Filled with the Holy Spirit, even from mother's womb!

The Bible teaches that man is created in the image of God. Lord Jesus Christ Who came as God in the flesh (1st Timothy 3:16) was being conceived by the Holy Spirit Born of the Virgin Mary. Matthew 1:18-21 states: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."


The Scriptures clearly says every Christian are to be filled with the Spirit of god being filled or controlled by the Spirit is the result of walking in obedience to the Lord having intimate fellowship with God through Christ.

God’s chosen children are filled with the Spirit of God which is Holy Spirit from their mothers womb. We see John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from His mother's womb. Luke 1:15 says :For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb" .

His birth shows that he and his life were set apart for God's purpose to accomplish God's will for him. The children who are filled with the Holy Spirit hunger for a deeper relationship with God and desire Godly things to impact their lives and other lives in a glorious way. Christians are told in the book of Ephesians, "Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. There are few people in the world who are chosen by God who live separately from the ways of the world and all its corrupting influences but are filled with the Holy Spirit and submission to God.

God knows each one of us before conception .God says that he knows us even before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5) and he knows us from our Mothers womb as well (Psalm 139:13). The scripture says that children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward (Psalm 127:3-4). The children are capable of worshiping and praising God which says in Matthew 21:15-16: And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"

Life begins at conception: The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus Christ in Mary's womb. The life of Jesus Christ as a Human Being started at conception.

King David said about God's role in our conception: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb . . . your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:13, 16).

The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. Isaiah 49:1

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; Galatians 1:15-16

And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him. Isaiah 49:4.

He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Luke 1:14

But thou art he that took me out of the womb; Thou didst make me trust when I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb; Thou art my God since my mother bare me. Psalm 22:9.

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God. Hosea 12:3

Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant. Isaiah 44:2


Conclusion: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all!

Infant Baptism!

All Christians believe that baptism by water is essential to the administration of the sacrament. The Bible identifies water baptism with ceremonial purifying or cleansing with water. What does the Bible say? Scripture is very clear: Infants and children are not to be excluded from Baptism.In Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. When the water is poured upon us and received by us, but also through the whole course of our life. . . the infants of believers, who we believe ought to be baptized and sealed with the sign of the covenant, as the children in Israel formerly were circumcised upon the same promises which are made unto our children. And indeed Christ shed His blood no less for the washing of the children of believers than for adult persons and therefore they ought to receive the sign and sacrament of that which Christ has done for them; as the Lord commanded in the law that they should be made partakers of the sacrament of Christ's suffering and death shortly after they were born, by offering for them a lamb, which was a sacrament of Jesus Christ. The word "sprinkle" or some form of it occurs 84 times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New. Of the New Testament occurrences, six are in Hebrews and one in 1 Peter. Most of the Old Testament examples are connected with ceremonial rites (sprinkling the altar, sprinkling the mercy seat, the sprinkling bowls, or cleansing by sprinkling).


Below are a few of the instances of sprinkling in the Bible

Old Testament

Exodus 24:6-8, ff – Moses sprinkles the people with blood, initiating the covenant and purifying them before God.

Exodus 29:21 – The blood is sprinkled on Aaron and his sons, consecrating them as priests.

Leviticus 8:11ff—Oil is sprinkled on the altar, and then poured on Aaron, to consecrate him.

Leviticus 8:30 –Blood and oil are sprinkled on Aaron and his sons to consecrate them.

Leviticus 14:7 –Someone is to be sprinkled to be cleansed from an infectious disease.

Leviticus 14:51 – Blood and water are sprinkled on a house for its purification.

Numbers 8:7 – The Levites are made ceremonially clean by the sprinkling of water.

Numbers 19:13 – Speaks of the importance of the water of cleansing being sprinkled on someone before they enter the Tabernacle.

Isaiah 52:15 – The Messiah sprinkles many nations.

Ezekiel 36:24ff – In a discussion of the New Covenant, we read that God will sprinkle Israel with clean water and they will be clean.

New Testament

Hebrews 9:13-14– Christians are cleansed because they have been sprinkled clean with the blood of Christ.

Hebrews 9:19, 21, and others – Sprinkling clean with blood.

Hebrews 10:22– We can draw near because our hearts have been sprinkled clean.

1 Peter 1:2 – We are sanctified by the sprinkling of Christ’s blood.

Man baptizes with water, but God baptizes with fire and with the Spirit. When God baptized with fire, the fire sat upon their heads (Acts 2:3). When God baptized with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit "fell upon" (acts 10:44, 11:15-16) or "descended upon" (Luke 3:22; John 1:32), or was poured out upon (Acts 2:17; 10:45-46), or came upon (Acts 19:6). Baptism by sprinkling or pouring fits all of these descriptions much better than immersion. water baptism is done in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost according to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19. Although water baptism in itself does not save, it does identify us with Christ: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Corinthians 12:13).

When God baptizes you into Christ, you become part of the Body of Christ, which is the worldwide family of God. Nowhere in scripture is infant baptism prohibited. But Jesus has commanded infant baptism. In Matthew 28:19 He says, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit . . .." Before He ascended, the Lord of the Church commanded us to baptize "all nations," a phrase the Church has always understood to mean "everyone." Matthew 25:31-32 also uses the phrase "all nations" in this way. All nations are to be baptized, regardless of race, color, sex, age, class, or education. Jesus makes no exceptions. He doesn't say, "Baptize all nations except . . .." Everyone is to be baptized, including infants. If we say that babies are not to be included in Christ's Great Commission, then where will it stop? What other people will we exclude?

It is true that there is no example in Scripture of a baby being baptized. However, to conclude from this that babies are not to be baptized is absurd. Neither are there any specific examples of the elderly being baptized, or teenagers, or little children. Instead we read about men (Acts 2:41; 8:35) women (Acts 16:14-15), and entire households being baptized (Acts 10:24,47-48; 16:14-15; 16:30-33; 1 Co. 1:16).

