Changes

"Believers' baptism" is set forth by Anabaptists and Baptist groups such as the Mennonites, as a testimony to an already existing saving faith in the atoning sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ offered once for all time for sins on the cross,<ref>Romans 1:17; 3:22-26; 5:8-11; Colossians 1:20; 2:18-23; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12.</ref> in accordance with the doctrine that man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, the law being the ritual ceremonial law of Moses. They utterly reject as [[superstition]] the doctrine that the ritual of water baptism saves by regeneration, and absolutely repudiate the doctrine that "baptism doth also now save us".<ref>1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 2:8-9</ref> According to the doctrine of credobaptism, without faith there is no salvation, for "without faith no one can please him",<ref>Hebrews 11:6; see Hebrews 6:11-12; </ref> and it is evident that the unborn, newborn, infant, baby, child in arms who cannot walk, cannot exercise faith in the Lord and believe in him for salvation before they have the capacity of intelligent choice to be able to recognize Jesus as Lord and choose by the unmerited power of the gift of God to have faith in him alone. Thus, according to the credobaptist doctrine, baptism does not save us, but a confession of faith working through love,<ref>Galatians 5:6; James 2:17, 22, 24 and 26.</ref> and infants too young to understand are not capable of performing charitable works of love, "before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good".<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:16 and 2 Peter 3:9. This passage in Isaiah seems to be the closest reference to what some believe to be a biblical teaching on "the age of innocence", of children "below the age of innocence" who will not be condemned to hell if they die before being baptized, being already saved by the blood of Christ because they are innocent of any sin, and do not have understanding to know how to choose the good and refuse evil.</ref> According to apologists for credobaptism, salvation is declarational only, a decision, solely by a sincere profession of belief in Christ.<ref>An act or a work of the will of the one confessing—a "works" salvation, of calling on the name of the Lord.</ref>{{cquote|That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.<br>For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.<br>For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.<br>For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.<br>For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.<br>How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher.... <br>So then faith ''cometh'' by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.<br>—Romans 10:9-14, 17 (KJV)}}By the prompting of the inward witness of the Holy Spirit convicting the sinner of sin which merits only the wrath of God and the just judgment of condemnation to hell, the need for salvation in Christ is '''acknowledged''' and '''confessed'''. This is '''declarational salvation''', '''decisional salvation'''. By '''repentance''' for sin and '''confessing''' faith in Christ as merciful Lord and Savior and '''receiving''' him into their heart, by which the grace of salvation is not imposed but '''received''' ''ex opere operantis'' "by the act of the doer" in "opening the door of faith to the Lord that he might come in",<ref>Compare Revelation 3:20.</ref> the practice of decisional "believers' baptism" which follows upon a '''confession of faith in Christ''' (a work) is simply nothing more than a faithfully obedient symbolic act of witness to having already been saved by the received and exercised gift of repentance unto saving faith in the Lord, as a sign of being given to God, through '''professing''' faith in the single sacrifice of his Christ for sins which he offered once for all time,<ref>Hebrews 10:12; Jude 3.</ref> performed by the complete burial of full immersion in water in answer to Christ's command to be baptized, [http://biblehub.com/greek/907 '''βαπτίζω''' ''baptizo'' "immerse".] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."<ref>John 3:16</ref> The emphasis is on '''believing''', a work of the believer in active response to God's grace, and babies are incapable of belief. Parents who believe in credobaptism alone raise their children in the Christian hope that one day they too, "knowing how to refuse the evil and choose the good",<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:15-16</ref> will repent of their sinful state in Adam,<ref>1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12-19.</ref> and choose Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord of their lives by declarational decisional salvation, and be baptized in fulfillment of his word to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins ''ex opere operantis'', on the assurance of a faith based on the fundamental doctrinal principle of ''[[sola scriptura]]''. Some urge use of the [[sinner's prayer]] as a guarantee of genuine repentance of sin unto complete salvation by a sincere reciting of a formula of profession of faith in Christ. Many of these also believe that once one has truly accepted Christ as Lord and Savior they are eternally assured of a personal salvation which can never be rescinded, revoked or forfeited, forever. This too has been condemned as a kind of legalistic requirement of a work performed by the person in order to merit salvation, and as a departure from a simple, trusting faith for redemption and salvation; moreover, it has also been condemned as promoting [[Antinomianism]] and [[Licentiousness]].<ref>Romans chapter 6; 2:6-10; 8:12-17; Galatians 5:13-26; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 9-22; Jude 4-19.</ref>  

