A Booklet on Infant Baptism

By Dave Halmasy

Contents

False Teachers Among Us All Have Sinned Defilement Punishment Consequences Salvation Catholic Teaching on Baptism Is Baptism a Condition for Salvation Baptisms Effect on Sin Should Infants be Baptized Mark 16:16 An Intermediate Place In Conclusion

Page 1 Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 5 Page 6 Page 8 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12

False Teachers Among Us The bible tells us that a time will come when there will be false teachers among us who will preach heresy. I Tim 4:3 For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth. I Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition II Corinthians 11:13 For such false apostles are deceitful workmen, transforming themselves into the apostles of ChristSatan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice, whose end shall be according to their works. At the present time there are lying teachers who claim that infant baptism is contrary to scripture. They claim that baptism isnt necessary for salvation; not only for infants but for all men. This booklet was written to prove the true teaching of Jesus Christ that not only adults, but also infants must be baptized in order to be saved. These deceitful ministers of our time are causing the loss of so many souls through their false teaching. In the following pages we will produce the proof of what Christ and His Apostles have clearly taught in the scriptures, and what has been believed and practiced by Christs true Church for over 2,000 years.

All Have Sinned

Rom 5:12 Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. As we can see in this scripture that through the sin of Adam all men have sinned. This must includes infants. The heretics will have to admit that their new born child has this sin contracted upon their souls as much as anyone elses or they make St. Paul a liar. If they claim that St. Paul is only speaking of adults in this passage, then they must explain when and how this sin will be passed to the infant once he has reached adulthood. If they claim that the death of Christ removed this sin of Adam in the souls of children, then they must also admit that it removed the sin in all of us. This would have instantly made all of us justified in the eyes of God at the time of Christs death; in those on the earth at that time, and from birth for those that would be born in the future. This of course is absurd and would be a direct contradiction to St. Paul. If these heretics still profess that Christs death removed this sin then how could sin still be passed on to all men at the time of St. Pauls teaching the Romans; when the death and resurrection of Christ had already taken place? St. Paul says specifically that all men have sinned, not had sinned as something that happened in the past and does not continue to happen! So if this passing on of sin still continues as these heretics will have to admit, then all infants will have this sin upon their souls.

Defilement
Now we shall move on to the next concern that we have. If we must admit that infants have this sin upon their souls, which anyone would have to admit from the previous example; then we must determine if sin does something to the soul that could prevent the soul from obtaining salvation. In a passage from St. Matthews Gospel that follows we see that sin defiles a man. Matt 15:19 For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man.

3 Would we not say that the sin of Adam was indeed an evil thought, along with the sin of theft? They took and ate that which they were commanded not to take, which is stealing. They also desired to be like to God, knowing all. That certainly would be considered an evil thought to say the least. So now we can see that the sin of Adam was a defilement based on Christs own words, and that defilement is passed onto all men based on St. Pauls words. So all men are defiled due to this sin.

Punishment
Now we move onto the next problem. Since all infants are defiled from birth as has already been shown; let us see what punishment there is for defilement. If we look at the Apocalypse we will see what St. John says was revealed to him. Apoc 21:27 There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that works abomination or makes a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. We have now discovered that the bible specifically teaches that all men including children cannot enter heaven because of the defilement upon their souls which the Original Sin of Adam passed on to all men.

Consequences
Since all men; including children are defiled and cannot enter heaven; as the bible teaches, what are the consequences left to the child whose parents follow the heretical teaching of not baptizing their children? Since one cannot enter heaven, and since according to the heretics there is no other place for souls to go when they die other than hell, all who die who are not baptized; including children must go to hell. This is the only option left to the heretics for their un-baptized infants and children. If they protest that since the child did no evil of his own, God most certainly would not put that child in hell. Must I remind them that, that is exactly the problem here. The child did no evil of his own but inherited it. The child is defiled from the sin of Adam and therefore cannot go to heaven based on infallible scripture from the bible.

To recap: 1) All have sinned including infants from birth 2) Sin defiles a man 3) Nothing defiled can enter heaven 4) The child must go to hell Let us move on to another problem that these heretics must overcome in order to prove infants are saved without baptism.

Salvation
We must consider what the majority of men have been taught concerning salvation. Have they not been taught that one must accept Christ as his personal Savior in order to be saved? The answer is a resounding YES! The heretics will use scripture to state this such as: John 6:47 Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life. The heretics claim that the reason a child cannot be baptized is because of lack of the ability to accept Christ as their personal savior. If they cannot use reason in order to be baptized then they cannot use reason to accept Christ as their personal Savior and they are then to be denied salvation. In either case the child is doomed to hell based on their heretical teaching. Titus 1:15 All things are clean to the clean: but to them that are defiled, and to unbelievers, nothing is clean: but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. In St. Pauls letter to Titus he states that unbelievers are defiled. If the child cannot believe then he is an unbeliever and all unbelievers according to St. Paul are defiled. So based on the heretics teaching we would have to condemn all children to hell on this theory alone; because after all, there is no place but heaven or hell to these heretics.