The Bible teaches that infants are born sinful and are in need of forgiveness. Scripture says nothing about an "Age of Accountability" that begins at the age of reason. Its message is that accountability begins at conception. David confesses in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." The Bible teaches original sin, that the corruption and guilt of Adam's sin is passed on to every human being at conception. Jesus affirms this teaching when He says, "Flesh gives birth to flesh" (John 3:5). Paul takes it up in Romans 5:18: "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

Furthermore, Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; he who believes not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). According to Jesus, ANYONE who does not believe in Him will be damned. Jesus makes no exception for infants. Babies will not be saved without faith in Jesus. Parents who think they are placing their children under God's grace by "dedicating" them are deceiving themselves. The only dedication that the New Testament knows of is the "dedication" that take place via baptism. That is why infants should be baptized. Like everyone else, they desperately need forgiveness. If infants die before they believe in Jesus, they will be eternally condemned. They, like everyone else, need to be baptized so that they can be born again. Jesus said, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). We believe that baptism is God's special means of grace for children by which He causes them to be born again. To keep them from baptism is to keep them from forgiveness and to endanger them with damnation.

Luke 18 tells us that certain parents were bringing infants (Greek - brephe) to Jesus, that He might bless them. The disciples rebuked those who brought the babies. Jesus' response is well known: "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it" (Luke 18:15-17). Some have objected that it is "little children" and not infants that Jesus speaks of here. Yet the very little children that the disciples were forbidding were infants. The infants are the focus of the passage. Clearly on this occasion Jesus had babies in mind when He said what He did! For those still stumbling over infant faith, remember: it is purely by God's grace that any person, adult or child, can believe. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit as much for the adult as for the child (see John 6:44; 1 Cor. 12:3; Eph. 2:1-4). When the adult believes in Christ it is only because the Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel, has worked the miracle of faith in his heart. So with the infant. If faith, then, is always a miracle, why can we not believe that God would work such miraculous faith in a baby? it is through baptism that faith is created in the infant's heart. Baptism, far from being the empty symbolism that many imagine it to be, is the visible Gospel, a powerful means of grace. According to Scripture, baptism "washes away sin" (Acts 22:16), "saves" (1 Peter 3:21; Mark 16:16), causes one to "die to sin, to be buried, and raised up with Christ" (Romans 6:3-4) causes one to be "clothed with Christ" (Galatians 3:27), and to be a member of the body of Christ: "for by one Spirit, were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:13). It bears repeating: baptism is a special means of God's grace by which He gives faith, forgiveness, and salvation to the infant. To deny the blessing of infant baptism because you can't find the words "infant baptism" in the Bible makes as much sense as rejecting the teaching of the Trinity because you can't find the words "Trinity" or "triune" in the Bible. We don't ask a baby if it wants to eat. We just feed him or her. We don't ask a baby if it wants its diaper changed, we simply change the diaper. We don't ask a baby if it needs a bath, we simply give the baby a bath when it is dirty. We take these simple and logical actions to physically clean up a baby. Catholics think it is even more important to do the same thing spiritually, through baptism. We need to let our Lord wash away the "original sin" from the baby. John's role was that he was "preparing the way of the Lord." Naturally, that preparation would include a prefiguration of the way that Jesus would save souls, which Catholics believe is through Baptism. (Acts 2:38, 22:16, 1 Pt. 3:21, Mk 16:15-16 Acts 2:38) After Jesus was Baptised, He made baptism the doorway to salvation and He sent his disciples to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mark 28:19). We presume from Scripture and early Christian writings that that included infants. In a child Baptism, the parents and the Church intercede for the child. The parents who are interceding for the Child promise to bring the child up in the faith so as to prepare the child for this future mature decision for Christ, to the best of their abilities. Catholics feel that Jesus' generosity and the parents/Church's intercession along with the expectation that the child will make a personal decision for Christ when they are capable of doing so (1st Communion or Confirmation), combined with God's Grace and love of children, make the Baptism valid and wins salvation for the child.

He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'

Acts 16: 15, 33

15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

1 Corinthians 1: 16

(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.)

Colossians 2: 9-12

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Matthew 28: 19-20

19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Ephesians 2: 8-9

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Supporting verses for Infant Baptism are: Acts 2:38-39, 1 Cor 1:16, Acts 11:13-14, Acts 16:15, Acts 18:8, Col 2:11-12, Mk 10:13-16, Jn 3:5, Mt 28:19, Mk 16:16, Acts 16:33, Act 2:39, Act 2:42, Luke 18:17,Genesis18:18,Mathew 19:29,Numbers 8;11,Luke19:9,Acts11:14,Acts 16:31,Colosians2:11-13,Romans 2:13,Romans 3:20,Romans 4:2-3,James2:21-23,mark2:3-12,Ezekiel 18 :1-4,1 Timothy 2:4,Acts 10:44-48,mark 16:16,1 Peter 3:21,Romans 6:1-11, Acts 2:38-39 , 1 Cor 7, Ezekiel 36:25, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Malachi 2:15, Ephesians 6:7-8, Matthew 15:8, Psalms 14:1-3, Ephesians 6:4, Ephesians 2:1,Acts 11: 14

Catholics are born again and saved!

Yes, they believe in Jesus. And yes, they try to live Christian lives. When a Catholic says that he has been "born again," he refers to the transformation that God?s grace accomplished in him during baptism.




The only biblical use of the term ?born again? occurs in John 3:3-5 ? although, as we shall see, similar and related expressions such as ?new birth? and ,regeneration? occur elsewhere in Scripture (Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:3, 23). In John 3:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus, ?Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.? The Greek expression translated ?born again? (gennathei anothen) also means ?born from above.? Jesus, it seems, makes a play on words with Nicodemus, contrasting earthly life, or what theologians would later dub natural life (?what is born of flesh?), with the new life of heaven, or what they would later call supernatural life (?what is born of Spirit?).



Nicodemus' reply: ?How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?? (John 3:4). Does he simply mistake Jesus to be speaking literally or is Nicodemus himself answering figuratively, meaning, ?How can an old man learn new ways as if he were a child again?? We cannot say for sure, but in any case Jesus answers, ?Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.?' (John 3:5-7).

Here Jesus equates ?born again? or ?born from above? with ?born of water and the Spirit.? If, as the Catholic Church has always held, being ?born of water and the Spirit? refers to baptism, then it follows that being ?born again? or ?born from above? means being baptized.



