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"Where does the Bible say babies were ever baptized?"

He has been practicing this, has he not? If he doesn't teach or practice infant baptism, then don't bother to ask him about it; for in that case, he could not find the passage any quicker than I could.

But some of your preachers do teach infant baptism. And they do baptize babies according to their idea of baptism. It is to people who have preachers like this that I am especially talking right now.

Please go to your preacher and ask him for the verse that says babies were baptized in the days of the apostles. Of course, he knows where it is, if it is there, and he will be glad to give it to you in a moment's time. Then you sit right down and write me a card or a letter and tell me where I can find it.

I have been hunting for a long time, but so far I have been unsuccessful. I really need some help in finding a case of this kind, for I want to follow the Bible in all things. If the Bible says babies were ever baptized, I want to start baptizing babies too; but I want the passage in the Bible before I start the practice. So please help me out by asking your preacher for the text.

If he refers you to the cases of Lydia and the jailor in Acts 16, telling you that their households were baptized and that included their infants, just ask him if households always included infants.

In other words, ask him if it is possible for a household to exist without having infants in it? I wonder if you don't know a number of households that have no infants in them. Try hard and see if you can think of some. Don't you remember some households in which the children are all grown?

And don't you recall some that have no children of any age in them? I know that you know of such cases. So to baptize a household would not be any proof of infant baptism. Lydia's household was made up of the women who were associated with her. Acts 16:13. If she had been married, it would have been her husband's household.

And Acts 16:34 tells us that the jailer "believed in God with all his house." So all the members of his household were old enough to believe. That proves there were no infants there. So a household baptism offers no proof for infant baptism.
Tell your preacher he will have to do better than that and actually give you a text that says babies were baptized. If he has been teaching you to baptize your babies, you have a right to ask him to give you Scriptural authority for it. So don't let him off till he finds it for you.

I have often read in Acts 8:12 that both men and women were baptized. But in that case not a word is said about their babies being baptized. In Acts 8:37 Philip told the eunuch that one must believe before he could be baptized. Infants are unable to believe the gospel.

And when Jesus gave the great commission to his apostles, as recorded in Matt. 28:19, he told them: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them."
This shows that people must be taught the gospel before they can be baptized, but infants are not subjects of gospel teaching. If your preacher tells you that this says to baptize nations and that infants are a part of nations and should, therefore, be baptized, just ask him if infidels are not a part of nations too.

Ask him if he thinks this authorizes the baptism of infidels. It is an easy matter to find where men and women - believers - were baptized, but I am waiting to find where babies were ever baptized by inspired men. So I am begging you to ask your preacher about it.

If you have any question or comments or would like to have bible correspondence course absolutely free.