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Orthodox infant baptism: grace comes first, faith grows after

The speaker explains Orthodox infant baptism through the analogy of a father's unconditional love for his newborn son. Just as a father loves his child before the child can understand or reciprocate, God claims the child in baptism before the child can profess faith. The question often comes from Protestant friends who wonder why babies are baptized when they cannot yet believe.

The speaker's understanding became clear when he became a father and saw that his newborn son was already his son and loved unconditionally before the son could understand or choose. Love comes first and understanding comes later, which is how the Orthodox Church sees baptism. Baptism is not an exam passed when old enough to explain faith, but God saying "you're mine" before the child can even say His name.

It is being born into a family where grace comes first and faith grows as parents teach children to pray, love God, and make the faith their own. The practice dates to apostolic times when whole households were baptized together, following Jesus' command to let the little children come to him. The Church carries children into the faith and walks with them daily until they can walk on their own.

Key moments

  1. The question comes often from Protestant friends who wonder why babies are baptized when they cannot yet believe.
  2. The speaker's understanding became clear when he became a father and saw that his newborn son was already his son and loved unconditionally before the son could understand or choose.
  3. Love comes first and understanding comes later, which is how the Orthodox Church sees baptism.
  4. Baptism is not an exam passed when old enough to explain faith, but God saying "you're mine" before the child can even say His name.
  5. It is being born into a family where grace comes first and faith grows as parents teach children to pray, love God, and make the faith their own.
  6. The Church has baptized children since the time of the apostles, when whole households were baptized together.
  7. Jesus said "let the little children come to me and do not forbid them," so the Church does not make them wait outside but carries them in.
  8. The Church then walks with them every day until they can walk on their own.
10 opinions in the discussion 9 participants, 2 replies to each other The opinion with the most support Having come out of a "high level" of occult practice for more than 15 years before God found me, I can say it is very, very important that we baptize our infants. Nobody would question it if they truly understood how dangerous evil spiritual forces and people… Read the discussion
69 comments at the source Original on Instagram

Discussion · 10

Opinions are anonymous retellings of real comments from the original discussion. The same colour marks the same participant.

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  • opinion#2390

    Having come out of a "high level" of occult practice for more than 15 years before God found me, I can say it is very, very important that we baptize our infants. Nobody would question it if they truly understood how dangerous evil spiritual forces and people are. All glory to Jesus. Slava Bogu ☦️

  • opinion#2385

    Baptism is a personal covenant with God, and nobody can make that commitment on your behalf. It has to be your own decision, your own faith, your own conviction to follow Jesus. The Bible tells us to bless our children and pray for them (Numbers 6:24-26), but a blessing is not baptism. You can love your kids and hope they follow Jesus, but you can't enter that covenant for them. P.S. Just look at how many people baptized as babies grew up with no knowledge of God or His Word. Baptism without personal faith doesn't make someone a real follower of Jesus. That choice has to come from their own heart.

    • opinion#2392

      When you are baptized, you receive a guardian who travels with you and watches over you your whole life. What bigger gift could a parent give their beloved child than that? On top of that, it's the parents' job to teach the child to live in the faith and build that relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Again, what greater gift can a parent give a child?

    • opinion#2393

      Sorry, I meant to say you are given a guardian angel.

  • opinion#2389

    I used to be an atheist but got baptized at 28 in an Orthodox church. We baptized our children too, our son as a baby and our daughter at 3 years old. Thanks be to God for everything. Thank you for your content.

  • opinion#2391

    I was also told it's because babies are without sin?

  • opinion#2387

    I agree with baptizing infants. I was baptized as a baby in the Presbyterian church and had my children baptized the same way. The Baptists have very solid logic behind baptizing adults who can make their own statement of faith, and we should respect that tradition too.

  • opinion#2388

    I was baptized as a very young child, had my children baptized in the Orthodox Church in Greece after traveling there from Denmark, and now two of my grandchildren have been too. We're finding our way back home, to the roots of the Orthodox church and belief ❤️ Thank you for the videos, they make it even clearer how deeply our Orthodox faith is rooted in the heart, the family, and a long history of tradition.

  • opinion#2384

    Child mortality used to be extremely high because of disease, famine, and terrible living conditions from wars. Since unbaptized babies went to hell, parents rushed to baptize their children right after birth to keep their souls out of hell. That, my friend, is the only reason. Slava bogu. 🤍

  • opinion#2386

    The sooner you receive God's grace, the better. Once baptized, we are under the protection of the Holy Spirit and our Guardian angel. The younger, the better. I love our Greek Orthodox faith. Glory to God.