8. Baptism as a Means of Grace: Part 2

WSC 95. To whom is baptism to be administered? A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized.

In this class, we will focus on the proper subjects (or recipients) of baptism. Baptism is an ordinance that belongs to the visible church (i.e., to members of the covenant community).¹ There are two ways to enter the covenant community: by profession or by birth. Accordingly, the visible church includes two classes of people: those who have made a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to him; and their infant children.

Christians universally agree on the first group. When a person who was formerly outside the church makes a public confession of faith, he/she is baptized (Acts 2:38; 8:36-37). Baptism is both a token of their formal admission to the visible church and a privilege which belongs to them as members.² It is the second group of people (i.e., the children of believers) that has been the cause of much disagreement. For this reason, the focus of today’s class will be about why Reformed and Presbyterian churches practice infant baptism.

Objection #1. There is no express command to baptize infants, nor is there any explicit example of an infant being baptized in Scripture.

Response: It is true that there is no specific verse in the Bible that commands infant baptism, nor is there any clear example of an infant being baptized either. But this does not mean the practice is therefore unbiblical. While some doctrines are “expressly set down in Scripture,” others can be established by “good and necessary consequence” (e.g., the Trinity, penal substitutionary atonement, etc.).³ Along these lines, infant baptism can be reasonably deduced by the overall testimony of Scripture.⁴ One of the main reasons Reformed and Presbyterian churches administer infant baptism is because of the supporting biblical framework of covenant theology. This is why infant baptism is sometimes referred to as covenant baptism.

From the very beginning, God has related to human beings through covenants. Although we are each saved personally, God does not save people individually apart from the covenant community.⁵ Members of the covenant are blessed (or cursed) according to the standing of their covenant head (e.g., all died because of Adam’s sin under the Covenant of Works, but God’s people are justified unto life because of Christ’s righteousness under the Covenant of Grace; Rom. 5:12-21). The same principle is in effect in all our earthly relationships (e.g., all of Israel was judged because of David’s sin [2 Sam. 24]).⁶

The Bible consistently teaches a “household principle” wherein God deals with entire families according to the head (e.g., Noah’s family was saved along with him in the ark [Gen. 7:1, 7, 13]; Abraham’s descendants received the benefits of the covenant with him [Gen. 17:1-2, 7, 9-14, 19]; etc.).⁷ Children have always been initially included in the same covenant as their parents (Deut. 29:9-13; Ps. 103:17-18; cf. Ps. 22:30), unless they later withdraw by rejecting their birthright (cf. Heb. 12:16). This was the case in all previous administrations of the Covenant of Grace (e.g., the Noahic, Abrahamic, and Mosaic covenants).

The same principle is in full effect in the New Testament, meaning that the Covenant of Grace continues to include believers and their dependents.⁸ We see evidence of this continuity in the early church (Acts 2:38-39). One quarter of baptisms in the New Testament are described as “household” baptisms. Consider the Philippian jailer where “immediately he and all his family were baptized” (Acts 16:32-33); or Paul who baptized “the household of Stephanas” (1 Cor. 1:16); or Cornelius who was baptized together with “his relatives and close friends” (Acts 10:24, 48); or Lydia who along with “her household” were baptized (Acts 16:15). It is more reasonable to presume that some of these families had infants or young children, than to assume that everyone had to be adults.

Objection #2. Infants cannot understand the meaning of baptism and therefore cannot benefit from it.

Response: The notion that the efficacy of the sacrament must be tied to the time of administration is one of the reasons that some people oppose infant baptism. But the benefits of baptism do not necessary coincide with the time of administration. Rather, the efficacy of baptism covers the person’s whole life, subsequent to baptism. People who are baptized as infants can later believe, repent, attain assurance, become sanctified, etc.⁹ Baptism is effective for the elect in God’s appointed time by the work of the Holy Spirit, not by virtue of the sacrament itself.¹⁰ The “very helplessness of infants highlights the truth that God saves His people. Man cannot initiate, achieve, supplement, complement, or complete his own redemption. To attempt to do so is to marginalize the supreme place of Christ in man’s redemption.”¹¹ Baptism does not negate the necessity of preaching evangelistically to our children when they are able to understand it.¹² Rather, it is a constant reminder of their need for God.¹³

Objection #3. Infant baptism is a Roman Catholic superstition.

