Infant Baptism: The Responsibility

The idea.
1. Children are included with their believing parent in the covenant and church of God.
2. There is a great responsibility implied in infant baptism: the demand of the covenant.
  1. The Form for Baptism makes this responsibility clear: “Whereas in all covenant there are contained two parts, ...”
  2. The concept of infant baptism would be destroyed if we do not include the responsibility.
We focus on the responsibility (the demand of the covenant) of the parents.
1. It is NOT to save them. Only God is able and can save by opening a heart.
2. It is to bring up their child, to the utmost of their power, in the doctrines of salvation taught here.
  1. It is to rear our children in the truth of Scripture concerning God’s relationship to them and theirs to Him.
  2. God created the family as the most powerful agent for the instruction of the children.
3. The parents accept the primary responsibility of rearing their children.
The purpose of all parental instruction is so our children learn how to live godly (to be God’s people) in this world.
1. There is urgency, for they must.
2. Parental demands and Christian discipline go together.
3. An effect of our teaching is that some of our children may grow up showing themselves to be ungodly.
4. Implications.