What the Bible says about Confirmation?
Confirmation is not an actual sacrament in the Bible, but a ritual. It is mentioned but not essential for salvation, as is baptism. however, if you were baptized as an infant, there is a need for confirmation of that baptism once we are adults and aware.
At baptism, God claims us as His holy children. We have been given the free gift of membership in God's family and set apart for God's work in the world.
Most of us were baptized as children, perhaps too young to fully understand what was happening. We were also too young to take on all the responsibilities of belonging to the kingdom of God. Our parents took on the responsibilities of those promises for us, which include:
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give you a Christian education;
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teach you the Our Father, the Creed and the Ten Commandments;
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put the Holy Scriptures in your hands;
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provide for your education in the Christian faith;
… that you may lead a godly life until the day of Jesus Christ.
In confirmation, God's promise to the individual made on the day of baptism is confirmed: God confirms his promise to always be with the baptized person and he or she receives blessing and a special greeting from the church in the form of a Bible verse that is thought of as a kind of life companion. Confirmation also marks the transition from childhood to youth.
Confirmation increases and perfects the graces we have already received as Christians when we come to Christ through faith and baptism. It also describes the “seal” O “spiritual brand”, left on the souls of the confirmands.
Confirmation imprints a spiritual sign or an indelible character on the soul of the Christian; for this reason one can receive this sacrament only once in a lifetime.
We find something similar in Scripture? sure!
Ephesians 4:30 use the term sealed in reference to this great gift of our Blessed Lord:
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in which you were sealed for the day of redemption".
“But wait a minute”, some will say, “that text does not tell us when we actually receive this 'seal’ of the Holy Spirit! How do you know it refers to confirmation? For millions of fundamentalist evangelicals that seal of the Holy Spirit is received when they “accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior”.
and yet, in proceedings 8:14-17, among other texts (proceedings 2:4, 19:1-6), God's word could hardly be clearer. When an unknown number of Samaritans accepted Christ and were baptized, what we see?
When the apostles in Jerusalem learned that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who came down and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and received the Holy Spirit.
These new believers in Christ evidently still needed to be “sealed” with the Holy Spirit, as Saint Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:30.
Confirmation is a great gift of grace and strength, given to the faithful as a bulwark against sin and error that can distance them from heaven. It is entirely biblical. Mark and equip, but it is not an absolute guarantee of final salvation, which occurs through faith in Jesus Christ
