4 Audio Message : What the Early Christians Believed About Believer’s Baptism - New!

Bercot begins this series of messages with the baptismal instructions of Jesus and then looks at every baptism described in the Book of Acts. He demonstrates that these were all believer’s baptisms. He then looks at all the passages of Scripture that discuss the meaning of baptism—nearly all of which assume believer’s baptism.

Bercot then quotes from the primary writers of the second century and demonstrates that there is no concrete evidence of infant baptism in the second century. In fact, the universal belief in the 2nd century was that infants and children are innocent, and therefore do not need baptism.

Bercot then looks at the quotations from the 3rd century that are commonly brought forth by infant baptizers. He shows that nearly all of these quotes are talking about baptism of young children—not infants. In fact, there is only one quotation in all the pre-Nicene writings that specifically talks about infant baptism, and this is a quote from Cyprian in A.D. 250.

As Bercot shows, the evidence indicates that believer’s baptism was still the standard practice throughout the 4th century. It was not until the 5th century, when Augustine declared that all unbaptized infants are condemned to hell that infant baptism became the normative practice, and it was eventually mandated by the state church.

Back in 1994, when David Bercot was studying to be ordained in the Anglican Church, he made a cassette tape defending infant baptism. In that tape, he presented the standard arguments in support of infant baptism. In this new message, Bercot goes through those arguments—point by point—and refutes them from both Scripture and early church history.
Four 60 minute audio messages

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