Response: Just because the Roman Catholic Church practices infant baptism does not automatically make it wrong.¹⁴ Infant baptism is not unique to the Roman Catholic Church, but has been practiced by nearly all Christians throughout the last 2000 years, and continues to be the case in Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches.

Having addressed some common objections to infant baptism, we will now cover some important affirmations related to infant baptism that clarify major misconceptions.

Affirmation #1. Children of believers are members of the visible covenant community by birth. It is contrary to the biblical pattern to withhold baptism (a sign and seal of the New Covenant) from covenant members.

Baptism indicates entry to the visible church.¹⁵ For people who have never been part of the covenant community (e.g., previously unevangelized with non-Christian backgrounds), they are added to the visible church by conversion and public profession of faith. Baptism for adult converts is an initiatory rite. In the early church, this scenario was common, as Christianity primarily grew by the conversion of pagan peoples (e.g., Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:7-11, 41; 8:34-38; etc.), rather than ordinarily adding to its numbers through childbearing (which became predominant in later centuries).¹⁶

In contrast, an infant of a believing parent is born into the visible church. They are members of the church because God’s covenant with their parents today is a continuation of the covenant made with Abraham (Gal. 3:8-9, 14; cf. Rom. 4:11-12; Col. 2:11-12; Gen. 17:7-9), one that included his children as well as himself. Therefore, children of believers are baptized, not to make them members, but because they are already members of the covenant community from birth. Consider the following analogy: children born to Canadian parents are citizens of Canada from birth because of who their parents are.¹⁷

The sign of the covenant is consistently given to all believing adults and their offspring. Failure to apply the sign is effectively a death sentence because it estranges a person from God’s people (e.g., Gen. 17:14; cf. Ex. 4:24-26). Excluding a person from the visible church is to shut them out of the kingdom of God. Just as it was a grave sin to withhold circumcision from covenant youth in the Old Testament, the same is true of baptism today.

Affirmation #2. There is continuity between circumcision and baptism.

There is correspondence between circumcision in the Old Testament and baptism in the New Testament. These are the signs for entrance in the old and new covenant communities, respectively.¹⁸ Colossians 2:11-12 indicates that spiritual circumcision is essentially analogous to spiritual baptism. Both are identified with Christ’s death and resurrection:

Circumcision	Baptism
A sign of being separated from the world and brought into God’s covenant community, Israel (Gen. 17; 34:15)	A sign of being separated from the world and brought into God’s covenant community, the visible church (Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 12:13)
God’s ‘seal’ of righteousness received by faith in Christ (Rom. 4:11; cf. Heb. 11)	God’s seal of righteousness received by faith in Christ (Gal. 3:27)
A sign of being recipients of God’s promises (Gen. 17:6-10)	A sign of being recipients of God’s promises (Acts 2:38-39)
A sign of regeneration of the Spirit in the cutting away of sin (Jer. 9:25-26)	A sign of regeneration of the Spirit in the washing away of sin (Titus 3:5)
Signifying fellowship/union with God (Ex. 4:25)	Signifying fellowship/union with Christ (Eph. 4:5)

Just as circumcision was administered to adult converts as well as children of believers, the expectation is that baptism is to be administered to the same categories of people.

Affirmation #3. There are explicit blessings given to children of believing parents, indicating these children are covenant members.

There are numerous blessings spoken of children belonging to Christian families. For instance, covenant children, having at least one believing parent, possess a form of external holiness (1 Cor. 7:14). It is hard to understand how this can be the case if they were not also part of the covenant community. Being born to a Christian family gives a child a “holy” or covenant status. This is passed on from a parent to a child as from the “root” to the “branches” (Rom. 11:16). Moreover, when the Apostle Paul wrote to the “saints” in his letter to the church at Ephesus (Eph. 1:1), he included their children in his address and even exhorted them to obey their parents “in the Lord” (6:1).

The Bible has consistently included physical children of believing parents in the Covenant of Grace with blessings imparted to them, both in the New and Old Testaments (Jer. 32:39-40; Acts 2:39; cf. Gen. 17:7). Importantly, without acknowledging that children of believers are part of the covenant, there is no basis for comforting parents of young children (even in the womb) who have died. Baptists are inconsistent on this point. The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (of 1689) states: “Infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when, where, and how He pleases. So also are all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word” (chapter 10, paragraph 3). But what warrant do they have for making such a statement if infants are not part of the covenant? In contrast, the Reformed can consistently comfort Christian parents on the basis of the covenant and this is reflected in the Reformed confessions.¹⁹

Affirmation #4. Baptism is primarily a sign and seal of God’s promises to us. Baptism is secondarily an act of confession.

