In November of last year I was honoured to be the best man at my former roommates’ wedding. Earlier this month, he and his wife welcomed their first child into this world. On Saturday the child was welcomed into God’s family through the sacrament of baptism. Baptism saves according to St. Peter and this child was saved when he was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I was the godfather.
Baptism is commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew the Lord explicitly declares it:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
– Matthew 28: 19-20
In his first epistle, St. Peter declares that baptism is part of salvation. We read:
and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
– 1 Peter 3: 21
Jesus instituted baptism and it was declared salvific by the Rock on whom the Church was built. Muslims believe that Jesus Christ and St. Peter were both Muslims. If Jesus Christ and St. Peter were both Muslims, why not trust what they said?
If the Messiah and his number one apostle say something about a sacrament and salvation, why is it ignored? To my knowledge neither the Quran, nor the Hadiths condemn baptism and declare it to be abrogated. Also, Matthew is part of the Injeel which is considered by both Muslims and Christians to be infallible and authoritative according to the Quran in Surah 5:68.
Paul Williams(until he became an apostate for the umpteenth time) used to say that Christianity is the religion about Jesus but Islam is the religion of Jesus. How can Islam be the religion of Jesus when they directly ignore his commandments regarding a sacrament that gives one salvation according to St. Peter?
If a Muslim wants to have any reasonable excuse to not practice baptism there has to at least be an abrogation of the act by Muhammad. I haven’t read all of the Hadith collections but hopefully there is a Muslim reading this who has. Perhaps they can provide a quote from Muhammad or one of his companions where baptism was abrogated. If not, there is no reason why they shouldn’t practice it.
Baptism does nothing for a baby, except get the baby wet.
Babies cannot realize they are sinners and repent and put their trust in Christ as the Son of God, Messiah, God in the flesh, Savior, atoning Savior, resurrected Lord, etc.
the baby cannot make the appeal for a good conscience (another way of saying, repent and believe in Christ) – 1 Peter 3:21 defines what baptism is – similar to what Justin Martyr wrote – after an adult understands the gospel and believes and repents, THEN is baptized.
Romans chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 comes before Romans 6:3 about baptism. Baptism is only for those who understand the gospel, what sin has done to the, and cause them repent and believe. Baptism is a powerful demonstration of faith and desire to follow the Lord in discipleship. Babies cannot say anything about their confession of faith.
Matthew 28:19-20 presupposes people read the contents or were taught the basics of chapters 1 all he way to 28:18
Ken,
We actually don’t disagree on much. Peter, Paul, and Justin are talking about adult catechumens who come into the faith. The idea of being born into a Christian family was a lot less common then. By 200 AD Christians were very numerous so then you start to get a lot of literature about infant baptism. You just have to acknowledge that there is context.
Allan
Also, why are people baptized in the name of Jesus? Why does Jesus share the name with the Father? Why not just baptize in the name of Allah? The whole idea is pure shirk
Islam: Sin is lack of obedience to Allah. Man is sinful by act only, not by nature. Original sin is viewed as a lapse by Adam. Man is not really fallen in his sin nature; he is merely weak and forgetful. The most serious sin is that of shirk, or considering God as more than one, for example, as triune.