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A64230
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Paidobaptismos orthobaptismos: or, The baptism of infants vindicated by scriptures and reasons Humbly offered in order to a composure of differences at this juncture of time. By Nath. Taylor, M.A.
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Taylor, Nathanael, d. 1702.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing T544A; ESTC R222422
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45,201
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106
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Salvation is annexed to Faith and Damnation is the Punishment of Unbelief Baptism therefore is not absolutely necessary to Salvation nor its want absolutely exposing Souls to Damnation 3. This would be to tye God to means and to make it in Mans Power to Save or Damn whom he pleased For if it be impossible any should be saved without Baptism then would it follow that it is Baptism more than Gods free Grace that saves Ephes 2.8 and that it is in the Power of the Minister by Baptism to save whom he please and by denying it to damn whom he will Yea then this Ordinance will be supposed to confer Grace Ex Opere Operate which Assertion detracts from Gods Glory disagrees with Truth and is injurious to Souls who may be hereby brought to rely rather on a Creatures Baptism than their Creaton Mercy for Salvation 4. Then all Children and those who dye unbaptized must be supposed not to appertain to Christ nor to be saved by him which to believe of all Infants is dreadful whom I cannot implead of sin in not being Baptized being not capable of desiring it And though I cannot but think the Parent highly to Offend in slighting the Ordinance where it is to be obtained yet cannot I suppose it to be by God imputed as a sin to the Child so dying for which he will damn it which is the Genuine though Dismal Consequence of that Position That Baptism is absolutely necessary to Salvation 5. The Baptism contended for is but an outward sign of that inward Grace which Entitles the Soul to Heaven John 3.5 and to which Glory is annexed the sign then cannot be so Essential as that they who have received the things signified and inward Grace without Baptism should still be excluded Heaven because they are not Baptized Acts 10.47 Which is as much as to assert that though a Soul should partake of all Christs Benefits to be bestowed on a Worthy Communicant yet unless he actually Eat the Bread and Drink the Wine which are the External Elements in the Lords Supper and Representatives of those inward Benefits yet he could not be saved A Thesis deservedly to be exploded Rubric 3. after Comm. 〈…〉 as nullifying Christs Merits to Idolize External things And our Church is clear against it 6. By this Assertion it would follow that many Thousands of Christians shall be Damned who duly and perhaps more circumspectly walk in Obedience to God than we in and amongst the Turks and Pagans who probably by Reason of their Persecuted Condition or the non-settlement of a Church and Ordinances amongst them are and so dye unbaptized But how sad this would be to a Christians Eat I leave every one to judge 7. When ever Baptism is taken as so necessary to Salvation in Scripture it hath respect to the Internal thing signified by it so St. John 3.9 John hath chiefly respect to the Baptism of the Spirit whereby the Soul is Regenerated and reduced to a state of Grace nor can the Baptism we contend about be there meant this being not Instituted till after our Saviours Resurrection which was some Years after these words were spoken by our Saviour And this Baptism of the Spirit is other where called A Baptism by Fire Mat. 3.11 denoting the cleansing and purifying Nature of the Graces of the Holy Ghost which purifies the Regenerated Soul from its Corruption and burns up its drossie Lusts In comparison of which Baptism St. John accounts his of Water the Subject of our present Controversie so mean as only to have a Relation to it as Precedaneous not as Competitour Again Ephes 1.26 27. St. Paul joyns the Word of God with this Baptism in order to the Purifying Christs Church that acting on the Soul and this terminating on the Body And St. Peter's Assertion is clear 1 Pet. 3.21 that it is not the Water Purifying the Flesh but the Answer of a good Conscience towards God that saveth us And indeed the Trope of using the sign for the thing signified is not unusual in Scripture 8. The All-wise God hath determined the Controversie in that He in divers places of his revealed Will Asserts Gal. 6.15 1 Cor. 7.19 that neither Circumcision nor Uncircumcision avail any thing but a New