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A53334 A brief defence of infant-baptism with an appendix, wherein is shewed that it is not necessary that baptism should be administred by dipping / by John Ollyffe ... Ollyffe, John, 1647-1717. 1694 (1694) Wing O287; ESTC R32212 67,029 72

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29. For the Gifts and Calling of God are without Repentance He will never repent of any Favour that he hath ever by Promise conferred upon any of Abraham's spiritual Seed or their Children So that when those Jews that are now Unbelievers and so cast out and broken off from the Church shall at length be brought to believe they shall then partake of the same Privileges and Benefits as they have ever done that continued in it and as they should have done if they had so continued and so also their Children For ver 16. If the first Fruits be holy the Lump is also holy and if the Root be holy so are the Branches Where the Parents are in Covenant or Church-Members so are the Children till they sall off through their own Unbelief So that here is no Alteration diminishing or repealing of any Church-privilege or Promise that ever did belong to the rightful Subjects of it And this is further clear from the Apostle Rom. 15.8 9. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a Minister of the Circumcision for the Truth of God to confirm the Promises made unto the Fathers and not to lessen or abolish them And so also a Saviour through his Mercy to the Gentiles that the Gentiles might glorify God also for his Mercy because partaking of the same Benefits and Privileges that were confirmed unto the Jews So that as the Apostle saith Eph. 2.12 13. they that were Aliens from the spiritual Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers from the Covenants of Promise and were sometime afar off are now in Christ Jesus made nigh And Eph. 3.6 the Gentiles are now Fellow-heirs and of the same Body with the believing Jews and Partakers with them of God's Promise in Christ by the Gospel So that belonging to the same Church and partaking of the same spiritual Promises and Privileges those that did belong to Jews and the Jewish Church and their Seed formerly do likewise belong to Christian Believers now and so in the same Extent and Latitude to their Children also there being no Alteration made in that respect more than in any other As the spiritual Seed of Abraham were ever holy and God's Covenant-People so were their Children and so it is now still with Gentile Believers and their Seed To this purpose speaks the Apostle concerning the Seed of Gentile Believers even where but one of the Parents are such 1 Cor. 7.14 For the unbelieving Husband is sanctified by or to the Wife and the unbelieving Wife is sanctified by or to the Husband that believes to the holy Use of such an one in the Sight of God for to the Pure all things are pure else were your Children common or unclean as the rest of the World are now in their Heathenism to whom therefore God hath no Regard as to his Children but now are they holy relatively and of a Religious Consideration before God as separated and dedicated to God and so are part of his Covenant-People It is not a Matrimonial Holiness that the Apostle intends or that the Children of Believers are therefore holy because they are no Bastards for the Children of Pagans are as well holy in that Respect that were born in Wedlock though the Parents neither of them were Believers So that this Interpretation would make the Apostle speak impertinently and untruly It is a relative or federal Holiness therefore that the Apostle must intend and by this he shews that such Children are of an holy Consideration in the Sight of God and are of the Number of his Holy and Covenant-People So that we can no where find any Dissolution or Discontinuance of the Church-membership of Infants under the Gospel which they once had but it still remains the same as ever and is rather more confirmed It being the same Church Covenant spiritual Privileges and Members as ever and these still keeping by the same Grant the same Place and standing in the Church as ever they did And as this therefore was once the Privilege of Infants of Abraham's spiritual Seed to stand in an holy Relation to God as his peculiar Covenant-People and Children so it is still But for a further Confirmation and clearing of this Matter we may observe also from our Saviour some such Indications of the same Respect had to them in choosing calling and esteeming of them as ever To this purpose we find Mark 10.14 They brought young Children to him that he should touch them or as St. Matthew hath it Matth. 19.13 that he should put his Hands on them and pray and his Disciples rebuked those that brought them but when Jesus saw it he was much displeased and said unto them Suffer the little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of God And he took them up in his Arms put his Hands upon them and blessed them All which sheweth Christ's good Will and Respect and dear Affection to them as Members of his Church and part of his Kingdom And which way soever the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven as St. Matthew expresseth it be here taken which they are said to be of either for Heaven it self or the Church on Earth their Church-membership in the visible Church will hence be concludable For if it be meant of the Church on Earth as that Phrase is often taken for that then it is the next and immediate Sense of the Words of our Saviour Or if it be to be understood of Heaven properly yet then it will follow from it For if the Kingdom of Heaven receive them and they have a Portion in that the visible Church on Earth then may not exclude them For none are of the Kingdom of Heaven above that are not first of the Church on Earth Acts 2.47 There were daily added to the Church such as should be saved And our Saviour's Reason here for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven sheweth that he meant this of such Infants properly taken and not only of Men like them in Humility For that could be no Reason why they should be brought unto him because others that are like them in Humility are of the Kingdom of Heaven unless they are also of the same And his pronouncing this as a Reason why they should be brought unto him and his imbracing them also in his Arms and his laying his Hands upon them and blessing them sheweth a great deal more Respect to them than what was required for the healing them of any bodily Distemper for neither was this Reason nor all that Demonstration of Affection to them needful for that when if they had not been of the Kingdom of Heaven they should no doubt have been healed by him if they had been brought unto him and when they had been brought a Word or a Touch would have effected that without so much imbracing praying and blessing them So that what can we conclude from all this but a more than ordinary Respect of our Saviour to little Children