Baptism is the Initiation Rite of the Church

Some within the Christian confession claim that baptism should be classified as a minor issue. Such a sentiment is misdirected, for baptism is regularly connected in scripture with belief and salvation. Baptism...is the initiation rite into the Christian church. Those who label it as minor are imposing their own categories onto the Scriptures instead of listening to the Scriptures. Timothy George reminds us that those who practiced believer's baptism during the Reformation risked “persecution and martyrdom,” and hence did not view baptism as a minor matter. We are not claiming, of course, that a right understanding of baptism is necessary for salvation. Still, to say that a right understanding of baptism is unnecessary for salvation does not lead logically or biblically to the conclusion that baptism is inconsequential. In saying the above, we do not wish to engage in a polemical debate which ratchets up the temperature to a fever pitch...We realize that other evangelical believers disagree with us, but we hope to persuade many that the course we chart fits with the scriptural witness. Baptism is important precisely because it is tied to the gospel, to the saving work that Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection. We do not think baptizing infants is merely a minor mistake, even though we rejoice in the evangelical credentials of many with whom we disagree.

Paul Jewett captures the importance of believer's baptism in saying, “To baptize infants apart from faith threatens the evangelical foundations of evangelicalism.” This is an awesome statement that stands up under scrutiny, for in Scripture baptism is regularly linked with admission into the people of God—the church of Jesus Christ. The fundamental teaching of the gospel is that human beings can be right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1). Infant baptism compromises that teaching by counting infants as members of the church, either via sacramental theology, the alleged faith of the infant, presumptive regeneration, the faith of sponsors, or covenant theology. Sacramental theology clearly compromises the gospel since it teaches that infants enter God's kingdom by virtue of the sacramental action. Believer's baptism accords with the gospel because it teaches that the objective work of God in salvation necessarily leads to the subjective response of faith. God's work in Christ is not suspended on nothing, with no answering response of faith. The objective work of God in Christ secures a believing response in his people, so that the sign of the new covenant is only applied to those who give evidence by belief of membership in that covenant.

When churches practice infant baptism or allow into membership those who were baptized as infants, they have sundered the biblical connection between baptism and faith. Those who are baptized as infants, upon reading the NT, may think they belong to God by virtue of their infant baptism since baptism is invariably linked with belonging to the church of Jesus Christ in the NT. We believe that baptism should be reserved for believers because it preserves the testimony of the gospel by showing that only those who have repented and believed belong to the church. Only those who have exercised faith are justified. Hence, only those who have trusted in Christ should be baptized. Restricting baptism to believers only, therefore, preserves the pure witness of the gospel. In addition, believer's baptism also demonstrates that the church is a new covenant community—all those within it know the Lord (Heb 8:11). The church of Jesus Christ is not a mixed community of believers and unbelievers.

It consists of those who have confessed Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Paedobaptists often say that Baptists do not escape from the charge of a mixed community since some of those who claim to be converted do not truly belong to the people of God. It is true, of course, that some of those who claim to believe are subsequently revealed to be inauthentic (e.g., 1 John 2:19). Nevertheless, a profound difference still exists between Baptists and paedobaptists, for Baptists do not allow anyone into the church without trying to discern whether the person is truly saved, whereas paedobaptists knowingly include some who do not believe into the covenant community.

Adapted from Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ

Recommended Reading:

Going Public: Why Baptism Is Required for Church Membership by Bobby Jamieson