Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	abraham_n	righteousness_n	seal_n	9,017	5	9.6941	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41781	The infants advocate against the cruel doctrine of those Presbyterians who hold, that the greatest part of dying infants shall be damned : in answer to a book of Mr. Giles Firmin's entituled, Scripture warrant, &c. / by Tho. Grantham.	Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692.	1688 (1688)	Wing G1538; ESTC R43209	26,760	32

so fierce against us for extending the Grace of God to all Men as being therein no respecter of Persons and yet shewing to Sinners the necessity of actual Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ as necessary to their Membership in the Church Militant by the Baptism of Repentance for Remission of Sins I say none so fierce against us as those who boast they are Abraham's Seed because descended from Gentiles who they suppose to be Believers But let me have a care I must now Answer for my self for Mr. Firmin demands of me Page 21. By what Scripture-Warrant do you reduce our Children into the state of the Children of Adam or Noah c. since we are never called their Children but only Abraham ' s whose Seed differ from theirs by a special Covenant made with Them and sealed with Them. To which of them did God say I will be the God of thy Seed and I will seal it But I reply These seem to me to be great swelling words of Vanity much worse in a Gentile than in a Jew And I would know what special Covenant hath God made with Mr. F. and his Seed which he hath denied to Tho. Grantham and his Seed But to the Question 1. I am far from denying Abraham's Fatherhood over the Faithful Christians but I deny that every Believer that hath an Infant is the Father of the Faithful And I deny many to have any right to that Title who boast much of it because they do not the works of Abraham but despise those that worship God according to his Will. Thus did not Abraham But thus does Mr. Firmin 2. I find that Adam was the Son of God Luke 3. Whether called so meerly for his Creation or for that after the Promise Gen. 3. 15. He walked with God or for both I will not dispute And I find that Christ's Descent is reckoned from Adam and the Saviour of the World was first promised to him and to proceed from him and therein was the Covenant of Grace in the first place made with him and in him with all Mankind who then were in him Nor do I find that this gracious Covenant was ever repealed but is in force to this day as is granted by Mr. Baxter 3. I find that Noah found Grace in the sight of the Lord being righteous before God. And I know that Mr. Baxter and other Learned Christians acknowledg the Covenant made with Noah and his Generations to be a Covenant of Grace and of perpetual Duration being indeed the renewal of the Covenant made with Adam I find also that Noah became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith and that his Faith did lead him to believe that which was as difficult to Sense as that Abraham should have a Son viz. That the whole World should be Drowned His Faith also was made perfect by Works for Whatsoever the Lord Commanded that did Noah 4. I find that all men from the time of the Flood are the Generations of Noah and that he was perfect in his Generation a Just Man and one that walketh with God and as one of his Sons proved wicked so did one of the Sons of Abraham I do also find in Scripture that we are all called the Sons of Adam To you O Men I call and my Voice is to the Sons of Adam or Man Prov. 8. 4. And as the Sons of Adam God shews them what is Good even to do Justly to love Mercy and to walk humbly with their God Mich. 6. Now from these Scripture-Warrants I honour my Great Grandfather Adam because to him was committed the first Oracles of God making known the Covenant of Grace I honour my Grandfather Noah because he was Heir of the Righteousness of Faith and had the second Edition of the Covenant of Grace extended to all his Generations till by Sin they eject themselves I likewise honour my Father Abraham because he had the third Edition of the Covenant of Grace as a Blessing to all Nations or to all the Families of the Earth Gen. 12. And also for that God was pleased to choose his Posterity as the People from whom Men should look for their Saviour with respect to his Descent according to the Flesh and of this Covenant as also of the Land of Promise was Circumcision given as a Sign to his Posterity that they might not mix with other Nations in Life or Religion but to Abraham himself as a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith which he had near 30 Years before he was Circumcised But for all this I know that in Gospel-times unless we crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts we cannot be Abraham ' s Seed nor Heirs according to the Promise Gal. 3. 29. And the Seal of our Sonship and Right to the Inheritance is the Holy Spirit Ephes 1. 13. Gal. 4. 6. Ephes 4. 30. Mr. Firmin Now suppose that were true which is the great business of your Pamphlet to prove that all dying Infants are saved That thereby you may take off the Odium which lies upon you for shutting the Children of Believers out of the Church and denying them Baptism they being under the Covenant of Grace made with Adam as you say Tell me Is this Covenant of God with Abraham's Seed in vain Does the holy One make vain Covenants As to his Seed they were well enough before If Isaac die before the 8th day he is saved so that this Covenant might have been spared Answer 1. I hav● said enough to shew that Abraham's Covenant Gen. 17. was not in vain but I am sure you here make a vain use of it For had Isaac died before he was Eight Days old in your Judgment he had not been saved and consequently no Male Infants which died before they were Circumcised were saved This is that wretched Doctrine which I oppose And seeing you make Baptism as necessary to Salvation as Circumcision was and call it the Seal of the Covenant you either make Infants which die unbaptized saved by an unsealed Covenant as you speak or else you damn all Infants which die unbaptized No other sense can be made of your strange Questions P. 73. Your Question is this Are they all Justified and Saved then it must be by a Covenant of Grace And shall they be under the Covenant so as to be in a justified and saved state by it and not have the Seal of the Covenant As if the Covenant of Grace were of no use to poor Infants without the Crossing Sprinkling or as you Pouring a little Water on their Forehead for which you have no Rule at all in the Word of God. I cannot but admire your great Blindness 2. The Covenant of Circumcision might not now be spared because God had now designed to honour Abraham's Faith and to make him and his Posterity famous both for Multitude Religion and other Excellencies but chiefly to point out all Nations from whence to look for a Saviour which

