Who should be baptised?
Question 09003
Baptism is one of the most visible acts of the Christian life, and it is also one of the most debated. Who is it for? Is it reserved for those who have already believed, or does it extend to the children of believers as well? The answer to this question shapes how churches practise one of the two ordinances Jesus gave to His people, and it depends entirely on what the New Testament actually teaches rather than on what centuries of tradition have assumed.
The New Testament Pattern
The consistent pattern throughout the book of Acts and the New Testament letters is that baptism follows faith. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel, and “those who received his word were baptised” (Acts 2:41). The order is clear: they received the word, and then they were baptised. The Ethiopian eunuch believed and was baptised (Acts 8:36-38). Cornelius and his household believed, received the Spirit, and were baptised (Acts 10:44-48). The Philippian jailer believed and was baptised, along with his household (Acts 16:31-33). Lydia’s heart was opened by the Lord, and she was baptised (Acts 16:14-15). In every recorded instance, faith or some expression of receptivity to the gospel precedes the act of baptism.
This is not a minor detail. The Great Commission itself establishes the sequence: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The command is to make disciples and baptise them. Discipleship, which presupposes a conscious response to the gospel, comes before baptism in the logic of the commission. Baptism is for those who have become disciples, not a means of making them so.
The Meaning Demands a Believer
Baptism is an act of public identification with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. Romans 6:3-4 describes it in these terms: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” This is not the language of unconscious ritual. It is the language of personal identification, of a believer consciously declaring that they have died with Christ and been raised to new life. An infant cannot make this declaration. A person who has not believed cannot identify with a death and resurrection they have not embraced.
Colossians 2:12 reinforces this: baptism is connected with faith, “through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” The passage explicitly ties the meaning of baptism to the faith of the one being baptised. Without personal faith, the act loses its intended significance. It becomes a ceremony performed upon a passive subject rather than an act of obedient identification by a believing participant.
The Household Baptisms
The most common objection raised against believer’s baptism is the reference to household baptisms in Acts. Lydia’s household was baptised (Acts 16:15), the Philippian jailer’s household was baptised (Acts 16:33), and Stephanas’s household was baptised (1 Corinthians 1:16). The argument is that these households must have included infants, and therefore infant baptism is implicitly supported.
This argument assumes what it needs to prove. The text never states that infants were present in any of these households. In the case of the Philippian jailer, the narrative explicitly says that Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house” (Acts 16:32), and that “he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God” (Acts 16:34). The household heard the word and rejoiced in believing. These are not the actions of infants. The household baptisms, read in their own context, support believer’s baptism rather than undermining it, because the households in question are described as hearing, believing, and responding.
Baptism Is Not Salvation
A point of clarity is necessary here. Baptism does not save. It is an ordinance of obedience, not a sacrament that conveys grace. The thief on the cross was saved without baptism (Luke 23:43). Paul distinguished his apostolic mission from the act of baptising, writing that “Christ did not send me to baptise but to preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:17), which would be an extraordinary statement if baptism were essential to salvation. Baptism is the believer’s public declaration of what has already happened inwardly through faith. It is a command to be obeyed, not a condition to be met for justification. The person who is baptised should already be a believer. They are baptised because they believe, not in order to believe.
So, now what?
If you have trusted Christ as your Saviour and have not yet been baptised, this is a step of obedience that Scripture calls you to take. It is not a suggestion to be considered when convenient. It is a command given by Jesus Himself to those who follow Him. Baptism does not make you more saved, but it does publicly identify you with Jesus in a way that honours Him and encourages the church. If you are unsure whether you have been genuinely converted, settle that question with the Lord before pursuing baptism. The act has no meaning apart from the reality it represents. But if the reality is there, the act should follow.
“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” Acts 2:38 (ESV)