Overview of Infant Baptism Series, Part 1

Introduction and Acknowledgment

0:01 Now, what's being distributed is an outline of several, I should say, some 26 lectures that were given in the Sunday school class at Trinity concerning the subject of infant baptism. While those are being distributed, there's something that I would like to say to our brother David Straub. Although I haven't been authorized by the association to say this, and I'm really speaking for myself yet, I do think that probably as well what I'm going to say expresses the heart and the mind of the other brethren. And that is, David, to say that we do appreciate very much the faithful and gracious way in which you've chaired the association over the last several years. And I would want to express my own personal appreciation to you for your willingness to do that. And as our brother said, had to persevere in getting me to do this. What were you saying?

1:10 I see. How far did you get?

1:17 That's what I was going to suggest exactly, Ken. Yeah, if you run out of, if since we've run out, guys from the same church kind of share and make copies at your discretion.

1:30 But we'll have some back home in a matter of a few minutes. Oh, good. Okay. It should take at least that long for me to.

1:56 Get through the introduction.

2:18 Okay.

2:23 Now, what I have been asked to do is to condense these 26 Sunday school lectures into a presentation for you this morning. And an outline of those lectures has been and will be, the Lord willing, handed out. I should say at the outset that it is not my purpose to attempt to give you. This morning, the entire content of those 26 lectures, nor is it my purpose to present a comprehensive polemic concerning the subject of infant baptism.

3:06 That would also be impossible if it were possible in my judgment to present a comprehensive polemic in one lecture. Then why did I waste my time with 26? But rather, what I hope to accomplish is to put this controversial. The subject of infant baptism into proper biblical and theological perspective.

Prayer for Divine Guidance

3:35 And if you've come away with nothing else, I hope that what you've come away with is a proper biblical and theological perspective upon this controversy of infant baptism. Now, to that end, let's pray and ask for the blessing of God upon our efforts this morning. Our father, as we come into your. Holy presence.

3:59 Again, we are conscious that apart from the outpouring of your spirit, apart from your grace and your help and assistance, we will never be able to think clearly upon any subject, let alone a controversial one. We pray, therefore, Lord, that you would help us, that you would come and dispel darkness from our minds, that you would give us receptive hearts, that you would give us a clear understanding, and that you would give us. Biblical. Disposition to the end that we may glorify you as we consider these things.

4:37 We pray that you would keep us from error on the right hand and on the left. Keep us from the many dangers of entering into controversial things that you may be glorified through us. We pray it for Christ's sake. Amen.

Recommended Literature on Baptism

4:55 I had originally intended to begin by making some corrections on the notes, but I'll have to wait until. Everyone has a copy of the notes to do that. So what I'll do. The second thing I wanted to do is to recommend to you literature, which has been the most helpful to me upon this subject.

5:13 And I've had to limit myself to the contribution of. Well, I actually have six Baptists and six Pato Baptists. And if you could see up here behind the podium, I have something in between them so that they don't start fighting and shaking the place up while I'm trying to lecture right now. First of all, from the Pato Baptist side, I recommend to you that you read the relevant sections in Charles Hodges Systematic Theology, volume three, part two.

5:44 The relevant sections are those sections in which he deals with the sacraments and their application to infant baptism. It's particularly helpful to note his argument from the continuity of the Old Testament and New Testament church, as he puts it. Then also. William Cunningham Historical Theology, volume two.

6:10 The section on the sacraments, particularly the sections on baptismal regeneration and then on infant baptism from the works of Warfield Studies in Theology. An article on the polemics of infant baptism. Excellent article to put the thing in perspective from a Pato Baptist point of view. And then.

6:40 A book entitled The Biblical Doctrine of Infant Baptism by Pierre Marcel. Another systematic theology. This one by Lewis Burckhoff, representative of the Dutch Calvinist school of thought. Particularly.

7:02 I think that the section that you will find most helpful in putting this whole discussion into perspective is the section on man in the covenant of grace. Because Burckhoff. Makes an explicit connection between his theology of infants and children and the family church and his doctrine of the covenant of grace when he's treating his soteriology. You can also read the section on infant baptism, but it's especially important.

