sacraments...baptism

Sacraments:
Q. What are sacraments?
A. Sacraments are holy signs and seals for us to see. They were instituted by God so that by our use of them He might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and might put His seal on that promise. And this is God’s gospel promise: to forgive our sins and give us eternal life by grace alone because of Christ’s one sacrifice finished on the cross.


Q. Are both the word and the sacraments then intended to focus our faith on the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation?
A. Right! In the gospel the Holy Spirit teaches us and through the holy
sacraments He assures us that our entire salvation rests on Christ’s one sacrifice for us on the cross.
(from Heidelberg Catechism; 1536, #66 and #67)


Infant Baptism Explanations:
--Why I Changed My Mind, a letter to my daughter
-- Francis Schaeffer's helpful little paper



Baptism is a sacrament of the new testament, ordained by Jesus Christ,
not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church;
but also to be unto him
- a sign and seal of the covenant of grace,
- of his ingrafting into Christ,
- of regeneration,
- of remission of sins,
and
- of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life.

This sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in His Church until the end of the world.

For a contrasting view:
see Spurgeon's "Children Brought to Christ, Not the Font" (awesome title)
and Fred Malone's journey from baptizing babies to NOT