Baptism Essential for Salvation? Part 4
Tough Baptism Questions
* What does the Bible teach regarding:
1. How old (mature) does does one need to be in order to get baptized “for it to take”?
2. What does one need to know when getting baptized “for it to take”?
* I will attempt to look at Scriptures that are relevant to these questions, but I say beforehand that these questions my be “above my pay grade”. I can explain what I was taught about these questions, my current opinions on these matters, and possible relevant Scriptures regarding these matters, but that is about all I can do.
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:37-41 NASB)
* In the above verses it says, “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” What does “and your children” mean in this passage? I have always taken that to mean “your offspring”, and not as “your literal children” and “for all who are far off” seems to support the view of children meaning offspring. It sounds to me like Peter was saying this promise is for you, your offspring, your offspring’s offspring, and on and on and on and on, and for all who are far off in time to where you are now. So I point that out because I don’t know if “and your children” is very helpful in determining the maturity level one should have before getting baptized.
* As far as what someone needs to know and understand before getting baptized “for it to take”, I’m afraid this passage is also not extremely helpful. What I mean is that Peter does tell everyone, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”, and so if that was all he said before everyone got baptized in this situation, we may would be able to at least make a compelling argument that that all one needs to know when getting baptized “for it to take” is that it is or the forgiveness of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (and that still could be the case) but unfortunately for us sticklers, the text then says, “***And with many other words*** he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” and all these words were spoken to these folks before “those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” So we don’t know what else Peter said about baptism.