7:32 I think that you read the section where he talks about adults in the covenant and children in the covenant to understand how Pato Baptist Dutch Calvinist theology is attempting to put soteriology. and ecclesiology together in its doctrine of the covenant. And then of course finally this book called Christian baptism by Professor John Murray. Now from a Baptist point of view books are not quite as large.

8:07 But children of Abraham by David Kingdon infant baptism and the covenant of grace by Paul K Jewett. Handle this one with caution. But it can be very helpful to. If.

8:32 From the standpoint of showing that the inconsistency of Pato Baptist polemic should infants be baptized by T E Watson baptism in the New Testament. This is a careful exegetical study of the New Testament usage by Beasley Murray and then baptism its mode and subjects by Alexander Carson. Then two papers if you can get your hands on them. One is by Pastor Chantry. It's called baptism and covenant theology. And if that's available you can ask him about that.

9:32 He's here today. And also one thing that I found very helpful. Little article called a string of pearls on strong. By Fred Malone.

9:52 Only mentioned six. Yes I would I would mention dag as it's particularly helpful in answering some of the arguments from some texts in the New Testament. Good mention strong. Good mention dag from a Baptist point of view as well.

Sermon Objectives and Foundational Questions

10:16 Right now I wanted to recommend that if you wish to carefully study the subject sometime that those pieces of literature are the ones that I think you'll find the most helpful on the subject. Now then what do I intend to do today. Well three things. First to lay out principles by which this whole issue can be put into biblical.

10:43 And proper perspective and second to give you a survey of the outline which was handed out. And then finally to bring to you some conclusions directions warnings and parting words concerning this issue. All right. First of all then I want to lay out biblical principles in an effort to put this issue into proper biblical perspective.

11:09 And in so doing I want to raise and then attempt to answer. Briefly five questions. First question. What are the issues at stake.

11:21 What precisely is being debated. What is this controversy all about. Secondly why is it important. What difference does it make.

11:33 Why bother. Thirdly how are we supposed to regard and treat those who differ with us about this issue. Fourthly what do we hope to accomplish in addressing this issue. And engaging in such a controversy.

11:49 Why are we doing it. What are we hoping to accomplish. And fifthly what is the right way of going about of approaching this subject. Say it.

12:05 The subject is infant baptism. What are the issues. Why are they important. How do we regard those that differ.

12:12 What do we hope to accomplish. And what's the right way to go about it. All right. First question.

Issues at Stake in the Infant Baptism Controversy

12:18 What are the issues. Well the evident issue right on the surface with which we must begin. Is the question who ought to be the subjects of baptism. Who ought to be the subjects of baptism.

12:35 Should the children the infants of believers be sprinkled. Or should those who confess Christ alone be regarded as the proper subjects of baptism. Now growing out of that is what I regard as a minor issue. Although it is also an issue.

13:00 And that is concerning the proper mode of baptism. Whether or not the only proper and biblical mode is immersion. Or whether sprinkling and pouring are also proper and acceptable modes of baptism. And I did not enter into that discussion in the Sunday school class.

13:21 And I don't intend to enter into it. Here. My concern is with the subjects of baptism. All right.

13:30 Now that is not really the only issue. There are other issues at stake. Growing out of the question concerning the subjects of baptism. Is the underlying question concerning the identity of the Church of Jesus Christ.

13:53 Who are to comprise and constitute the members of the Church of Christ. Is it to be only those who are savingly united to Jesus Christ. And confess their union to him by faith. Or is the church to consist of believers plus their infant seed.

14:19 And you cannot get into the subject of infant baptism. Without also coming into the subject of the identity of the Church of Christ. Which is underneath it. And growing out of the subject of the identity of the Church of Christ.

14:31 And growing out of the subject of the identity of the Church of Christ. And growing out of the subject of the identity of the Church of Christ. Comes the nagging question of the maintenance of the purity of the Church of Christ. If you have a different conception of who belongs to the church.

14:44 And who has a right to belong to the church. Then it is very likely that you will also have a differing conception. Concerning the maintenance of purity in the Church of Christ. And the conducting of church discipline.

15:00 Specifically. It comes home to roost. With respect to the question of the toleration of formalism. And what do I mean by formalism?

15:12 I mean accepting as people having a right to church membership. Who are not saved. But who are orthodox and decent. They have no personal walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

15:28 But they are orthodox. And they live a decent and moral life. And the view. That such people ought to be received.

