The Catholic Hack! Episode No. 4 Infant Baptism

The Catholic Hack! Episode No. 4 Infant Baptism

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CCC 1250
Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called. The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.

1. The Necessity of Baptism
a. Gen. 1:2 – 3: [1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
[2] The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
b. John 1:1-5: [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] He was in the beginning with God;
[3] all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
[4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
[5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
c. John 1: 32 – 34: 32] And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.
[33] I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
[34] And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
d. John 3: 3- 6: [3] Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
[4] Nicode’mus 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?”
[5] Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
[6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
i. The Greek word for anew is Anothen’an (strong 509) and means “From Above”
e. Matt. 28: 16 – 20: [16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted.
[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
[20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
f. Mark 16: 14-16: [14] Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. [15] And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
[16] He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
g. 1 Peter 3:21 : [21] Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
2. Baptism valid for Infants:
a. Col 2:11 – 12: [11] In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ;
[12] and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
b. Gen. 17:
i. Abram to Abraham – Name Change
ii. Circumcision is entrance into Covenant with God
iii. With out it you are cut off from people of God
iv. Infants commanded to be circumcised.
c. New Testament accepts Infants into the New Covenant
d. Acts 2:37 – 39: [37] Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” [38] And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[39] For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.”
e. Acts 16: 14-15: [14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyati’ra, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul.
[15] And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
f. Acts 16: 32 – 33: [32] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house.
[33] And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with all his family.
g. 1 Cor. 1:16 : [16] (I did baptize also the household of Steph’anas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.)
h. Jesus Accepts Infants:
i. Matt. 19:13 – 15: [13] Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people; [14] but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” [15] And he laid his hands on them and went away.
i. The Greek word is Paidion (strong 3813) – little children properly infants.
j. Luke 18: 15: [15] Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
i. The Greek word used here is Brephos (strong 1025) which defiantly means infant.
k. Examples of children who benefited from the faith of parents or others
l. Matt. 8:5 – 13 : [5] As he entered Caper’na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him [6] and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.”
[7] And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
[8] But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
[9] For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,’ and he goes, and to another, `Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,’ and he does it.”
[10] When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.
[11] I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
[12] while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”
[13] And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
m. Matt. 15:21-28 : 21] And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. [22] And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.”
[23] But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.”
[24] He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
[25] But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
[26] And he answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
[27] She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
[28] Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you
desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
n. Luke 7:1 – 10: [1] After he had ended all his sayings in the hearing of the people he entered Caper’na-um. [2] Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death.
[3] When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave.
[4] And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
[5] for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue.”
[6] And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof;
[7] therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.
[8] For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, `Go,’ and he goes; and to another, `Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, `Do this,’ and he does it.”
[9] When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
[10] And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.
o. Acts 16: 31 : [31] And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
p. Don’t forget about Jarius and his daughter!
3. The witness of the early Fathers: http://www.catholic.com/library/Early_Teachings_of_Infant_Baptism.asp

a. Irenaeus “He [Jesus] came to save all through himself; all, I say, who through him are reborn in God: infants, and children, and youths, and old men. Therefore he passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age . . . [so that] he might be the perfect teacher in all things, perfect not only in respect to the setting forth of truth, perfect also in respect to relative age” (Against Heresies 2:22:4 [A.D. 189]).

“‘And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan’ [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: ‘Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]” (Fragment 34 [A.D. 190]).

b. Hippolytus “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them” (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]).

c. Origen “Every soul that is born into flesh is soiled by the filth of wickedness and sin. . . . In the Church, baptism is given for the remission of sins, and, according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants. If there were nothing in infants which required the remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of baptism would seem superfluous” (Homilies on Leviticus 8:3 [A.D. 248]).

“The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. The apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of the divine sacraments, knew there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit” (Commentaries on Romans 5:9 [A.D. 248]).

d. Cyprian of Carthage “As to what pertains to the case of infants: You [Fidus] said that they ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, that the old law of circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our council it seemed to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you thought should be taken. Rather, we all judge that the mercy and grace of God ought to be denied to no man born” (Letters 64:2 [A.D. 253]).

“If, in the case of the worst sinners and those who formerly sinned much against God, when afterwards they believe, the remission of their sins is granted and no one is held back from baptism and grace, how much more, then, should an infant not be held back, who, having but recently been born, has done no sin, except that, born of the flesh according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of that old death from his first being born. For this very reason does he [an infant] approach more easily to receive the remission of sins: because the sins forgiven him are not his own but those of another” (ibid., 64:5).
4. Conclusion:
a. From the very beginning God intended to have man born in his image of spirit and water and to be light to all creation.
b. 1 Cor 15: 20 – 22: [20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
[22] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.