The Church and Infant Baptism, Part 1

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces the fourth unit of study on baptism, focusing on its relationship to the biblical doctrine of the church, specifically the church's identity. He explains…

Martin mentions that in the academy, students go through all 111 passages where 'ekklesia' is found, contrasting this comprehensive study with the more summarized approach for the Sunday school class to illustrate the depth of the topic.

We begin our study of the relationship of infant baptism to the biblical teaching and doctrine concerning the church, specifically concerning the identity of the church. Now I will not treat this matter of the biblical doctrine of the identity of the church as comprehensively as I do in the academy. In the academy, we go through all of the 111 passages. In which the word ekklesia, from which we get our word ecclesiastical and ecclesiology and all the rest.

1:09 - 1:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The sacraments belong to the members of the church. But the church is the company of believers. Infants cannot exercise faith. Therefore, they are not members of the church and consequently ought not to be baptized.

Martin quotes Charles Hodge from his Systematic Theology, explaining that the difficulty with infant baptism is that baptism involves a profession of faith, which infants cannot make, thus requiring a specific idea of the church to include them.

What more need be said? Well, if we are really to address the issues which are raised by our Pato-Baptist brethren, more must be said. And I would like now to quote from two representative spokesmen, Hodge and Warfield, in order to show you the reason why it is necessary to say more and to address this issue. First of all, Hodge, Systematic Theology, Volume 3, page 547 and following.

2:35 - 3:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: According as is our doctrine of the church, so will be our doctrine of the subjects of baptism.

Martin quotes B.B. Warfield from 'The Polemics of Infant Baptism,' stating that the doctrine of baptismal subjects depends on one's doctrine of the church, and contrasting inclusive vs. exclusive views of church membership.

In his studies in theology, in his beginning of his article entitled The Polemics of Infant Baptism, makes the following statement on the very first page. He says this, The question of the subjects of baptism is one of that class of problems, the solution of which hangs upon a previous question. According as is our doctrine of the church, so will be our doctrine of the subjects of baptism. If we believe with the church of Rome that the church is in such a sense the institute of salvation that none are united to Christ except through the instrumentality of her ordinances, then we shall inevitab...

6:10 - 7:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: According as is our doctrine of the church, so will be our doctrine of the subjects of baptism.

Martin points out Warfield's use of emotionally charged language to paint the Baptist position as 'exclusive' and 'forced' to recognize Christ's children, while presenting the Paedo-Baptist view as 'fairly recognizing' and 'ample,' highlighting rhetorical bias.

All Protestants should easily agree that only Christ's children have a right to the ordinance of baptism. The cleavage in their ranks enters in only when we inquire how the external church is to hold itself relatively to the recognition of the children of Christ. If we say that its attitude should be as exclusive as possible, and that it must receive as the children of Christ only those whom it is forced to recognize as such, then we shall inevitably narrow the scope of the subjects of baptism to the lowest limits. If, on the other hand, we say that its attitude should be as inclusive as possi...

7:25 - 8:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Why doesn't he say that? Because it didn't happen. And he uses words calculated to tell us that it did not happen. He could not use language more explicit.

Martin uses Matthew 14:21, which explicitly mentions 'men, besides women, and children' eating the loaves, to demonstrate that when children are included in a biblical count, the text explicitly states it, contrasting with Acts 5:14's omission of children.

Men and women. It has to do with the eating of the loaves that Jesus made to multiply. And as Matthew describes those who ate, he uses the same terminology. And he says this in verse 21.

32:56 - 33:11 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There may be two ways to make a Jew, but there's only one way to make a disciple. You don't make a disciple by marriage and procreation. You make a disciple by evangelism and conversion.

Martin uses the analogy that there may be two ways to make a Jew (birth or conversion, like Ruth), but there is only one way to make a disciple of Jesus Christ (evangelism and conversion), to emphasize the exclusive method of church growth.

already believed, commended them to the Lord on whom they had. Disciples are those who believe, who are obedient to the faith, and church growth involves the multiplying of the number of the disciples. There's only one way to make a disciple, and that's by preaching the gospel and having that disciple, having that person become obedient to the gospel. And if you're not a disciple, you're not a Christian, because it says in Acts 11.26, And the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. There's only one way to make a disciple, by evangelism and conversion, not by marriage and procreation...

40:42 - 41:49 Read in full sermon