15:39 Is formalism. And I say that there is a danger. If you have a paedo-baptist definition of the church. There is a danger.

15:49 Of that degenerating into formalism. And when it does. Then the result is not so much merely the identity of the church. Which comes into question.

16:01 But also the very purity of the church. And then finally there's another question. And it also. Grows out of this question of infant baptism.

16:15 And that is the relation of our natural children to the saving grace of God. The relation of our natural children to the saving grace of God. And associated with that. Is the whole question of what our parental disposition toward our natural children should be.

16:39 And what our parental duty toward our natural children is.

16:45 And what our parental duty toward our natural children is. And associated with that. What our disposition to them should be. And what our duty to them as parents is.

16:56 Now all of these issues I say. Eventually come up. When you enter into the discussion of infant baptism. And if you have been as many of you have been familiar.

17:08 With the reading particularly from some of the paedo-baptist literature. You will know the truth of what I say. That the issue is not merely. Should we sprinkle water on a baby.

17:19 But the issue is is that baby part of the church of Christ. And the issue is how does that baby relate to the grace of God. And what is my parental responsibility and disposition to be with respect to that baby. That those things must be addressed.

17:39 Because they are issues which are at stake in this controversy. Now then I say those are the issues. Three major ones that can be isolated. Should infants be baptized.

Importance of the Subject and How to Regard Opponents

17:57 Are infants members of the church of Christ. And what is our parental duty. And responsibility and disposition to be. Second question then grows out of it.

18:14 Why is this subject important. Well I trust you can see it's important. Because there are broader issues at stake than simply a ceremonial ordinance. It's important because what is at stake.

18:28 Is the very identity. And ultimately if logic has its way not merely the identity. But the purity of the church of Jesus Christ. And therefore we must take a stand.

18:44 Concerning the identity and purity of the church. And also we must be concerned with these things. They are important because every one of us is in a situation. As a spiritual leader.

19:02 And overseer where we must face the problem. Of an upcoming second generation of our own natural children. None of us is exempt from having to face that problem. Particularly here at Trinity with the great fecundity of our people.

19:19 And the numbers of little ones increasing. Almost geometrically. We all must face this question. Of what our disposition and responsibility as parents toward our children is.

19:36 And so therefore it's important. That we consider these things. Consider them thoroughly. And biblically.

19:46 Now the third question. And before we get into that. I'll let these men pass out the outlines to those who don't have them. So I'll wait a moment.

19:56 Would you please just raise your hand if you don't have an outline. Thank you. Okay, they will they will return. Okay, put your hand down now.

20:10 Now back back to the discussion. All right. The third question is how do we regard those who differed on this subject? Well, now I'm speaking particularly of evangelical.

20:24 Paedo-baptists and Dutch Calvinist. Well, we should regard them. First of all. With a deep indebtedness and respect to the Paedo-baptist lights of the past.

20:40 We have gained much from them. As anyone familiar with our own 1689 London confession. Is well aware. We are greatly indebted to the Westminster assembly.

20:52 And also to the Savoy declaration. For our own confession of faith. And we must recognize that great indebtedness that we have to our. Paedo-baptist forefathers.

21:08 And also. We must approach it with love. And not only with love. But also with an awareness of a special closeness.

21:17 That we have to present Paedo-baptist brethren. A special closeness. In the family of God. There are certain more intimate relationships.

21:29 That God has designed. And perhaps our closest kinfolk. Theologically. In the Church of Christ.

21:39 Are our reformed Paedo-baptist brethren. And we must recognize that. And we must regard them in that way. As our closest.

21:47 And most beloved. Kinfolk. In the things of God. So when we say that we differ with them.

21:55 We must not allow that. To create a nasty Baptist spirit. Which is inconsistent. Either with indebtedness and respect.

22:08 To their lights of the past. Or with love. And a sense of special closeness. To the Paedo-baptist brethren alive today.

Goals and Method for Engaging the Controversy

22:18 That brings us to the fourth issue. What should we hope. To accomplish. In entering into a discussion.

22:25 And controversy on these things. Well first. I would hope. That we would not.

22:32 Simply desire to beat the air. But that we should desire to achieve. Some measure of unity. With our Paedo-baptist brethren.

