As relatively new parents, my wife and I are often praying that Judson would come to faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. It's a big prayer. It almost can't get bigger than that. So what would happen if, say, Judson professed faith in Jesus at the age of 6? We'd be thrilled! The New Testament pattern is that believers are baptized soon after their profession of faith. We see this in several places, notably the account of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:36). But we wouldn't want to, in our joy, rush Judson to the baptistery. Baptism is far too weighty a thing to be treated so lightly.
Some young children may be truly repentant and have a credible profession of faith at a young age. My testimony is one such case. I believed in Jesus as my savior from the age of 8 and was soon baptized. I still hold that this was a credible profession. Some young children may "ask Jesus into their heart" because they are a good child, raised in a household of faith where they are told the good news of Jesus before they can walk. They want to follow their parents, obey their parents, and please them. So they pray a prayer, accept Jesus, and get baptized, but are not truly regenerate. I know of several friends for whom this is a part of their testimony. They were later re-baptized as young adults because they do not believe they were truly saved at the time.
When a young child expresses faith in Christ, how do you assess whether or not they are ready to be baptized? In this article from 9marks.org, pastor Michael Lawrence encourages us that time is the ultimate test. We should encourage, but not necessarily endorse right away. I personally found this article to be an encouragement and a challenge. Lord willing, Judson will one day profess faith in Jesus. When he does, I want to be ready to encourage him in that, but not allow my excitement to overwhelm my discernment.
Read the article here: https://www.9marks.org/article/give-them-time-how-to-protect-the-assuring-nature-of-a-childs-baptism/
