Last night I received a comment from Ty on a past post dealing with salvation. His comment read:
I personally believe what you saying makes sense theologically, and the Reformed position makes sense to me, however what I do not understand, is how someone can hold the Lutheran position while still holding to infant baptism? You said “by the Word of God in and with the water conjoined with our faith in that Word.” I’m not sure of your position on infant baptism, but I am not sure how Luther or any Reformed theologian could hold to this view while also confirming baptism of infants, unless they believe that the infants can process saving faith? Interesting question to think through. Thanks for the post.
I posted the following as a response (which is also part of a conversation between myself and a family member on Facebook recently) and wanted to share it for everyone to read:
Yes Ty, I do believe that infants can have saving faith. First, we’d have to agree on original sin. The Bible teaches that no one is righteous (Rom. 3:10). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The human heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9). The natural man is dead in trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1). By nature, we pass “our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). We are inclined toward evil (Gen 6:5), conceived in sin, and “brought forth in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5). All of us “like sheep have gone astray” (Isa. 53:6). Even “our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before the Lord (Isa. 64:6). We are by nature not just morally tainted, but “children of wrath,” deserving of God’s punishment, even before we actually sin in our flesh (Eph. 2:3). Even on the best of days, we are divided, doing what we don’t want to do and failing to do what we know is right (Rom. 7:18-19). Because of the Fall, we are hardwired toward evil. We sinned in Adam and died through his trespass, inheriting his guilt and a corrupt nature (see Rom. 5:12-21). In other words, we all deserve hell from the moment of our conception.
But God has provided a means for salvation: Christ’s death on the cross. And “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death[.] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Baptism is a way that infants can come to saving faith in Jesus.
So back to the question, “Can an infant have saving faith?” Think of John the Baptist, who leaped for joy while in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:44). Remember also that Jesus said that “if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42). Notice that He said little ones “who believe in me,” indicating that these little ones possessed genuine faith in Christ. The Greek for little ones in both of these passages is μικρων (mikron), which implies children under the age of three. Psalm 22:9-10 says, “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” 2 Timothy 3:15 points out how “how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures. . . .” The word used for infancy in this passage is βρέφος (brephos), which means an unborn child, embryo, baby, or infant! God can clearly create faith in anyone’s hearts — even infants, mentally handicapped, and Alzheimer’s patients — because salvation does not depend on our own reasoning abilities. This might even offend our reason and sensibilities, but the Scriptures are clear that infants and children can and do have faith. A child is upheld in the Bible as the ultimate model for how to receive Christ as Lord, for Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
The Bible is careful to show how faith is a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The gift of God is precisely the faith through which salvation comes. “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). “You were raised with Him through faith in the working of God” (Colossians 2:12).
Faith is a gift, created by God’s Word. Once again, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Of course, God does not do the believing for us. It is we, infants and adults, who believe, just as it is we who live, and yet just as God gives and sustains our life, so God gives and sustains our faith.
If you’ve ever got some free time, read my post entitled American Jesus: A Manifesto. It’s available at http://prayeramedic.com/2008/12/american-jesus-a-manifesto/. That will answer a lot of your questions about what I believe on these issues. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for stopping by!
So that was my response, let the madness ensue….
Related posts:
- Baptism: Children Running Through God’s Sprinkler of Grace or Just a Symbolic Confession?
- Saved by works or faith? Neither.
- Most Christians Cannot Explain Their Faith, says Christian Post
- Your religion is nothing more than man’s failed attempt to turn faith into a science
- America: Deep Faith, Shallow Beliefs