22:42 Secondly. That we should desire to cultivate. Mutual respect. Thirdly.

22:50 Desire to defuse this issue. Wherever it is possible. To defuse it. And what do I mean by defuse it.

22:58 Well I mean that. We should desire. So to achieve a working oneness. With our Paedo-baptist brethren.

23:06 That we can defuse the question. Of church membership. And fourthly. We must be concerned.

23:14 In consideration of these things. To safeguard the purity of our own churches. Now that's what we should hope to accomplish. And then the fifth question.

23:25 How do we go about it. With respect to. How do we go about it. I have three things to suggest to you.

23:35 First of all. We must adopt a comprehensive theological method. We must employ. Not an atomistic approach.

23:52 Which has been a common weakness. Of much of Baptist polemic in the past. Where simply the texts. Which describe baptism.

24:03 The gospels. And acts are exegeted. And the matter is allowed to end there. As though there were no more to the issue.

24:12 We must not take an atomistic approach. But we must adopt a comprehensive. Theological perspective on the subject. And from that perspective.

24:23 We must employ. A holistic theological method. Now I would like to use the blackboard. I submit to you.

24:37 From my own study of theology. That it. It would appear that there are five. Crucial doctrines and subjects.

24:46 Which must be addressed. If we are to face the relevant issues. In this controversy. First we must come to an understanding.

25:00 Of the biblical witness. Concerning the subjects of baptism. The explicit biblical testimony. Concerning the subjects of baptism.

25:17 Secondly the biblical testimony. Concerning the significance of baptism. Thirdly the biblical testimony. Concerning the sacraments.

25:41 Fourth the biblical testimony. Concerning the church. And fifth the biblical testimony. Concerning God's covenants.

26:03 Now it is only as we address. These theological categories and doctrines. Comprehensively. And understand the application of each of them.

26:15 To the questions in view. That we will be able to achieve. A comprehensive perspective and method. In our approach to this subject.

26:28 And I suggest to you that this is true. Because of the place. That the. That the concept or the or the ordinance.

26:37 Baptism has. In systematic theology. Now I want to say some things to you about that. You can't adopt this.

26:53 Unless you have a proper understanding. Of the place of baptism and systematic theology. Now the first thing that you have to have. There's an overall biblical doctrine of baptism.

27:08 And baptism is one of the sacraments. And so you need to have a biblical doctrine of the sacraments. But the set the observance of the sacraments. Is one of the responsibilities.

27:18 Of the church. And you must have. Therefore a biblical concept of the identity of the church. And the purity of the church.

27:30 Now why do I go from there to covenants? Well because. All of this. Is part of the soteriology.

27:40 In the broadest sense of the word. You can conceive of soteriology. And basically here I went following standard reform theology. As having five major parts.

27:53 First of all the doctrine of the plan of salvation. Secondly the framework of salvation. Thirdly the accomplishment of salvation. In the personal work of Jesus Christ.

28:06 Fourth the application of salvation. And fifth the consummation of salvation. Now all of these things. The first four I should say.

28:17 Have to do with that broad sphere of the application of salvation. The church. The community formed. Through the application.

28:27 Of salvation. When salvation is applied to individuals. God has ordained. That those individuals should be gathered together into a community.

28:36 And that community is the church. Now you see we must understand. Both the application of salvation. And its individual and corporate.

28:48 Dimensions. And the accomplishment of salvation. Through the personal work of Christ. In the light.

28:55 Of the biblical teaching. Concerning the framework of salvation. Which has been given to us. In the word of God.

29:03 And the word of God is abundantly clear. That the fundamental. Concept in the framework of salvation. Is the biblical concept of God's covenant.

29:18 And therefore we cannot simply have our doctrine of the church. And of those things related to the church. The sacraments and their significance and subjects. Hanging on a sky hook.

29:29 And cut loose of the biblical doctrine. Of the framework of salvation. Which is in God's covenant. I also say to you.

29:40 That we will make very little headway. In achieving meaningful dialogue. With our paedo-baptist brethren. If we cut this out of discussion.

29:58 And we will make even less headway. If we cut this out. Of the discussion. Indeed we will get precisely nowhere.

30:10 Not only will we not be listened to. We will be regarded as ignorant. Of some of the fundamental issues. Which must be addressed.

