Infant Baptism ( Acts 16 ) absolute sufficiency for salvation ?
Acts Ch 16 vv 29 - 34
v 29
And he [the jailer] called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas,v 30
and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"v 31
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."v 32
And they spoke the word of the Lord (God) to him together with all who were in his house.v 33
And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.v 34
And he brought them into his house and set food (table) before them, and rejoiced greatly (with his household, having believed in God), having believed in God with his household.
Lutheran Pastor: In Acts 16 v31, the word "household" is used. This word includes everybody in the house such as babies and children.
The verse teaches that when the jailer believed, his whole household shall be saved.
And in v 33, we read that the jailer and all his household were baptised. That certainly includes babies and children as well.Therefore it is scriptural to baptise infants of the household of a believer and the infants shall be saved.
D: v31 does not say - believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household shall be saved.
It is telling us that the jailer and his household need to believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation.D: v32 tells us that the word of the Lord was spoken to the jailer together with all who were in his house (not just his household).
The idea here is that as many as have heard the gospel and believe in Christ shall be saved. Far be it that one hearing and believing in Christ would automatically saved the rest.D: v33 tells us that the jailer was baptized immediately with all his household.
Was the household baptized without hearing, and then believing and then accepting baptism?
v32 tells us that all who were in his house were spoken to.D: It is not the water of baptism that regenerate and renew the sinner/outsider/unbeliever to become christian and to qualify him/her for eternal life (v6), but by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3V5)
Eph 2v8: you have been saved through faith. Not through earthly relationship.
2Thess 2v10: ..because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
It is the receiving of the love of the truth that leads to salvation; not just by blood relation, having received a baptism of water.
Water baptism is served as a witness ( witness of repentance - John the Baptist preached and baptised for repentance ( Matt3vv1-2, Mark 1vv14-5 )). What is there for witness and repentance when no change of heart took place; no loving of the truth?Romans 10v9: ..if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in you heart that God raised Him (Christ) from the dead, you shall be saved;
Rm 10v10: for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
D: From these two verses we see that infants who can not confess Jesus and believe in their heart do not fall into salvation. For blood relationship does not result in personal righteousness. The water of baptism does not speak for the mouth nor cleanse the heart.
An outward sign does not substitute inward change completely. It is just part thereof.
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