LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 219

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II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
The central question of the entire debate can be
expressed in a straightforward manner. Is Baptism
primarily God’s promise to us or is Baptism primarily our promise to God? If Baptism is God’s promise
to adopt us and to be our heavenly Father, there is
no reason that God cannot make a promise to an
infant as well as to an adult. It is analogous to parents
who adopt an infant child. They promise to care for
the child apart from that child’s ability to assent. By
contrast, if Baptism is my promise to God, whereby
I promise to be faithful to Him, then it would make
sense (from the standpoint of human reason) not to
baptize until someone is capable of making such a
promise. Obviously, such a view of Baptism fundamentally alters its character from that of grace and gift
(Gospel) to that of human assent, effort and responsibility (Law). This makes all the difference!
Luther expresses this nicely in the Large Catechism.
“Further, we say, we do not put the main emphasis on
whether the person baptized believes or not, for in the
latter case Baptism does not become invalid. Everything depends upon the Word and commandment of
God” (LC IV 52; KW 463). “Baptism does not become
invalid if it is not properly received or used, as I have
said, for it is not bound to our faith but to the Word”
(LC IV 54; KW 463).
8. Are infants or people who have mental or
emotional limitations capable of believing the
promises of Baptism?
Yes. When raising such a question, however, we must
be careful not to shift our focus away from what God
does in Baptism to the question of whether we (as
adults or children) are intellectually, volitionally or
emotionally capable of believing. When that happens, anthropology and psychology may be allowed
to shape our theology of Baptism. This mistake can
happen even with regard to our perception of adult
Baptism, if we see Baptism as little more than the outward response to an inward reality. It can also happen
with infants, if we see everything as dependent on our
ability to determine whether or not they have faith
immediately upon being baptized. Instead, we must
keep God’s command and promise front and center in
Baptism.
Having said that, it may be helpful to distinguish
between two aspects of faith, namely, faith as fides
directa and faith as fides reflexa. The former refers to

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our orientation toward God that is characterized by
trust and confidence. The latter refers to our knowledge of God’s work and agreement with His words
and promises.
With respect to God, faith is an orientation toward
God whereby we receive and live from the gifts of
God — whether we are conscious of them or not
(fides directa). Thus the psalmist exclaims, “Yet you
are he who took me from the womb; you made me
trust you at my mother’s breasts” (Ps. 22:9). This is a
faith or confidence that constitutes a direct dependence or reliance upon God just as infants depend
upon their parents. In this respect, Jesus told His disciples to imitate the faith of little children (Matt. 18:3).
But with respect to how we perceive ourselves or as
we reflect on faith and study how we experience faith,
we may well perceive and analyze aspects of faith that
can be described in intellectual, emotional and volitional terms. And we may experience growth in our
faith over time so that things about God’s promises
that we did not understand intellectually when we
were young we now grasp better (fides reflexa).
To maintain that infants are given faith in Baptism
does not imply that they intellectually grasp all that
this entails (knowledge) or volitionally acknowledge
it as true (assent). But they trust the one who holds
them. And as they grow, they gradually become more
aware and mindful of all that comes with the promises of God.
As Luther notes, “We bring the child with the intent
and hope that it may believe, and we pray God to
grant it faith. But we do not baptize on this basis, but
solely on the command of God” (LC IV 57; KW 464).
For this reason, we presume that the Spirit creates
faith in infants because God is able to do what He
promises (Romans 4). In a similar vein, Paul declares,
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have
put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). It is hard to imagine how
one could be clothed with Christ without faith.
9. What if the baby of Christian parents dies before it is
baptized?
When this happens, Christian parents have wonderful reasons to hope for the salvation of their child.
They know who their God is: the One who sent His
own Son to die on the cross to redeem and save little
children, no less than others (2 Cor. 5:19). The all-loving God loves their little one! This loving God did
not institute Baptism as something one has to do to

