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cause_n	apostle_n	church_n	time_n	2,079	5	3.8715	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79489	A Christian plea for infants baptisme. Or a confutation of some things written by A.R. in his treatise, entitutled, The second part of the vanitie and childishnesse of infants baptisme. In the answer whereof, the lawfulnesse of infants baptisme is defended, and the arguments against it disproved, by sufficient grounds and forcible reasons, drawn from the sweet fountains of holy Scripture. S.C.	Chidley, Samuel.	1644 (1644)	Wing C3836A; Thomason E32_2; ESTC R11383	164,121	171

would inferre that because beleevers are exhorted by Paul to performe their civill Covenants and lawfull Contracts which they have made with men that therfore it appeareth that the gloss which you gave upon the Apostles words 1 Cor. 7.14 is a true interpretation What weight is in your words let any one that hath sence and reason judge For the like might have been objected in the time of the Law against the infants of the Church then whom the Lord did call and sanctifie and cause to approach neere unto him that because the parents and others were to performe their Conditions and bargains which they made each with other or with strangers not changing Psal 15.4 or going from their word though it were to their hindrance that therefore their holy infants then had no more holinesse then a meer l●gittimacie nor were different from the infants of Heathens and Infidells Were it not foolishnesse thus to thinke much more to affirme yea surely and therefore such affirmations of yours are to be taken for sensles imaginations and vaine conceptions not worthy to be uttered to any much lesse unto many Neither should they at this time have been mentioned heer but to manifest the vanitie thereof That reasonable creatures may not be deluded by such unreasonable collections and false inferences But may examine what they receive before they receive it and embrace nothing but what is agreeable to the Rule of Truth Further you say A. R. Pag. 11. at lin 5. to lin 23. And this may likewise appeare in Mal. 2.14 15. where the Spirit of God by the Prophet sheweth the reasons why their offerings were no more accepted because saith he God hath been witnesse between thee and the wife of thy youth that is his first wife then living against whom thou hast dealt treacherously yet shee is thy companion and the wife of thy Covenant and did not he make one yet had he aboundance of the Spirit and wherefore one in that he sought a godly or holy seed therefore keepe your selves in spirit and let none trespasse against the wife of his youth In which words it plainly appeareth that the scope of the place is that those Children which are generated by one man and one woman lawfully married are a godly or holy seed and those that are generated otherwise are not so but Bastards And the reason of this holinesse ariseth not here from any relation they had to the Jewish State nor from any Church Covenant but meerly from Gods first Institution of Marriage in the Creation and his then providing one woman for one man and which therefore is of Vniversall concernment to all man-kinde by the Law of Creation Ans Herein you pervert the Scripture and bring such Conclusions therefrom which are not included therein Whereas you say it is his first wife then living I aske you why not his second * Jacob had 2 wives Leah and Rachell the one was elder then the other and one was married before the other But the children which he had by thē as also those by Billa and Zilpah were all holy in their infancie and so are the Infants of beleevers a godly and holy seed and all other Infants are otherwise whether legitimate or illegitimate wife then living If you will limit it onely to the first wife then it seems by your speech that he might deale treacherously with the other and beare no blame for it But you should know that these Jewes to whom the Lord speaketh were taught to follow the righteous steps of their holy parents and not to deale treacherously with any of their wives You say that the scope of this place in Mal. 2.14 15. is That those Children which are generated by one man and one woman lawfully married are a godly or holy seed and those that are generated otherwise are not so but Bastards But that this is the scope of the place wee must take upon your bare word or else choose for Scripture to prove it you have none But by these your speeches it seemeth that you would have us to beleeve that godlines holines of children dependeth upō the parents lawfull generating of them And so by this it will follow that all the legitimate Infidells in the world are godly and holy both young and old which is very strange and absurd and overthroweth the Scriptures which declareth that there hath been alwayes a difference between the holy and prophane between beleevers and Infidells between the Infants of the Church and the Infants out of the Church one sort being called the children of God the other the children of men Againe This speech of yours in saying that the children of one man and one woman lawfully married