Chapter 4: Summary Of Luther's Philosophy of Infant Baptism.
Chapter Four
Summary Of Luther's Philosophy of Infant Baptism.
Infant Baptism Is Not Found In God's Word.
You can search the Bible through, from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find one case where an infant was ever baptized. Why didn't God instruct Adam and Eve to baptize their first two children, Cain and Abel? Why didn't God baptize Adam and Eve? After all, He created them, so it would not have been a problem to baptize them!
If, according to Luther, baptism gives eternal salvation, then God could have instructed Adam to baptize Eve; and, then Eve could have baptized Adam! But such was not the case. In Hebrews 9:22 we are told,
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
The First Mention Principle And The Sin of Adam and Eve.
In Genesis 3:21, we find because of Adam and Eve's sin, innocent blood had to be shed.
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21).
Adam and Eve accepted the blood sacrifice that God had prepared and God then clothed them with the skins of innocent animals. This was only a "temporary fix," a covering only for the sin of Adam and Eve. This did not take away their sin, only covered it. This is the first mention of "The Blood" in the Bible. It is known in Theology as the "First Mention Principle," in which God carries the same wave of truth throughout the rest of the Bible. This wave of truth culminated in the Lord Jesus Christ shedding His perfect, sinless blood on the cross of Calvary for the remission of all sins, for all humanity.
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29).
Luther Has A Different Opinion! He Believes Water Baptism Can Take Away Sin, Or "The Way of Cain."
In his Small Catechism, Page 174, #626 C., he states, "Because infants, too, can believe." Notice, at the bottom of the same page, Luther makes it perfectly clear what he is trusting for his salvation, and that is WATER BAPTISM! This includes infants also as he states, "Infants, too, can believe." How ridiculous and Satanic!
"II. The Blessings of Baptism. What does Baptism give or profit? It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare."
Adam and Eve did not believe what Luther believes, as they taught Cain and Abel that God would only accept the blood sacrifice for the remission of their sins. Abel believed his parents, while Cain did not. In Genesis 4:4, Abel killed the lamb and offered the blood sacrifice which God accepted.
Cain, on the other hand, refused his parent's instructions and offered his own good works, pictured in the fruit of the ground. This was the seed he had sown, tended to, and harvested with his own hands. Can't you just see Cain as he artfully arranges his offering of fruits, vegetables, and grains, thinking to himself, "My offering is so much more beautiful than that bloody sacrifice of Abel's. Wait until God sees this!"
God rejected Cain's offering (Genesis 4:5-8), telling him it was a sinful offering. Cain was thinking that God would accept his good works as being sufficient, instead of the blood sacrifice being sufficient. God's words in Genesis 4:7 that "sin lieth at the door" infuriated Cain to the point of killing his brother, Abel. Cain was religious, or he wouldn't have brought any offering; but, it was a bloodless offering, centered only in his good works and self righteousness. In 1 John 3:12 we are told concerning Cain:
"Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one (Satan), and slew his brother (Abel). And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." Is Martin Luther Any Different Than Cain? He, offers the work of baptism as the means of Salvation, therefore denying the FINISHED work of Christ on the cross. Christ last words on the cross are recorded in John 19:30, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost."
Luther never got his doctrine of infant baptism from the Bible; but, inherited this Satanic doctrine from the Roman Catholic organization.
Four Examples To Provoke Your Thinking To Belief In God's Word.
Abel was never baptized as an infant or as an adult. In Matthew 23:35, God said that Abel was a righteous man.
Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5); but, was never baptized.
Enoch "who walked with God" and pleased God; but, was never baptized. (Hebrews 11:5; Genesis 5:24).
Abraham "believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness." (Romans 4:3). Abraham was never baptized. These four examples are used only to direct your thinking to the Word of God, where no infant is ever recorded as being baptized; nor any parent ever instructed to baptize their infants. Would The Lord Condemn Little Infants To The Lake of Fire?
Would one dare to think that the Lord, Who loves babies and little children, would actually place an infant in the Lake of Fire (Hell); because the parents did not have their baby baptized? May I draw your attention to Matthew 18:6, in which Christ expresses His love for little children.
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which BELIEVE IN ME, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Here, these little children were old enough to believe in Christ. They believed He was the Son of God, the Messiah who was going to the cross to pay for their sins and would be raised three days later, just as He had claimed. Should a skeptic or unbeliever mock or make fun of these little children who believed in Christ, He stated very clearly that it would be better for them to die physically once, than to die the second death and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. With these words in mind from Christ, Himself, I ask you this question. "How could a person even entertain such a thought that Jesus would send an infant to eternal Hell, just because that infant didn't have a few drops of water sprinkled on his head by one of Luther's puppet preachers?"
Remember, an infant has not the mental faculties developed to even know what is right or wrong, or what the word "sin" means. An infant has not knowingly committed any sin. This infant can't even say, "Goo! Goo!" let alone know its parent's name. James 4:17 tells us that, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." This is impossible for an infant to acknowledge or experience. Then, Luther wants you to believe that God will condemn this infant, should it die, because the parents did not have it baptized!
Infants Already Belong To The Kingdom of God.