Recap: 1) A child under the age of reason cannot believe and accept Christ as His personal Savior. 2) One who does not accept Christ is not saved. 3) The child cannot attain heaven. 4) The child goes to hell.

Catholic Teaching on Baptism

Now let us move on to the Catholic teaching in this instance. Catholics believe that a child as well as any other person needs baptism based on Christs teaching in scripture in order to be saved. We will prove this in a moment. Catholics believe that baptism has a supernatural effect on the soul of an individual who is baptized and that that soul is cleansed from the stain of sin and becomes a child of God and a temple of the Holy Ghost as will be shown.

Catholics also believe that an un-baptized infant will not go to the hell of the damned, but will not attain heaven as we will show.

Is Baptism a Condition for Salvation?

Let us see if Christ really did require baptism for all to be saved. Below are a couple of scriptures that talk about baptism. Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned. John 3:3-5 Jesus answered, and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born again? Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Luke 3:21 Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also being baptized and praying, heaven was opened; And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove upon him; and a voice came from heaven: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. Mark 16:16 is quite specific in that it says that one must be baptized in order to be saved. We will come back to this one later because it has several important areas of instruction for us. In John 3:3 we see Christ telling us that we must be born again of water and the Holy Spirit or we cannot enter heaven. In Luke 3:21 we see that baptism must be very important for us because Christ gives us an example by being baptized Himself by St. John, and in accordance with John 3:3. The requirement of being born again of water and the Holy Spirit can be seen clearly in this scripture of Luke because the Holy Ghost does descends upon Christ after being baptized.

Let us recap here from what has been taught so far: 1) All men have sinned including infants 2) Sin defiles a man 3) Nothing defiled can enter heaven 4) One must be baptized to get to heaven Now we must look at some specifics: 1) Does baptism has some effect on sin, and could this include the sin of Adam? 2) Is there any proof that infants should be admitted to baptism?

Baptisms Effect on Sin

We have already stated that all have sinned through Adam and in that way all are defiled including infants. St. Paul says in Romans: Rom 5:14 But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come.

St Paul clearly states that even those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam, meaning those who were not guilty of personal sin, and disobedience to Gods law such as an infant, would not even be allowed to enter heaven because of the inherited sin of Adam. He said death reigned unto all. This all includes children.

Now let us see what St. Peter has to say about this. I Peter 3:21 Whereunto baptism being of the like form, now saves you also: not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the examination of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In I Peter 3:21 we see that St. Peter claims that baptism saves us. He gives the example of Noah and the ark and that eight people were saved by water in that example, and states clearly that baptism also saves us in like manner. He says that baptism is not used to wash away the filth of the flesh. (ie. dirt, grime...etc.) but an answer to a good conscience before God. The only way to gain a clean conscience is to know one is free from sin. So baptism must have the effect of washing away sin based on what St. Peter is teaching us here. In the Acts of the Apostles we see that St. Paul himself was baptized and his sins were washed away, clearly stating that baptism does have this effect. Acts 22:16 And now why do you tarry? Rise up, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, invoking his name. Now let us look at what St. Paul says in Romans: Rom 6:3 Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death? For we are buried together with him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer. Here St. Paul is teaching us about baptism. Baptism is being compared to the cross of Christ, teaching us that by the crucifixion of Christ sin was destroyed, baptism in like manner destroys sin also. 8

He states again that baptism frees us from sin in verse 18. Rom 6:18 Being then freed from sin, we have been made servants of justice. Acts 2:38 But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. These scriptures definitely state that baptism destroys sin and since the sin of Adam has been passed onto all men including infants, it stands to reason that baptism would destroy that sin also. This can be the only reason for Christ and His apostles to state that baptism is needed to save us. If sin is a defilement as we have already stated and if that defilement keeps a soul out of heaven as has been stated in the Apocalypse then no one with the stain of sin upon their soul will enter heaven.

Should Infants be Baptized?

