Baptism: Were Children Turned Away?

[~Shalhevet~]

Acts 2: 38-39

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahoshua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Qodesh Spirit. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as Yahweh our Elohim shall call.

Acts 16:13-15

And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped Yahweh, heard us: whose heart Yahweh opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to Yahweh, come unto my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Acts 16: 25-33

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto Yahweh: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on Yahoshua Messiah, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of Yahweh, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

1 Cor. 1:16

And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

My question:

In early Christianity were children turned away from being baptized? Did the apostles/disciples go into these households baptizing "adults only" and refusing to baptize children?

Blessings.

[eis]

Acts 2: 38-39

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahoshua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Qodesh Spirit. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as Yahweh our Elohim shall call.

Acts 16:13-15

And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped Yahweh, heard us: whose heart Yahweh opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to Yahweh, come unto my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Acts 16: 25-33

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto Yahweh: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on Yahoshua Messiah, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of Yahweh, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

1 Cor. 1:16

And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

My question:

In early Christianity were children turned away from being baptized? Did the apostles/disciples go into these households baptizing "adults only" and refusing to baptize children?

Blessings.

In Acts 2:39 "and to your children" indicates a promise to all future generations. In the rest of the Scriptures you posted you have to assume that there were children there. This is not a case for baptizing the infant or children.

[wyguy]

I don't remember any place in the Bible where it's speaks of a child being baptized - but from the scriptures you posted, I'm sure there were children in those households that were of age to be baptized.

[nebula]

OK, where did the idea that children had to be a certain age before they can become baptized come from?

[winsomebulldog]

OK, where did the idea that children had to be a certain age before they can become baptized come from?

I assume it comes from the notion that a child cannot be saved until they reach the "age of accountability," though I'm not sure exactly where that comes from. I mean, I don't think there's really a scripture for it. But baptism is supposed to be a public profession of your faith, a showing that you have been buried and resurrected with Christ. A child that is too young to understand salvation cannot make that choice. So until they reach an age where they can understand and choose salvation (different for every child) there is no point in baptizing them. At least, that's what I've always heard.

[Blien]

Aren't children the age of 13 considered adults by Jews? Also that reference to children could mean, the offspring of older men and women?

I think if a child is old enough to make a conscious decision for Christ (and understand completely what it means), its okay to baptize him. A church I really like baptizes children no smaller than 9 years old. I think that's a good idea... but then again, Jesus himself waited until the age of 30? Why?

[oldzimm]

I was baptized (water sprinkled on the head) as an infant and I thought that was okay. Then I started going to another church and got a better understanding of what baptism is. Baptism is a public statement of being reborn in Jesus Christ, now I have a better understanding, I was baptized again last February, a complete submersion and wow what a feeling, it was a natural high.

Our Church will not baptize children unless their parents believe their child understands what baptism is all about.

[~candice~]

If infants were circumcised why should they not be baptised in expectation of faith?

Circumcision was a command, something that the parents did in faithful response to the command of God. Baptism is something that should be a response to the child's faith (not the parents).

[~candice~]

Well... scripture is silent on who lives in those households, so I guess we should be too .

People have 'baptised' their infants in my church... as a way of dedicating themselves to raising their children as christians and having faith that God would grant them faith. That idea I am still getting used to, not sure I agree with it. Certainly if I was that child, I would be baptised again as an adult.

[~candice~]

I have no problem with anyone baptising an infant as a sign of dedicating to a Christian upbringing.If the child wants to be baptised again as an adult then sure. This would be for them to decide.

I'm OK with it, but I see it as something done for the parents sake and not the child's. It's more about the parents dedication to christian parenting than it is the child's faith in Christ. IMHO.

And also if scripture says "household" and not " adults in the household" then I think we can assume children were baptised as well?

Well I'm not sure about this. We can't assume there were children, we can't assume there wasn't either. It's simply silent on the issue.