30:25 Dare I say. That I would have to agree with the paedo-baptists. In their assessment. Now therefore I say to you that the value.

30:39 Of the works of Kingdon and Jewett. The special value. And their subsequent contribution in my judgment. Is their effort to do this very thing.

30:51 And to relate this discussion. To the biblical doctrine of God's covenants. Now then having said that. The first thing we must do I repeat.

Exegesis and Answering Paedobaptist Arguments

31:08 Is that we must adopt a holistic. A comprehensive theological perspective and approach. But secondly. Once we have identified.

31:20 The biblical doctrines. Which must be addressed. And I've only stated here the major ones all right. Once we have done that.

31:31 Then. We must conduct a careful. And thorough exegesis of the relevant passages. We must not simply theologize.

31:45 And reason and rationalize. We must exegete. With respect to these various issues. We must exegete.

31:54 The major passages. Concerning the church. We must exegete the major passages. Concerning the covenants.

32:01 We must exegete the major passages. Concerning the sacraments. Concerning the significance of baptism. And the subjects of baptism.

32:09 We must exegete these passages comprehensively. And we must exegete them carefully. Once we have the proper categories. Then we must do.

32:21 A thorough exegetical job. And then thirdly. We must. Answer.

32:32 The fundamental arguments. Of our paedo-baptist brethren. We must answer the fundamental arguments. Of our paedo-baptist brethren.

32:43 And these answer their arguments. As I understand them come from two arenas. First their arguments come from the arena of scripture. And secondly their arguments come from the arena of church history.

32:59 From scripture. And church history. And I say that they have three basic arguments from scripture. First of all.

33:12 Concerning the biblical witness to the subjects of baptism. They argue from inference. They argue from inferential passages in the New Testament. And secondly.

33:33 Concerning the doctrine of the sacraments. They argue from analogy. They argue from the analogy in particular of circumcision and baptism. And thirdly.

33:48 And this is the foundation of their whole polemic. It's not inference. And it's not analogy. It's right here.

33:58 They argue from continuity. They argue from the continuity of the Old and New Testament church. And they argue from the continuity. Of the Abrahamic covenant community.

34:18 So they have three arguments. Major ones. From scripture. And they come out of these three categories.

34:25 Inference. Analogy. And continuity. Now I don't mean this to be nasty.

34:32 But I haven't been able to find any arguments that they have from the significance of baptism. Okay. We'll take a little break. Raise your hands again please.

34:49 Okay. Everybody have one now? Very good. Thank you brother.

34:58 Okay. So they argue from inference. From those New Testament passages. They argue from analogy.

35:05 And they argue from continuity. But then. The second arena from which they argue is the arena of church history. The argument is basically from the fact of the prevalence of infant sprinkling in the history of the church.

35:23 They say not only is it a majority position. But it also is a position which has withstood the test of time. It is a majority position which has withstood the test of time. Now.

35:40 In the study that I did. In the Sunday school class. I did not make any effort to argue. Sorry.

35:45 To answer their arguments from church history. I did not address that subject. However. Pastor Martin did.

35:52 And so he has several lectures in there where he addresses their arguments from church history. And that's. But I'm not going to go into that today. But he has about four or five reasons.

36:05 And four of them are explicitly stated to answer their argument from church history. Now. Therefore. What we must do is we must answer these basic arguments.

36:20 Without circumventing them. Without caricaturing them. Without avoiding them. We must face them.

36:29 And address them honestly and straightforwardly. And as much as lies possible with us. We have to try to understand them. And present them accurately.

36:45 Okay. Now that's what I wish to say. Concerning those introductory matters. What's at stake?

36:56 Why are they important? How do we treat those that differ? What do we hope to accomplish? And how do we go about it?

37:02 Comprehensive. Theological approach. Careful exegesis. And a straightforward answer to their basic arguments.

Corrections to the Outline and Dangers of Controversy

37:11 Now then. The second thing that I wish to do today with you. Probably the major thing. Is to go over this outline.

37:20 In which I have attempted to do. What I've just told you. Now before we go over it. If you have a pencil.

37:31 I would like to point out to you. Certain corrections that need to be made. And the reason we have these corrections. Is because we have the 50 copies already made.

37:42 And rather than waste all 50 copies. I just said I'll let you men change it. Okay. On page two.