are a godly and holy seed and those that are generated otherwise are not so but Bastards It doth imply that then all legitimated persons shall be saved and that no Bastards shall be saved And so out of your owne mouth for ought you know you bring a heavie censure and sentence of condemnation against your selfe for it seemeth by your words that your owne assurance of salvation must rest meerly upon humane testimony for you know not whether you are legitimate or no but by the testimony of your parents which if they were not lawfully married at the time of your begetting then where is your godlines and holines You have it not at all upon your own grounds howsoever at the best I thinke you will say that you have it not from your owne knowledge but by humane testimony But for your comfort you should consider that in a religious respect a Bastard if he be a Convert must not be rejected as a cast-away for although his father and his mother sinned in his procreation yet their sinne shall not be imputed unto him neither will the Lord reject him any whit the more for his being unlawfully begottē Yea though beleeving parents should through temptation derogate from Gods institution by begetting children contrary to Gods Law yet we will not say but as there is repentance forgivenesse for the parents returning unto God so the beleeving parents may have hope from the Scripture that sweet fountaine of consolation that God will not impute that their sinne unto their children who never sinned actually but will receive them to mercy with themselves So Davids childe which he had by the wife of Vriah the Hittite though it was unlawfully begotten contrary to Gods institution in Paradise yet it doth evidently appeare that we have no ground to say that the infant was out of Gods covenant any more then David was David repented and his sinne was forgiven him and his childe was cleane both in a civill and religious respect the which cannot justly be sayd of any infant whose parents are both of them unbeleevers though they are lawfull husband and wife and the childe legitimate yet the parents being neither of them in the Covenant were not to esteem any of their Infants

not amongst the living in Jerusalem but the dead in Palestina And therefore by the same rule if any of his male children who were at yeares of discretion would not be content to come in with his father as his father was to reckon him among the uncircumcised so was he not to circumcise him nor compell him to be circumcised till he submitted voluntarily yet if this Prosolyte had male infants borne of her that was sanctified to him though she did not sanctifie him he was to circumcise them and to rank his holy infants both male and female among the circumcised Salemites and to put such a reall difference between them and his disobedient children as between holy and prophane as between members of the Church and not of the Church as between circumcised Israelites and uncircumcised Philistines And so the holy Apostle Paul 1 Cor. 7.14 teacheth all beleevers to esteem such Children holy and directly opposite to those Children whose unbeleeving parents are not so much as sanctified to any beleever for procreating a holy seed and therefore the Infants of one or both beleeving parents are to be esteemed holy and it is a sinne to rank them with those infants whose parents are not any one of them in Covenant with God or at least so to be esteemed for wee have nothing to doe with secret things which belong only unto God but things revealed wee are to look into and so to judge of the tree by the fruit and in doing thus we shall not doe amisse or commit sin because we so judge though things fall out afterward contrary to our former expectation since those persons declare themselves otherwise then before they did or that God discover them unto us to be otherwise then wee were formerly to esteeme them But to this objection * Pag. 5. lin 34 A. R. That they are here termed holy and are so to be esteemed You answer * Pag. 5. lin 36 37 38. That so were the unbeleeving Jewes when they were broken off Rom. 11.16 and so is the unbeleeving wife in this place yet neither of these are to be baptized for their being tearmed holy and therefore not Children for their being here tearmed holy To which I answer that you doe not observe the scope of the Apostles words for he would not have us to judge that those are holy in visibilitie who are visibly Apostated and are cut off for the Apostle speaking of the Apostate Jewes sayth What shall their receiving be but life from the dead * Vers 15. For sayth he if the first fruits be holy so is the whole lump and if the root be holy so are the branches * Vers 26. Intimating that those branches are visibly holy which abide in the Vine and Olive tree and receive nourishment from and are borne up of the root Ver. 17. And the Apostle declareth that those unbeleeving Jewes were broken off and were not then partaker of that benefit which the beleeving Gentiles had by being grafted in in stead of the Jewes and so made partaker of the root and fatnesse of the Olive tree Ver. 18. yea further the Apostle declareth the cause of the Jews