Every baptismal act is valid in which water is applied to a person in the name of the Triune God. However, in the course of time many customs and ceremonies have attached themselves to this important Sacrament. These Gerhard (Locus de Baptismo, §§ 258-269) divides into three classes, namely, a) such as are based upon the divine command; b) such as were established by the apostles; and c) such as were added later.
However, when we speak of baptismal customs and ceremonies, we ought to exclude all acts commanded by God (the application of water in the name of the Triune God) and consider only the usages which were developed in the course of time within the Church. What God has established by divine command does not lie on the same level as that which has been added by men.
According to Dr. C. F. W. Walther (Pastorale, p. 130 ff.), the recognized customs and ceremonies of Baptism are the following: a) the reference to original sin; b) the giving of the name; c) the so-called "small exorcism”; d) the sign of the cross; e) a prayer and the benediction; f) the ‘large exorcism”; g) the reading of Mark 10,13—16; h) the laying on of hands; i) the Lord’s Prayer; j) the renunciation and the Apostles’ Creed; k) the use of sponsors; 1) the covering of the child with the baptismal garment; m) the final blessing. All these usages are in themselves only res indifferentes (adiaphora), which may be employed or omitted without injury to the sacramental action; nevertheless, as the Formula of Concord aptly remarks Epit., X, 5, “herein all frivolity and offense should be avoided, and especial care should be taken to exercise forbearance towards the weak in faith, 1 Cor. 8, 9; Rom. 14,13.”