"Believers' baptism" is set forth by Anabaptists and Baptist groups such as the Mennonites, as a testimony to an already existing saving faith in the atoning sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ offered once for all time for sins on the cross,<ref>Romans 1:17; 3:22-26; 5:8-11; Colossians 1:20; 2:18-23; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12.</ref> in accordance with the doctrine that man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, the law being the ritual ceremonial law of Moses. They utterly reject as [[superstition]] the doctrine that the ritual of water baptism saves by regeneration, and absolutely repudiate the doctrine that "baptism doth also now save us".<ref>1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 2:8-9</ref> According to the doctrine of credobaptism, without faith there is no salvation, for "without faith no one can please him",<ref>Hebrews 11:6; see Hebrews 6:11-12; </ref> and it is evident that the unborn, newborn, infant, baby, child in arms who cannot walk, cannot exercise faith in the Lord and believe in him for salvation before they have the capacity of intelligent choice to be able to recognize Jesus as Lord and choose by the unmerited power of the gift of God to have faith in him alone. Thus, according to the credobaptist doctrine, baptism does not save us, but a confession of faith working through love,<ref>Galatians 5:6; James 2:17, 22, 24 and 26.</ref> and infants too young to understand are not capable of performing charitable works of love, "before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good".<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:16 and 2 Peter 3:9. This passage in Isaiah seems to be the closest reference to what some believe to be a biblical teaching on "the age of innocence", of children "below the age of innocence" who will not be condemned to hell if they die before being baptized, being already saved by the blood of Christ because they are innocent of any sin, and do not have understanding to know how to choose the good and refuse evil.</ref> According to apologists for credobaptism, salvation is declarational only, a decision, solely by a sincere profession of belief in Christ.<ref>An act or a work of the will of the one confessing—a "works" salvation, of calling on the name of the Lord.</ref>{{cquote|That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.<br>For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.<br>For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.<br>For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.<br>For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.<br>How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher.... <br>So then faith ''cometh'' by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.<br>—Romans 10:9-14, 17 (KJV)}}By the prompting of the inward witness of the Holy Spirit convicting the sinner of sin which merits only the wrath of God and the just judgment of condemnation to hell, the need for salvation in Christ is '''acknowledged''' and '''confessed'''. This is '''declarational salvation''', '''decisional salvation'''. By '''repentance''' for sin and '''confessing''' faith in Christ as merciful Lord and Savior and '''receiving''' him into their heart, by which the grace of salvation is not imposed but '''received''' ''ex opere operantis'' "by the act of the doer" in "opening the door of faith to the Lord that he might come in",<ref>Compare Revelation 3:20.</ref> the practice of decisional "believers' baptism" which follows upon a '''confession of faith in Christ''' (a work) is simply nothing more than a faithfully obedient symbolic act of witness to having already been saved by the received and exercised gift of repentance unto saving faith in the Lord, as a sign of being given to God, through '''professing''' faith in the single sacrifice of his Christ for sins which he offered once for all time,<ref>Hebrews 10:12; Jude 3.</ref> performed by the complete burial of full immersion in water in answer to Christ's command to be baptized, [http://biblehub.com/greek/907 '''βαπτίζω''' ''baptizo'' "immerse".] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."<ref>John 3:16</ref> The emphasis is on '''believing''', a work of the believer in active response to God's grace, and babies are incapable of belief. Parents who believe in credobaptism alone raise their children in the Christian hope that one day they too, "knowing how to refuse the evil and choose the good",<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:15-16</ref> will repent of their sinful state in Adam,<ref>1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12-19.</ref> and choose Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord of their lives by declarational decisional salvation, and be baptized in fulfillment of his word to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins ''ex opere operantis'', on the assurance of a faith based on the fundamental doctrinal principle of ''[[sola scriptura]]''. Some urge use of the [[sinner's prayer]] as a guarantee of genuine repentance of sin unto complete salvation by a sincere reciting of a formula of profession of faith in Christ. Many of these also believe that once one has truly accepted Christ as Lord and Savior they are eternally assured of a personal salvation which can never be rescinded, revoked or forfeited, forever. This too has been condemned as a kind of legalistic requirement of a work performed by the person in order to merit salvation, and as a departure from a simple, trusting faith for redemption and salvation; moreover, it has also been condemned as promoting [[Antinomianism]] and [[Licentiousness]].<ref>Romans chapter 6; 2:6-10; 8:12-17; Galatians 5:13-26; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 9-22; Jude 4-19.</ref>  

Among those who profess credobaptism, the parents of children who have reached the age of understanding worry if their children have not yet decided to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior in some form of public profession of faith before others.<ref>See Luke 12:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:11-13.</ref> Among those who profess pedobaptism, the parents of children who have reached the age of understanding worry if their children fail to confirm the grace of their baptismal salvation of purification and consecration by water and the Spirit, through casually developing by degrees careless attitudes toward the danger of sin by not diligently living for Christ, by not confessing their serious sins and being cleansed by absolution in the name of the Lord, and by not accepting the power of the sacrament of Confirmation to bear responsibly vital witness for the Lord in the face of hostility toward Christianity.

Among those who profess credobaptism, the parents of children who have reached the age of understanding worry if their children have not yet decided to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior in some form of public profession of faith before others.<ref>See Luke 12:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:11-13.</ref> Among those who profess pedobaptism, the parents of children who have reached the age of understanding worry if their children fail to confirm the grace of their baptismal salvation of purification and consecration by water and the Spirit, through casually developing by degrees careless attitudes toward the danger of sin by not diligently living for Christ, by not confessing their serious sins and being cleansed by absolution in the name of the Lord, and by not accepting the power of the sacrament of Confirmation to bear responsibly vital witness for the Lord in the face of hostility toward Christianity. According to the Bible, it is possible for those who have been baptized to forget that they were cleansed from their sins (2 Peter 1:9).

The [[Council of Trent]] made clear the Catholic position on the sacraments including infant baptism by condemning with ''[[anathema]]'' the proposition that ''the sacraments have no power to bestow grace and that faith alone suffices''.<ref>[http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dxa.htm The Council of Trent. Seventh Session. First Decree and Canons. On the Sacraments. <nowiki>[Denzinger EN 1583]</nowiki> (clerus.org)]</ref>

The [[Council of Trent]] made clear the Catholic position on the sacraments including infant baptism by condemning with ''[[anathema]]'' the proposition that ''the sacraments have no power to bestow grace and that faith alone suffices''.<ref>[http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dxa.htm The Council of Trent. Seventh Session. First Decree and Canons. On the Sacraments. <nowiki>[Denzinger EN 1583]</nowiki> (clerus.org)]</ref>