The Un-Christened and Suffering
People don’t suffer in this life more because they were not christened when they were young. This is a misconception. Some have even wrongly taught that the un-baptized infant is eternally lost if he dies before the age of accountability. This un-scriptural teaching that an infant is lost eternally because his parents failed to baptize him is a slander upon the loving character of our Heavenly Father. The truth is that a person suffers because he is not connected to God – the source of power, wisdom and truth.
Being christened or baptized when you are a baby doesn’t guarantee salvation or protection. In fact, children should not get baptized when they are young because they don’t understand what it means to be a Christian. Jesus, our supreme example, was dedicated to the Lord when he was 40 days old (Luke 2:22-38 and Leviticus 12:1-4) and He got baptized when he was thirty years old (Luke 3:23).
The Bible teaches that no one should be baptized unless he first learns about the truth of God. Jesus taught this truth saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them … Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20). Before baptism, a person must have:
- Believed the truth: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).
- Repented of his sins: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).
- Experienced conversion: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 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 might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:4-6).
These qualifications therefore exclude anyone younger than the age of accountability, whether they are christened or baptized. The Bible teaches that infants should be dedicated or consecrated to the Lord, just as Jesus was (Luke 2:22-24). Christian parents who dedicate a child are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within their power to raise the child in a godly way until he or she reaches the age of accountability and can make his own decision to follow God.
When adults give their lives to the Lord and get baptized, they can claim God’s promises of help, strength, protection, and victory over evil. And even if the Lord allows them to go through difficult times, they have the opportunity to know fully that He is with them and He will work all the difficult situations for their ultimate good (Romans 8:28). They have the assurance through God’s promises in the Bible that they will be saved eternally and will no longer suffer in the life to come .
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
