Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	baptism_n	baptize_v	infant_n	1,991	5	9.3594	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30859	Baptism, infant-baptism, and Quakerism briefly, but impartially considered, in a letter to a friend with a short disswasive from the impiety, atheism, and popery of our age, in another letter : with an appendix.		1674 (1674)	Wing B675; ESTC R22609	22,764	60

BAPTISM INFANT-BAPTISM AND QUAKERISM Briefly but Impartially Considered in a Letter to a Friend WITH A short Disswasive from the Impiety Atheism and POPERY of our AGE in another Letter With an Appendix LONDON Printed in the Year 1674. TO THE READER Reader I Have had the Happiness of these Papers Company some years they have lain by me in this defensive posture thou now findest them a long time and I assure thee they have demeaned themselves very quietly though Men of War without offending any as I hope they will still since they first Quartered with me there have been many Insurrections many a Battle fought many a Line drawn and many a Trench closely Besieged These Controversies of Infant Baptism and Quakerism have of late been hotly bandied to and again I have after several attempts made by my self and others proved vain and ineffectual through the Authors modest loathness to appear in Print I have I say at length prevailed with the Author to Commission them to go out into the Camp and contribute all they can towards the Peace and quiet of Religion I have extorted leave of him to press them to the publick Service and yet I hope they will demean themselves as victorieusly as other Volunteers that have gone out to slay This is all I thought good to Advertise thee and so I leave thee to the Authors previous Advice TO THE READER Un●●●●●diced and Impartial Reader FOR so these papers suppose thee if they mistake I am sorry for it if thou art not Impartial I wish ●●ou wert so if not unprejudiced and unpre-engaged may they make thee so if thou art hot cither pro or con here is no treatment for the at least not in the first at puter if thou comest with a pious inaifferency to possess thy self of Truth and verity read and welcome soon and prosper The deagn of those prefactory Lanes is not to Court thy Acceptance or suborn thy sa rane for to bride thy vote nor yet to fort-stall thy judgment for this would be very unlake the lasiness of the dispute they usher in which is ●●t to beg but by strength of reason command thy assent not to desire the favour but by dint 〈◊〉 Argument to require the justice of thee to believe the Truths defended and dis-believe the Erros confuted it is hoped both are modestly enough done I request of thee onely to be clam sedate and impartial and be what thou wilt eise It is not knnecessary I think to let thee know that these were real not feigned Letters thou art not the first they were sent to nor the Friend meant in the Title page though now at the second hand thou art and I hope they wil give thee no cause to be otherwise so that thou maist be assured the reason of the Title is not any emulatton of the Fashion of writing even contraversies that hath of late so much obtained A Letter to a Friend of 700. pages sometimes which me thinks should be added to the Title that the Friend might know how long the Letter would keep him from business and matters of concernment without the trouble of turning to the end of the Book before he hath scarce sa his eye upon the beginning Know also this both Letters were writ so long ago as 1668. both of them without the least intent or purpose of publication That the first was writ in a sheet of paper which you must be remembred for the us derstanding of an Expression in the close of it That in the close of the last Letter the Roman Innovations are intended and how much reason there hath been since the Year 666. to fear the corrupting of the Truth and the defacting of the Religion of England by Popish contrivances I need not tell thee therefore if thou takest the sense meaning or design to be that the Church hath not the power to regulate necessary Circumstances not expressed in Scripture in the Worship of God thou dost mistake And lastly take notice that brevity was studied in both Letters and therefore thou canst not expect as much here on the Subjects treated of as thou maist in larger volumes yet I think I may say thou wilt find more in a little here than thou canst any where else so much brevity