Baptized Children—Named Christian—Nurtured as Such

Children reared in the things of Jesus Christ, perspective on dramatic conversions

From the Directory for the Publick Worship of God, (Edinburgh, 1645)




“That the promise is made to believers and their seed; and that the seed and posterity of the faithful, born within the church, have, by their birth, interest in the covenant, and right to the seal of it, and to the outward privileges of the church, under the gospel, no less than the children of Abraham in the time of the Old Testament; the covenant of grace, for substance, being the same; and the grace of God, and the consolation of believers, more plentiful than before: That the Son of God admitted little children into his presence, embracing and blessing them, saying, For of such is the kingdom of God: That children, by baptism, are solemnly received into the bosom of the visible church, distinguished from the world, and them that are without, and united with believers; and that all who are baptized in the name of Christ, do renounce, and by their baptism are bound to fight against the devil, the world, and the flesh: That they are Christians, and federally holy before baptism, and therefore are they baptized: That the inward grace and virtue of baptism is not tied to that very moment of time wherein it is administered; and that the fruit and power thereof reacheth to the whole course of our life; and that outward baptism is not so necessary, that, through the want thereof, the infant is in danger of damnation, or the parents guilty, if they do not contemn or neglect the ordinance of Christ, when and where it may be had.”

I came across this commentary that fits well with the nurture of baptized covenant children:


“The possibility of gradual reform in no way displaces the need for conversion. Dramatic conversions do occur and are necessary for many individuals. The New Testament emphasis on conversion was shaped by the missionary outreach to Gentile adults who had experienced the hardening effects of sin and had to be called to repentance. A hardened adult cannot be simply nurtured into the faith; a radical casting off of the old life through repentance is needed. William James and many psychologists today speak of the importance of making a clean, dramatic break with a lifestyle and belief system that have become unbearable. For persons mired deeply in a life far removed from God, gradual reform is highly unlikely.


There is no biblical warrant for trying to convert the children of Christian parents in the same way that we attempt to convert adults. Yet Christian education of children must not adopt an insipid “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam” orientation that denies the reality of sin in human life and the demands of the gospel. Church-education programs for children should stress the nurturing of their faith through age-appropriate discipleship. Although he was unorthodox in his theology, Horace Bushnell was quite insightful when he said, ‘The child is to grow up a Christian, and never know himself as being otherwise.’ Thus children need not experience a datable conversion, but they must come to understand the joy of living in fellowship with God as well as the agony and aimlessness that they would have outside of Christ.


Of course, we must be wary of the notion that one can evolve into a Christian. The image of the new birth depicts radical change, a complete metamorphosis, but it need not be sudden change. Conception, pregnancy, and birth are a process which takes place over a period of time and includes numerous small crises. The nurturing of children is not a process of spiritual evolution but of guiding them through their spiritual birth. When they look back, they will know that they were spiritually born, though they may not be able to name a specific date of birth.”


From a chapter, ‘Theology of Christian Education,” by Jim Wilhoit, a faculty member at Wheaton College since 1981; his book Christian Education: The Search for Meaning has been edifying. This quote is from pp. 64-65.


G. Mark Sumpter

Baptism, the Curriculum for Teaching

Go...Baptizing...Teaching

Jesus commissioned His church, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20.

In what way are the activities of administering water baptism and biblical and theological teaching unto obedience connected in the Great Commission?

DA Carson, New Testament man out of Trinity Divinity School, takes baptism and teaching as what shapes, what characterizes responsible disciple making. He says … “baptism and teaching are not the means of making disciples, but they characterize it. Envisaged is that proclamation of the gospel that will result in repentance and faith, for matheteuo (“I disciple”) entails both preaching and response. The response of discipleship is baptism and instruction…[to show more about this idea of what characterizes disciple-making, Carson finishes]… it would certainly misconstrue the text to absolutize the division between discipleship and baptism-instruction…”

I think Carson is reminding us of the church’s task, I think that’s his point. Other passages in the New Testament will tell us more about the means and ingredients of discipleship growth, etc. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commissions His church setting forth the task at hand.

But note that baptism and teaching hang together. They work together making up the church’s task, which is shaping, forming, building and crafting disciples.

Christian parents bring their young children to be baptized and then instruct them in the ways of Christ. Evangelists and pastors baptize and instruct the many, who were once outside of the church and apart from the sound of the message of mercy, and these servants as well carry out the command to make disciples.

Many have rightly seen baptism as the first-step in discipleship; it’s the initiatory step. Then what follows is instruction. John Calvin and others along the way have taught that disciples are to understand their baptism, to know it, to know its significance, and to live it out. Baptism is the rudder of the Christian faith and life—it signifies and seals the promises of God’s work for us in Jesus Christ. We’re in-grafted into the Lord, and thereby, dead to sin and alive to Him, and that directs us unto the whole, full way of life, and calling and eternal destiny.

