Baptism -- at what age?

dies-l · Sep 20, 2009

We had a baptism service at church today, and each time we do so, I find myself asking myself the same question. Let me preface, by saying that I believe in believer's baptism and that I am posing this question to others who share this belief (as I assume includes most, if not all, Baptists). But, my question is this: At what age is a person intellectually and developmentally capable of making a meaningful faith decision to be baptized?

My experience is that kids much younger than 12-14 have very immature notions of what it means to be "saved." However, I know many adults who are faithful Christians, who made the decision as young as 7 or 8. So, I am curious, as to people's opinions. In your experience, how young is too young for believer's baptism?

I am not making this a formal poll, because I think the questions lends itself to a greater variety of answers than I could provide in that format. I am just interested in other people's thoughts and observations.

Unconventional · Sep 20, 2009

dies-l said:
We had a baptism service at church today, and each time we do so, I find myself asking myself the same question. Let me preface, by saying that I believe in believer's baptism and that I am posing this question to others who share this belief (as I assume includes most, if not all, Baptists). But, my question is this: At what age is a person intellectually and developmentally capable of making a meaningful faith decision to be baptized?

My experience is that kids much younger than 12-14 have very immature notions of what it means to be "saved." However, I know many adults who are faithful Christians, who made the decision as young as 7 or 8. So, I am curious, as to people's opinions. In your experience, how young is too young for believer's baptism?

I am not making this a formal poll, because I think the questions lends itself to a greater variety of answers than I could provide in that format. I am just interested in other people's thoughts and observations.

This is something I have always been interested in as well. The notion of the 'age of accountability' is suggested by not really spelled out in Scripture - and certainly the age isn't explicitly stated. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony in modern day Judaism stems from the belief in ancient Judaism that boys were accountable for the laws of Judaism at age 13 - so by extension I would imagine that it would be acceptable to assume the age of accountability would hover around the same age.

trentlogain2 · Sep 20, 2009

To me it seems that anyone no matter how old they are, if they are capable enough to know they are sinners in need of God's forgiveness, and have accepted Jesus' death and resurrection and are saved, then the next step would be baptism.

However, I do not agree with infant baptism, baptizing someone who has no idea what salvation is about, nor exhibits "fruits meet for repentance".

the particular baptist · Sep 20, 2009

My oldest son is is 7 soon to be 8. He hears the gospel from me multiple time a week. He has professed faith in Christ, however i will wait till he hits his teenage years and see where his desires and appetites are....if they are for the things of this world and has affections for what the Scriptures teach to be sin then his profession was false. If his desires and appetites are for the Lord, then i will trust that what the Lord began He will finish and counsel my son for believers baptism. I am taking the same approach concerning my son with the Lord's Table.

I have seen 3 and 4 year old baptized in Baptist churches, that is no different than paedo baby sprinkling as far as im concerned.

98cwitr · Sep 20, 2009

TimRout · Sep 20, 2009

thefivesolas said:
My oldest son is is 7 soon to be 8. He hears the gospel from me multiple time a week. He has professed faith in Christ, however i will wait till he hits his teenage years and see where his desires and appetites are....if they are for the things of this world and has affections for what the Scriptures teach to be sin then his profession was false. If his desires and appetites are for the Lord, then i will trust that what the Lord began He will finish and counsel my son for believers baptism. I am taking the same approach concerning my son with the Lord's Table.

This seems wise to me. Though I once baptized a 7 year old, she was a very unique case. I'd known her family since before she was born and had an exceedingly high level of confidence in her profession of faith. She truly shined for Jesus, and was one of the most effective evangelists I've ever met. But as a rule, I won't baptize preteens.

thefivesolas said:
I have seen 3 and 4 year old baptized in Baptist churches, that is no different than paedo baby sprinkling as far as im concerned.

I agree.

dies-l · Sep 20, 2009

TimRout said:
This seems wise to me. Though I once baptized a 7 year old, she was a very unique case. I'd known her family since before she was born and had an exceedingly high level of confidence in her profession of faith. She truly shined for Jesus, and was one of the most effective evangelists I've ever met. But as a rule, I won't baptize preteens.I agree.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one who finds it odd to see young children being baptized as believers. My wife and I have talked about this and have come to the conclusion that, absent some extenuating circumstance (such an extraordinarily mature child), we would be unlikely to allow a child of ours to be baptized prior to their teen years. My experience has been that 7,8,9, and 10 year old children generally are not developmentally able to comprehend what it means to experience salvation. However, like I said, I know many adults, including my wife who point to this period in their lives as the moment of salvation. So, I have somewhat mixed feelings.

In my own life, I was into my teen years before I really realized that I had the option to believe differently than what my parents had taught me. Although I had "made a decision for Christ" when I was 11 or 12, my lifestyle as a teenager evidenced that I had not really been saved. I was not baptized at the time of this decision, because I was raised in the Methodist Church and had been baptized as an infant. However, when I returned to the Church in 2004 and made an earnest decision to follow Christ, I ended up in a Baptist church (because that is where the woman who is now my wife worked) and was baptized there as a believer. Having seen in my own life how much impact human development has on a child's ability to sincerely choose to be a Christian, I am left wondering when it is appropriate to assume that a child has made that decision freely and with sufficient comprehension.

TimRout · Sep 20, 2009

dies-l said:
I am glad to see that I am not the only one who finds it odd to see young children being baptized as believers. My wife and I have talked about this and have come to the conclusion that, absent some extenuating circumstance (such an extraordinarily mature child), we would be unlikely to allow a child of ours to be baptized prior to their teen years. My experience has been that 7,8,9, and 10 year old children generally are not developmentally able to comprehend what it means to experience salvation. However, like I said, I know many adults, including my wife who point to this period in their lives as the moment of salvation. So, I have somewhat mixed feelings.