cutting off namely unbeliefe Through unbeliefe they are broken off Ver. 19. and therefore he exhorteth the beleeving Gentiles not to be high-minded Ver. 20. but to feare Ver. 21. and to take heed and to behold the bountifulnes and severitie of God Toward them which have fallen Ver. 22. Severitie but sayth he towards thee bountifulnes if thou cōtinue in his bountifulnes or els thou shalt be cut off And they also Ver. 23. if they abide not still in unbelief shal be grafted in for God is able to graft them in So then it appeareth that the Apostle doth teach us that their abiding on the Olive tree doth demonstrate them to be holy in the appearance of men Howbeit those are holy in the sight of God who shall be saved though they are not knowne unto men to be holy but ought to be esteemed unholy in visibilitie So the incestuous person of the Church of Corinth when he was cut off from them was by the Church to be esteemed unholy in visibilitie but afterward when he repented he was then to be esteemed holy by those persons who formerly and rightly according to visibilitie esteemed him unholy even at the time when he fell from his steadfastnesse And so it is sayd * Isa 4.3 that he that is left in mount Sion and in Jerusalem shall be called holy even every one that is written amongst the living in Jerusalem So it appeareth that till we see them to be of the number of those who are in mount Sion and in Jerusalem wee are not to esteeme them holy What they are in Gods secret account his sacred Majestie knoweth but the revealed will of God hath directed us not to call those visibly holy who are visibly unholy as all visible unbeleevers are nor are we to esteeme those unholy outwardly who are outwardly holy as all visible beleevers are for the Apostle putteth a difference between branch and branch between visible beleevers and visible unbeleevers as we must doe between the members of the visible Church and those that Apostate therefrom and are cut off But the holy children of beleevers in their infancie cannot justly be said to Apostate from God or to degenerate frō that heavenly state and holy olive tree in which they are by faith ingrafted and therefore well might the Apostle teach us that we are to esteem them holy Whereas you say so is the unbeleeving wife in this place I Ans It is not so The Apostle sayth not that the unbeleeving wife of the beleever is holy but sanctified but he declareth that the children are holy And as for the baptizing of such branches that are broken off before they are grafted in againe or the unbeleeving wife before shee be a beleever we plead not but alledge the contrary for they are not visibly holy as you would inferre but they are unholy in visibilitie and are not to be esteemed as written among the living in Jerusalem but as dead in sins and trespasses till they repent and beleeve and live thereby and so the Apostle sayth Rom. 11.15 What shall the receiving of the unbeleeving Jewes be but life from the dead But so long as they are spiritually dead they are not to be esteemed holy nor reckoned among the living in Jerusalem * Rev. 22.15 For as such unbeleevers were not meet to be members of the visible Church in the time of the Law no more are they meet to be members of the visible Church in the time of the Gospel for as the Church of God both was and is a spirituall holy Church so it hath refused and doth and ought to refuse all those persons that a●e not living stones holy and spirituall for holinesse sayth David becometh thine house O Lord for ever

doth he direct his speech unto any unbeleever but unto beleevers wherefore this principally concerneth beleevers that they might know the privioidges which appertaine unto them and their seed according to the covenant of God G●n 17.7 8. which declareth that God will be their God Secondly The Apostle doth not say that the unbele●vi●● ●●●band or wife sanctifieth the beleeving husband or wife but the ●●●●leeving wife is sanctified in the beleeving husband and the unbeleeving husband in the beleeving wife that is to say in consideration that ●●e is h● sanctified yoak-fellow Where wee are to note that though the unbeleeving wife have a priviledge to be sanctified in her beleeving husband yet not to sanctifie her beleeving husband nor hath the unbeleeving husband any priviledge to sanctified is beleeving wife Nor doth it need in this case for beleevers are holy without them though their unbeleeving yoak-fellowes are not sanctified without them Thirdly Wee are to note from the Apostles words Else were your children uncleane but now are they holy That because the unbeleeving wife is sanctified to the beleeving husband or the unbeleeving husband to the beleeving wife therefore the children are holy else not Fourthly We are to take notice that the cause of the sanctification of the unbeleeving wives or that which made them to be so sanctified was two things Frist Their abiding And Secondly Because their yoak-fellowes were beleevers if her yoak-fellow be a beleever else she cannot be so sanctified to the beleever for that that is not cannot be said to be Fifthly The Ap●stle treateth of holinesse which wee are to