Do babies need to be baptized to be saved?

No! Salvation is by faith alone, through grace alone. Baptism is a sign that points to salvation, and not required. For us, infant baptism reminds us that the Lord acts first. Salvation is confirmed by believing in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and confessing with our mouths that God raised him from the dead (we acknowledge the mystery surrounding those with disabilities for whom we cannot see evidence of this faith). Our brothers and sisters who subscribe to “believers’ baptism” do not believe the waters of baptism are salvific either! All of us agree that the Lord regenerates and enables a person to turn to himself in faith, regardless of the sacrament. Believers baptism is a response to that faith, covenantal infant baptism is an anticipation of it.

Consider the Old Testament rite of circumcision. Not every circumcised Jewish boy was a member of God’s elect: some rejected God, worshipped idols, refused to enter the promised land, or otherwise demonstrated a lack of faith. Only those who confirmed their circumcision by faith were truly Elect. Paul argues eloquently in Galatians that it was not Abraham’s circumcision that saved him, but his faith, which happened much earlier than his circumcision, just as his sons’ circumcisions came before their faith, and not for everyone. Being a “member” of God’s covenant people is different than being the elect. Parents, when you baptize your child, the joyful task of leading them to full, mature, robust faith in Jesus Christ has just begun.

Just as Abraham’s faith and his circumcision happened at two different times, the covenantal view says that the sacrament and the saving faith it signifies do not have to happen at the same moment. Ideally, the baptism will be confirmed and understood and celebrated over the course of someone’s life.