reason and distinctness couched together if I mistake not thou wilt miss in many other books thus much I hope I may say without any arrogance or immodesty ERRATA Reader THou maist well wonder to see so many Errata's in so few Leaves and so large a Catalogue of Errors in so little a Book nor are here all some are on●●ted because they will not much disturb the sense others because they will not easily escape they nother Share the fault between the Authors Absence and the Printers Negligence and then Correct before there Readest Preface 1. line 11. r. Truth 2 preface l. 11. r. Pre fatory The Book p. 2. l. 24. for that r. not p. 4. l. 10. r. Acte 8.36 l. 21. r. it not God p. 6. l. 9. r. sure l. 10. r. not p. 10. l. 1. for now r. when l. 11. between they and are r. that p. 11. l. 10. after Baptism r. to come ro the sprinkling used in the Law which signified the san●●● bing that Baptison doth p. 16. l. 3. for and r. the l. 10. for and r. 1. l 16. r. tremulous l. 25. r. Devtl p. 18. l 2. to them add Isa 8.20 l. 13. for of is r. in p. 19. dele of l. 22. dele not p. 20. l. 25. r. these p. 22 l. 17. for of it r. not l. 23. r. Evasion p. 23. l. 11. r. tenent p. 24 l. 15. r. idioms p. 26. l. 16. after only add every p. 29. l. 17. r. Willingly p. 32. l. 10. add to which when p. 33. l. 13. r. ever p. 42. l. 18. r. Ratiocinoso's p. 43. l. 6. r. Wittynesses l. 7. r. We. p. 46. l. 7 and 10. r. Master not Minster l. 8. r. are generally not and generally BAPTISM INFANT-BAPTISM AND QUAKERISM CONSIDERED Dear Cosin THese Lines c. The Question is Whether Infants are the Subjects of Baptism Or Whether Insante may be baptized Answ I affirm it shall lay down my mind in these following positions concerning Baptism 1. Baptism is an Ordinance a Command that claims every Christians Obedience while he is on this side the end of the world One known proof to prevent tediousness shall serve my turn Mat. 20.19 Teach 〈◊〉 Disci●●s all Nations Baptising c. A pl●● proof that Christ would have all Nations who pretend to be his Discipies to be baptized and if this be a Commandment a Christ furely they that have any love for him should keep this as well as other commandments John 14.15 Is it not then 〈◊〉 dangerous aspersion upon the wisdom 〈◊〉 Christ to call it a Carnal Ordinance Is it not extremely hazardons to load the Institutions of Christ with Carnal outward us profitable and the like ignominious

terms And is it not as much so it neglect then and take our selves to be unconcerned in his Commands when yet we profess to love him Surely those persons that so usually so easily neglect this Command under the Notion of an unprofitable one would have much more done so were they in our Father Adam's stead with the prohibition of eating of the Tree of Knowledge and look 〈◊〉 upon it as a very inconsiderable and insignificant Command and may we that fear they will by the neglect of this Command forfeit all happiness and cast themselves and every one else if they can prevail with them into equal into greater misery than Adam did us by his Fall To forbear doing our Blessed Saviours Commands till we know why and wherefore and what reason he had to command them is pride and presumption too great for a Christian to be guilty of To fix bounds to the Commands of Christ when himself doth not so to say they reached no further than the end of that dispensation when he himself says to the end of the World Or that it was to be of force no longer than till Christ came in his Spirit when sure the Christians in those times had his Spirit nay when the Apostles had no sooner received the Spirit in an extraordinary manner but the first thing they preached was Repent and be Baptized Acts 2.38 And when all along after we find them executing this Command and mentioning it in their Epistles Eph 4.5 c. To say that we find God binding the phrases of for ever to the end of the World and the like in the Old Testament to a certain period of time therefore Man may do it now are all Argumentations as wild and Extravagant as they are proud and impudent and certainly Men that Argue at this rate are arrived to the highest pitch of pride and Arrogance I wonder these men do not blot out Teaching as well as Baptizing when they go together in the same command Teach all c 2. Baptism is a priviledge It is a Command therefore Christians must Obey it It is a priviledge and so they have a right to it and should bless God for it that