One of the reasons I require a class on the Gospel before I am open to baptizing a child or young person is that I want to make sure, as the pastor/shepherd of a local church, that the child clearly understands and professes faith in the Gospel. Of course, the young person's parents also need to bear witness that the child bears the fruit of "new life." But on my part, one of the most dangerous things I can do is to baptize someone who has not shown they understand the Gospel. The deadly consequence of this, among other things, is that it could lead to false security.
In this regard, hear the sobering words of Martyn Lloyd Jones:
There is a sense in which it is true to say that the church is a very much more dangerous place than the world for the unbeliever….The church has been far too anxious to put people into church membership…
Church membership, unless it is based upon a true and definite belief in and experience of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can be exceedingly dangerous and can even be the cause of damning a soul (a sermon on John 6:66, April 23, 1933 in D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years: 1899-1939 by Iain Murray, 213).
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