In Luke 18:15, infants were brought to Christ, along with little children. In Luke 18:16 Christ announces, "...for of such is the kingdom of God." Neither the little children, nor the infants, were ever baptized; yet, they belonged to the "kingdom of God." Since the Word of God is true, Luther would have to be labeled a liar and a deceiver.
David's Son.
Remember, again, King David's son, who died, being only seven days old. (2 Samuel 12:18). He was never baptized; yet, David said in Chapter 12:23, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." I am sure you recall the 23rd Psalm, written by David as the Holy Spirit instructed. The last verse states, "And I (David) will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever." Since King David is going to "dwell with the LORD forever" and "will be going to be with" his son; we would have to conclude that his son, upon departing this earth after seven days, had gone to be with the LORD. David's son was never baptized; but has been with the LORD for over 3,000 years.
What The "Man On The Street" Thinks About Luther's Statement , "Infants, Too, Can Believe."
Luther says that "Infants, too, can believe," in his Small Catechism, P. 174, #626, C. I did something just for my own curiosity. I asked many, many people if they thought an infant child could believe something you told it. They all thought I was "nuts" to ask such a stupid question! Here are a few of the answers I received.
"What is your point, Pard?" "I don't have time for this foolishness!" "Are you taking a survey or something? I am really not interested." "Are you serious? Everybody knows an infant can't believe." "That's the dumbest question I have ever been asked!"
One man in particular, after I had asked him the same question, responded by the following. He said, "I know you know the answer to your own question and so do I, as we both know infants cannot believe. I have a little girl 3 months old." He further stated that I had stimulated his curiosity as to why I would ask such a question.
I told him this is what Martin Luther teaches in his Catechisms. He wasn't a Lutheran; but had some friends who were. He told me that his Lutheran friends were intelligent and responsible people and he couldn't believe his friends could believe something this bizarre. I told him he could read Luther's own words for himself on Page 174 in the Small Catechism. He was the only person who showed any interest at all in my question.
For someone to believe that an infant is capable of understanding and believing something, transgresses any intelligence or common sense God has created them with. You may hold a bottle of milk out to an infant and he may believe you are about to give it to him and cry when, instead, you take it away. However, he has no faculties to deal with abstract concepts like "sin" or "belief." Luther, magnetizes his followers to believe the impossible when he says, "Infants, too, can believe." He has well earned the title of the "Master of Deceit!"
Infant Baptism Is A Promise of False Security.
Luther's doctrine of infant baptism gives a false promise of security which is nothing more than a TRAP DOOR TO HELL! The parents who have their infant baptized are usually given a baptismal document confirming the act, with the date, time, name, and age of the infant. The parents are assured by the pastor, Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Susie, and all the relatives that their baby is now a child of God and its baptism "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil and gives eternal salvation..." (Luther's Small Catechism, P.174). As the child grows older, he or she is continually reminded of the foregoing. The certificate is framed, placed on the wall, honored and reverenced as assurance that the child possesses eternal life. Many times the parents will give these certificates to the child when he establishes his own home.
In witnessing to many Lutherans, who were baptized as an infant, I have found only a few who will believe the Word of God and trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The majority, by far, will believe their parents and family who followed their pastor; who followed Luther, and will believe his Catechism in lieu of the Bible. How sad and tragic this is!
The town I started a church in contains approximately 600 people. Many are related in one way or another. There is one Catholic church, a Methodist church, and two Lutheran churches of the same denomination (ELCA). All four set the same "Trap Door to Hell" of infant baptism, which is found nowhere in the Bible!
Most people acknowledge Billy Graham as one of the greatest and most respected of evangelists America has produced. Never have I heard or read where Rev. Graham ever projected infant baptism as a doctrine of the Bible.
A Warning To Parents From God's Word.
In conclusion, the worst thing a parent could do, is to have their baby baptized thinking that is going to secure their eternal home in Heaven. You have then become the mediator between God and your child, because you have convinced your child his baptism will give him eternal life. As the child matures, why should he need Jesus Christ as his Savior, when you, as his parents have assured him his baptism has saved him or her? This is how damnable the practice of infant baptism is. You have swung the "Trap Door to Hell" shut on your own child!
As we have previously shown, all infants and babies, should they die, go immediately to be with the Lord. Nowhere in God's Word will you ever find an infant being baptized. Nowhere will you read in the Bible that God ever instructs parents to baptize their babies. When a child reaches the age of accountability where they comprehend that God loves them and Jesus Christ paid for their sins on the cross; they are, then, responsible to accept or reject Christ's payment.
Peter stated very clearly in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: (This includes Martin Luther and his pseudo-doctrine of infant baptism.) for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
In John 3:36 is recorded a very simple truth concerning eternal life. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Instructions to the head of the family are given in Ephesians 6:4. "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Not Luther's "Catechism of Philosophy").
Parents, who will you believe? Martin Luther, the Master of Deceit with his "Trap Door to Hell" of infant baptism; OR, the "Savior, which is Jesus Christ, the Lord," and eternal life. (Luke 1:11).
Jeremiah in 17:5 states God's advice.
"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD."