Start with Scripture
Read these passages in context before moving to the explanation.
- Matthew 28:18–20
- Acts 2:38–39
- Genesis 17:7
- Colossians 2:11–12
What baptism signifies
Jesus commanded His church to baptize and teach. The Westminster Confession describes baptism as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, pointing to union with Christ, forgiveness, and new life. It is administered with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is also a solemn reception into the visible church, placing the baptized person within its care and instruction.
Why believers’ children receive baptism
The RPCNA understands the children of believers to have a place within God’s covenant people. It reads the promise to Abraham, Peter’s words about the promise to believers and their children, and the New Testament’s teaching on the covenant together. The Confession teaches that infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized. The Testimony connects their baptism with the church’s responsibility to care for them and the parents’ calling to nurture faith.
Baptism and personal faith
The application of water does not automatically save or regenerate a person. Baptism calls us to the reality it signifies: life in Jesus Christ. Parents are to do all they can to lead their children to personal faith in Him. Children grow up hearing the gospel, learning to pray, and being called to repentance and trust. If you are exploring baptism for yourself or your children, speak with the elders about its meaning and the responsibilities involved.
Read the standards
Follow the topic into the church’s confessional texts. The chapter readers include Scripture proofs and an optional Confession–Testimony comparison.
Reflect and discuss
- What does Jesus join to baptism in Matthew 28?
- How does baptism connect a child with the care of the church?
- Why must we distinguish the outward sign from the saving work of the Spirit?