There’s more to think about concerning baptism for parents that want to avoid a false sense of security in their child.

In the moments after a child joyfully shares that he or she has accepted Jesus as their Savior, a parent will feel many things. Emotions ranging from relief to elation will quickly overcome any Christian parent that has been praying for the salvation of their child.

Parents will quickly want to affirm the salvation of the child by encouraging baptism. After all, it’s the “first step of obedience” after salvation. While no one would disagree with the need for baptism, the timing is another story altogether.

Much discussion abounds around the timing of baptizing children. Some believe that it would be best to wait and see if the child shows fruit in keeping with repentance and salvation. This might take several years, perhaps even into adulthood, proponents say. A child that claims to have been saved at age 9 might even need to wait until he or she is out of their parents’ house before being baptized.

The simplest way I can summarize the philosophy of this view is like this: a child might be unduly influenced by parents, family, or church peers to profess salvation. To ensure this is not the case and that true repentance has occurred, it would be better to wait until the child has left home and is able to stand on his own two feet. Then, after facing the temptations of the world amidst varying worldviews, if the child keeps the faith, baptism is appropriate.

In a country like the United States, where easy believe-ism has produced false converts and cultural Christianity that seems to identify more with the American flag and White House than with the Scriptures and church house, this view is understandable. It’s almost a necessary evil.

And, to their credit, many of the adherents are willing to admit that this view is more opinion than Bible. In other words, they agree that they can’t base this view solely on Scripture, but by necessity have found this opinion helpful to implement in their churches.

But just as the pendulum can swing all the way towards on-the-spot easy believe-ism baptism, it can also swing to the opposite side towards the paralysis by analysis, wait many years position. I’m not sure either of these positions is particularly helpful (or biblical).

I found this article at The Gospel Coalition helpful in thinking through this tough issue. The article acknowledges the caution of those that want to wait and see if a credible profession of faith is evident, but makes clear that there is nothing in Scripture to prohibit a child from being baptized.

It seems even Jesus indicated that baptizing a child is appropriate when he told the disciples that were trying to keep kids from coming to Him, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me.” (Matt. 19:14) The understanding of this account with Jesus is said to be His proclamation that children can be saved and baptized and no one should keep them from doing so.

In particular, the article shares 4 reason a church should baptize kids as closely to their credible profession of faith as possible. Two of the reasons should be given serious thought:

1. The regular pattern in Scripture doesn’t give any indication of a probationary period.
2. A probationary period seems to imply that there is something more than faith we need to do in order to be a Christian.

These two reasons reveal that the clear biblical example is to baptize quickly, and that a wait-and-see philosophy has no support from Scripture. Does this mean a church should abstain from the wait-and-see philosophy? That question is better left to the elders of the church. They are the ones that will give account for how they led the local church.

How should parents move forward with a child that professes Christ and desires to be baptized?

First, parents should be (cautiously) excited for their children when they profess Christ. The reason I say to be cautiously excited is that the circumstances under which a child is saved should be considered. Did it happen at a camp where emotional experiences happen each day? Did it happen with a group of friends where being part of the crowd would be a strong influence? Just because a child is saved under one of these scenarios doesn’t mean the profession is false, but it necessitates caution and wisdom on the part of the parents to discern a credible profession.

Second, parents should make an effort to begin discipling a child that professes salvation. Rather than abdicate this God-given duty to the church, parents should spear-head the effort to ensure the child fully understands salvation, the Gospel, and baptism. Spend time asking questions, listening to the answers, reading and memorizing Scripture, and helping the child to fully grasp what it means to be a Christ-follower.

This is a weighty matter to consider as parents pray for the salvation of their children. Baptism is a good and necessary step in the life of a believer seeking to be obedient to the Savior. It should not be taken lightly. Neither should it be postponed until some arbitrary future time. The pendulum should not swing to either extreme, but rest in the middle firmly grounded on Scripture.