In my own life, I was into my teen years before I really realized that I had the option to believe differently than what my parents had taught me. Although I had "made a decision for Christ" when I was 11 or 12, my lifestyle as a teenager evidenced that I had not really been saved. I was not baptized at the time of this decision, because I was raised in the Methodist Church and had been baptized as an infant. However, when I returned to the Church in 2004 and made an earnest decision to follow Christ, I ended up in a Baptist church (because that is where the woman who is now my wife worked) and was baptized there as a believer. Having seen in my own life how much impact human development has on a child's ability to sincerely choose to be a Christian, I am left wondering when it is appropriate to assume that a child has made that decision freely and with sufficient comprehension.

In our context, Baptism is prerequisite for church membership. Since we don't accept persons under 18 into membership, there is no functional penalty for putting off baptism until the candidate has proven himself.

dies-l · Sep 21, 2009

TimRout said:
In our context, Baptism is prerequisite for church membership. Since we don't accept persons under 18 into membership, there is no functional penalty for putting off baptism until the candidate has proven himself.

I think that there is some wisdom in that. Not that I necessarily agree that 18 is the appropriate age, but I think it is wise to place some age constraints on membership. Preadolescent children, I believe, generally lack the wisdom and maturity to make decisions apart from their parents' influence. Unfortunately, when they reach middle adolscence, many of these same children become experts at rebelling against their parents. Another poster mentioned waiting until his children get into their teenage years to see whether lifestyle reflects a Christian heart (my paraphrase, I hope it is accurate). This seems wise to me, as it is very possible that the 7 or 8 year old who would do anything to please his parents may become a 15 years old who will go to any length to rebel.

On another note, however, I have known teenagers who do the church thing very well (whether out of desire to please parents or peers), but who rebel as young adults. For example, our church has done the True Love Waits program for about a decade now. Although we have had many kids commit themselves to sexual purity, those students who we have been able to follow into adulthood have reflected that only a small percentage of kids actually keep this committment. Admittedly, some break it an repent. Others, however, continue to live in rebellion.

This leads me to wonder if our track record with baptism is similar. And, if so, should we put constraints on baptism to discourage people (especially children) who are acting on peer pressure, emotionalism, or some other motive.

keek · Sep 22, 2009

We also had baptisms on the 20th. Where I was baptized with 5 others. Two were young children, not yet teens. At 6 and a little over 9 I didn't really know what the Bible was all about (still don't, but I'm learning) and I for sure didn't know what baptism really meant in a scriptural sense. I don't know if there is a too young but I do think that an individual should know what they are doing, and be counseled by an "older" Christian.

Just an example a friend of mine was baptized when we were around 10, and to this day leads a life to be proud of--she is a Godly woman and I love her. =] She sure helps me! So I don't think there is an age that is too young as long as the motives behind the want for baptism are the right ones.

TimRout · Sep 22, 2009

dies-l said:
I think that there is some wisdom in that. Not that I necessarily agree that 18 is the appropriate age, but I think it is wise to place some age constraints on membership.

Ya. There's no magic to the age requirement. It's Canadian law. Persons under 18 are not permitted to hold voting membership in a registered charity. If that was a non-issue, I'd extend membership to selected teens below the age of 18 as deemed appropriate by the Elders.

dies-l said:
Preadolescent children, I believe, generally lack the wisdom and maturity to make decisions apart from their parents' influence. Unfortunately, when they reach middle adolscence, many of these same children become experts at rebelling against their parents. Another poster mentioned waiting until his children get into their teenage years to see whether lifestyle reflects a Christian heart (my paraphrase, I hope it is accurate). This seems wise to me, as it is very possible that the 7 or 8 year old who would do anything to please his parents may become a 15 years old who will go to any length to rebel.

Yes. I agree.

dies-l said:
On another note, however, I have known teenagers who do the church thing very well (whether out of desire to please parents or peers), but who rebel as young adults. For example, our church has done the True Love Waits program for about a decade now. Although we have had many kids commit themselves to sexual purity, those students who we have been able to follow into adulthood have reflected that only a small percentage of kids actually keep this committment. Admittedly, some break it an repent. Others, however, continue to live in rebellion.

We do something similar. In our view, we are responsible for how we teach, not how they respond -- which is very good since few respond positively.

dies-l said:
This leads me to wonder if our track record with baptism is similar. And, if so, should we put constraints on baptism to discourage people (especially children) who are acting on peer pressure, emotionalism, or some other motive.

Right.

MatthewDiscipleofGod · Sep 22, 2009

TimRout said:
Ya.

Yup, you're Canadian alright.

TimRout said:
There's no magic to the age requirement. It's Canadian law. Persons under 18 are not permitted to hold voting membership in a registered charity. If that was a non-issue, I'd extend membership to selected teens below the age of 18 as deemed appropriate by the Elders.

So is this law for all of Canada? Is it only law if your church chooses to be tax exempt? I thought the hate speech laws up there were bad enough...

TimRout · Sep 22, 2009

MatthewDiscipleofGod said:
Yup, you're Canadian alright.

So is this law for all of Canada? Is it only law if your church chooses to be tax exempt? I thought the hate speech laws up there were bad enough...

Actually, that's a great question. The law may be provincial, since most charitable regulations are controlled by the Province. And yes, the law is only relevant to those churches that are registered as tax exempt charities. The government of Ontario heavily taxes churches that don't register for charitable status. It's nearly impossible to staff a full time Pastor without tax exempt status.

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