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be saved (a work of the Law); rather, He gave Baptism
as a means of salvation (a gift of the Gospel). This is
why Christian parents bring their babies for Baptism as
soon as possible: because of the clear promises of God
even for children (Acts 2:39), who certainly also need a
Savior from sin and death (Rom. 6:23). Yet the absence of
Baptism, in itself, does not cause someone to be lost. We
know that God has formed this child in the womb and
truly desires it to be saved. In fact, the child of Christian parents has very likely heard God’s Word of Christ
— even while still in the womb — and the Holy Spirit
uses the Word to create saving faith. That is, the child
may actually have believed in Christ before Baptism (Ps.
22:9–10; Luke 1:15, 41, 44). What is more, Christian parents
have surely prayed for their child already long before its
birth, and we know that for Jesus’ sake our God answers
prayers (John 15:16; 16:23). Do not doubt that God has
heard your prayer!
When a child dies before Baptism, the Lutheran pastor
will earnestly seek to bring to grieving parents comfort
and care from the Lord. He will always be ready to assure
Christian parents that they may have hope that their
child has been in the loving care of their gracious God,
the Father of our Savior, Jesus Christ.25

25
This answer applies to parents who earnestly desired to baptize their
children and did not despise the saving promises of Baptism. It should
therefore not be misunderstood as a denial of either the efficacy or general
necessity of infant Baptism or of the concerns raised in the Formula of
Concord, Solid Declaration Article XII, paragraphs 11–13. In condemning
Anabaptist errors, three of the errors the Formula lists have to do with
infant Baptism:
2. That unbaptized children are not sinners in God’s sight but instead are
righteous and innocent and therefore in their innocence are saved without
baptism, which they do not need. They thus deny and reject the entire
teaching of original sin and everything connected with it.
3. That children should not be baptized until they attain the use of their
reason and can confess their faith themselves.
4. That the children of Christians, because they are born to Christian and
believing parents, are holy and God’s children without and before baptism.
Therefore they do not regard infant baptism as very important nor do they
advocate it, against the expressed words of God’s promise, which only
extends to those who keep his covenant and do not despise it (Gen. 17:4–8,
19–21) (FC SD XII 11–13; KW 657).

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RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING

“Holy Baptism” in Confessing the Gospel: A Lutheran Approach to Systematic Theology. Edited by Samuel Nafzger,
John F. Johnson, David A. Lumpp and Howard W. Tepker. St. Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 2017, 749–806.
Kavanagh, Aidan. The Shape of Baptism: The Rite of Christian Initiation. New York: Pueblo, 1978.
Kolb, Robert. Make Disciples Baptizing: God’s Gift of New Life and Christian Witness. St. Louis: Concordia Seminary
Publications, 1997.
Luther, Martin. Concerning Baptism, 1528 (AE 40:225–62).
_____. Holy Sacrament of Baptism, 1519 (AE 35:23–43).
_____. Order of Baptism, 1523 (AE 54:95–103).
_____. Order of Baptism, Newly Revised, 1526 (AE 53:106–109).
_____. Sermon Mt 3:13–17 at the Baptism of Bernhard von Anhalt, preached in Dessau, Apr. 2, 1540 (AE 51:313–
329).
_____. Sermon on Baptism, 1528 (AE 51:182–88).
Saarnivaara, Uuras. “Baptism and Faith according to Luther’s Catechisms and other teachings” in Luther’s Catechisms
— 450 Years: Essays Commemorating the Small and Large Catechisms of Dr. Martin Luther. Edited by David Scaer. Fort
Wayne, Indiana: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1979, 27–31.
Sasse, Hermann. “Holy Baptism (1949)” in We Confess the Sacraments. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1985,
11–35.
Scaer, David P. Baptism. St. Louis: Luther Academy, 1999.
_____. “The New Translation of Luther’s Small Catechism: Is It Faithful to Luther’s Spirit?” in Luther’s Catechisms —
450 Years: Essays Commemorating the Small and Large Catechisms of Dr. Martin Luther. Edited by David Scaer.
Fort Wayne, Indiana: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1979, 32–40.
Schlink, Edmund. The Doctrine of Baptism. Translated by Herbert J. A. Bouman. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1972.
Trigg, Jonathan D. Baptism in the Theology of Martin Luther. Leiden: Brill, 1994.

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2019 Convention Workbook