What are the weaknesses or risks of the covenantal baptism view?

One weakness of this view is the potential loss of meaningful experience for the individual who was baptized as a baby. Churches who baptize babies should be very intentional about celebrating significant milestones in that individual’s life.

Another weakness is the potential for “nominal” faith. Jesus regularly criticized the Jewish people for thinking that they were guaranteed blessing and salvation simply because they were “children of Abraham.” In the same way, covenantal churches run the risk of neglecting continued development of faith in those kids who are baptized, or neglecting to equip and empower their parents to raise them in the fear of the Lord.

Similarly, there is a risk of parents treating infant baptism as if it is salvific, akin to the Roman Catholic perspective. We believe this pushes the sacrament (a sign and seal of God’s promise) to a superstition (a rite that has immediate invisible affect regardless of the response of the individuals involved). The OT prophets, Jesus, and Paul all urge Jewish people to be “circumcised in their hearts” and not merely their bodies - the same goes for baptized believers - the baptism must be confirmed with a confession of faith later.