Baptism and Dedication, The Difference. Showing the Biblical response to those who call for the Baptism of Children. Baptism signifies
1. A confession of faith in Christ; {Believing in Christ requires knowledge of Him} Rom 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.)
2. A cleansing or washing of the soul from sin; [See; Rom 9:11] Was the Baby Jesus Baptized? No. After the custom of the law. Offered the required sacrifices. The law was strictly observed, because Jesus was "born under the law." To present him {Dedicate Him for the Lords work} to the Lord.
The first-born son of every household must be redeemed of the priest at the price of five shekels of the sanctuary, about two dollars and fifty cents. Num_18:15, Num_18:16; Exo_13:2.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. {Knowledge of sin}
3. A death to sin and a new life in righteousness
Looking closely you can see in just theses few verses, there has to be knowledge, of Sin, of Jesus, of God and of the Law, weather it be of Old Testament or of the Law of Grace under the New Testament. Paul states that where there is no law that governs people that have died that they would be judged without law, this is not to say that these people did not have the knowledge of sin rather that they knew the difference between right and wrong. [1Co 9:21, Rom 2:12, 14 &15] Dedicating Signifies;
1. Devoting to a divine Being {God}, or to a sacred purpose {Gods will}; consecrating; appropriating; giving wholly to {God}.
DEDICATION Signifies;
1. The act of consecrating to a divine Being {God}, or to a sacred use {Gods will}, often with religious solemnities; solemn appropriation;
2. The act of devoting or giving to {God} Dedication is not to infer that a child is saved or even will be saved; it is an act of faith toward God that His will shall be done in the Childs life.
The intent of this sermon is to offer the Biblical response to the many Baptisms of Babies and Children.
Lets start with; Mat 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my
name receiveth me.
Lets ask ourselves this question, does the scripture tell us, to become saved, we MUST believe that Jesus is the Son of God and repent of our sins? Yes. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. A child has no knowledge of Good or evil and therefore, how can a child confess to something that he has no knowledge of or has not committed? There are many who believe that if they baptize a Baby that they are automatically saved and no repentance is required in later life, but that a confession of WILLFUL SIN is required to remain saved, we as Christians can no longer live in sin and we will not commit willful sin. This type of teaching is false and contrary to Scripture. How many people do you know that were born a Baptist, Catholic or Nazarene or any denomination, I know of none. The idea that a child born to a Baptist family is automatically Baptist or a child born into a Catholic family automatically becomes Catholic is not scripture.
Act 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
Act 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. {Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God} And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. {Has any Baby ever said that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God?}
Act 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. The eunuch had the Gospel preached to him and he believed on the Son of God, isn’t this a prerequisite to be saved, to be preached to and being able to understand what has been preached? Yes. To be saved a man MUST be born again, that is a commandment of Jesus.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Mat 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Luke 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Mar 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan In these verses, was there a necessity to Baptize, John or Jesus? No. Was John and Jesus later Baptised, after they were made awaire of what Sin was? Yes. Was there ever any sin in Jesus? No, but to fulfill the Law and to make an example to us, He ordered John to fulfill His destiny and baptize Him.
There are many other verses that we can use to prove the difference between Baptism and dedication but I wanted to include this last verse to end this discussion, The question is, Does a Baby have the need to be Baptized? Here is Gods answer; Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Neither having done any good or evil; where is the sin in a baby? God stated that a child {Baby} has neither committed good nor evil. When we are convicted of sin and repent don’t we ask God, in the name of Jesus, to forgive us of our sins? Many will ask questions and many will not understand nor believe, but it is the word of God. I hope you find this lesson helpful. Ars.
