Bath and Supper
God cleanses and feeds us by these means of grace. Baptism is carried out by Christ’s command calling us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” (Mt 28:19). As a Lutheran, infants as well as adults and children are baptized. I have struggled with this sometimes because my understanding since becoming a believer is that it should follow faith, not precede it. From early church history, however, infants have been baptized. In Acts, entire families were baptized (Acts 16:15, 33). Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) wrote approvingly of the practice. [1] The Book of Concord states, “We maintain that we should baptize children because they also belong to the promised redemption that was brought about in Christ (Mt 19:14). The church ought to extend it to them.” [2] In The Small Catechism, Luther explains, baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the Word and promise of