37:54 You'll notice it has application. And then just before unit two. There's a word missing. Paedo-baptist should follow the established apostolic.

38:03 Should be precedent. I mean a letter missing. Okay. Now the next correction.

38:17 Is on page seven. Under number three. Summary of the biblical witness. You see it says the rest.

38:28 If mankind should be the rest of mankind. And under little c. The third line. Says covenantal communities.

38:41 Israel's apostrophe s. That apostrophe does not belong there. It should just be two Israels. No apostrophe.

38:48 Next correction on page ten. Under capital c. Up at the top. Paedo-baptist efforts to evade this conclusion.

39:12 Number one. The Dutch Calvinist effort. There should be no s on there. Shouldn't be Dutch Calvinist.

39:17 But Dutch Calvinist. And on page eleven. You see two little lines. Under the application to infant baptism.

39:30 Roman numeral two. Down at the bottom. Under a. Under that one.

39:34 Symbolic unity built on type. And a little line. That should be an arrow pointing from type to substance. And organic unity.

39:41 Organic unity built on promise. Should be an arrow pointing from promise to fulfillment. On page twelve. Down at the very bottom.

39:52 Under presumptive regeneration. Add number four. One two three is given there. Add four.

40:04 Proper religious behavior is expected. And then finally on page thirteen. And this is the most important of all the corrections. This is the one that would have involved me in heresy.

40:19 If I did not correct it. Under d. The last major heading. Realistic and optimistic uncertainty.

40:25 Number one. Expect and teach proper religious behavior. In spite of total depravity. And ability.

40:31 As should be total inability. Those are the only corrections that I know of. You find more. Feel free to let me know.

40:58 All right. Now I would like to go over the content of these studies with you. Beginning on page one. The first point.

41:10 When the elders asked me to do this. The first point that I felt constrained to make. As a very introduction. To the study was to underscore to all of us.

41:18 The dangers of entering into theological controversy. Now there are many dangers. But there were five of them. That were especially pressed upon my spirit.

41:23 And I would like to outline those five to you. The first danger. Is the danger of breaking the ninth commandment. In misrepresenting the position of people who differ with us.

41:27 It's always a danger. It is always easier. To construct and defeat a straw man. Than it is.

41:31 To be a man. To be a woman. To be a man. To be a man.

41:35 To be a woman. To be a man. To be a woman. To be a man.

41:39 To be a woman. To be a woman. To be a man. To be a woman.

41:43 To be a woman. To be a man. To be a straw man. Than it is.

41:47 To defeat the real position that our brethren hold. And because of that. We face the danger. Of breaking the ninth commandment.

41:59 In misrepresenting the position of others and it's even worse if we ever enter into print on the subject. Then we run into the danger of breaking it for generations to come. And misleading. Our brethren.

42:16 For who knows how long. Secondly, we face the danger of imputing uncharitable motives to those who differ with us just because they differ with us.

42:34 And you don't have to be married too long before you realize this third danger of entering controversy. We face the danger of simply trying to win an argument rather than trying to find the truth.

42:52 And I won't enlarge upon that.

42:55 But think to your own married situation and the arguments you've had with your wife and whether or not it isn't a danger simply to win the argument rather than really get at the truth. Same thing is true here.

43:10 Fourthly, we face the danger of unnecessarily alienating our friends. Whenever we enter controversy, we face the danger of unnecessarily alienating our friends.

43:25 And fifthly, we face the danger of becoming sidetracked from our biblical and God-given priorities. Whenever we enter controversy, there is the danger that it can become a consuming thing and sidetrack us from the priorities which God has given us and get the importance of the thing and the priority of the thing all blown out of proportion.

43:53 So those are five dangers that we face whenever we enter a theological controversy. And I would begin by underscoring the same things to you, brethren, that I said to our people in the Sunday school.

44:07 And the second point here is simply, to underscore the proper approach with those who differ and nothing new to say there. The third point, the purposes for addressing the issue. I think that's straightforward. The method and terminology.

Explicit Biblical Testimony on Baptism's Subjects

44:21 And then finally, the content and development. I've already put that upon the board and explained to you the reason for that content and development. All right, then, with that out of the way, we will come to Roman numeral one, or unit one, the subjects of baptism. We're speaking now concerning the explicit testimony of Scripture to the subjects of baptism.