As we learned in our last class, baptism is primarily a sign and seal of God’s promises to us. In it, God declares who He is and what He will do for His people. Baptism is secondarily an act of confession.²⁰ As such, baptism principally points to God’s faithfulness. If baptism was fundamentally a testimony of a believer’s faithfulness to the covenant, then it would not be right to baptize a person who has no faithfulness to offer. However, baptism is the work of God, not of human beings. It is not given as a sign of a believer’s commitment, but of God’s. God acts in salvation prior to any human choice or action (Rom. 9:12-16). Infant baptism is most consistent with this doctrine as God reaches out to us before we are able to seek him. Just as a child is unable to actively contribute to his own physical birth, he or she is a passive recipient of God’s grace in baptism. Thereafter, baptism obligates the recipients of God’s grace to remain faithful to the covenant, but does not make their faithfulness a prerequisite to be included.

Affirmation #5. Infant baptism is not a guarantee that a child will be saved, nor does it presume a child has already been saved. Baptism merely indicates that they are part of the visible church and therefore offered membership privileges for their spiritual growth and nurture.

We do not believe that children are saved by baptism, nor do we presume their regeneration.²¹ In this regard, there is an important distinction between membership into the covenant community and salvation itself. Here on earth, the visible church (i.e., the covenant community) is broader than the invisible church (i.e., the whole number of the elect).²² That is to say, not everyone within the visible church is saved.²³ The visible church contains both regenerate and unregenerate people, and all members receive the external administration of the Covenant of Grace (e.g., their names are listed on church membership rolls). Only true believers, however, partake of the internal substance of the Covenant of Grace with its saving benefits (e.g., their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life).

Admission into the visible church is important because it is the way that a person receives “the ordinary means of salvation.”²⁴ These benefits include sitting under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, administration of the sacraments, church discipline, public worship, and pastoral care.²⁵ These are the ordinary means that God has appointed to convert and build Christians up in faith and godliness. For this reason, children of believers are rightly regarded as members of the visible church.

Consider the implications of the contrary. If children of believers truly have no part in the covenant community before they can provide a credible profession of faith, then we should consider them to be pagan heathens. But, in reality, no Christian really thinks that, not even Baptists. Otherwise, what warrant is there to teach our children to pray to God as “our Father” (Mt. 6:9)? Or, why can we teach them to sing songs like, “Jesus Loves Me”? If they are children of wrath, they have no right to call out to God in such a manner (cf. Eph. 2:3; Jn. 3:36). No child grows up in a neutral environment.

God ordinarily uses natural means (which He sovereignly appoints) for our salvation. It is rare that a person would be converted apart from natural means. In our own lives, we can perhaps point to specific people who shared the gospel with us, particular books we have read, and perhaps special family members who prayed for us. In the same way, God has often used the family unit (as a natural means) to grow His church. By far, there has been no greater means that God has used to numerically add to His church than through family units. Children of believing parents have the special privilege of hearing the gospel on a regular basis, reading the Scriptures, biblical teaching, intercessory prayer, going to church, training in righteousness, etc.²⁶ In turn, God ordinarily uses these means for the conversion of the elect.

But bringing someone under the protection of God’s covenantal faithfulness does not guarantee that a person will possess true, persevering faith (Heb. 4:1-11). As we learned in previous lessons, the means of grace are made effectual to the elect for salvation only by the working of the Holy Spirit. The Word and sacraments, by themselves, are insufficient to bring people to faith and repentance.²⁷ Baptist theology supposes that the Holy Spirit more commonly grants belief to adults, rather than infants. But the testimony of Scripture is that the Holy Spirit does not discriminate in relation to age. It is certainly possible for infants to be regenerated. God regenerated John the Baptist in the womb (Lk. 1:15), and possibly Jeremiah and Samson in infancy (Jer. 1:5; Judg. 13:5). David, who was possibly regenerated as an infant (Ps. 22:9), was comforted in the hope of seeing his infant son again after his death (2 Sam. 12:22-23). Indeed, God’s normal way of adding to the body of Christ is by saving infants born to Christian parents (Deut. 10:15; 30:6; Mal. 2:15; Is. 44:3; 59:21; 65:23; Prov. 11:21; 1 John 2:12; Acts 2:39).