Creature It is not the being an unbaptized Person that will expose any one to Condemnation for there is not one Woe denounced against any as such Nor is there one Promise in all the Divine Writ Infallibly annexing Salvation to Baptism 2 Thes 1.8 9. John 3.16 All Threats of Misery are to those who believe not and Obey not the Gospel of Christ And all Promises of Eternal Mercies are to those who by Faith close with Christ and live the life of Christians So that I dare not say all who are Baptized shall be saved and all who are not Baptized shall be damned But I dare affirm that whosoever remain and dyeth in unbelief shall be damned though he be Baptized And whoever believes truly on Christ and lives answerably to that Faith though for some Persecution or other Causes he cannot be Baptized he shall be saved Whence will appear That Baptism is not absolutely Necessary to Salvation so as that one cannot be saved without it As I have hitherto endeavoured to remove the great Censure of the Anabaptists of our being in no visible salvable way because not Baptized after their Mode by giving my Reasons why Baptism is not so absolutely Necessary to Salvation So I proceed to prove That Baptism of Water is not absolutely Necessary to Church-membership Prop. 2. so as that they cannot be Members of Christs Church unless Baptized Which will appear thus 1. Wills against Danvers p. 49. There was ever a Church before Baptism or Circumcision were Administred They being both External signs to be acted on visible Professors and Church-members in the Church of Christ there is necessarily presupposed an existence of a Church containing Members to be Circumcised or Baptized and Persons to perform these Offices So that these signs are not the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse of a Church or the Essential Constituents of its visibility Noah Seth and those Holy Patriarchs before the Flood who Lived some hundreds of Years before the Institution of Circumcision Gen. 17.24 were doubtless Members of Gods Church And Abraham also doubtless before he was Circumcised which was in the 99th Year of his Age and about the 2107 Year of the World was a True Believer and a Member of the True Church And if it be alledged they were Members of the Invisible Church we may grant them a Membership in the Visible from that known Axiom Omne majus in se continet minus Their being of the Invisible Church being greater than their being Members of the Visible Church Yea it is apparent the Promises were made to Abraham above Twenty Years before Circumcision was Instituted which Promise he believed Gen.
15.4 5 6 7. Rom. 4.11 and received Circumcision as a Seal of his Faith whence undeniably follows that Circumcision was not absolutely Necessary to the Visibility of Gods Church among the Jews 2. Neither Circumcision nor Baptism are absolutely Necessary to the Being of a Church because a Visible Church may be without them and yet be a Church Visible as in the Instance of the Israelites whom we proved to be forty Years together Uncircumcised in the Wilderness and yet were they all that time the Visible Church God had on the Earth 3. If Persons be not Church-members before Circumcision or Baptism and be so after it will infer an Operation from the Ordinance not allowable for then these being Circumcised or Baptized would entitle the Heathens to be Members of the Church of God and Christ 4. The Jews did first Proselyte or Teach the Nations the Rudiments of their Law before they Circumcised them and so owned them to be received amongst them So that they were Proselytes and Members as such of their Church before they were Publickly declared and owned to be so by Circumcision According to which our Saviour Adviseth his Disciples in the Text Mat. 28.19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Going to Disciple all Nations Instruct them in the Principles of my Religion and then being Disciples Baptize them So that there is a Discipleship and Visible Church-membership pre-existent to Baptism And indeed the premising the word Disciple implies none to be capable of Baptism who are not Disciples of Christ and Members of his Church which also in due time Infants will be proved to be 5. If Baptism be absolutely Necessary to Church-membership that none belong to Christs Visible Church but who are Baptized what shall we think of that innumerable number of Professing Christians dispersed over the Face of the whole Earth and scattered amongst Heathen People whose Princes and Governours will not permit this or any other Christian Ordinance to be Practised among them Shall we unchurch these or count them as Heathens What will then become of that Article of our Faith The Belief of