What Do Lutherans Believe about Baptism?

How can pastors explain infant baptism using scripture? When John Conrad looked for resources to help him, he found none that addressed the issue from an almost exclusively scriptural viewpoint. And he discovered that couples from differing religious backgrounds (such as Baptist and Roman Catholic) often opted not to baptize their children mainly because they couldn't come to any point of agreement. So Conrad decided to fill this void -- and his research is an excellent clarification of this often murky topic. What Do Lutherans Believe About Baptism? will be useful to pastors as background for a sermon series or as information to share with parents preparing for baptism. It also makes for an excellent short study on baptism for adult classes.

What Do Lutherans Believe About Baptism? is the best defense of infant baptism that I have seen anywhere. On Baptism of Our Lord Sunday I basically went through it, and lifelong Lutherans who have been going to church every Sunday finally understood why we baptize infants and why it is a biblical ministry. People not only liked it, I also received several requests for copies of my sermon and a lifelong Baptist couple who had worshiped in our church for several years finally decided to join.
Rev. John Hogenson
Grand Marais, Minnesota