Affirmation #6. It is impossible to maintain a perfectly “pure” church by excluding members who are not born again. It is impossible to expect that baptism can be restricted to only regenerated people because only God knows the heart.

Probably the biggest reason that Baptists deny infant baptism is because of their (well-intentioned) desire to preserve the purity of the church. On this account, they limit baptism to only those who have reached the age of discretion and are able to make a credible profession of faith. Baptists refer to passages like Jeremiah 31:31-34 (also quoted in Heb. 8:7-13) to argue that the New Covenant is only comprised of believers. However, Jeremiah 31 (and Hebrews 8) should be interpreted that the future expectation is that the covenant community in heaven will be pure.²⁸ While on earth, the church will always remain “mixed.” Even Baptist congregations who do their best to keep the covenant community “pure” by restricting baptism to adults who make profession of faith still admit that they cannot guarantee that a person who is baptized will not later fall away from the faith.

Once again, being of the visible church is not synonymous with being saved. On earth, the covenant community is mixed with believers and unbelievers. Consider the sons of Abraham; both Isaac and Ishmael were circumcised (Gen. 17:25; 21:4) but only Isaac was saved (Gal. 4:23, 28). The twelve apostles included Judas, a traitor, and son of perdition (Jn. 17:12). Unconverted hypocrites have always existed inside the visible church (1 Jn. 2:19; cf. 2 Tim. 4:10). Jesus gave parables about the mixed covenant community, as illustrated by the wise and foolish virgins (Mt. 25:1-13), the wheat and tares (Mt. 13:24-30, 36-43), and the good and bad fish (Mt. 13:47-52). Until the consummation, the church will continue to be mixed with true believers and externally “sanctified” unbelievers (Mt. 7:21-23).²⁹

If a covenant child comes of age and denies Christ (either by confession or practice), he/she is then removed from church membership (cf. 1 Cor. 5:13). It is by church discipline that the church maintains its purity, not by withholding baptism from children of believers whom the Apostle Paul addresses as “saints” (Eph. 1:1; 6:1-2). After all, it needs to be acknowledged that baptism, even in the case of adults, is never granted on the basis of an infallible profession of faith or proof of regeneration.³⁰

Affirmation #7. Some baptized members of the visible church (adults and children alike) may later fall away.

As we learned in an earlier class, every sacrament consists of two parts:³¹ an outward sensible sign and the inward spiritual grace.Hypocrites only partake of the outward form without receiving the inward spiritual benefits. Accordingly, there are some people who only receive the external administration of the Covenant of Grace without ever partaking of its internal substance. The fact that the New Covenant has an external administration is proven by numerous apostasy passages in the New Testament (cf. 1 Jn. 5:16). For instance, Hebrews 6:4-8 describes those who fall away as having partaken of the Holy Spirit in some sense. This is speaking about people who are externally identified with the covenant community,³² but do not participate in the inward regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.³³ Similarly, Hebrews 10:26-31 warns about certain individuals in the covenant community who abandon the faith after having received the knowledge of truth, insulting the Spirit of grace, and spurning the blood of the covenant by which they were “sanctified.”

All professing Christians (which includes a mixture of believers and false converts) take part in the externaladministration, but only believers receive the internal substance. As a reminder, all sacraments are double-edged, carrying with them both covenant promises and curses. Consider the flood; the waters from which Noah and his family were saved were the same waters which destroyed the unbelieving world (Gen. 7). Similarly, circumcision was the sign which sealed God’s people in the Old Covenant (Gen. 17:10-11; Josh. 5:8-9), but also the sign that the unbelieving people of Shechem received to their judgment (Gen. 34). Lord’s Supper is as a means of grace to strengthen God’s people, but also a means of judgment upon the unfaithful (1 Cor. 11:27-32). The same is true of baptism; it is a sign and seal of God’s promises to those who are united to Christ, but a curse to those who apostatize.³⁴ For pseudo-believers, they are figuratively plunged beneath the waters in death, but never raised to newness of life in Christ.³⁵ Believers receive the blessings, but false converts receive the covenant curses.

Affirmation #8. The New Covenant is “new” in the sense that it is more expansive. It is a “better covenant.”

