitly telling him that God told her and Adam of the consequences if they touched and ate of the fruit of the tree that was in the middle of the garden. Satan tried to tempt her again by turning what God told them into a believable lie. As she listened closely to what he was saying and began to look upon the tree with more interest, she failed to counter again, unlike what Christ did when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11).

After she ate of the fruit that she picked, she brought some to her husband to eat. Their decision cost them a life of living forever on the earth, as well as a home that God freely gave to them.

The doctrine of infant baptism also promotes the idea that when we are born, we inherit the sin of Adam and Eve who committed sin while in the Garden of Eden. This teaching is nowhere found in the word of God. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Ezekiel tells us that each individual is responsible for his or her own actions. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him," (Ezekiel 18:20). When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were punished for their sins. Cain and Abel, who were born later, neither inherited nor punished by God for their parents' sin.

While Peter was giving the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the people were convicted in their hearts after listening to what was taught from the Scriptures through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Their conviction led them to ask Peter and the other apostles what they needed to do in order to be saved from their sin. An infant does not have the physical ability to listen, absorb information and react accordingly.After carefully studying this issue and reading the word of God, we can conclude that infants cannot be scripturally baptized.