In the fourth passage it is said, that “The church of the Gentiles, by baptism, is delivered from the bondage of the devil,” and that “she who was a handmaid of iniquity, is (thus) become a friend [beloved] of Christ.” This certainly savors not at all of infant baptism, for it cannot be said of infants, that they are the church of the Gentiles, under the bondage of the devil, a handmaid of iniquity, nor that they, by baptism, are delivered from the service of the devil, and become a friend of Christ. Certainly, no one can be delivered from the service of the devil, but he who has served the devil; no other can be liberated from the servitude of iniquity except she who previously committed iniquity; she who previously blasphemed; no other can be adopted as a friend of Christ, than she who formerly, by wicked works, was at enmity with Christ; consequently it is indisputable, that this cannot be understood of infants, seeing these things can have no place with them; this even those who maintain infant baptism, must admit, and hence we dismiss the subject.
“The adult (candidates) also made confession of their sins, and a penance was imposed on them, for forty, twenty or seven days.” _Haimo, on Heb. 6_, (_p. 552_).
Here adult and not infant candidates are spoken of, yea, such, upon whom, when they had made confession of sins, a penance (or amendment of life) was imposed; which are things pertaining to adults, and not to little children; this is too plain to be refuted.
Said baptism was so firmly maintained and thus valued by Haimo, that he held that it should never be repeated, if it had been administered according to the rule of the holy Scriptures; for, treating of the 6th chapter of Romans, he says, by way of exposition: “If we have once died unto sin in baptism, we may not be baptized again.” _Bapt. Hist., p. 543._ This well accords with the custom of the Anabaptists of the present day; for, though they rebaptize such as have been baptized in their infancy, when they attain to the faith; regarding the baptism which is received in infancy as no baptism at all, because it is not according to holy Scripture; yet no one is rebaptized by them, who has been _baptized aright_, that is, upon faith.
NOTE.--_A. D. 825._--The council held at Paris, A. D. 825, decreed against image worship. _Sam. Veltius, Geslacht-register, page 127._ Gratian said to his cotemporaries: “The Lord, in saying to his disciples: ‘When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another,’ teaches that Christians when persecuted, should not repel weapon with weapon, but flee therefrom”. See _Grondelijke Verklaringe Danielis ende Johannis_, printed at Harlem, in the year 1635, p. 56.
_A. D. 830._[140]--It is stated that A. D. 830, in the sixteenth year of the reign of Emperor Louis I., surnamed the Pious, there shone forth as a bright light, and wrote, one Rabanus Maurus, residing at Fulda, who, among various things written by him against the Roman church, also speaks of baptism, in the discussion of which he throughout employs such language as pertains only to believers, and in no wise to infants; notwithstanding he at one time, it appears, had been a maintainer of infant baptism, and many other superstitions of popery, so much so that he had been an abbot. But passing this by, we shall show what he wrote of baptism, and how closely it agrees with the teaching of the holy Scriptures.
[140] The proper time for baptizing was still Easter and Whitsuntide. _Bapt. Hist., page 550, num. 2_. White garments were put on those baptized, which signified the innocence, salvation and purity of the Christian; that they should henceforth, all through life, keep themselves unspotted from iniquity. _Page 553, num. 14._