Clearly, the context implies that born of ?water and the Spirit? refers to baptism. The Evangelist tells us that immediately after talking with Nicodemus, Jesus took his disciples into the wilderness where they baptized people (John 3:22). Furthermore, water is closely linked to the Spirit throughout John's Gospel (for instance, in Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:9-13) and in the Johannine tradition (cf. 1 John 5:7). It seems reasonable, then, to conclude that John the Evangelist understands Jesus' words about being ?born again? and ?born of water and the Spirit? to have a sacramental, baptismal meaning.



Catholics must never forget the following text because they clearly refute the Evangelical position: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of the Father who is heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 7:21),"



All Christians (both Catholic and non-Catholic alike) believe that the Old Covenant foreshadowed the New Covenant. We agree that the Old points to something that is Reality in the New. For example...the rite of circumcision was how one entered into the Old Covenant. Nobody disagrees with that. When a person (usually when they were eight days old unless the individual was a Gentile convert to Judaism) was circumcised they were then joined into the covenantal family of God.

So, if circumcision foreshadows something in the New Covenant...what was it?

According to St. Paul, in Col 2:11-12, circumcision was replaced with Baptism in the New Covenant:



11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

And so we can see that Christians are circumcised in a special way: in the circumcision of Christ when we are buried with Him in baptism. Therefore, circumcision foreshadowed baptism. And if that is the case then it follows that whereas one entered into the Old Covenant via circumcision one now enters into the New Covenant via baptism. And this fits perfectly with the passage cited above. For St. Paul is telling his readers that in baptism we are "buried WITH Christ" so that when God "raised" Him from the dead we too (meaning those who were first buried with Him in baptism) can rise AGAIN.



This theme is also seen quite clearly in Romans 6:4 in which St. Paul says:

"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

And here we can see that a person who is born physically alive but spiritually fallen and dead can be regenerated into new life. How? By being baptized INTO the death of Christ - by being mysteriously joined to Him in death - so that by the power of the Father through the working of the Holy Spirit - when Christ is raised from the dead we too will rise WITH Him into "newness of life."

Newness of life = born again. Get the connection?

Now this presents some great difficulties for Evangelicals who claim that we are born again ONLY by a conversion experience BEFORE we are baptized (a baptism only being seen as an after-the-fact symbolic-only act of obedience).

Why?



Simply stated, it is because if we are born again by our conversion experience before baptism, then it renders Paul's words as absurd. One cannot be "born again" BEFORE one is buried into death can one? If we are born again (in a conversion experience) and then afterwards are baptized into the death of Christ (wow that second life sure was short) and then rise again in "newness of life" does that mean that we are born again - again??? Are we born a third time?

And so the term "born again" has ALWAYS meant to all Christians everywhere (until the modern era in which Evangelicals - primarily in America - hijacked the term) to refer to baptismal regeneration. That was what Jesus was referring to when, in John 3:5, He spoke of the necessity of being born again of "water AND the spirit." That is also why Peter said that "baptism now saves" us (1 Peter 3:21). Simply stated, we are saved ONLY by the grace we receive in the New Covenant and the New Covenant is entered into via baptism. * See Footnote below.



All that being said, we are NOT saying that if we are baptized that we are therefore automatically saved no matter what. No. For we also teach that those of us old enough to know and understand the Lord - and hence old enough to actually sin and rupture our relationship with God - we MUST also be conformed to Christ. We MUST be interiorly converted to Christ. We must repent of our sins and we must walk in His footsteps making Him our personal Lord and Savior.

And so both Catholics and Evangelicals agree that we must be converted and we must be born again...but how it is that we define the phrase itself is under dispute in this modern era.



So, are baptized Catholics "born again"? Yes. Are they saved merely by their baptism even if they have not converted their lives to Christ? No. Both are necessary to salvation.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Mark 16:16, said as much when He said this:

"He who believes and is baptize will be saved..."

Faith AND baptism are both necessary, no matter in what order they manifest themselves.

Amen.



One cannot be saved, unless they are born again (John 3:3) and accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. This is partially true but the meaning is distorted. The verse non-Catholics like to quote, John 3:3, is not completed by Jesus, or let us say interpreted until verse 3:5. Let us look two verses ahead at John 3:5. In John 3:5, Nicodemus is confused about being born again. Jesus clarifies what He states to Nicodemus stating:

(John 3:5) - Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

Here we see that born again means the sacrament of baptism! If the non-Catholic would only read a little further he would find the true meaning of being "born again."

Do Catholics believe that the good works they do will get them into Heaven? Catholics do believe that works will get them to Heaven accompanied by faith and God's grace. There are so many verses in the Bible stating that entrance into Heaven is not as simple as saying "I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior." Let us see what the Bible has to say about salvation:

(Phil 2:12) -?work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

(Rom 2:5-6) - ?the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

(James 2:14) - What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?

(Mt 16:27) - For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

(2 Cor. 5:10) - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.



(Mt. 25:31 46) - (the verse is too long to quote, here is a summary) Jesus states that He will separate His sheep from the goats. Jesus goes on to say; when I was hungry did you feed me? When I was thirsty did you give me drink? When I was naked did you clothe me? When I was sick did you visit me? When I was in prison did you visit me? When I was stranger did you take me in and clothe me? Jesus then states that anyone who has done these things for his brother did so for Himself and He invites the righteous into life eternal. Those who did not help his brother in need, were sent into everlasting punishment.

In the verses above, it is quite clear to see that salvation is not as simple as stating that one proclaim Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. It is a nice thing to say and should be said every day, but there is more to salvation then accepting Christ as one's personal Lord and Savior.

Supporting verses: John 3:1?21, Titus 3:4-7, 1Cor 3:2, John 14:16-18, Isaiah 59:21

Infant Baptism is Biblical!

1. Infants are new to the world and the only sin they have against them is the Original Sin. An infant is not old enough to be able to sin against God for they have not even come close to the age of reason.


Genesis 7:1 "Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation." (Note in this instance that the word "you" is singular, referring to Noah only. Yet, by virtue of Noah's righteousness, his whole family is taken into the ark. Peter compares this event to Baptism in 1 Peter 3:20,21)


Genesis 12:17 "But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife."

Genesis 18:19 "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."

Deuteronomy 14:26 "And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household."

Joshua 24:15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

1 Samuel 25:6 "And thus you shall say to him who lives inprosperity: 'Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!"

There are dozens and dozens more. These passages speak of houses being blessed or condemned by virtue of the spiritual status of the head of that household. Joshua, cited above, even takes responsibility not only for his own serving the Lord, but for his family's as well.

And just as significant are those passages that mention the household but explicitly exclude children:

Genesis 50:7-8 "So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen."

1 Samuel 1:21,22 "Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, 'Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there forever.'"

The exceptions prove the rule. In both of the above cases, when the biblical writer mentions the entire household, he feels the need to point out in this case that the children are not included. He would not point this out unless the term "house" presumed otherwise.

To get the full flavor of this truth, we ought to see the entire New Testament witness. Look at these verses one by one, remembering the normal meaning that any Jew or instructed Gentile would attach to the word "house" and let the cumulative force of these verses overwhelm you:

Matthew 10:12-14 "And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

Luke 19:9 "And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham'"

John 4:53 "So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed, and his whole household."

Acts 2:38-39 "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

Acts 10:2 "[Cornelius was] a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always."

Acts 11:14-18 "'[Peter] will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.' And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, 'Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.'"

Acts 16:14-15 "Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.' So she persuaded us."

Acts 16:31-34 "So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."

Acts 18:8 "Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized." (Note well that Paul refers back to this event in 1 Corinthians 1:14 as the baptism of "Crispus." It is clear that in Paul's mind, to baptize "Crispus" is necessarily to baptize the members of his household under his headship as well.)

1 Corinthians 1:16 "Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other."

2 Timothy 1:16 "The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain."

Hebrews 11:7,9 "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.... By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise."

The household language of the Bible is not the only evidence for infant baptism. But it is powerful. It is more than an argument from silence, that is, an argument claiming we should baptize infants because we aren't told not to. The above verses demonstrate that the baptism of infants is everywhere proclaimed by the New Testament witness—unless someone wants to claim that the word "house" is being used in a strange and unattested sense.

To get the full flavor of this truth, we ought to see the entire New Testament witness. Look at these verses one by one, remembering the normal meaning that any Jew or instructed Gentile would attach to the word "house" and let the cumulative force of these verses overwhelm you:

Matthew 10:12-14 "And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

Luke 19:9 "And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham'"

John 4:53 "So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed, and his whole household."

Acts 2:38-39 "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

Acts 10:2 "[Cornelius was] a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always."

Acts 11:14-18 "'[Peter] will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.' And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, 'Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.'"

Acts 16:14-15 "Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.' So she persuaded us."

Acts 16:31-34 "So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."


Acts 18:8 "Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized." (Note well that Paul refers back to this event in 1 Corinthians 1:14 as the baptism of "Crispus." It is clear that in Paul's mind, to baptize "Crispus" is necessarily to baptize the members of his household under his headship as well.)

1 Corinthians 1:16 "Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other."


2 Timothy 1:16 "The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain."

Hebrews 11:7,9 "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.... By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise."


The household language of the Bible is not the only evidence for infant baptism. But it is powerful. It is more than an argument from silence, that is, an argument claiming we should baptize infants because we aren't told not to. The above verses demonstrate that the baptism of infants is everywhere proclaimed by the New Testament witness—unless someone wants to claim that the word "house" is being used in a strange and unattested sense.

To get the full flavor of this truth, we ought to see the entire New Testament witness. Look at these verses one by one, remembering the normal meaning that any Jew or instructed Gentile would attach to the word "house" and let the cumulative force of these verses overwhelm you:

Matthew 10:12-14 "And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet."

Luke 19:9 "And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham'"

John 4:53 "So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed, and his whole household."

Acts 2:38-39 "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

Acts 10:2 "[Cornelius was] a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always."

Acts 11:14-18 "'[Peter] will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.' And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, 'Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.'"


Acts 16:14-15 "Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.' So she persuaded us."

Acts 16:31-34 "So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."

Acts 18:8 "Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized." (Note well that Paul refers back to this event in 1 Corinthians 1:14 as the baptism of "Crispus." It is clear that in Paul's mind, to baptize "Crispus" is necessarily to baptize the members of his household under his headship as well.)

1 Corinthians 1:16 "Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other."

2 Timothy 1:16 "The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain."

Hebrews 11:7,9 "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.... By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise."


The household language of the Bible is not the only evidence for infant baptism. But it is powerful. It is more than an argument from silence, that is, an argument claiming we should baptize infants because we aren't told not to. The above verses demonstrate that the baptism of infants is everywhere proclaimed by the New Testament witness—unless someone wants to claim that the word "house" is being used in a strange and unattested sense. Lastly, baptism is a seal of membership in the body of Christ. This we know from Jesus saying "of such is the Kingdom." Baptism is the sign of entry into that kingdom.

All baptized persons, including children, have a right to: 1)The preaching of the word.2) Worship. All baptized persons have a right and a duty to worship God. This is why we do not have "children's church" in which we send our children away from worship (or at least preaching). They have a right to know from their earliest years that this is the place where God's people meet to sing and pray to him, and I am one of those people


• 3) Training. All baptized persons have a right to be instructed in the faith. The child down the street doesn't have this right, but ours do. The parents have taken a vow to raise that child "in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord."



• Church Discipline. When a baptized person strays away, we don't just let them go. They have a right to be exhorted, admonished, censured, disfellowshiped, and excommunicated as a last attempt to restore them to the flock. We do not pursue the children of the world in this way. But our own children have a right to this.



• The Judgment of Charity. This means we are not left to our own discretion to decide, this one is really saved, and, that one is just faking it. No individual in the church has the "power of the keys" to admit into the church or send out from it. Only the elders, sitting together, have that authority. And they must admit to the church all children of professing Christians. And thus, you and I must treat all such as brothers in Christ.


For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. 30For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:29-32

But our children do have a right to be prepared to take that holy supper by being trained in the faith. And when they make their profession and come to the Table, we praise God that their baptism has done its work. It has called them successfully to faith in Christ.

Circumcision in the Old Testament was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant. Paul tells us in Romans 4:11 that circumcision was "a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith" when speaking of Abraham. What were Abraham's instructions for future circumcision? One might assume with an individualistic culture such as our own that Abraham would only then circumcise those who subsequently made a profession of faith. However, Abraham was to circumcise all of his descendants. Isaac was commanded to circumcise both Jacob and Esau, though we read in Romans 9 that God already had decreed the salvation of Jacob, and knew that Esau would fall away. The sign was to be applied to those of faith and their children.