44:49 And I've arranged this in three ways. Number one, passages which explicitly describe and define the subjects of baptism. Number two, passages which are often alleged by paedobaptists to imply that infants should be baptized. And that's where they get their argument from inference.

45:08 And then thirdly, conclusions. Now, we attempted to introduce this with 2 Kings 5.14, which is probably the only passage in the Old Testament where you have any reference to the subject of baptism explicitly, and it has to do with the baptism of Naaman the Syrian.

45:33 Now, and I don't go into that, except to say that that ought to tell us something about the mode.

45:41 Now, number one, the explicit passages. The explicit. The explicit passages concerning baptism have to do, first of all, with John's baptism and the parallels with Christ's baptism. That is, Jesus Christ was making and baptizing more disciples than John.

46:04 So there was a parallel established in John 4 between what John the Baptist was doing and what Jesus Christ was doing. John the Baptist was making and baptizing disciples. And when Jesus came, Jesus did the same thing. He was making and baptizing.

46:20 So you find there Christ's baptism. Now, if that is not Christ's baptism, I know not what it is. Because Jesus Christ was making and baptizing disciples. Why, then, is that not Christ's baptism?

46:36 Well, it is.

46:38 So that is Christ's baptism instituted. And then in Matthew 28, you have Christ's baptism perpetuated. He not only instituted it perpetually, but he also perpetuated it personally. And in that commission, you have the perpetuation of the practice which he himself had begun.

47:05 Now, then, the major contribution of the New Testament, only two texts there concerning Christ's personal involvement. But then the major contribution comes from the book of Acts, where we find the record of Christ's baptism, practiced by Christ. And then the major contribution comes from the book of Acts, where we find the record of Christ's baptism, practiced by Christ's disciples. And just going through the book of Acts, the multiple baptisms, the individual baptisms, the household baptisms, and then the Christian baptism of John's disciples.

Paedobaptist Inferential Arguments and Warfield's Concession

47:43 Then the second major concern, after looking at all those passages which explicitly mention the subjects of baptism, is to deal with those passages which are alleged to imply that infants should be baptized. And from my reading of the Paedo Baptists, and the major authors, there are probably four passages which come out again and again in their writings. And any effort to address this subject must deal with the exegesis of these four passages. Number one, the passage in which Jesus embraces the little children, in Matthew 19, and in the parallel passage, Paul, the first 5 ways, and the verse.

48:27 Secondly, the passage in which salvation is promised to men and their descendants.

48:35 Thirdly, that passage in 1 Corinthians where a Christian's children are said to be holy. And fourthly, those passages in the epistles where children are addressed in letters written to churches. Now those are the texts which are alleged to imply that infants should be baptized. Those are the ones, for example, that Professor Murray makes reference to in his Christian baptism.

49:06 That's all the ammunition that is fired.

49:11 Now with that ammunition alone, you can understand why Warfield makes a concession in his article on the polemics for infant baptism. And he says, and I'm paraphrasing him now, and I'm not misrepresenting him. You can read it in that. In that section, if you desire.

49:33 But he says, in essence, we cannot prove that infants should be baptized from the New Testament.

49:43 We cannot prove it. It cannot be proven from the New Testament. When you look at these explicit texts, even when you look at the ones that are supposed to be inferential. And by the way, I commend to you Warfield's article on Jesus' little children, in which he deals with these passages.

50:03 In Matthew 19, it's really a very excellent article. I believe he has opened up, I forget where it is in his writings. It's in one of his selected shorter writings, and I forget which one. But that's an excellent article on the Matthew 19 passage.

50:18 And after doing all that careful study that Warfield does, he says, you cannot prove it from the New Testament. He says that it must be proven from the Old Testament. And he says that very clearly and explicitly. And basically what he is...

50:33 What he is saying is it must be proven from this.

50:38 It must be proven from the continuity of Israel and the Church, from the doctrine of the covenant, and from circumcision. He says you can't prove it from the New Testament. Now that alone ought to cause us to throw up great red warning flags.

51:00 When any doctrine associated with the Church and its ordinances and its sacraments cannot be proven from the explicit witness. That ought to cause us to throw that doctrine into great question.

