January 2026 New Horizons

What Exactly Does Infant Baptism Mean?

by David VanDrunen

The Reformed doctrine of infant baptism is a stumbling block for many evangelical Christians who are otherwise attracted to joining a Reformed church. But the Reformed face not only the doctrinal challenge of defending the biblical rationale for our practice but also a communication challenge. Many people from other backgrounds don’t understand exactly what we mean by the language of infant baptism. For the Reformed, “infant baptism” generally refers to the baptism of underage or minor children. Longtime members of Reformed churches are accustomed to seeing a husband and wife join the church and having several of their young children, of various ages, baptized. But in colloquial English the word “infant” refers to babies. Some Christians, understandably, assume that the Reformed baptize only babies and not other children. Several times in my ministry puzzled people have asked me about this: What do the Reformed think about children too old to be baptized but too young to make a profession of ... Read more

Paedocommunion and Proper Sacramental Distinction

by Alan D. Strange

Paedocommunion advocates believe that infant baptism brings a child of an adult church member into the church in every respect, not only solemnly admitting the baby to the visible church (as all Reformed and Presbyterians believe about infant baptism), but, by virtue of his baptism, admitting him also to the Lord’s Supper. According to the partisans of paedocommunion, no sessional examination for a credible profession of faith is necessary to admit a baptized child to the Table. His baptism gives him everything he needs, and he does not need to be further examined for personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ before having a right to the sign and seal of Holy Communion. For the paedocommunion advocate, the requirement of a credible profession of faith to come to the Table is repugnant, equivalent to starving our children by a failure and refusal to give them what is rightfully theirs, unduly withholding from those who ought to receive the body and blood of the Lord in a spiritual communion with our Savior. ... Read more

Why Do We Presbyterians Baptize Infants?

by Gregory E. Reynolds

Thoughtful Christians often have questions about the baptism of infants and young children prior to their profession of faith. What the Bible teaches about this important subject is beautifully summarized in Westminster Larger Catechism: To whom is baptism to be administered? . . . Infants descending from parents, either both, or but one of them, professing faith in Christ, and obedience to him, are in that respect within the covenant, and to be baptized. (Q. 166) The Biblical Baptism of Infants Some insist that because there is no command to baptize infants and young children in the New Testament, they must first believe. However, the application of the sacrament of covenant initiation (circumcision in the Old Testament; baptism in the New) to the children of believers is commanded explicitly to Abraham: I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring ... Read more

Cognitive Challenges and Communion

by Stephen J. Tracey

A few years ago, I stumbled across an online forum discussing the following question: “Friends of mine have a preteen child who has always been nonverbal and has the cognition of about a two-year-old. Should communion be offered to people with that type of disability?” If the church has done well nurturing its covenant youth, this preteen’s abilities and disabilities are well known to the whole congregation, including the ruling elders. We shall not treat her as a two-year-old, because she is not. She is now reaching the age when her peers will probably take a communicant’s class, and people are rightly wondering if she may take communion. The answer on the online forum was a resounding no. This refusal is another milestone in her life at which her parents will grieve, and she may be further isolated from the body of Christ. People with cognitive challenges may be people with low IQ or developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, or people on the Autism Spectrum ... Read more