Paul writes in Colossians 2:11,12 "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Baptism is now the sign of initiation into the people of God. It has replaced circumcision.

Jesus himself says, "do not permit the children from coming to me" In Luke 15:16-17. The language here is similar to early baptismal language as Jesus says "do not hinder them". In early baptisms, one who had faith and was baptized was asked if anything hindered them from being baptized.

This idea that children of believers are separate from heathen children and therefore should be baptized is explained by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7. "For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." (7:14) The argument Paul is making here is not about the children. The issue he is dealing with is whether a Christian should stay married to a non Christian. He argues that since the child is holy with one Christian parent, the marriage is ok. The principle that the child is Holy Paul simply assumes that the Corinthians understand as he uses that principle to defend himself. He does not offer any defense for the principle of the holiness of children itself.

Jeremiah (Jer 1:5—“Before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee”) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:16—“He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb”) were filled with the Holy Spirit at or before their birth. These examples prove that God’s plan of salvation included infants as a possibility, because these were saved while infants, and did not die as infants.

God’s Two Covenants of Life Included Infants

God’s covenant of life with Adam was on condition of perfect obedience (“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”—Gen. 2:17; “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin”—Rom. 5:12).

Adam’s part was to obey; God’s part was to give life. Adam failed; the covenant was broken. This covenant included infants; the same death that befell Adam came to all (Rom. 5:12, “Death passed upon all men”).

The three household baptisms in the New Testament surely include children. They are:


“She [Lydia] was baptized and her household”—Acts 16:l5.

“He (the Philippian jailer)...was baptized, he and all his, straightway”—Acts 16:33.

“I baptized also the household of Stephanus”—I Cor 1:16.

A Dilemma for Immersionists

The record of two of these household baptisms indicates that small children were baptized. Acts 16:14 records only Lydia’s heart as being opened (“whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things...spoken of Paul”) yet “she was baptized and her household.” Either some adults were baptized without conversion, or some children too young to believe in the Savior were baptized on the faith of the mother.

Likewise, Acts 16:34 records only the jailer as “believing,” for the translated Greek word is singular. The verse reads: “He...rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” He “was baptized, he and all his, straightway.” (Moffatt expresses it: “got baptized instantly, he and his family.”) Since only the jailer’s faith is mentioned, either some adults were baptized without conversion, or some children too young to believe were baptized on the faith of the father.

Paul and Silas would not have baptized unsaved adults, so the other alternative must he true. There must have been children in these households who were baptized on the faith of their parents.

The second objection calls in question the wisdom of God who directed the circumcision of the 8-days-old baby. Could the baby know anything of the purpose of this act?


The infant knows nothing more of the purpose of his baptism than Isaac knew of the purpose of his circumcision, or than the brought infants knew of the touch (“the blessing,” Mark 10:16) of the Savior (“They brought unto Him also infants, that He would touch them”—Luke 18:15). But the parent can know of his covenant with God for his child, and God knows of His covenant with the parent to be a God to his seed.

If it is “silly,” as urged by immersionists, to baptize a baby, then it was worse than silly—it was brutal—to mutilate an 8-days-old baby by circumcision. However, God specifically commanded the latter (Gen. 17:12), and when He changed the covenant token to baptism, He never denied to children the new token.

Since God’s plan of salvation, God’s covenants of life, and God’s church always included infants, who among men would deny to helpless babies of believers their God-given right to the sign, seal, token (baptism) of their inheritance in the covenant of grace and in the church?

Parents should remember that it was in reference to salvation that the Lord Jesus gave that wonderful revelation: “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible”—Mark 10:27. God was able to make good His word to Abraham: “and to thy seed“ (Gen. 17:7), and to the Philippian jailer: “and thy house” (Acts 16 :31). He is still able, and He awaits today the fulfillment by parents of their part of the covenant.

Immersion Is Not in the Bible

“Immerse” never occurs in any of its forms in the English Bible, in either the King James or the American Standard Version. This is not because the Hebrew and Greek languages lack the word, but because there was nothing in any of the Bible purifying rites which called for it. The fact that the English Bible nowhere uses “immerse” in any of its forms puts a heavy burden of proof upon those who contend that baptism means immersion. “Sprinkle” in various forms occurs 41 times in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and 6 times in Hebrews, besides many more times in other parts of the Bible.


The Three Baptisms of Matthew 3:11

In this verse (“I...baptize you with water. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire”) three baptisms are mentioned: with water, with the Holy Spirit, with fire. If baptism always and invariably means immersion, this verse speaks of an immersion in water an immersion in the Holy Spirit, and an immersion in fire.


How does the Bible describe these three baptisms? The only description of the baptism with fire is in Acts 2:3: “There appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire; and it sat upon each of them.” Accepting this language as a correct description (as we must), the baptism with fire could not have been an immersion in fire. “Sat upon” does not describe an immersion.

The 2nd chapter of Acts does not describe the mode of baptism with the Holy Spirit, but it is described in Acts 11:15: “The Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” Every description of the baptism with the Holy Spirit represents Him as coming upon, being poured out, put in or within, sent upon, falling upon, descending upon, etc. Not one expression admits the idea of immersion in the Holy Spirit. How, then, can the claim be maintained that baptism is always and invariably immersion when two out of three baptisms of Matthew 3:11 cannot be immersion?

Baptisms with Water


Only one New Testament water baptism is described in sufficient detail to indicate its mode—that of Saul of Tarsus. Ananias told him to “arise and be baptized” (Acts 22:16), and he “arose and was baptized” (Acts 9:18). The one Greek word translated in one place “arise” and in the other “he arose” is a participle; a literal translation in both places would be “arising” or “having arisen,” or “standing up.” There is no suggestion of any change of garments or of travel to a place suitable for immersion. (Moffatt translates those passages in Acts: “Get up and be baptized” and “he got up and was baptized.”)

Paul had had no food nor water for three days (“he...three days...neither did eat nor drink” —Acts 9:9). He was baptized before taking food (“he...was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened”—Acts 9:18, 19). It would be unreasonable to read into the record that such an unbiblical thing as immersion was rushed upon him before giving him food.

