dead ; the ranks of the Church, as they were thinned by the de- cease of believers, being filled by those who were baptized to take their places. In the time of Tertullian and Origen infant bap- tism is spoken of, not only as the prevailing usage of the Church, but as having been practised from the beginning. When Pela- gius was sorely pressed by Augustine with the argument in sup- port of the doctrine of original sin derived from the baptism of infants, he did not venture to evade the argument by denying either the prevalence of such baptisms or the divine warrant for them. He could only say that they were baptized, not on account of what they then needed, but of what they might need hereafter. The fact of infant baptism and its divine sanction were ad- mitted. These facts are here referred to only as a collateral proof that the practice of the New Testament Church did not in this matter differ from that of the Church as constituted before the advent of Christ.
The conduct of our Lord in relation to children, in its bearing on this subject must not be overlooked. So far from excluding them from the Church in whose bosom they had always been cherished, He called them the lambs of his flock, took them into his arms, and blessed them, and said, of such is the kingdom of heaven. If members of his kingdom in heaven, why should they be excluded from his kingdom on earth ? Whenever a father or mother seeks admission to the Christian Church, their heart prompts them to say : Here Lord am I and the children whom thou hast given me. And his gracious answer has always been : Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not.
Eighth Proposition. Children need, and are capable of receiv- ing the Benefits of Redemption.
On this point all Christians are agreed. All churches — the Greek, the Latin, the Lutheran, and the Reformed — unite in the belief that infants need "the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ " and the renewing of the Holy Ghost in order to their salvation. The Reformed, at least, do not believe that those blessings are tied to the ordinance of baptism, so that the recep- tion of baptism is necessary to a participation of the spiritual benefits which it symbolizes ; but all agree that infants are saved by Christ, that they are the purchase of his blood, and that they need expiation and regeneration. They are united, also, in be- lieving that all who seek the benefits of the work of Christ, are bound to be baptized in acknowledgment of its necessity and
558 PART in. Ch. XX.— the means of grace.
of their faith, and that those who need, but cannot seek, are, by the ordinance of God, entitled to receive the appointed sign and seal of redemption, whenever and wherever they are presented by those who have the right to represent them.
§ 11. Whose Children are entitled to Baptism ?
This is a very delicate, difficult, and important question. No answer which can be given to it can be expected to give general satisfaction. The answers will be determined by the views taken of the nature of the Church and the design of the sacraments. Probably the answer which would include most of the views entertained on the subject, is, that the children of the members of the visible Church, and those for whose religious training such members are willing to become responsible, should be baptized. But this leaves many questions undecided, and allows room for great diversity of practice.
Difference between the Jewish and Christian Usage.
We have already seen under the old dispensation, (1.) That God made a nation his Church and his Church a nation. (2.) Conse- quently that membership in the one involved membership in the other, and exclusion from the one, exclusion from the other. (3.) That the conditions of admission to the Church were, there- fore, the same as the conditions of admission into the common- wealth. (4.) That those conditions were profession of faith in the true religion, and a promise of obedience to the will of God as re- vealed in his word. (5.) That the State exacted this profession and enforced this obedience so far as the external conduct was con- cerned. All the people were required to be circumcised, to offer sacrifices, to observe the festivals, and to frequent the temple services. And, (6.) That this was God's way of preserving the knowledge of the true religion in that age of the world. And it succeeded. When Christ came, the uncorrupted Scriptures were read in the synagogues ; the sacrifices as divinely appointed were offered in the temple ; the high priest in his offices and work still stood before the people, as the type of Him who was to come. Under this system there could be no question as to whose chil- dren were to be circumcised.
When Christ came and broke down the wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles, and announced his Gospel as designed and adapted for all men, all this was changed. It fol- lowed from the fact that the Church was to embrace all nations.