Baptism: How Old Must One Be?

Question: Is there an age requirement for baptism?

Before answering this question, it may be helpful to review some of the biblical references pertaining to obeying the gospel of Jesus:

• Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ,"
• Acts 4:4 “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
• Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””
• Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
• Acts 17:30–31 “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.””
• Romans 10:9–10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
• Acts 8:36-37 “And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.’”
• Acts 18:8 “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
• Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
• Acts 22:16 “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”

Answer: The Bible does not provide an age for baptism, yet from the above verses we can infer some necessary conditions. The person must be of an age and level of development that would allow them to understand their sinfulness, the message of Christ, and the sorts of life changes necessary to obey Christ.

In the case of infants, it is easy to see why baptism is inappropriate. They cannot understand nor express belief in Jesus, nor do they have the ability to willfully sin against God and incur guilt. Baptism washes away sins (Acts 22.16), and infants do not sin.

In the case of small children who learn of Jesus and want to be baptized because they see older people doing so or they’ve been taught (correctly) that they should be baptized, discernment and further teaching is necessary. A person must understand fully what they are doing, and small children may be able to repeat what they’ve been taught without fully understanding what sinfulness means.

Once a person reaches an age/developmental level to understand that they have made choices in defiance of God’s will, and the result of the decision to sin is understood, they are then able to choose to follow Christ and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.

Put it this way: Salvation by way of the gospel of Christ is the solution to a problem, and unless the problem (sinfulness & condemnation) is understood, the solution doesn’t mean what it must.