If “much water” is necessary to valid baptism, as immersionists claim, they would have trouble finding “much water” for the baptism of the 3000 at Pentecost, for that of the eunuch on a road that Scripture says is “desert” (Acts 8:26), for that of Saul of Tarsus and for that of the Philippian jailer inside the jail at midnight.

Immersion has no foundation in the Old Testament. Immersion has no foundation in the New Testament. Take, for example, I Corinthians 10:1, 2: “Our fathers...were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” So far from immersing the Israelites, if it touched them at all, the cloud did so by descending upon them. But it “stood behind them” (Ex. 14:19). Nor did the sea touch them: “upon the dry ground” (Ex. 14:22). One company was immersed: the Egyptians, but the record does not say they were baptized.

Another instance is in I Peter 3:20, 21: “Eight souls were saved by water” (in Noah’s ark). “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us” (the meaning of this passage has no bearing on this discussion). Please notice the difficulties of the passage for the immersionist. The eight that were saved were not immersed; the rest of the world were immersed, but the “like figure” of the word baptism was not applied to their cases.

Of course, water baptism in itself will not save a baby nor anybody else, but God graciously gives His people the privilege of binding Him by it as a token, in covenant with the parents, to save the little ones, if the parents will do their part (“to be a God unto thee and to thy seed”—Gen. 17:7

Can the faith of the parents save the kids without Baptism? Where does it say in the Bible not to baptize infants?

The children in a family are part of the father and mother. When people are saved, it is God's desire to save their family. God has given us children as a blessing to train for Him and His glory. Jesus received little children, even infants and toddlers, to bless them and told his disciples not to reject them ( Luk. 18:15-17). God has created us in such a way that when we are small children we accept what our parents say without question or doubt. They will believe what their parents say about who God is and what He has done for them. They will believe what we teach them about Jesus. When they trust in Christ, their faith is genuine, however they are immature.

We believe that our children are gifts of the Lord. We are responsible to train them according to His Word not only at home and in church, but in school as well." If we send our children’s from the childhood to True Christian schools it provides an opportunity for our child to witness for Christ. Child will learn to view life from Gods perspective .If we send them to godless, secular schools, is it a surprise that they grow up to think and act like the rest of the godless world? The Bible does not teach that children should be exposed to all kinds of sin. Children do not grow spiritually stronger in a negative non-Christian environment. Standards for morality must be taken from Scripture alone, not from situations as often taught in non Christian schools. Watchman Nee a Christian author and church leader during the early 20th century in his book he has beautifully explained about the household salvation.

When God saves man, He takes the whole family, rather than an individual, as a unit. some children born into our fleshly family. We should make sure that they are born into our spiritual family also. We cannot just beget them into the world; The Lord has placed them in our hands ,we still must bring them to the Lord.

In the Bible most of those who bore some responsibility were the heads of households. The head of a family has the special responsibility before God for bringing his whole household to the Lord and to His service. You need to take your stand as the head of your family to declare that your household will believe in the Lord and that you will not tolerate anyone who will not believe. The head of the household can decide for his entire household. Even if the little children do not believe, you can still say that your household will believe in the Lord, because this household is yours and not your children's. You are responsible for your household, not your children. You can declare Joshua 24:15 before the Lord and before your whole family: "As for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah." You have to acknowledge that your family is a believer's family. You need to declare this by faith, and you need to put your wife and children on this ground. Always lay hold of this fact: I am the head of my family, and my family will believe in God. My household will not believe in the devil. I have decided that this family will be a family that worships God. I have decided that this family will be a family that believes in the Lord. If you declare this with faith, and if you exercise your authority to take the lead, your children will go along.

I believe the head of every household should make the declaration of Joshua 24:15. You should gather your children and dependents together and tell them, "As for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah." Then as long as you are in the household, your household will serve the Lord. The household is yours, and you have the power to decide whether this house will serve the Lord. When you take this stand, everyone who is under you will come to the Lord; they will have no other way to take


There is no single Biblical verse NOT to Baptize infants. Jesus Christ said in Matt 28:19, "GO, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..."

He did not say adults only did he? Did he ever put an age limit to receive Baptism?

Acts 22:16, "and now WHY DO YOU DELAY? Get up and be Baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name."

So why do you delay in Baptizing your children?

Acts 2:38, But Peter said to them, "Repent and be Baptized every one of you..."

I would say that verse would include everyone, including infants and children of all ages. Peter did not say to leave your infants at home.



Acts 16:15, "And when she and her household had been Baptized..."

Did her household have infants maybe? Did Luke say "everyone in her household except infants"?



Acts 16:33, "And he took them at that very hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he and ALL his family were baptized immediately."

Again, were infants excepted here?



1Cor 1:16, "I Baptized also the household of Stephanas..."

Did Paul say "everyone except infants"?



Luke 3:21, "Now it came to pass when all the people had been baptized..."

Aren't infants part of "all the people"?



He also said in John 3:5, "...unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD."

How are they to come to Him unless they are Baptized?

Those who say not to Baptize infants clearly have a Biblical conflict here, and they risk the salvation of the souls of their children.



There are several examples in the Bible where it shows that salvation is a matter of the whole household, not individuals.



1)Genesis 7:1 says, "And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thous and all thy house into the ark," and 1 Peter 3:20 says, "A few, that is, eight souls, were brought safely through by water."

The ark was not for an individual; it was for the whole house. In Genesis 6 we see a man who was righteous before God -- Noah. The Bible does not say that the sons and daughters-in-law of Noah were righteous. The Bible only says that Noah was a righteous man before God. However, when God prepared a way of salvation for Noah, He commanded Noah's whole house to enter the ark. Therefore, the household, not an individual, entered the ark.


2)Genesis 17:12-13 says, "Every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."

God called Abraham and made a covenant with him, saying, "I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee" (v.7). The sign of the covenant between God and Abraham was circumcision. All who were circumcised belonged to God, and all who were not circumcised were not of God. God also told Abraham that his whole household needed to be circumcised, including those who were born in his house and those who were bought with his money. Therefore, the promise of circumcision was not given to Abraham alone but to his whole household. Circumcision takes the household as a unit. God's promise came to Abraham's house, not to him alone.


3)Exodus 12:3-7 says, "Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house...and they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it."