The New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is not new in the sense that it is completely detached from the previous administrations of the Covenant of Grace. Instead, it is new in the sense that it is seen afresh or through a renewed lens.³⁶ Unlike the Old Covenant which was focused on one nation (Acts 14:16; Ps. 147:19-20), the New Covenant is expanded to include all nations (Mt. 28:19; Rom. 1:8; 10:18; 16:26; Col. 1:6, 23). It is broader in every way (Joel 2:28; Gal. 3:28). For instance, the New Testament sign is given to men and women alike. As such, it would be inexplicable if the New Covenant were suddenly restricted to exclude children of believers (who have always been part of the covenant from the beginning), thereby rejecting them without explanation. “If the children of believers were excluded from membership in the new covenant when they had been an integral part of the old covenant, Pentecost would have been a day of mass excommunication.”³⁷

Affirmation #9. Infant baptism is most consistent with Reformed hermeneutics.

A principle of interpretation (hermeneutics) adopted by Reformed theology is the “analogy of faith” (analogia fidei). According to this principle, doctrine is constructed from clear texts, which then become the basis for interpreting unclear or ambiguous texts. Doctrine is formed by what is clearly stated by Scripture or what can be deduced by “good and necessary consequence.”³⁸ Biblicism, on the other hand, is a relatively new form of hermeneutic that demands a specific unambiguous “proof text” for every doctrine. If this is the case, it would be difficult to defend other well-established doctrines such as the Trinity or the penal substitutionary atonement!

Although there is no explicit “proof text” commanding infant baptism in the New Testament, there is likewise no explicit passage forbidding it. (Refer to the section on “Objection #1”). Considering that all of God’s covenants have included the children of believers, it would certainly be necessary for an explicit command to be issued forbidding it ifthe administration of God’s covenant were to radically change.³⁹ The entire Bible presupposes that the children of believers are included in the external administration of the covenant.⁴⁰

It is difficult to capture all the important aspects of baptism in just a couple short lessons. For those interested in learning more, please consider the following book as starting ground, which examines the history of baptism, its significance according to the Bible’s redemptive storyline, and the theological basis of covenant baptism: Fesko, J.V. Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010.

