The C.E.C. Catechism offers the following
description in a section titled “Contending For The
Faith”.
“Baptism is the entrance rite into a covenant relationship
with God and the church. Baptism was one of the most important aspects of early
church worship. The Greek word ‘baptizein’ has come
to mean simply ‘to wash’ or ‘to purify with water.’ It is indicated by certain
occurrences of the term in the Septuagint and New Testament where ‘baptize’
cannot mean immerse (Luke 11:38; Acts 1:5; 2:3-4, 17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-2).
Hebrews 9:12-23 is a reminder that the purification water rites of the Old
Testament, the biblical antecedents of baptism, were washings and never
immersions.
It is conceded that immersion was the primary mode in the
early church, but other modes were permitted, the earliest artistic
representations depict baptism by pouring. The earliest baptisms recorded in
Scripture were done in the “Name of Jesus.” By the end of the first century,
however, the “Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,” was the most frequently
used formula. This was a sign of sanctification and a token of the New Covenant
that, once entered, was renewed with each partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
Entire households were baptized once they
believed, and infant baptism became the normal rule from the first century to
around the seventeenth century, when the post Reformation churches abandoned
the traditional practice. The early church saw baptism as the introductory rite
of Christianity. Infants of godly Christian parents were baptized into covenant
with God. This practice came to replace circumcision (see Colossians 2:11-12)
as an important covenant rite. The only debate among the Ante-Nicene Fathers
was over whether or not baptism should occur on the third or on the eighth day
of the child’s life. There was never a debate as to whether or not this
practice was scriptural or covenantal. Under the New Covenant it was simply
accepted as the norm. Confirmation around age 12, following lengthy instruction
into the precepts of the faith confirmed the covenant, after the child
confessed faith in Christ. This completed the sealing process of establishing a
covenant between God and the Christian child.
When a child is baptized into covenant, he or she
is placed under the sovereign care of God and the Church. The child’s parents
are obligated to raise the child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The
process does not absolve the child from making a decision, upon reaching
maturity, to serve Christ. Nor is this baptism necessarily equated with being
‘born again.’ It is the first step in the child’s walk and relationship with
Christ.
If a child is baptized, that child belongs to God
and God will do whatever it takes to bring him or her back to His heavenly
Father, if he or she should stray from the Christian way. There are many
children who are raised in a Christian home, and never realize the full benefits
of God’s covenant until later in life when they are finally baptized into
covenant with God. There are many
children that face this frustration because they are told that they must be
saved and baptized when they are old enough to understand these processes. They
are, however, never told when that time is, and they do not see themselves as a
part of the
Infant baptism may not fully prevent this from
happening, but it does give the child a reference point of entrance into
covenant with God. It also provides a reference point for parents to begin the
spiritual instruction of their children. If a child is raised in the Church and
taught the principles of the Bible, and if the child’s parents demonstrate
these Christian principles in their daily lives, the child is likely to
continue in covenant relationship with God, family and Church for his or her
entire life.”