diversorum. Nam infantibus quidem seque omnibus per baptis- mum primum confertur et obsignatur fides, per quam meritum Christi illis applicetur : Adultis vero illis tantum, qui fidem ex verbo conceperunt ante baptismi susceptionem, baptismus earn obsignat et confirmat." So also Gerhard says : " Infantibus baptismus principaliter est medium ordinarium regenerationis et mundationis a peccatis, etc. Secundario autem sigillum justitias et fidei confirmatio ; adultis credentibus baptismus principaliter praestat usum obsignationis ac testificationis de gratia Dei, vloOeo-ia. et vita aeterna ; sed minus principaliter renovationem et dona Spiritus Sancti auget. Infantes, per baptismum primitias Spiri- tus et fidei accipiunt : adulti qui per verbum primitias fidei et Spiritus Sancti acceperunt, per baptismum incrementa ejusdem consequuntur." *
The doctrine of the Church of Rome on this subject is, not that all the seven sacraments are necessary to salvation, but that each is necessary to the reception of the gift or grace which it is intended to convey. There can be no "grace of orders " without canonical ordination, but it is not necessary that every man should be ordained. The sacrament of penance is necessary only in the case of post-baptismal sin, and even the eucharist, which they regard as far the greatest of their sacraments " in dignity and mystery," is not necessary to infants. Baptism, however, being the only channel through which remission of sins and re- generation are conveyed, is absolutely necessary to salvation. And priestly absolution is absolutely necessary for the remission of sins committed after baptism. Such revolting consequences would flow from carrying this principle rigorously out, that Ro- manists shrink from its assertion. It would exclude many con- fessors and martyrs from the kingdom of heaven. It is, there- fore, taught that when circumstances render it impossible that these sacraments can be received, the purpose and desire to receive them secure their benefits. These cases are, however, exceptions, and are generally overlooked in the statement of the doctrine. This exception does not apply to infants, and, there- fore, they cannot enjoy its benefits. It is the doctrine of the Church of Rome that all unbaptized persons fail of eternal life. This is included in their idea of the Church. None are saved who are not within the pale of the true Church. None are within the pale of the Church who have not been baptized, and who are not subject to canonical bishops, and especially to the
1 Loci Theologici, xxi. vii. § 124; edit. Tubingen, 1769, vol. ix. p. 169.
620 PART III. Ch. XX. — THE MEANS OF GRACE.
bishop of Rome. The unbaptized, therefore, not being in the Church, as denned by Romanists, are of necessity excluded from the kingdom of heaven.
The language of the Roman standards is perfectly explicit. The Council of Trent says : 1 " Si quis dixerit, non dari gratiam per hujusmodi sacramenta semper, et omnibus, quantum est ex parte Dei, etiam si rite ea suscipiant, sed aliquando, et aliquibus ; anathema sit." And again : 2 "Si quis dixerit baptismum libe- rum esse, hoc est non necessarium ad salutem ; anathema sit." In the Roman Catechism3 we find the following : " Estne Baptis- mus ad salutem omnibus necessarius ? " the answer is : "Sed cum ceterarum rerum cognitio; quaa hactenus expositse sunt, fidelibus utiUissima habenda sit, turn vero nihil magis necessarium videri potest, quam ut doceantur, omnibus hominibus baptismi legem a Domino praescriptam esse, ita ut, nisi per baptismi gratiam Deo renascantur, in sempiternam miseriam, et interitum a parentibus, sive illi fideles, sive infideles sint, procreentur." According to the Church of Rome, therefore, all the unbaptized, whether their parents be believers or infidels, are doomed to eternal misery and perdition. With regard to penance, the Council of Trent says : * " Est hoc sacr amentum pcenitentiae lapsis post baptismum ad sa- lutem necessarium, ut nondum regeneratis ipse baptismus." It also teaches that full confession of all sins committed after bap- tism is " jure divino " necessary, because our Lord Jesus Christ, about to ascend into heaven, left his priests as his vicars, as " prassides et judices," to whom all mortal sins, into which Chris- tians may fall, are to be communicated, and who are authorized to pronounce the sentence of remission or retention. It is said? moreover, that our Lord teaches that priests, who themselves are in a state of mortal sin, in virtue of the power of the Holy Spirit given them in ordination, exercise, as ministers of Christ, this function of remitting sins, and those err who contend that wicked priests have not this power. All this is reiterated in the canons and amplified and enforced in the Catechism.6
In this connection it is sufficient to remark, —
1. That the doctrine that the sacraments are necessary to sal- vation, on the ground that they are the only channels for convey- ing to men the benefits of Christ's redemption, is clearly contrary to the express teachings of the Bible. The Scriptures everywhere
1 Sess. vii., Be Sacramentis in genere, canon 7; Streitwolf, vol. i. p. 39.
2 Ibid., Be Baptismo, canon 5; Ibid. p. 41.
» Par. ii. cap. ii. quaes. 25 (31, xxx.); Ibid. p. 274.
* Sess. xiv. cap. 2 ; Ibid. p. 55. « Sess. xiv. cap. 5, 6 ; Ibid.