Circumcision & Infant Baptism - Steve Gregg

How do you refute the passage suggesting a parallel between baptism and circumcision, thereby supporting infant baptism? [Colossians 2:11-12, Mark 16:15, Acts 2:10, 2:38, Romans 2:28-29, Acts 16:15, 16:32-34, 11:4, 18:8, Philippians 3:3].

#baptism #biblequestions #infantbaptism #circumcision #bibleanswers #thenarrowpath #stevegregg #bibleqa #parenting #children #babies

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Thanks for this @SteveGreggVideos I'm thankful for all of your time and effort with Steve's teachings.

[kevinteichroeb]

The other study that is truly enlightening into the area of baptism is the history of infant baptism back to the early church. It seems to me that some of St. Augustine's gnostic understandings of salvation contributed to his influential misunderstanding of the purpose of baptism.

[edeancozzens]

This is the first topic I disagree with Steve on. He is such an excellent Bible teacher! How do we train up a child in the way they should go, in the sacraments?

We have to go back to the first commandment with promise, which is for a child to honor their parents. Ephesians 6 teaches that children should obey their parents because it is the first commandment with promise, that it may go well with them and they live long lives. (Hint: eternal life).


It is known or believed that up to a certain age that children cannot conceive of God. To them, their parents are God. I believe that when a child in meekness and trust honors their parents, God honors that as saving faith for that child. If daddy or mommy puts the bread and wine into the mouth of even a newborn and says to that baby that this is for our salvation, God honors that as saving faith at that point for that child. Honoring and obeying parents is the first commandment with promise, that they may live long (saving eternal life).

We must honor the law of first use, which is to go back into the Bible and see where a piece of theology first occurs. That first use provides the framework for that piece of theology.

One of the first incidents of the Lord's Supper was when Abraham took the young Isaac up to the mountain to sacrifice Isaac. The child was in full participation. They both came off that mountain understanding the sacrifice of Jesus and of substitutional salvation better than anyone of their time and maybe ours too. The child was in full participation.

Then at the Passover in Egypt, when the theology of the Lord's Supper was repeated again with more information added, and the father painted the blood on the doorposts of the family's house, and the death angel passed over, all of the children were inside. Their salvation as the whole family was in trusting in dad and not running outside. They were saved by their faith in what dad was doing for them, Then when they passed through the Red Sea the same principle applied. Honoring their parents was the first commandment with promise of their salvation. They were all saved through those actions of saving faith. The parents didn't fully understand it either. They too were simply trusting in the God who commanded Moses. They all obeyed at their levels and were saved by their faith in what was commanded. Passover was their Lord's Supper and going through the Red Sea was their baptism. In all of this, all of the children were included. This is how those children were trained up in the way they should go. Their parents gave them this, and those children could grow up and walk away from it, but why would they ever want to.

I think that when Christian parents exclude their children from taking these sacramants of our salvation, they are sending the message to those children that they aren't wanted and don't belong. It very well could be imparting a demon of rejection on that child. And we wonder why children of Christian families leave the faith, in their hearts usually in their early teen years and then later when they can they physically leave. They are not leaving the faith, they were never included. They were not trained up in the way of salvation like those ancient Hebrew Israelite children were. Give them the Communion. Explain it. Baptize them.

Steve says that there is no record of New Testament baptism. That is an assumption from silence. We do have a few accounts where we are clearly told that the whole household was baptized. Why assume the children were not included. The inference was that they were. It is a special blessing to grow up in a household of faith, just as it was for those Israelite people. I think we would see less young people leaving the faith is we lived out the faith like Abraham and the ancient Israelites did. Every year, those Israelite people, if they obeyed, observed Passover, and they took the children with and included them always, as seen when Jesus was in the Temple in Jerusalem as a young person, debating the faith with adults like he was an adult. That is our example. At age 12 they were to stand up and state their belief and formally enter the community as adults. How did they know to do that had they not been trained up in it from younger ages?

I once visited with a Christian man who has been a successful father. I asked him his secret. He instantly said, that when he did wrong he would immediately confess his sin to the children and model for them his salvation in Jesus for his sin. I think Christian parents should model confession and taking communion when they sin.

In some Jewish families today they practice the coming together of the Sabbath meal together once a week. They eat together reenacting that first Passover dinner. I believe Christians should do this too, once a week eating together and rehearsing the Passover as applied in the Last Supper. Added power is added if we confess our sins to one another, accepting forgiveness in Christ, and giving blessings to one another. They is incredible power in doing this. See books written about this family meal of blessing by my friend Dr. Lynn Reddick, available from different sources.

And one more point, in the Law of Passover/Sacrifice in the Torah, any Israelite or maybe anyone, , who did not observed the Passover, was expelled from Israel. Jesus was that ultimate Passover Lamb. People of all races exclude themselves by rejecting Him. They remain under the wrath of God (John 3:36). Do we really want to do this to our children?

The Greek mindset says we must first understand in our minds. The Hebrew concept was first believe and obey, they you will understand.