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Infant
Baptism,
Age of
Accountability,
Dedication
of
Children
This
Assemblies
of God
Perspective
reflects
commonly
held
beliefs
based on
scripture
which
have
been
endorsed
by the
church's
Commission
on
Doctrinal
Purity
and the
Executive
Presbytery.
What is
the
Assemblies
of God
position
concerning
the
baptism
of
children,
their
security
in the
Kingdom,
and the
practice
of
dedicating
them to
the
Lord?
According
to the
Bible,
everyone
(adult
or
child)
who
recognizes
his or
her need
of a
Savior
and then
repents
and
believes
in
Christ
should
be
baptized
(Acts
2:38,41;
8:36-38).
But in
the
Scripture
there is
no
record
of
infants
or very
young
children
being
baptized.
This is
because
they are
not yet
able to
understand
the need
of a
Savior.
Yet God
places a
high
priority
on
children.
When
asked
who is
the
greatest
in the
kingdom
of God,
Jesus
responded,
"Unless
you
change
and
become
like
children,
you will
never
enter
the
kingdom
of
heaven"
(Matthew
18:3).
God’s
love for
children
is also
shown in
the Old
Testament.
In
Leviticus
the Lord
specifically
prohibited
the
people
of
Israel
from
offering
their
children
as a
sacrifice
to the
pagan
god,
Molech
(Leviticus
20:1-5).
It seems
fair to
conclude
that if
God
forbade
children
from
being
sacrificed,
He would
not
order
those
same
children
to be
placed
in the
eternal
fire of
hell.
From
these
Scriptures
the
Assemblies
of God
believes
that
children
are
loved by
God, and
until
they
come to
an age
of
understanding
(some
call it
"the age
of
accountability"),
they
have a
place in
the
kingdom
of God.
This
means
that
should a
child
die
before
developing
to a
point
where
the
knowledge
of
Christ
can be
understood
and
applied
through
forgiveness,
the
child
would
inherit
eternal
life in
heaven
as an
heir of
God’s
kingdom.
In Luke
2 we see
the
parents
of the
baby
Jesus
taking
Him to
the
temple
"to
present
Him to
the
Lord"
(Luke
2:22).
Later
the
Gospels
tell us
that
little
children
and
infants
were
brought
to Jesus
for Him
to touch
them and
bless
them
(Matthew
19:13-15;
Mark
10:13-16;
Luke
18:15-17).
In
following
this
practice,
Assemblies
of God
churches
encourage
parents
to
publicly
dedicate
their
children
to the
Lord.
This is
usually
done in
a church
service.
In
dedicating
their
child
the
parents
acknowledge
the
child as
a gift
from God
and vow
before
Him and
the
congregation
to set a
godly
example
for the
child
and a
commitment
to lead
the
child to
Christ
at an
early
age.
CONCERNS:
Some who
have
accepted
Christ
as
adults
wonder
if the
baptism
they
received
as
infants
fulfills
the New
Testament
mandate
of water
baptism
(1 Peter
3:21).
In the
Assemblies
of God
we
believe
baptism
in water
is to
follow
salvation
(acceptance
of
Christ
and His
forgiveness
of our
sins) as
demonstrated
in the
New
Testament.
For this
reason
we urge
all new
converts
to
follow
the
biblical
pattern
of water
baptism
in
obedience
to
Christ.
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