The first thing we must consider is that circumcision was the purification rite in the Old Testament, and infants were to be circumcised. We see St. Paul compare baptism to circumcision in Colossians Col 2:11 In whom also you are circumcised with circumcision not made by hand, in despoiling of the body of the flesh, but in the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, in whom also you are risen again by the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him up from the dead. A question we might ask, is the Old Law to be more perfect than the new law, providing no purification rite for children? If children of Adam are born subject to original sin and its penalties, should they not be born again of Christ into the life of grace. Or is Adam to be able to ruin all , yet Christ be unable to save any except adults? Now let us look to see if there is any scriptural evidence of infants being admitted to baptism. 9

Acts 16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household. Acts 16:30 And bringing them out, he said: Masters, what must I do, that I may be saved? But they said: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house. And he, taking them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes, and himself was baptized, and all his house immediately. I Cor 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanus; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. in Acts 16:15 We see St. Paul baptizing a woman named Lydia and her entire household. In Acts 16:30 St. Paul baptized his jailer and his entire household. In I Cor 1:16 another whole household was baptized. Can anyone say for sure that no children were among these households? One should not be misled by the English translation Unless a man be born again. The original Greek does not use the word man in this text. It says, Unless anyone be born again, and a child is someone. Matt 28:19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Christ tells His apostles to baptize all nations, and the term all definitely includes men, women, and children. Since there are no scriptures that tell us not to baptize children, we have to assume the logical fact that since all have sinned including children and that baptism washes away sin, and that baptism is necessary for salvation, that children are to be admitted to baptism.

10

Let us recap: 1) All men have sinned including infants 2) Sin defiles a man 3) Nothing defiled can enter heaven 4) Baptism washes away sin 5) Baptism is compared to circumcision 6) Circumcision was administered to children 7) Whole households were baptized 8) One must be baptized to get to heaven

Mark 16:16 Now I wish to refer back to Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned. Now I know that most heretics will say. The child cannot be baptized because the child cannot believe as Christ commanded us to do in that scripture. First we must realize that Christ is talking to adults in this situation, who without faith would not even see the necessity of baptism. The other thing we must realize is that the child cannot be held guilty for the sin of unbelief because it has not attained the use of reason; and in order to sin one must be under the law. Since a child cannot know the law because it has not reached the age of reason then the child does not fall under the law and sin cannot be imputed. Let us see how St Paul explains this in Romans 7:7. But I do not know sin, but by the law. So the sin of unbelief cannot be imputed to the child. Nonetheless the child would still have the sin of Adam upon their souls according to St. Paul in Romans 5:12 where he tells us all have sinned. Now the next lesson we learn from Mark 16:16 is that it says that those who do not believe are condemned but it does not say those that are not baptized are condemned. As we have already related in the previous paragraph that sin is not imputed unless one knows the law, and the child cannot know the law if it is under the age of reason. The child therefore cannot be sent to the hell of the damned for not having the faculties to believe. But there still remains the guilt of sin on the soul from the sin of Adam and that impedes the soul from entering heaven.

11

Recap of Mark 16:16: 1) One must be baptized to be saved 2) One who is not baptized will not be condemned, only one who does not believe. 3) A child under the age of reason cannot believe so that child cannot be condemned for unbelief, but must be baptized or it will never see heaven.

An Intermediate Place
Where do the souls of un-baptized children go? Since: 1) It cannot attain heaven 2) It does not deserve hell Logic states that there has to be some intermediate place for these souls since they must go somewhere. Let us look to scripture for the answer on this to see if it does indeed speak of any other places besides heaven or hell. I Peter 3:19-20 In which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison: Which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.. Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. Neither of these passages can refer to heaven because they are talked about previous to Christ dying on the cross and no one could go to heaven previous to Christs death. So these two scriptures prove that there is an intermediate place other than heaven or hell for souls that die and cannot attain heaven.

Recap: 1) Baptism is necessary 2) Children can and (must) be baptized 3) An un-baptized child under the age of reason must go to some intermediate place other than heaven or hell.

12

Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism. St. Paul shows the significance of baptism in this scripture by linking it to other necessary items such as Our Lord and Our Faith.

In Conclusion
Infant baptism has been taught for 2,000 years. It wasnt until The Protestant reformation that the teaching of infant baptism was to be denied to innocent children. By following this unscriptural teaching; these heretics are subjecting their un-baptized children to an eternity of never being able to lay their eyes upon God. God resides in heaven. If one does not reach heaven, one will never see God. It is my hope by this booklet to open the eyes to the uninformed about the teaching of infant baptism in order to bring more souls into the beatific vision of God. Satan who was able to experience first hand the beatific vision and who has now been deprived of that joy, wishes to prevent as many souls as possible from enjoying the vision of God. That is precisely why he introduced the heretical teaching of denying baptism to children through the Protestant Reformers. Protestants have been taught to delay baptism till the child is well into their teens if not adulthood. How many children have been deprived of heaven because of this deception? How many more children are being denied this opportunity because of abortion? Satan must be denied the joy of seeing so many souls lose out on what he once experienced; and God must be given back the opportunity to have these souls reign with Him in heaven. We must restore the practice of infant baptism throughout the world once again.

Copyright 2010