Footnotes

1
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008, pp. 510-511.
2
Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, p. 476.
3
Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 1, paragraph 6.
4
John Calvin argued that if a concrete example is always needed, then “women should similarly be barred from the Lord’s supper, since we do not read that they were admitted to it in the apostolic age.” Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.16.8. It is a misuse of the regulative principle to ignore the “good and necessary consequence” of Scripture, as noted in the Westminster Confession of Faith above.
5
Baptist theology overemphasizes individualism, as if each person can attain salvation independent of all others. Rather, the Bible teaches that believers are saved together as an organic unit. “Still this is the fact. The Father loves the Son. The body of the Son is the Church. Hence no one can be saved but he who is incorporated into His body the Church [cf. 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:23].” Kuyper, Abraham. The Work of the Holy Spirit. Eerdmans Pub, 1900, p. 575.
6
We each belong to many different communities: our families, associations, nations, etc. All the members stand or fall together. “All the members of such a body can be either a blessing or a curse to one another [1 Cor. 12:26], and increasingly so to the degree that they themselves are more outstanding… Fathers, mothers, guardians, caretakers, teachers, professors, patrons, guides, princes, kings, and so on have the greatest influence on those under their jurisdiction. Their life and conduct decides the fortunes of their subordinates, elevates them and brings them to honor, or drags them down and pulls them along to destruction. The family of the drunkard is ruined and disgraced because of the father’s sin. The family of a criminal is widely and for a long time identified and condemned along with him. A congregation languishes under the faithless conduct of a pastor. A people decline and are eventually destroyed as a result of the foolish policies of a king… Among people there is solidarity for good or ill… We stand on the shoulders of earlier generations and inherit the things they have accumulated in the way of material and spiritual wealth. We enter into their labors, rest on their laurels, enjoy the things they have frequently acquired at great cost. We receive all this undeservedly, without having asked for it. It is waiting for us at our birth; it is bequeathed to us by grace. There is no one who objects to this and opposes this law. But if the same law begins to exert its effects in things that are bad and makes us partakers in the sins and sufferings of others, the human mind revolts and charges this law with being unjust. The same son who [blithely] accepts his father’s inheritance refuses to pay his father’s debts.” Therefore, we are all (passive) beneficiaries of our earthly leaders (whether good or bad). Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3: Sin and Salvation in Christ. Baker Academic, 2006, p. 104.
7
Covenant curses can also fall on people because of the sins committed by their covenant heads. For example, Achan and his family were executed because of his sin (Josh. 7:22-26); and the nation of Israel was judged because of David’s sin (2 Sam. 24).
8
The Covenant of Grace, as extended to us in the gospel, was one and the same in the Old Testament as it is currently in the New Testament. For instance, the Apostle Paul explicitly claims that Abraham received the gospel as early Genesis, chapter 12 (cf. Gal. 3:8-9, 14), and this was signified and sealed by circumcision, as also extended to his descendants (Gen. 17:2, 7-14). The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 7, paragraph 6 summarizes the continuity between the Old and New Testaments: “There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations.”
9
We are physically born only once, but we celebrate the day of our birth year after year. We use this as an occasion to give thanks to God and to reflect back over our blessings. In a similar way, we are baptized only once, but can look back on the event and remember God’s goodness and work out its implications throughout life. Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, pp. 480-481.
10
It can be similarly said that the Word of God, as a means of grace, is not always immediately efficacious at the time a sermon is preached or a passage read. In many cases, a person may go home to ponder the sermon or the text that was read. It is not uncommon that days, weeks, months, or even years may go by before a person falls under conviction and is converted by it. As such, the Westminster Confession of Faith (28.6) states that the “efficacy of baptism is not tied to the moment of time wherein it is administered” but if it is of any benefit, it is according to the blessing of the Holy Spirit according to “the counsel of God’s own will, in his appointed time.”
11
Fesko, J.V. Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010, p. 360.
12
Consider the traditional “Form for the Administration of Baptism” in the back of our Psalter. Parents are bound by duty and promise to bring up their children in God’s ways to the utmost of their power (p. 127).
13
Also consider Jesus who welcomed children to His side and blessed them (Mt. 19:13); the Greek work for “little children” is paidia(παιδία) and usually refers to “babies” (or at least young infants). While this passage does not directly answer what age a person should be baptized, it does make the point that Jesus was willing to bless babies who were certainly too young to understand who Jesus was or what He was doing. Even so, it would be improper to conclude that Jesus’ blessing was useless. Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, p. 478.
14
The fact that the Roman Catholic Church accepts the Trinity, the deity of Christ, etc. does not invalidate these doctrines either.
15
Fesko, J.V. Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010, pp. 363-364.
16
“It goes without saying that in the first and second centuries, when the Christian church was caught up in rapid expansion, the baptism of [adult] proselytes was much more a focus of attention than infant baptism. Initially the baptism of adults was the ordinary—regularly occurring—baptism; alongside of it infant baptism gradually sprang up as well. But finally, when the church was established… infant baptism became the rule.” Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008, p. 522; also Fesko, J.V. Word, Water, and Spirit: A Reformed Perspective on Baptism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010, p. 361.
17
Note, when a person who has been baptized as an infant later makes confession of faith, then admitted to the table to partake of the Lord’s supper, they are not “joining the church.” He/she has already a member of the church from birth. Rather, by making public confession of faith, they are given the highest privilege of membership, participation in the Lord’s supper. By analogy, we do not say that a person becomes a Canadian citizen when he/she turns 18. The person was a citizen from birth, even though he/she was unable to express personal allegiance to his/her country and did not have all the privileges of citizenship yet, such as voting, until reaching an age of maturity. Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, pp. 476-477.
18
Beale, G. K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011, pp. 803-816, 924-926.
19