Faithful disciple-making instruction aims to open up the full curriculum of baptism. Discipleship is the life-long task and experience of learning of the significance of our baptism. Life in Christ, life together, life for the world, life against the world—it’s a life-long walk.

Baptism and leaning unto obedience work together, they hang together in the disciple-making process. They sound like the happy dialog between the cello and viola sections of an orchestra.

G. Mark Sumpter

Why Baptize Babies, Does it Matter?

In the discussion of the administration of the water of the rite of Christian baptism, the question about the subjects of baptism gets most of the attention. To whom should the sacrament of baptism be administered? Does the Bible teach that covenant children are to be baptized or only those of age, based on their profession of faith? But soon in the conversation another question comes: What does it matter anyway if we baptize at a very early age? Don't we both, Baptists and Presbyterians, as church-going families with children, give ourselves to training the children in the love and grace of Christ? Don't we both teach our kids to pray? Don't we both teach our kids to sing to Jesus, memorize specific Scriptures and the catechism? Aren't all faithful parents in earnest working at correcting and training their kids in obedience unto the Lord? So, whether baptized or not the kids of the church and Christian home get Christian nurture, right? Does it matter?

It does:
1. Its administration is obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ in His great commission (Matthew 28:19).

2. Signs in the Bible are directly associated with a teaching ministry, and in particular, a teaching ministry to children (Josh. 4:21-22).

3. Our children fundamentally need the security of belonging, of being included. They are kids. Baptism includes them in God's Kingdom, under His ownership (Acts 2:39).

4. Baptism is a witness and summons to the parents to carry out their responsibilities to train, correct, nurture and admonish their children (Matt. 28:19; Gen. 17:7; Gen. 18:19). Just as a wife and husband have responsibilities to one another, respectively, according to one's role in faith, so are parents called to faithful responsibility to the child who is set apart for Christ--holy in Him (1 Cor. 7:14).

5. Baptism includes the child in God's story of the out-working of history--the story of the Old Testament, the New and beyond (Acts 2:39; and note the persons included in God's story of grace in Hebrews 11, for example, Noah and his sons 11:7; Abraham and Issac 11:17-18, et al, and Hebrews 12:1-2). The child knows that he, like his parents and his grandparents, and other senior generations, shares in the generation by generation work of God. Baptism includes the child in God's tale.

6. Baptism mirrors the societal relations that we know in the biological family and city of man. Just as our children bear a surname in God's institution of the family and just as they hold a certificate of citizenship testifying to membership in God's institution of the state, so he's associated with God and His people with entitlement, expectations and opportunity in the institution of the church (Eph. 4:4-6; see Paul's welcome into membership in the church Acts 9:19, 26-28). All three institutions ordained by God are rightly represented, starting with the child's birth.

7. Water baptism of children unites them to the visible, historic body of Christ, distinguishes them from the world and reminds them to take up the tangible practicalities of weekly public worship and congregational service in the life of the church. They help to make up of the recognized body of Christ today, not merely the church of tomorrow (The Book of Ephesians). The historic marks of the church, specifically the administration the sacrament of water baptism, cover the younger generations of the church. The marks are not merely for the older generations.

8. Baptism includes children in the conquering work of the epoch or era of Christ's earthly glory (John 17:4). It's the day of the great glory of the One who is the express image of God, who has brought about His regenerating work. The Book of Hebrews denotes the superiority of Christ over the prophets, the angels and Moses, and specifies that this age is under His triumph and finished work (Heb. 2:5). The coming of Jesus signals the dawn of the era of fulfillment, and thus, water baptism, associated with Christ's atoning, cleansing work, is their basis for claiming the promise of salvation.

9. Baptism of children keeps the corporate, historical identity of the covenant people of God in view (Acts 2:39). The materiality of water, as a means of grace, reminds the church of her glorious ways of ministry, preaching, fellowship, meal-sharing, prayer, evangelism, diaconal work and more, and it helps to keep at bay the notion that the secret work of the doctrine of election is all that matters. We must not allow the secret work of God to eclipse the tangible, revealed things, especially the means of grace (Deut 29:29).

10. Baptizing children is the gospel in miniature. Helpless, dependent children display the mark of discipleship in the kingdom (Matt. 18:3). Fleshy works fail; complete dependency on God, the granting of the gift of faith in Christ, secures life (Eph. 2:8-10). Man's strength does not save, only God (Rom. 5:6).

11. Baptism is the seal, the stamp of God's love for all ages, all generations of the church--from birth to death. His care doesn't skip over anyone (John 3:16; 1 John 2:12-14).

G. Mark Sumpter