A Bible Hand-Book

by F. C. Holliday

2. That held by the Socinians; which is, "That baptism is neither an instrument nor seal of grace, but simply a ceremony of initiation into Church membership."

3. That it is a token of regeneration, to be received only by those who are really regenerated. This is the view held by the Baptists.

4. That it is a symbol of purification, the use of which simply announces that the religion of Christ is a purifying religion. This opinion is held generally by Congregationalists.

5. That it is a rite of initiation into the visible Church, and that, though not an instrument, it is a seal of grace. This is the view taken by a majority of the confessions of the Reformed Churches.

The Westminster Confession holds that "baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up to God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life; which sacrament is by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in the Church to the end of the world."

In the seventeenth article of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it is declared that "baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christian men are distinguished from others that are not baptized, but it is also a sign of regeneration, or the new birth. The baptism of children is to be retained in the Church." The same language is substantially used in the Articles of Religion of the Church of England, and with some addition by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Richard Watson, in his Institutes, Vol. II, page 646, says: "Baptism introduces the adult believer into the covenant of grace and Church of Christ, and is the seal and pledge to him, on the part of God, of the fulfillment of all its provisions in time and in eternity; while on his part he takes on him the obligation of steadfast faith and obedience. To the infant child it is a visible reception into the same covenant and Church, a pledge of acceptance through Christ, the bestowment of a title to all the graces of the covenant as circumstances may require, and as the mind of the child may be capable or made capable of receiving it, and as it may be sought in future life by prayer, when the period of reason and moral choice shall arrive. It conveys also the present blessing of Christ; of which we are assured by his taking children in his arms and blessing them, which blessing can not be merely nominal, but must be substantial and efficacious. It secures, too, the gift of the Holy Ghost in those secret spiritual influences by which the actual regeneration of those children who die in infancy is effected, and which are a seed of life in those who are spared, to prepare them for instruction in the Word of God, as they are taught it by parental care to incline their will and affections to good, and to begin and maintain in them the war against inward and outward evil, so that they may be Divinely assisted, as reason strengthens, to make their calling and election sure. In a word, it is both as to infants and adults, the sign and pledge of that inward grace which, though modified in its operations by the difference of their circumstances, has respect to, and flows from, a covenant relation to each of the three persons in whose one name they are baptized—acceptance by the Father, union with Christ as the head of his mystical body, the Church, and the communion of the Holy Ghost. To these advantages must be added the respect which God bears to the believing act of the parents, and to their solemn prayers on the occasion, in both of which the child is interested, as well as in that solemn engagement of the parents, which the rite necessarily implies, to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Dr. Schaff remarks: "The ultimate authority for infant baptism in the bosom of a regular Christian community, and under a sufficient guarantee of pious education—for only on these terms do we advocate it—lies in the universal import of Christ's person and work, which extends as far as humanity itself. Christ is not only able, but willing, to save mankind of all classes, in all circumstances, of both sexes, and at all stages of life, and, consequently, to provide for all these the necessary means of grace. [Com. Gal. iii, 28.] A Christ able and willing to save none but adults would be no such Christ as the Gospel presents. In the significant parallel, Rom. v, 12, sq., the apostle earnestly presses the point that the reign of righteousness and life is, in its Divine intent and intrinsic efficacy, fully as comprehensive as the reign of sin and death, to which children, among the rest, are subject; nay, far more comprehensive and availing; and that the blessing and gain by the second Adam far outweighs the curse and the loss by the first. When the Lord, after solemnly declaring that all power is given to him in heaven and earth, commands his apostles to make all nations disciples by baptism and instruction, there is not the least reason for limiting this to those of maturer age. Or, do nations consist only of men, and not of youth also, and of children? According to Psalm cxvii, 1, 'all nations,' and according to Psalm cl, 6, 'every thing that hath breath should praise the Lord;' and that these include babes and sucklings is explicitly told us in Psalm viii, 2, and Matt. xxi, 16. With this is closely connected the beautiful idea, already clearly brought out by Irenæus, the disciple of Polycarp, and the faithful medium of the apostolic tradition descending from John's field of labor—the idea that Jesus Christ became a child for children, for youth a youth, for men a man; and by thus entering into the various conditions and stages of our earthly existence, sanctified every period of life, infancy as well as manhood. The Baptist view robs the Savior's infancy of its profound and cheering significance."

1. Baptism a Christian Duty.

Acts II, 38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.