Christening
Short answer: Christening is not a Bible word. It is an English term long associated with infant ceremonies in which a child is named and brought into the visible church. The Great Commission says, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," as Matthew 28:19 records. Scripture speaks of baptism, not christening, and it ties baptism to hearing and receiving the word. In Acts 2:41, those who received Peter's word were baptized. So the honest answer is that christening and baptism are not simply the same thing under two names. Whether infants should be baptized, and what that ceremony does, is a question faithful Christians have answered differently for centuries. This article looks at what Matthew 28:18-20 actually establishes, what it does not, and how to think about christening carefully.
Where the word christening comes from
The word christening comes from the old English practice of making someone Christian, or naming them in a Christian ceremony. Over time it became the ordinary word for infant baptism in many traditions, especially in Anglican and Roman Catholic settings. Crucially, it is a word about a church rite, not a word the Bible uses. The New Testament never says christen. It says baptize, which simply means to immerse or wash.
That matters because vocabulary carries assumptions. When someone asks whether a christening saves a baby, the question is already framed by a later ceremony rather than by the apostolic command. The Bible's own language keeps the focus on the gospel being heard, received, and answered. Naming a child is a good and ordinary thing; the New Testament does not attach it to baptism anywhere.
None of this means christening services are worthless. It means we should not read a modern church ceremony back into a first-century text and treat the ceremony as the standard. The standard is the commission Jesus gave, and the practice we see in the book of Acts as the apostles carried it out among real people in real towns.
What Matthew 28:18-20 actually commands
Matthew 28:18-20 says, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth." On that authority Jesus sends his apostles to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the triune name and teaching them to observe all that he commanded. Baptism here sits inside disciple-making. It is not a separate ritual performed on people who have not heard the message.
Notice the order: go, make disciples, baptize, teach. Disciples are made by the spoken word, and baptism marks those who have been made disciples. The promise attached at the end is Christ's presence with his people to the end of the age. The emphasis falls on his authority and his abiding help, not on the mechanics of a ceremony.
This is why baptism in the New Testament is so closely tied to believing and to repentance. It is a public, obedient response to good news already heard. Where the gospel has not been heard and received, the New Testament gives no example of baptism at all, and certainly no example of a christening ceremony with sponsors and vows.
Baptism in Acts follows hearing and believing
Acts shows us the apostolic pattern again and again. At Pentecost, Peter calls the crowd to repentance, and Acts 2:38 records, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Those who received his word were baptized that same day, about three thousand of them.
The pattern recurs in Samaria, in the Ethiopian official's chariot, in Damascus with Saul, in Philippi with the jailer, and in Ephesus with the twelve disciples of John. In each case, baptism follows the hearing of the message. The order is consistent enough that it shapes how the New Testament speaks about baptism as a whole.
This does not settle every question about household baptisms, which we will consider below. But it does mean the ordinary biblical picture is a person who hears, believes, and is baptized. Christening as a naming ceremony for infants sits outside that ordinary picture and must be argued for from other considerations, not from the Great Commission alone.
Baptism as union with Christ, not a naming rite
Paul explains baptism theologically in Romans 6:3-4, where he asks, "Or don't you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" Baptism pictures burial with Christ and resurrection to new life. It is about union with him, not about receiving a family name or a Christian label.
Colossians 2:11-12 makes a similar point, describing a circumcision not made with hands and a burial with Christ in baptism, in which believers were also raised through faith. The language assumes faith on the part of the one baptized. Paul is not describing an automatic rite performed on someone incapable of hearing or believing.
This is why many Christians who practice infant baptism still insist that baptism does not save a child. They see it as a sign and seal of covenant promises, to be confirmed when the child comes to faith. Others, reading the same texts, conclude that baptism belongs only to those who already believe and confess. Both positions exist among serious believers.
The household baptisms and what they do not prove
Acts 16:14-15 tells of Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened to listen to Paul's message, and then she and her household were baptized. Similar household baptisms appear with the Philippian jailer and with Stephanas. These accounts are the strongest biblical ground used by those who practice infant baptism, and they deserve to be read honestly.
What the text actually says about Lydia is that she listened and believed, and then her household was baptized. It does not state the ages of anyone in the household, nor does it say an infant was present. It also does not say every member believed. The account is simply silent on the details we would most want to know.
Honest readers should admit this. Household baptisms are consistent with infant baptism, and they are also consistent with the baptism of older children and servants who heard the gospel. The text does not decide the question. Anyone who claims these verses settle the debate either way is reading more into them than Luke wrote.