The Passover lamb was clearly given to a household, not to an individual. Again we see the importance of a household before God. The Passover lamb had to do with a household, it was not an individual matter. A lamb was not prepared for each person, but for each household. The blood struck on the doorpost and side posts was to protect the whole household. The angel of destruction would pass over a whole household.

If one man eats the lamb, it means that only he is being saved. But if the whole household eats the lamb, it means that the whole household is being saved. Salvation is for the whole household. The whole household eats the lamb, and similarly the whole household strikes the blood. The whole household enjoys these things together.

4)God's promise of the priesthood was also for a whole house. It was not for one or two individuals. Numbers 18:1 says, "And Jehovah said to Aaron, You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary."

Verse 11 says, "This also is yours, the heave offering of their gift, all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due; every one who is clean in your house may eat of it." God gave all the sacrifices and offerings to the house of Aaron. The sacrifices were for the house of Aaron, not for Aaron alone. This is because God accepts the house as a whole. Please remember that the priesthood was for Aaron's house, not for Aaron alone. The priesthood took the household as a unit.

5)Joshua 2:19 says, "Anyone who goes forth from the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be upon his own head, and we will be innocent. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood will be upon our heads if a hand should come upon him." Joshua 6:17 says, "And the city shall be devoted to Jehovah for destruction, it and all that is in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent."

Here we see Rahab the harlot and her household being saved. What did she do? She received the spies. When she received the spies, God gave her a sign. She was to tie a line of scarlet thread in the window. All who were in the house which had the scarlet thread were spared, while the rest of the inhabitants of Jericho were killed. The scarlet thread signifies salvation. The scarlet-thread salvation saved Rahab's household; it did not save just her.

We need to be very clear about the scope of salvation. Chapter two of Joshua gives the promise, and chapter six gives the actual execution. Both the promise in chapter two and the execution in chapter six show us that Rahab's whole household was saved. All who were in the house which had the scarlet thread were saved. God's salvation is for the whole household, not for individuals.

6. Second Samuel 6:11 says, "And the ark of Jehovah remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and Jehovah blessed Obed-edom and all his household."

Rahab was not the head of her house; she had a father. But Rahab held to God, and her household was blessed and saved. It is very good if you are the head of your household because you can speak for your household. But even if you are not the head of your household, you can still speak in faith as Rahab, saying, "Lord, turn my household to You to receive Your graceand blessing."

7)Deuteronomy 12:7 says, "There you shall eat before Jehovah your God, and you and your households shall rejoice in all your undertakings, in which Jehovah your God has blessed you." You and your household receive the blessing of God and rejoice therein.

Deuteronomy 14:26 says, "You shall exchange the money for anything that your soul desires, for oxen, for sheep, for wine, for strong drink, or for anything that your soul would like; and you and your household shall eat there before Jehovah your God and rejoice."

Have you seen this? God promised the Israelites that they would eat, drink and rejoice before God on that day household by household. In other words, blessing is for the household, not for the individual.

1. The House of Zaccheus

Luke 19:9 says, "Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house." This is wonderful. The New Testament declares the same principle. I am afraid that many people have been preaching for over twenty years about personal salvation only. However, the Lord tells us that "salvation has come to this house."

When you preach the gospel, you must pay attention to household salvation. You must not look merely for individual salvation. If you truly believe and expect this, your work will undergo a great change. This depends entirely on your faith and expectation. If you expect others to come to the Lord one by one, they will come one by one. If you believe that they will come household by household, they will come household by household. The scope of God's salvation is the household. You must not make this scope smaller than it should be.

2. The Household of a Nobleman

John 4:53 says, "Then the father knew that it was in that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives; and he believed, he and his whole house." Here only one person was healed -- the son. However, the Bible says that "he believed, he and his whole household." You can lay hold of this fact before the Lord. Although the son was the one who directly received His grace, the whole household turned and believed. Our hope and expectation is that we would bear fruit in such a prevailing way.

3. The Household of Cornelius

Acts 10:2 says that Cornelius was "devout and one who feared God with all his household, giving many alms to the people and beseeching God continually," and 11:14 says, "...who will speak words to you by which you shall be saved, you and all your house."

Cornelius's entire household was saved; it was not just one person who was saved. Cornelius invited his relatives and close friends to hear the worlds of Peter. While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were in Cornelius's house, and all of them received salvation.

4. The Household of Lydia

Acts 16:15 says, "She was baptized, as well as her household." The apostle preached the gospel to Lydia's household, and the whole household believed and was baptized.

5. The Household of the Jailer

Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." This is one of the most outstanding verses in Christianity. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household. God's Word does not say that if you believe on the Lord Jesus, you and your household shall receive eternal life. It says that if you believe on the Lord Jesus, you and your household will be saved.

Throughout the entire Old Testament, God dealt with man by households. Likewise in the New Testament, He deals with man by households. This is the smallest unit; one cannot reduce it to a smaller one. If anyone believes in the Lord Jesus, his whole household shall be saved. This is indeed a wonderful thing. I do not know why this is so, but the Lord's Word says it is so. The Old Testament and the New Testament are consistent; both recognize the same unit.

The church in Philippi started with a jailer. Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." Verse 34 says, "And he brought them up into his house and set a table before them; and he exulted because he had believed in God with all his household." Here we see a wonderful picture. In the beginning the promise was given to the jailer; no one else heard it. "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." Later, the jailer brought his household to Paul. After Paul spoke to them, they were baptized. Then the jailer brought them into his house and set a table before them; and he exulted, having believed in God. "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household' -- this is not something difficult to achieve. The apostle gave the jailer a promise, and his whole household was saved. Everyone listened, everyone was baptized, and everyone exulted.

Suppose the apostle told the jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved." If this was the case, we would have to wait a few days after a person was saved, teach him something, and hope that he would understand. Then he might gradually testify to his family, and his family might eventually believe and be saved. If this had been the case, how long would it have taken for the jailer's household to be saved? The apostle did not preach the gospel this way. He did not deal with individuals one by one, instead, he addressed the whole household. He said, "You and your household" shall be saved. You need to see this: The salvation of a household is no different and certainly no more difficult than the salvation of one person. You should never forfeit the privilege of saving the whole household. If you bring the whole household along, the whole household will be saved.

I hope that when the church preaches the gospel five or ten years form now, household after household will be turning to the Lord. From now on, the goal of our workers in evangelism should be whole households. If our goal is a household, we will gain a household. If our goal is only an individual, we will gain only an individual. God does things according to our faith.

