The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-10-20
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
THE CHILDREN OF BAPTIZED PARENTS
Have COVENANT Right to BAPTISM
NO. v.

NO. V.
THE SCRIPTURAL ARGUMENT CONTINUED
PROPOSITIONS ", V, AND vI-EssENTIAl
IDENTITY OF THE SACRAMENT OF ADMIS'
SIoN-IDENTITY OF THE PRINCIPLE OF
ADMISSION OF MEMBERs-AND IDENTITY
IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE INITIA-
TORY ORDINANCE.
We now proceed to the fourth proposition
to prove in opposition to the views of our
Assembly, that those children have cove
nant right to baptism, one or both of whose
parents have been baptized, and who by
their regular attendance upon the sanctuary
and services of the Church, and their de-
sire to have their children baptized, and
trained up as Christians and visible members
of the Church, make visible profession of
the true religion and of their faith in and
obedience to Christ. Our fourth proposition
then, is, that the ordinance of outward ad-
mission to the Church, has in it's essential
character and meaning been the same under
every Dspensation; and has always been
administered to the children of those parents
who had received the ordinance. The main
object of this general proposition is to iden-
tify, as mas already been in part necessarily
done, as essentially one and the same in
their import, use and character, the Old
Testament rite of circumcision with the New
Testament rite of baptism. If these both
mean the same thing, and held the same
place, and performed the same office in the
Church of God, in all the former DISPENSE
tions and in the present; then baptism ought
to be administered to infants who are men,
bers of the Church by being the children of
parents one or both of whom are such.
"To establish this general proposition, y says
DR.. Bannerman, 'we may use three steps.
First, circumcision and baptism are both to
be regarded as the appointed ordinance for
the formal and public admission Of its mem
bers into the Church. Second, both circum-
cision and baptism have essentially the same
as the signs and seals of the same
Divine truths, and the same spiritual grace.
Third, baptism has been appointed to occupy
the place and come in the room of circum-
cision, which has been done away with. "
These propositions DIR. B. proceeds in vol.
ii, page so to sc to establish. They are
also fully and elaborately proved from Scrip
ture by DR.. Jones in his work and chapters
already referred to; and as these are posi-
tions, in which all Presbyterians agree, and
are only questioned, though they cannot be
1isproved, by Baptists, it is not necessary to
go into any further proof.
l proceed therefore to the fifth proposition
necessary to prove from Scripture, that the
infants of parents one or both of whom
have been baptized have a right to baptism,
and that is, that the principle on which the
ordinance of admission, into the
Church of God has been administered, has
been the same under every dispensation Of
the Church, and has always been applied to
infants, one or both of whose parents have
themselves received that initiatory ordinance
Of admission into the Church. Under all
former dispensations, "tAe membership Of
the father" (says DR.. Bannerman, page S8,)
''aVas counted to the infant; and the circume-
sision Of the father gaze right to the infant
to be circumcised also.
care we then," tasks DR.. B. on page 09,)
g warranted by Scripture in identifying the
on which baptism is to be admins
tered now, with the principle on which cir
cumcision was administered before? | think
that we are And he goes on to establish
it, see page SO to 81, in doing so he says
"that there is one passage Of Scripture more
especially, land as this is a leading text
given by our Standards, in proof of its state
ments as given by our Assembly from the
Confession of Faith, and Catechisms, l will
here adduce and dwell upon it,)-which
seems of itself explicitly to announce that
the very principle of representation found
under the Old Testament in the case of pa.
rent and child, is not cancelled but continued
under the new, and must be held as per-
manent principle in the dealing of God with
infants" The passage is 1st Cor vii: a.
"For the unbelieving husband is sanctifed
by the wife, and the unbelieving
wife is sanctifed by the husband; else were
your children unclean, but now they are
holy" (agia.) The very principle, says DR.
B., "of representation found under the OLD
Testament, is the very principle introduced
by the Apostle. The child is &C
counted clean, because the parent is clean
or to translate the phrase into ecclesiastical
language, the child is entitled to Church
membership because the parent is" awe
recognize at once the identity of the princi
pie under the former economy and the pre-
sent; and we are entitled to hold as proved
our proposition that the principle on which
the initiatory ordinance into the Church o
God has been administered" has been th'
same under the former and latter dispensa
tions of the Church, and has always included
infants, one or both of whose parents had re
ceived that initiatory ordinance.
DIR. B. quotes in support of this conclu
sion, among other authorities, the commen
taries of Calvin, and of DIR. Hodge, and tn
elaborate work of Prof. Wilson on Infan
Doo+; T, Co1vin'e varU fn1I avnoeitio,