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A61127 A treatise concerning the lawfull subject of baptisme wherein are handled these particulars : the baptizing of infants confuted, ... the covenant God made with Abraham and his seed handled & how the same agrees with the Gentiles and their seed, the baptism administered by an Antichristian power confuted ... / by me, J.S. J. S. (John Spilsbery) 1643 (1643) Wing S4976; ESTC R23657 75,483 50

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the same And to affirme this to be Gods way to brings persons to the faith by working so upon them by his Spirit in their infancy argues some ignorance of the true nature and worke of grace as the Gospell holds it forth And to be capable of the grace of the Covenant which must be understood of the promise containing the blessings and priviledges thereof in the holy dispensations of the same We shall finde in the Scriptures of God all the sweet promises of Grace under the New Testament holding forth their blessings and blessed priviledges onely to such as beleeve And that to the Elect themselves as they are considered in Christ and appeare so by some effect of grace declaring their faith and they to be such as God approves of in his Sonne and so to have visible right to those priviledges they are visibly justified by and possessed in as such that have a visible right unto the same Which can come to us Gentiles no other way then by Christ and faith in his Name And if any shall object from the testimony of John the Baptist Obj. that he is said to be filled with the holy Ghost from his Mothers wombe Luk. 1.15 c. and hence conclude that Infants may have faith To this I answer in a word Ans first what Infants may have is one thing and what Infants can from this Scripture be proved to have is another For if any thing from this Text can be proved for Infants it will be that they are filled with the holy Ghost from the Mothers wombe as John is said to be which is another thing then to beleeve as Act. 6 5. 4 31. Secondly All such so testified of by God as he did of John I shall acknowledge as much as is here meant to be in him to be also in them so testified of by the holy Ghost But to affirme because God so testified of John the Baptist in the wombe therefore the same holds true upon all other Infants likewise This is indeed weaker then infancy so to affirme Job 31.18 and grosser then ignorance for any to beleeve Job is said to be a Guide to the distressed from his Mothers wombe Shall it be concluded thence that he was a Guide to such when he was an Infant or if he were so must it needs follow that all Infants are capable Guides because it is said so of him And lastly I am not against any that have faith but absolutely for all that beleeve whether Infants or others so that their faith appeares by such effects as the Word of God approves of Otherwise what have I or any man to doe to meddle with the secret and unrevealed things of God either to justifie or condemne And whereas in the former Proposition there seemes a restraint made of the worke of grace in an Infant over there is in other persons by saying onely so farre as is necessary to union with Christ and justification to life thereby Now for answer to this we shall first consider what in this sense is to be understood by Christ and secondly what by union with Christ so as to be justified thereby By Christ here I understand him so as the Gospel holds him forth in the work of mans Redemption in reference to his death resurrection and the onely righteousnesse that commends such to God as beleeve in the same And so Christ thus considered is the onely subject of life to every soule that shall be united unto him by faith To which union with Christ these three things must be minded as essentiall to the same First Gods revealing tendering of Christ as the alsufficient onely way to life Secondly A heart fitly disposed by faith to apprehend and receive Christ so tendered And lastly The Spirit of grace uniting and knitting of the heart and Christ togegether as aforesaid And this I understand to be that effectuall and substantiall union with Christ to justification of life which the Word of God approves of that most decide all differences in matters of Religion For justification to life ever presupposeth apprehension of Christ as the subject of life and a true application of the same by faith as aforesaid The Gospel holds forth no other justification to salvation but what is or faith and faith ever presupposes the parties knowledge of the thing beleeved Rom. 10.14 Heb. 11.6 Now let this be well examined by the rule of truth then let the Reader judge how capable Infants are of union with Christ and justification to life thereby Now for to darken and obscure this truth there are these evill consequences as absurdities brought in as to follow upon the same First If Infants should not be capable of those graces aforesaid then they were not elected Obj. Secondly Then their bodies should not be raised againe to life And lastly We have not infallible judgement but may be mistaken as in the case of Simon Magus c. To this in a word and first I would know of such Ans whether Infants with referrence to their non-age were the subjects of Gods Election Secondly If Infants so considered are capable subjects of glory And if not as I suppose none will affirme then why any more in Grace then in Glory And for any to appoint God a way how to save Infants or to draw out to themselves a way how the holy Spirit of Grace must sanctifie them to salvation above what is written I thinke it is somewhat too much boldnesse God will have his creature to keepe onely to his Word as the Rule by which man must judge all things and the Word of God shews that he hath elected persons to the meanes as well as to the end being the way unto the same And that was the Adoption of Sonnes and to be called and justified by beleeving in Jesus Christ as Ephes 1.4 5. Rom. 8.29 30. 1 Pet. 1.2 2 Thes 2.13 14. And therefore the ground of Gods calling us and our beleeving is attributed unto out Election Act. 2.47 Act. 13.48 Rom. 8.28 Rom. 11.7 And to the glory of God as the cause of all by the dispensation of his grace upon his chosen in Christ and their free obedience unto him againe as Rom 9.23 24. Ephes 1.6.12 These things God hath revealed in his Word and further I dare not goe but leaving the secret things to God who gives not account of all his wayes And for the raising of Infants bodies doth none rise but such as are in visible union with Christ as for invisible things we meddle not with It is the power of God that raiseth the dead and not union with Christ 1 Thes 4.16 And when any of Gods Elect can by the Scriptures be shewed to die in their infancy then it will be granted that their bodies are raised to life eternall onely as they are Infants Nor that I hold all that dye in their infancy to be damned but being a secret thing I leave the