### 74. Q. Should infants also be baptized?

**A**. Yes. Infants as well as adults are included in God’s covenant and people,<sup>1</sup> and they, no less than adults, are promised deliverance from sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who works faith.<sup>2</sup> Therefore, by baptism, the sign of the covenant, they too should be incorporated into the Christian church and distinguished from the children of unbelievers.<sup>3</sup> This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision,<sup>4</sup> which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism.<sup>5</sup>

<sup>1</sup> [Gen. 17:7](/index.php/get-passage/Genesis+17:7); [Matt. 19:14](/index.php/get-passage/Matthew+19:14)
<sup>2</sup> [Isa. 44:1-3](/index.php/get-passage/Isaiah+44:1-3); [Acts 2:38-39](/index.php/get-passage/Acts+2:38-39); [16:31](/index.php/get-passage/Acts+16:31)
<sup>3</sup> [Acts 10:47](/index.php/get-passage/Acts+10:47); [1 Cor. 7:14](/index.php/get-passage/1+Corinthians+7:14)
<sup>4</sup> [Gen. 17:9-14](/index.php/get-passage/Genesis+17:9-14)
<sup>5</sup> [Col. 2:11-13](/index.php/get-passage/Colossians+2:11-13)