"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God,'" Mark 10:13, 14

The first link deals with the question itself in more detail.

• The Question of Children's Inclusion

The second addresses in outline form the unity of the word of God in Christ concerning the place and inclusion of children.

• What we maintain
  
  

Are children to be included in the Christian church or excluded from it and from Christ?

This question repeatedly comes up in our various contacts. The question is not normally phrased in terms of children's exclusion from Christ, though that is in fact what is being asked. Usually the question comes in the form of a inquiry about whether we baptize babies or infants. This phrasing of the question, as to the baptizing of babies, is itself less than a forthright statement of the matter or issue, since the implication is that there is a kind of generalized indiscriminate practice of baptizing babies. No Christian church, not even Rome, teaches a generalized indiscriminate baptizing of babies. The question properly put is, "Do you believe in the baptism of the infants of believers?"

But to this question about the infants of believers must also be added the statement, "and their inclusion in the Christian church?" For baptism, however one understands it, whether as a sign, expression, or testimony, is a statement of inclusion into Christ and into His church as the living body of Christ and of our being washed in His blood from our sins. If the the children of believers are not to be baptized, though they may sit in a church and regularly attend it, they are not genuinely members of Christ or His body. They are outside the washing of His blood, outside the cross, outside the forgiveness of sins, and outside the promises of the gospel. They are, at best, a special object of mission work and no more. Their status is no different than that of the ungodly man and his children who walk in unbelief.

That is what the doctrine of children's exclusion, which is called "baptist," really entails, whether intended or not. It is a very serious question. It involves the questions: "Who is God? What is His grace? For whom did Christ die? What is the gospel? How are men saved?" It also involves very practically the question: "As a believing parent how do I view my children in relationship to Christ?"

The Covenant of Grace


The Covenant of God and the Children of Believers


The Covenant God's Tabernacle with Men


Ground of Infant Baptism


Infant Baptism and Sovereign Grace


The Mode of Baptism