Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	build_v	peter_n	rock_n	30,238	5	9.7701	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41784	Presumption no proof, or, Mr. Petto's arguments for infant-baptism considered and answered and infants interest in the convenant of grace without baptism asserted and maintained : whereunto is prefixed an answer to two questions propounded by Mr. Firmin about infants church-membership and baptism / by Thomas Grantham.	Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692.	1687 (1687)	Wing G1542; ESTC R27161	38,572	48

are Abraham 's Seed and hence he would infer their Baptism He has many Words and very often repeated the substance of all has I think already been answered however seeing he talks here of a threefold Seed of Abraham under the Titles of Natural Spiritual and Ecclesiastical Seed I will seriously consider the Scriptures which he brings to prove Infants to be the Ecclesiastical Seed of Abraham For the Scriptures which he brings to describe the Spiritual Seed of Abraham speaks not one word of Infants Gal. 3. 8 9. shews that God would justify the Heathen through Faith and concludes thus So then they which be of Faith are blessed with faithful Abraham This is not spoken of Infants yet they shall be blessed The Texts he brings to prove Infants to be the Ecclesiastical Seed of Abraham are many first Matth. 25. 1 2. where the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to wise and foolish Virgins but I suppose no wise Man takes Infants to be of either sort for they are neither wise nor foolish but they are innocent Two Texts more we have Rom. 11. 20. John 15. 6. where we learn that the Jews were broken off for Vnbelief and the Gentiles stood by Faith that some Branches in Christ not bearing Fruit are taken away and those which bear Fruit are purged to bring forth more Fruit But what all this is to Infants no Man can tell He quotes these over again and with them Matth. 19. 14. Mark 10. 13 14. Luke 18. 15. Matth. 16. 18. Rom. 16. 16. 1 Cor. 12. 27. Rev. 1. 12 13 20. Now he that from these Texts would prove Infants to be Abraham's Ecclesiastical Seed must prove that in the three first Texts the Word Kingdom must needs signify the Church-militant and that Christ admitted these Infants into the Church by Baptism or else that they have Authority to do more than Christ himself did For if these very Infants were not baptised they must have very great Confidence that can pretend from hence to find ground to baptise others The next Christ tells Peter that he would build his Church upon a Rock But must all that are saved be Abraham's Ecclesiastical Seed Sure some Infants may be saved who were never baptised for all this Rom. 16. 16. bids Christians salute one another with an holy Kiss and tells them also that the Church of Christ salutes them I see nothing from hence to prove Infants visibly Christ's so as to be Abraham 's Seed sure his Proposition will fail of Proof The Apostle 1 Cor. 12. 27. tells the Corinthians that they were the Body of Christ and Members in particular But not one word to prove that there was one Infant of this Communion Yet all Members of that one Body were partakers of that one Bread in which their Unity was demonstrated Rev. 1. 12 13 14. only describes the Vision that John saw of the Son of God and the seven Golden Candlesticks But no Man can yet find in any of these Candlesticks so much as one Infant concern'd bearing up the light of Truth in the profession of the Gospel Now for his Argument I would know the meaning of this Speech Some Infants are visibly Christ's If he means some Infants only are Christ's by Redemption how can he possibly know the Redeemed from the Damned for so they are supposed to be in this Mans destiny The work of Redemption is visible because God's Word tells us who Christ died for and that is for every Man Heb. 2. 9. and here Infants are equally Christ's visibly But so long as Mr. Petto thinks that Christ died but for some Infants only and those very few in comparison of the whole he cannot name one for whom Christ died it being impossible for them to give any Demonstration by which he may know such a thing and therefore he can have but small comfort in baptizing any of them if indeed it were lawful to baptize some Infants as he supposes Nay were he as sure that Christ died for some particular Infants as I am that he died for them all yet would it not follow that they are Abraham's Ecclesiastical Seed so as to be baptized for Christ knew that the Infants whom he took in his Arms were his and yet he did no such thing to them and I shall never think Mr. P. wiser than our Saviour nor so kind to poor Infants as he was Mr. Petto argues thus Some Infants are visibly of the Faith and so are Abraham's Seed Here I deny the Antecedent I say no Infants are visibly of the Faith. And Mr. P. tells me in this very place That he does not say that Faith semenal and habitual or actual is in all Infants baptized for then saith he all of them must be saved which they are not or else they might lose that special Faith But they are invisibly invested in the Covenant or Promise which is the Word of Faith and may bear that Name c. I answer Here are two kinds of Faith which the Scripture knows nothing of i. e. seminal and habitual However I perceive he knows not one Infant that has any of these kinds of Faith he therefore has found out a fourth and that is a reputative Faith or a thing which he says may bear that name Sure these are meer Dreams and Fancies and so let them go Actual Faith Infants have none and this is all the Faith that Man can make Judgment of by God's Word He does indeed grant all Infants which are baptized have not this Faith and if he dare affirm it ●f any of them all the Experience of the World will confute him and so he has lost his Argument as a meer Story without Truth and against all Experience For seeing Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God he cannot without a Miracle shew any Infant to be visibly in the Faith for the poor Babe knows not its right hand from its left He might as well say some Infants are visibly in Repentance and I marvel why the Poedobaptists do not insist upon that as well as Faith to entitle their Children to Baptism Mr. Petto tells us If Infants have not Faith for the present yet visibly they are under a Promise of it which Promise Baptism may be a Sign and Seal of it may seal a Doctrine of Faith even where a Principle of it is yet wanting These and what follows are meer Dictates and Presumptions without Proof Yet he brings Deut. 30. 6. where God promises to circumcise the hearts of the Israelites and the heart of their Seed to love the Lord with all the heart and with all the soul But God spake not this to Infants nor as a thing to be done to them in their Infancy for when they should thus be circumcis'd they should be able to know the Lord very well for they should love him then with all the Heart and Soul. Now this Promise is made to all Men upon future Contingencies for God commandeth all