Christening Children
Christening children is the act of giving a baby a Christian name at baptism as a sign of admission to a Christian Church. But according to the Bible, children should not get baptized when they are infants but rather they should be dedicated to the Lord as Jesus’ parent did with Him. Jesus our supreme example was dedicated when He was 40 days old (Luke 2:22-38 and Leviticus 12:1-4) and got baptized when he was thirty years old (Luke 3:23).
The Bible teaches that no one should be baptized unless he first:
- Learns of the truth of God: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them … Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20).
- Believes in the Lord: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).
- Has 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).
- Has 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).
Children do not meet these qualifications because they can not yet reason and make such choices for themselves.
Some have wrongly taught that un-baptized infants are eternally lost if they should die. This unscriptural 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 Bible teaches that infants should be dedicated or consecrated to the Lord, just as Jesus was. 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 can make a conscious decision to follow God.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