If we are clear about God's way with men, we will not suffer unnecessary loss. God takes a household as a unit. If God gains a person, He should gain his whole family as well, regardless of how many persons there are in that family. I hope you will tell the brothers to rise up household by house hold. Those who are the head of a family have the ground to bring their whole household to the Lord, and they should help their families be saved.

Household salvation means household rejoicing. This is a great matter! If we see that God's dealing with man is by households, we will experience much blessing. We must learn to lay hold of this promise of God.

6. The Household of Crispus

Acts 18:8 says, "Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with his whole household...and were baptized."

In the Bible there are individuals who believed in the Lord and there are households which believed in the Lord. Notice how easy it is for God's grace to come to a household. The whole household of Crispus believed and was baptized.

7. The Promise of Pentecost

Being Given to You and Your Children

Let us consider the condition at Pentecost. Acts 2:39 says, "For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God calls to Himself."

The promise of Pentecost includes the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It was given "to you" and "to your children"; it was not merely given "to you." Those who are heads of the family in particular should lay hold of this promise and say, "Lord, Your promise is for me and also for my children. It cannot be mine without my children also being included. I want it for myself, and I want it also for my children."

8. Peace to a House

Luke 10:5-6 says, "Into whatever house you enter, first say, Peace to this house. And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon it; but if not, it shall return upon you."

The Lord says that when a person sets out to preach the gospel, he should say as he enters into a house, "Peace to this house." It is not just given to individuals, but to households. If anyone is worthy of peace n a house, peace will come to his entire household. This verse is clear enough. God deals with man by households Thank God, peace comes to man household by household.

9. The Household of Stephanas

First Corinthians 1:16 says, "I did baptize the household of Stephanas also." Here Paul said that he baptized every member of the household of Stephanas. Like the jailer and the house of Lydia, Stephanas's whole household believed and was baptized.

10. The Household of Onesiphorus

Second Timothy 4:19 says, "Greet Prisca and Aquila and the house of Onesiphorus," and 1:16 says, "May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain." Here was a family that took care of Paul, a household that was not ashamed of his chain. Notice again that it was not an individual matter but something to do with a household.

These numerous cases provide ample proof in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that God deals with man by households. This is particularly true in the case of salvation; God takes the household as a unit.

We also wee that THE HOUSEHOLD BEING ALSO THE UNIT OF GOD'S PUNISHMENT

We need to see some verses which show that the unit of God's punishment is also the household. When man rebelled against God, God was provoked and He judged man. In judging man He took the household as a unit. God's judgment comes through one man to the entire household, just as God's blessing comes through one man to the netire household. Once we see this, we will take a stand for our household and declare that our household is for the Lord.

A. Pharaoh and His House

Genesis 12:17 says, "The Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai, Abram's wife." The sin of Pharaoh brought God's plague to his whole household. God punished his whole household. If God's judgment comes to a household, we should expect that His blessing also will come to a household. We are not those under condemnation but those under His blessing.

B. The House of Abimelech

Genesis 20:18 says, "For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife." God closed up all the wombs of the women of the house of Abimelech. His whole household was punished, not just one or two men.

C. The House of David

Second Samuel 12:10-11 says, "Now therefore the sword will not depart from your house forever because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says Jehovah, I will now raise up trouble against you from within your house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and will give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun."

After David sinned, God did not rebuke and punish him individually. He said, "Now therefore the sword will not depart from your house." This is very clear. David sinned individually, but the result was that his whole household was judged by God. In God's eyes the people of this world are divided into households, not individuals. We need to come to God household by household.

D. The House of Jeroboam

First Kings 13:34 says, "This matter became a sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as even to cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth." Jeroboam was the one who set up the idols, but God judged his house and destroyed it from the face of the earth.

First Kings 14:14 says, "Jehovah will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day and even now." Jeroboam worshiped idols, but God cut off his house. I do not know why God did this. I can only say that in God's eyes a household is a unit. This is too clear. Unless we purposely ignore this fact, we have no choice but to acknowledge it.

E. The House of Baasha

First Kings 16:3 says, "I am now sweeping up after Baasha and after his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat." Because of the sin of one man, Baasha, God took away the posterity of Baasha and his house, in the same way that he cut off the house of Jeroboam. God deals with man by households.

F. The House of Ahab

I think one of the most well-known houses in the book of 1 Kings is the house of Ahab. First Kings 211:22 says, "I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son Ahijam because of the provocation by which you have provoked Me to anger and caused Israel to sin." Why did God deal with the house of Ahab? Because Ahab provoked God. Ahab was an evil king in the Old Testament. God said that He would deal with his house as He dealt with the house of Jeroboam and the house of Baasha. The entire house would be cut off. The unit of God's dealing is the household. This is more than clear and obvious.

G. The Households of Dathan and Abiram

We will consider one last portion which illustrates our point quite clearly. Deuteronomy 11:6 says, "And what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up and their households and their tents and all their substance that went with them, from the midst of all Israel." When Dathan and Abiram sinned, God opened the earth and swallowed not only Dathan and Abiram, but also their households.

In the Bible, both on the positive side and on the negative side and both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, all records show clearly that God deals with man by households. Brothers, we need to take care of how we live before God, because what we do individually can affect our whole household.

One of the greatest failures of the Protestants is that they are too loose with their next generation; they allow their next generation to have the freedom to choose their own faith. The Catholics do not have to preach the gospel. Their increase through natural birth alone is greater than the increase the Protestants have in a lifetime; Have you seen Catholics preaching the gospel on street corners like the Salvation Army? No. They just propagate through natural birth, generation after generation. Two become four, and four become eight. Every Roman Catholic child automatically becomes a Roman Catholic. The Catholics do not pay much attention to increase from the outside. As long as a person is born into Catholicism, he is dragged into the religion whether or not he eventually becomes a true believer. It is no wonder that the Catholic population exceeds the Protestant population by more than three times. Do not be nonchalant in this matter, and do not allow your own children to drift away.

Let me repeat: A new believer needs to declare right from the start that his household belongs to the Lord. Not only must he be the Lord's individually; he also must declare that his household is the Lord's. Take full control of this matter, and it will be done for you.