For instance, the Canons of Dort, First head of doctrine, article 17 states: “Godly parents have no reason to doubt of the election and salvation of their children whom it pleaseth God to call out of this life in their infancy.” The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 10, paragraph 3 states: “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
20
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008, pp. 475-476.
21
Admittedly though, there are different views as to why infant baptism should be performed. The two main positions are as follows: (1) Some hold to “presumptive regeneration” in an effort to maintain unity between election and the covenant. According to this view, all children born of believing parents should be regarded as regenerate unless their walk of life or witness is clearly to the contrary. Proponents of this position teach that elect children are usually regenerated by the Spirit of God before baptism or even before birth. Examples of people holding to this view include Ursinus, Voetius, and Witsius. (2) Others, however, point out that baptized children often grow up without showing any signs of spiritual life. While acknowledging that God is able to regenerate young children if He sovereignly desires, it is not humanly possible to determine whether regeneration ordinarily occurs before, during, or after baptism among the elect. Examples of those holding this view include Calvin, Beza, Ames, and Turretin. This is also the position of the Free Reformed Church. Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008, pp. 511-513.
22
The visible church is called “visible” because it is possible to literally see the number of people present who call themselves Christian by public confession. In contrast, the invisible church is called “invisible” because we cannot see exactly who is (or how many people are) truly regenerated and united with Christ. Only God knows their exact identity and the full number.
23
This is clearly stated in the Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 61, 62, 63, and 64. Similarly, the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 25, paragraphs 1 and 2 describes important differences between the visible and invisible church. The visible church “consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” In contrast, the invisible church “consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the Head.”
24
WLC Q63: What are the special privileges of the visible church? A: The visible church hath the privilege of being under God’s special care and government; of being protected and preserved in all ages, not withstanding the opposition of all enemies; and of enjoying the communion of saints, the ordinary means of salvation, and offers of grace by Christ to all the members of it in the ministry of the gospel, testifying, that whosoever believes in him shall be saved, and excluding none that will come unto him.
25
Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, p. 140.
26
In contrast, children of unbelievers do not ordinarily receive any of these privileges.
27
After all, both Scripture and human experience teach us that the Word does not always have the same effect on all people (e.g., two people can hear the same sermon; one will turn to God in faith but the other will remain calloused and unbelieving). The outwards means are made inwardly efficacious by the Holy Spirit (cf. by opening the heart, Acts 16:14; drawing a person to Christ, Jn. 6:44; enlightening the mind, Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:9–11; etc.).
28
Otherwise, it would be difficult to understand Jer. 31:34 which says that it is unnecessary to teach one another about the Lord. On earth, evangelism will always be necessary. In heaven, everyone will know the Lord.
29
On earth, the visible church is organized under human leaders and subject to church discipline. As a group of people who are still sinners, Christians need instruction and correction. Sometimes, excommunication is necessary to remove unrepentant sinners from the covenant community. In contrast, the invisible church consists of all those who will one day be in heaven. At that time, there will no longer be sin. There will be no hypocrites in our midst.
30
“In the case of infant baptism, therefore, we are permitted to require neither less nor more than in the case of adult baptism… We are never totally certain that a given person is not a hypocrite and hence receives the sacrament illegitimately, but we have no right to judge… This is also true in the case of the baptism of infants. Those who want absolute certainty can never dispense any sacrament” (p. 526). “For if the children of believers are to be regarded as Scripture teaches us to regard them, then, according to the divine institution of baptism, they have a legitimate claim to this sacrament in the same measure as… adults who make profession of faith. Certainly, in neither of these cases can we obtain absolute certainty. We can no more judge the hearts of senior members of the church than we can the hearts of infants. The only possibility left for us who are bound to externals is a judgment of charity. According to that judgment, we consider those who make profession of faith to be believers and give them access to the sacraments. By that same judgment we count the children of believers as themselves believers because they are included with their parents in the covenant of grace” (p. 531). Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008.
31
WLC Q163: What are the parts of a sacrament? A: The parts of a sacrament are two; the one an outward and sensible sign, used according to Christ’s own appointment; the other an inward and spiritual grace thereby signified.
32
These people even receive the “common operations of the Spirit” but not the saving graces (Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 10, paragraph 4; Westminster Larger Catechism questions 63 and 68).
33
The alternative interpretation is that Hebrews 6 is describing the real possibility that a regenerate person can lose his or her salvation, but this would be contrary to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
34
Consider what it means for Christ to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11) especially in light of how Christ is said to gather up wheat into the barn, but will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire (v. 12).
35
“Those baptized but not persevering in faith, and thus proving to be pseudosaints of the covenant community, will suffer the curse part of the sign of baptism: they will be identified only with the death aspect that it represents.” Beale, G. K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011, pp. 814, 926.
36
Consider John 13:34. Here, Jesus refers to “loving one another” as a “new commandment.” It is not completely “new” as if the idea of loving one’s neighbor was absent from the Old Testament. Rather, it is new in that we are given greater power to love our neighbor with the massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
37
Letham, Robert. Systematic Theology. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019, p. 446.
38
Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 1, paragraph 6.
39
If the Baptist position were correct, there would have been a definite New Testament command prohibiting it, as this would be a radical change from all previous administrations of the Covenant of Grace. The burden of proof falls on Baptist position!
40
See Matthew 19:13-14 (paralleled in Mk. 10:14 and Lk. 18:16). When surrounded by children, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is said to belong to those such as “these.” There is warrant for including children in the kingdom.

Footnotes

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