Paul's relief about baptizing few in Corinth
In 1 Corinthians 1:14-17, Paul writes, "I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius," explaining that he was glad not to have baptized many, so no one could say he baptized in his own name. He was sent to preach the gospel, he says, not primarily to baptize. That is a striking statement given how seriously baptism is treated elsewhere.
The reason is the Corinthian problem of factionalism. Baptism had become a badge of loyalty to particular leaders. Paul refuses to let a sign of union with Christ become a tool of division in the church. His priority was the preaching of the cross, and he was content to leave the baptizing largely to others.
This passage is a caution against making any baptismal ceremony, christening included, into a mark of status. It should never be treated as a family tradition that ranks one household above another, or as an achievement of the minister who performed it, or as the thing that identifies which group you belong to.
How to think about a christening invitation
If your family or friends invite you to a christening, you do not need to turn it into a theological fight. You can attend, celebrate the child, and honour the parents. Where the service includes vows you cannot in good conscience make, it is fair to say so plainly and gently, and to ask whether you can simply be present as a supporter.
What you should avoid is treating the ceremony itself as the thing that makes a child a Christian, or as a guarantee of anything about that child's future faith. Scripture nowhere promises that. The promises of the gospel are held out to those who hear and believe, and every child must one day hear that message for themselves.
If you are the one arranging the service, consider how your church handles the vows and what it teaches about what is happening. Ask the minister directly. A clear answer will help you take part with a good conscience, whether you conclude that the ceremony is a fitting covenant sign or that it goes beyond what the New Testament authorises.
Biblical fidelity check
What Matthew 28:18-20 establishes is Christ's authority and the church's commission to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them. What it does not establish is any ceremony called christening, any use of a baby's name as the point of baptism, or any promise that an uncomprehending infant is thereby made a believer. The text commands disciple-making; it does not prescribe a rite for infants.
A common misreading is to assume that because the Great Commission says baptize all nations, it therefore endorses infant christening as we know it. That does not follow. The sentence links baptizing to making disciples and to teaching obedience, which are things done to people who hear. Another misreading is to treat christening as a magic guarantee of salvation. Scripture nowhere teaches that. Faithful Christians differ on whether infants should be baptized at all, and honesty requires saying so rather than pretending the Bible settles what it leaves unstated.
Other passages that speak to Matthew 28:18-20
Baptism and the unity of the church run through the whole New Testament, and several passages repay careful study. If you want to trace how the apostles applied the commission in ordinary congregations, start with What Does 1 Corinthians 1:10 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application, which deals with divisions forming around baptism. Paul's opening thanksgiving in What Does 1 Corinthians 1:9 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application grounds the church's fellowship in God's own faithfulness. For the wider setting of the letter, see 1 Corinthians 1: Called, United, and Boasting in the Lord. And for how baptism and covenant warnings function in the life of a church, 1 Corinthians 10: Warnings and Freedom is a useful companion.
Frequently asked questions
Is christening the same as baptism?
The two words are used interchangeably in many churches, but they are not identical in meaning. Christening carries the idea of naming a child and making them a Christian in a ceremony, often with godparents and vows. Baptism is the biblical term, meaning to immerse or wash, and in the New Testament it follows hearing and receiving the gospel. So a christening may include baptism, or may function as a naming rite. It is worth asking a particular church what it believes is happening in its own service rather than assuming the words mean the same thing everywhere.
Does the Bible say anything about infant baptism?
The Bible never gives a direct command or a clear example of baptizing an infant. Household baptisms in Acts 16 and 1 Corinthians 1 are cited by those who practice it, but the text does not state the ages of those baptized. Those who baptize infants argue from covenant continuity with circumcision in Colossians 2. Those who do not point to the consistent pattern of belief preceding baptism. Faithful Christians hold both views, and 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 shows Paul did not treat baptizing as his central task even while he valued it.
Does a christening save a baby?
Scripture nowhere teaches that a ceremony, whether called christening or baptism, saves anyone, infant or adult. Peter ties baptism to repentance and faith in Acts 2:38-41, and Paul describes baptism as union with Christ in Romans 6:3-4, language that assumes believing. Even traditions that practise infant baptism generally deny that the rite automatically saves the child, describing it instead as a sign of covenant promises to be embraced later by faith. The child must still hear the gospel and respond personally. No service can do that for them.
