Knowing Infant Baptism
Sunday Seminary—17
Know What You Believe. Believe What You Know.
When a baby is born, one of the first things we do is give a name. That name marks who they are and whose they are. The baby doesn’t ask for it, earn it, or even understand it—but spends a lifetime growing into what that family name means.
In baptism, God does something similar. He gives us his name—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He marks us as belonging to him before we can ever comprehend it. And as we grow in faith, we spend our lives learning what it means to live with that name and in that grace.
The Belgic Confession calls the sacraments “visible signs and seals of something internal and invisible” (article 33). Preaching proclaims Christ’s washing and renewing; baptism is God’s appendix: “This promise is for you.”
So, why do we baptize our children? Because Christ gave baptism as a tangible expression of his grace—receiving us into the church, assuring us we’re washed of sin, and applied throughout our lives. And this is true for our children as well.
Circumcision and Baptism
Article 34 of the Belgic Confession says baptism does for our children what circumcision did for the children of Israel.
Both link God’s promises to believers and their children. As little ones were circumcised in Israel, we baptize ours on the basis of the same covenant promise. God’s covenant never excluded believers’ children.
Circumcision was part of the old covenant’s “picture books”—ceremonial signs pointing ahead to Christ’s sacrifice. When Christ came, the pictures were fulfilled. The sign changed, but the Savior didn’t.
Just as circumcision was the sign of entry into God’s covenant people, baptism now marks us as members of Christ’s church—set apart from every other people and religion. It’s the family name placed upon us and our children so we might grow into what that name means.
A Deeper Look at Colossians 2
Paul draws the connection clearly in Colossians 2:11–12, calling baptism “the circumcision of Christ.”
Circumcision warned: “Break the covenant, and you’ll be cut off.”
It also welcomed: “You belong to God’s consecrated people.”
Yet even in the Old Testament, its true meaning was inward. Abraham “received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness he had by faith” (Rom. 4:11).
What circumcision pointed to, baptism confirms: new life, forgiveness, and union with Christ. The bloody rite is gone because Christ himself was “cut off” for us on the cross. In him, the old is fulfilled and the new has come.
Paul says, “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God” (Col. 2:12). Through baptism, we are visibly united to Christ’s death and resurrection. It’s not magic—it’s faith that receives what baptism promises. As theologian John Davenant said, “If faith is lacking, though grace is offered on God’s part, it is not received on ours.”
So baptism says, “You are mine.” By faith, we grow into what that name means.
In the early church, those baptized at Easter wore white robes for days afterward—a sign of new life. Men, women, and children walked the streets wearing those garments, visibly declaring, “We belong to Jesus.” That’s what baptism does. It’s our robe of belonging, a public witness that God has placed his name upon us.
Christ’s Sacrifice and Baptism
Article 34 adds a tender truth: “Christ has shed his blood no less for washing the little children of believers than for adults.”
Under the old covenant, parents offered a lamb for their newborns—a pointer to the Lamb of God who takes away sin. Now baptism makes visible that same sacrifice already accomplished by Christ. His cleansing blood is for children too.
Remember Your Name
Parents, you didn’t wait for your child to earn your last name—you gave it as a gift of belonging. In baptism, God does the same. He says, “You are mine.” Keep reminding your children who they are: you belong to Jesus.
Children, before you could say God’s name, he spoke it over you. Before you could reach for him, he reached for you. Remember your baptism. Remember your name. You belong to the family of God.
And church, every Lord’s Day we come together to learn that family name again—to live as those marked by the grace of God.
Baptism isn’t just a truth to know—it’s a reality to believe and live out every day.