The practice of baptizing babies, widely accepted today, was completely unknown in the early church. The first explicit mention of the practice in history is in the writings of Tertullian of Carthage, an early church leader, who lived in the third century (some two hundred years after the beginning of the church). Tertullian wrote about the baptism of children as a then new practice, reserved for children who were very sick. Tertullian opposed the practice, saying it was not biblical, but many other church leaders accepted it, and the practice became firmly established in religious tradition. It became the almost universally accepted practice until challenged by the Anabaptists in the sixteenth century, who taught that baptism was reserved for believers.

There is absolutely no mention of baptizing babies in the Bible. Some teach that the “household” conversions of Lydia (Acts 16), Cornelius (Acts 10), or the Philippian jailer (Acts 16) show that infants must have been baptized. The reasoning is that since whole households were converted, there must have been infants included. None of these accounts, however, mention any infants, and the presence of infants cannot be assumed. Every account of conversion in the book of Acts mentions at least one thing, such as believing, which an infant cannot do. There is no reason to assume that infants were present and baptized. 

It is sometimes taught that infants must be baptized because of “original sin.” “Original sin” is supposedly the sin that all humanity inherits from Adam, because we were all involved in his original sin in Eden. Although we choose to sin, we are not responsible for Adam’s sin. Every person is responsible for his own sins, and the child is sinless until he reaches the proper mental maturity to be responsible for his own sins. The prophet Ezekiel declared, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (Ezekiel 18:20). When Paul said, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22), He was talking about physical death and the resurrection. If he was saying that we inherit sin from Adam, simply by being humans, then he would also be saying that we inherit eternal life in Christ, simply by being humans. Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). He held up their sinless purity as an example for all.

Infant baptism simply cannot be right, because there is no biblical authority for it. It is an ancient tradition of men, no doubt begun with good intentions, but nevertheless contrary to the Bible. Baptism is for the penitent believer (Acts 2:38). Babies cannot repent, and have no sins to repent of. The Bible picture of baptism is a burial of believers. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5). Infant baptism changes God’s plan, and may prevent the adult believer from obeying the gospel, thinking he or she has already been baptized, even though he has not followed the biblical pattern.