an Holy Catholick Church Do not the Anabaptists herein imitate others who while they believe a Catholick Church confine it to their own Synagogues not considering the Catholick Church of Christ comprehensive of all Christian Professors through the whole World nor weighing the sad Consequents of denying Persons to be Visibly of this Church of Christ making them thereby Visible Members of Satans Kingdom and exposing those Persons in their Thoughts to Eternal Ruines which Thoughts are too severe to entertain of those who Profess the same God and Christ but are not Baptized because probably the Ordinances are not permitted in the Territories wherein they Reside 6. If Baptism give a Visible Form to Church-membership Wills against Danvers p. 50 51 52. then must it be often repeated even as often as any Person is Excommunicated or else Baptism is nullified for it being the Christian Practice of the Apostles and their Successors even to our Ages 1 Cor. 5.4 5. to exclude their Assemblies and Excommunicate Persons which was termed a giving such over to Satan who were guilty of scandalous Offences 2 Thes 3.6 Mat. 18.17 till by their Humiliation they had Evidenced their Repentance and so were received again into their Assemblies If that Excommunication can Exclude the Person from being a Member of the Church as it ever did then it nullifies Baptism or else Baptism is not Essential to the Form of Visible Church-membership because it would then follow that the Person even Excommunicated is still a Member of the Visible Church which is a contradictory Solecism or else that his Baptism is nulled and then must Rationally be repeated at his Reception into the Church again and so as often as any being guilty of a Crime is for it Excommunicated and afterwards received into the Church again so often must he be re-baptized Ephes 4.5 which is opposite to the Scriptures Assertion of but One Baptism Thus have I endeavoured to prove Baptism contended for to be not so absolutely Necessary to Salvation or Church-membership as that none can be saved or be of Christs Church unless they be Baptized to remove the unchristian Censures the Anabaptists have of us But Lest on the other side I should detract from the Ordinance and its due worth by rendring its use needless I proceed to prove that the Practice of Baptism is very Necessary as an Ordinance of Christ in any Church of his where it may be had Prop. 3. and that the slighters and contemners of it are really Culpable Which I prove thus 1. Christ hath Commanded its Performance in his Churches under the Gospel to the end of the World Mat. 28.19 And all his Ordinances and Commands ought by us to be Observed 2. Christ himself was subject to it Mat. 3.16 Acts 10.47 and therefore none can pretend to be above it though they have already received the Holy Ghost 3. The Apostles Practised it Mat. 3.1 St. John from hence was called the Baptist And whenever the Gospel was Preached to the Gentiles and unconverted Jews Acts 10.48 Acts 2.38 41. Acts 16.31 32. Acts 16.15 1 Cor. 1.16 and received by them The General way whereby the Apostles owned the Converts was Baptism and we find not only single Persons but whole Families Baptized 4. It is a Seal of the Covenant of Grace which when made to received by Abraham he also received Circumcision as a Seal of it And Baptism succeeding Circumcision denotes probably our greater Priviledges by Christ than the Jews had before Christ Rom. 4.11 who was of the one Sex and derived our Nature from the other by this Sacrament admitting both Sexes to equal Priviledges that of Circumcision only belonging to the Males And Baptism may as significantly be a Seal of the Covenant of Grace as Circumcision Acts 2.38 Gal. 3.27 Rom. 6.3 4 c. the Person Baptized being said to put on Christ which Phrase implies his being Invested with a Right to the Priviledges of Christians and the Benefits of Christ And thus it is of great Use 5. Many of the Converts to Christianity have soon after their being Baptized received the Holy Ghost Acts 8.16 17. to whose Baptism this seems precedaneous and preparatory And Gods usual way of working in an Established Church and Ordinances Baptism being a Publick Sign manifesting the Persons Baptized to be Publickly owned as Members of Christ and Children of God to which this Spirit of Adoption is promised Gal. 4.4 6 7. 6. This serves as a distinguishing Mark in a settled Church to know Professors of Christianity from Jews Turks and Heathens so that all who would manifest themselves to be of Christs Church should desire to partake of and submit to this Ordinance of Baptism And all Christian Parents ought to desire it for their Children since none beneath Heaven can be above