which doth distinguish between Believers and Unbelievers is a priviledge but Baptism doth so No Indians no Heathens ●●nay no Children but them of Believing Parents may be Baptized that it is a priviledge is plain from Acts 36.37 3. Baptism confers not Grace of it self it doth not nor doth God give Grace a● part of the Nature of Baptism for many have Grace before they are Baptized and yet are really Baptized after Conversion therefore it is a gross mistake that Infants are Baptized because Baptism makes them Holy or Gracious but they are so because God Commands they should be and because they have a Covenant Holiness before hand and so have a right to God 1 Cor. 7.14 4. Baptism is what Circumcision was Circumcision was an outward sign of invisible Grace so is Baptism The Apostle makes Circumcision and Baptism to shadow out the same thing Col. 2.11 12. 5. Circumcision was a sign or Seal of the Covenant Gen. 17.11 Rom. 4.11 6. Baptism is the same it is sign of the Covenant for that which signifies the grace of the Covenant must needs be a sign of it but Baptism doth so Col. 2.12 If it be come in the room of Circumcision and that was a sign of the Covenant then Baptism must needs be so if Circumcision was a priviledge and Believers under the Gospel have more priviledges than they before it then either Circumcision is yet to be practised as it must be being the Command of it hath never been repealed and it was given before the date of the Ceremonial Law if nothing is done in it's stead I say Believers are yet to be Circumcised or it was no priviledge or we under the Gospel want a great priviledge which they before it enjoyed or Baptism must be come in it's room and so we enjoy the priviledge of a Seal of the Covenant in Baptism If the Covenant was a priviledge the Sign of it must be so too now if Circumcision was a priviledge and Infants were Circumcised notwithstanding their Actual unbelief and Baptism be come in it's room then Infants may be baptized though they do not Actually believe or Believers since the coming of Christ are still bound to Circumcision and have less priviledges than they before 7. Being in Covenant is the proper 〈◊〉 son of and a sufficient reason for Baptism Baptism is a sign of the Covenant and th●● that have a right to the thing signified wh●● is the greater have to the sign which is 〈◊〉 less but they that are in Covenant have 〈◊〉 right to the thing signified either being 〈◊〉 Covenant is the proper reason of Baptism 〈◊〉 or there is no such reason for the administring it what true Faith for we can ne●● be sure where that is and if it be not 〈◊〉 Faith I am sure it cannot be the profession of it 8. The Infants of Believers are in Covenant If they were so in the Old Te●●ment that they should not be so in the Ne●● is very strange that they were in the Old is plain from Gen. 17.10 11 12. that th●● are so in the New is as plain from Acts. 〈◊〉 39. The promise is to you and your Children It is indeed usually objected that 〈◊〉 is to them when they come to believe wh●● as it is to them when they believe upon 〈◊〉 former account the promise is to you 〈◊〉 that if this Exposition be true the la●●● part and to your Children must sign●●● just nothing at all and what encouragement could it be to tell them the promise was to their Children when they believ●● when it was so to every body else 9. The Infants of Believers may be baptized if the former positions be true this cannot be denyed therefore I will not insist upon it nor shall I enlarge into other reasons it would be too tedious but surely if Children be Holy or Saints 1 Cor. 7.14 the word being in the Original the same with that 1 Cor. 1.2 6.2 If Christ did bless them Mat. 19.15 unless we take his blessing to be no more than that insignificant Ceremony that Old people use to their Children or God Sons if he would have them come to him as in the 140. If they be a part of all Nations and Christ commands to Baptize all Nations Mat. 28.19 and if they may be saved as who so uncharitable us to think otherwise I say if these things be true then surely they may be they must be Baptized and they may be they must be reprov'd that forbid them Baptism Mat. 19.14 And now I shall lay down a few positions which I hope shall prevent and anticipate the usual Objections and they are these 1. That Infants are being expressed in Scripture Commands or Examples is not a sufficient Argument to exclude them from Baptism