take for that excellent spirituall holinesse which becometh the Lords House even such a holinesse which Abraham and his infants had Which holinesse giveth the persons who have it visible right to the covenant of Grace and scales thereof The Apostle speaketh of holinesse and doth no way lesson it and therefore considering what the infants of bel evers have been what Christ hath done for them wee may well understand that the holinesse which they have now is a holin●ss● in relation to the covenant and Church of God Sixthly It evidently appeareth from the Apostles words that wee may safely cōclude that such children spoken of here are different from heathens for the unbeleeving wife had not that priviledge to bring forth such a holy seed unto a heathen And so the like may be said for the unbeleeving husband that he could not beget a holy seed of her that was an unbeleeving wife but it is peculiarly bound up in the beleeving yok●fellow Therfore the childeren of one or both beleeving parents are h●ly indeed taking the Scripture in the largest extent Seventhly If the Apostle had said to the beleevers that their children were unholy neverthelesse you might still have made su●h a collection as you have here to wit that he meaneth t●at they are no Bastards but legitimate for the legitimate children whose parents are neither of them beleevers are unholy and yet they have your holinesse to wit that which evidenceth them to be no Bastards Wherefore that the Apostle Paul me●neth such a holinesse which you speake of we may not in reason conclude but the contrarie as hath been observed before na●ely that the Ap●stl● meaneth a holinesse directly opposite to th●● 〈…〉 spoken of 2 Cor. 6.17 And also in this place 1 C●● 7.14 When he saith Else were your children unclean but now are 〈…〉 But you in giving the sence according to your sence or understanding say it is thus Else were your children Bastards but now are they no Bastards And further you say And that this is the genuine sence of this place A. R. Pag. 10. lin 33. may further and clearly appeare by the generall scope of the Apostle in the 20 21 22 23. verses following in the same Chapter where he after he had resolved the married Beleevers not to depart from their lawfull yoke-mates he then in these verses exhorts Servants and all others to abide likewise in the lawfull callings wherein they were before their Conversion and seemeth to tell them in effect thus much That their being converted to the faith did in no wise release them from any lawfull Covenants and civill duties in their severall relations wherein they stood before but bound them to a more due performance of all such obligements towards all men but in poynt of Religion and worship of God therein they were not to be in subjection to any save onely to Jesus Christ who had therefore bought them with a price Ans All which you have sayd here maketh nothing for your purpose for vindication illustration or confirmation of your strange restriction of the Apostles words but rather maketh against you for as much as the Apostle desireth every beleever to abide in the same calling wherein he was called So that the beleeving married persons had no need to put away their unbeleeving yoak-fellowes for as much as the Lord allowed them to abide together and that the unbeleeving yoak-fellowes were so sanctified for producing a holy seed Else were your children uncleane sayth the Apostle but now are they holy But you pretend that you gathered your interpretation Else were your children Bastards c. from the generall scope of the Apostle in the 20 21 22 23. verses following of the same Chapter The words therefore I will repeat at large because you shall see that here is nothing in these verses which you pretend or by which you have any occasion to urge what you doe Ver. 20. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called Ver. 21. Art thou called being a servant care not for it but if thou mayest be made free use it rather Ver. 22. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lords freeman Likewise also he that is called being free is Christs servant Ver. 23. Yee are bought with a price be not yee the servants of men Now consider what ground you had to build such an affirmation that the Apostle in speaking of holinesse 1 Cor. 7.14 doth not meane a holinesse in relation to faith and that where he sayth Else were your children uncleane but now are they holy he meaneth else were your children bastards but now are they no bastards What title of Scripture is here to warrant these your vaine conceipts in thus opposing holy infants Or upon what reason doe you ground these unreasonable collections Is it because the Apostle sayth that the called of the Lord are the Lords freemen the Lords servants are bought with a price Surely this maketh nothing against holy infants being in Covenant for they are bought with the same price Christ came not to damnifie them but to dignifie them not to make them loosers but gainers And all this is wrought by him in whom is all fullnesse and no emptinesse riches and no povertie life and no death He it is that came to give himselfe a ransome for them But you