Infant baptism, though widely practiced in many traditions, is a grievous error because it distorts both the nature of baptism and the gospel itself. Its modern appeal lies in the desire for cultural continuity and sentimental assurance; parents imagine they are granting their child an early "entrance" into the covenant community, or even into salvation itself. In truth, this practice reduces baptism from a believer's public confession of faith to a ritual of presumption, conferring a false sense of security, while bypassing the child's need for repentance and personal faith in Christ. Worse still, it blurs the line between the visible church and the world, filling congregations with unregenerate members and undermining the purity and witness of Christ's body. The danger of infant baptism is not simply in error of form, but in its eternal consequence: it often deceives sinners into thinking they are safe when they have never come to Christ.

Scripture, however, makes plain that baptism is for disciples, those who hear the Word, believe, and repent. In Acts 2:38–41, Peter commands, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ," and "those who had received his word were baptized." Repentance and faith always precede baptism in the New Testament (Acts 8:12; Acts 18:8), with no example of infants being baptized. Jesus Himself institutes baptism as part of the Great Commission, tied directly to discipleship and teaching (Matthew 28:19–20), not to age, heritage, or family status. Colossians 2:12 describes baptism as being "buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith," clearly showing that baptism symbolizes union with Christ through faith, something an infant cannot exercise. Thus, the practice of infant baptism stands contrary to Scripture and, in effect, obscures the gospel by replacing personal conversion with cultural tradition. It is not a harmless custom, but a distortion of God's ordinance that must be rejected in favor of believer's baptism, the only pattern Christ and His apostles ever taught.
(The above article was AI generated and carefully edited.)