accordingly was foreknown and expected by many other Nations by means of the Covenant made with Abraham But you add If their Seed die while little ones I hope they are not further from Salvation by this Covenant nor Parents the less hope two strings to a Bow are good But I answer 1. You so string your Bow of Salvation for Infants that you break it and so kill more Infants than you save yea an Isaac himself cannot escape you but must perish if he die before the 8th day Pray Sir what manner of Doctrine is this is it in the power of Infants to live till the 8th day And if God take them away before the 8th day will God damn them because they were not Circumcised when yet by his own Law they might not have it Are these the comfortable Strings you give Parents to the Bow of Infants Salvation 2. Hence it is evident that it is you not I that make Infants further off from Salvation by the Covenant of Circumcision For I say though all the Commands of God be good in their place and use yet he never ordained any Rite to be necessary to the salvation of poor Infants But according to your Doctrine if Infants died before the Covenant of Circumcision was made whether the first second third fourth fifth sixth or seventh day their Salvation was never the more doubtful for that But now the Case is very hard for if Isaac himself die before the 8th day he is lost according to your sense of the Covenant What follows I have answer'd before Mr. Firmin Yet again as to that Notion wherein you so much glory I have made five remarkable Demonstrations as you call them to prove it you must make three more Demonstrations or else these five will not do the Feat 1. That God does save those that are under that Covenant without any Condition in it Name that Text I pray Answ 1. Here observe again Mr. Firmin is in good Earnest that no Infants can be saved unless they keep the Condition of the Covenant And he makes Heart-Circumcision and the Circumcision of the Flesh both necessary Conditions of the Covenant for Infants Salvation in the time of the Law or ever since Abraham's time And Repentance and Faith and Baptism the Condition in the Gospel 2. I am to demonstrate the contrary which with much ease by God's Grace I shall do I say then Almighty God made a Covenant of Grace with Adam in the Promised Seed Gen. 15. in which Covenant stood the Salvation of all dying Infants and yet no Condition was there to be annexed on the part of Infants howbeit Faith was necessary on Adam's part or else he had sinned in not believing the Promise And its evident Abel had Faith in this Promise by his offering a Lamb a Figure of Christ the Lamb slain from the foundation of the World. See Diod. on Gen. 4. To prove that God requires nothing of Duty as a Condition of the Covenant on the part of Infants in order to Salvation I will set down two Texts Deut. 11. 1. to 10. Rom. 5. 14 18. And I also give you this Argument Circumcision it self was not appointed to be a Condition of the Covenant of Grace necessary to the Salvation of so much as one Infant Ergo There was never any thing imposed or required of Infants as a necessary Condition of the Covenant for the Salvation of Infants The Consequence I suppose will not be denied because nothing can be pretended with so much probability this way as Circumcision And for the Major it is clear from the case of Moses's Child Exod. 4. 24 25. where we find that God sought not to kill the Child because it was not Circumcised the 8th Day but he sought to kill Moses which shews the Child was not guilty of Sin in this Case And that this Note may be the more acceptable I shall make some Addition to the Testimonies formerly given and here shew the Judgment of some Learned Writers in this Case Cajetan a Man no less Zealous for Infant-Baptism than Mr. Firmin yet writes thus Consentaneum est c. It is sit that none should be Punished but they which had committed the Fault But Infants can commit no Fault therefore the punishment here assigned doth belong to the Adult only they only be rightfully Punished which only are justly blamed for the omission of Circumcision And saith a Protestant Doctor upon this Sentence Put Baptism meaning of Infants in the place of Circumcision and this Sentence is most true of the one as well as of the other Yea the Ancients quoted by the said Doctor tell us Circumcision did not profit the Soul but was only a sign of Grace For Children when they understand not what is done to them can reap no profit thereby to their Souls Chrys Hom. 9. in Gen. And Irenaeus is alledged to say Circumcision was only given as a Sign to the People The conclusion is that as it is certain that Infants shall be cleansed and renewed before they come to Heaven so God hath not tied this Mercy to any Ritual or thing to be done by us but by the Obedience of Christ and his Free-Grace sanctifies them in a manner unknown to us Mr. Firmin 2. You must demonstrate saith he that by this Covenant he saves those who have lost the Image of God and are corrupt by Nature for Infant-Regeneration and Heart-Circumcision is denied by you and yours Answ This Demonstration also will easily be made or else I am sure Mr. Firmin and my self shall not be Saved for that we are as corrupt by Nature and have lost the Image of God as much as any Infant nay we are sent to Infants to learn the Qualifications we want And as all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God so they are Justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption which is in Christ Jesus Rom. 3. 23 25. And tho Christ is set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood for the Remission of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God yet this Faith is not required of Infants because they cannot believe on him of whom they have not heard Rom. 10. And tho you reply That this is spoken of the Adult yet you are to know as it is the Adult only to whom the Gospel is preached so it is the Adult only who are required to believe As for the Way of the Almighty in the business of Infants Regeneration 't is a thing not revealed and therefore you do but vainly pretend to know it And seeing it is said That we know not the Way of the Spirit nor how the Bones do grow in the Womb of her that is with Child It is strange that Mr. Firmin should know after what manner the Hearts of Infants are Circumcised and how they are Regenerate It is enough for us to know that they are redeemed by Christ and saved by Grace for in