51:15 Something is apparently wrong.

Conclusions on Baptism's Subjects and Practical Application

51:19 Now then, thirdly, I draw some conclusions here from the biblical witness.

51:26 And I think that it's important not only to agree with Warfield that the obligation of all Christians to baptize their infants is not explicitly or inferentially established, but also to note the second point, which is clearly established, and it is this. The obligation of all Christ's disciples to submit to Christ's disciple baptism is established, even in the case of those included in the Abrahamic covenant from infancy.

51:59 You see, the Jews in Acts chapter 2 were included in the Abrahamic covenant from infancy, and they were signed and sealed with circumcision, the sign and seal of inclusion in the Abrahamic covenant. And yet that did not exist. They were not able to present them when they believed from their responsibility to submit to Christ's disciple baptism. So if we must argue from precedent, then the precedent is established by the practice of the apostles that those included in the Abrahamic covenant from infancy, if and when they come to faith in Christ and confess that faith, are obligated to submit to Christ's disciple baptism.

52:44 Now, I say that. The impact of that is even if we cannot ever bring our paedo-baptist brethren to stop sprinkling infants, we ought to press them concerning their responsibility to start baptizing disciples.

53:01 And that would do a lot to defuse the issue.

53:06 It's not, in other words, even if we can't convince them to stop sprinkling infants, we've got to emphasize that they must start immersing disciples if and when they believe, even if they were sprinkling. Because if infant sprinkling is precisely the same thing as infant circumcision, if that's what it is, if it's the very same institution, the very same ordinance, and if those that were circumcised as infants were baptized when they believe, then why not those that are sprinkled as infants be baptized when they believe?

53:40 So if they do both, I say that greatly defuses the issue.

53:46 And just then, from the biblical witness, the explicit testimony, we can glean that much, that our emphasis ought to be upon pressing the consciences of our paedo-baptist brethren, not so much to stop sprinkling the babies, but to start baptizing those who confess their faith in Christ when they become his disciples. I say that's an emphasis that we ought to employ.

54:13 So why can't they do both? Jews did both.

Significance (Nature and Meaning) of Baptism

54:18 Unit two, the significance, and by significance I mean nature and meaning, of baptism. The nature and meaning of baptism. Now these are lectures 12 to 15 on the tapes. Now lectures 8 to 11 were conducted by Pastor Martin when I was away.

54:39 I forget where I was. And these also are related to the topic, and they contained independent material on the reasons for the prevalence of infant baptism. That's where he deals with the historical materials on lectures 8 to 11, and he answers the arguments from history. All right, now, concerning this I have two major points here.

55:00 Number one, to examine the biblical testimony concerning the significance, that is concerning the nature and meaning of baptism, and then secondly to examine infant baptism in the light of this testimony. Now from my study of the materials I am convinced that this is the weakest point in the whole paedo-baptist house. Of all the points where they have arguments I have not found a strong argument that they have on this subject. It's their weakest point, in my opinion.

Dual Significance of Baptism: Symbolic and Declaratory

55:33 All right, now we'll just look at the biblical testimony here. I have a survey of the biblical testimony. We went through each of those passages in the Sunday School class. It took a couple of weeks, I believe.

55:43 And those are the major texts that describe baptism and its significance. And then once we've exegeted those texts, now we come to summarize the biblical teaching. And I say that baptism from the word of God has a dual significance. It has two sides.

55:57 Number one, baptism is a symbolic ordinance. Baptism is a symbolic ordinance. Notice the text. It symbolizes that salvation has been applied to the person baptized.

56:12 That is, it symbolizes that the person who is being baptized has already experienced the forgiveness of sins and has already received the Holy Spirit, by means of the fact that he has repented from his sin and he has believed in Christ. That's what it symbolized. Secondly, baptism is a declaratory ordinance. It is not merely a symbolic ordinance.

56:46 It is a confessional or declaratory ordinance. The same was true of John's baptism. They were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing or declaring. They were declaring their sins.

57:00 The focus of the declaration in John's baptism was repentance, confession of their sins, because John baptized unto repentance. Therefore, the focal point of their confession in that ordinance was repentance. The focal point of the confession made in Christ's baptism is not repentance, but faith in Christ. We declare our commitment to him.

57:28 Our faith in him and our determination to serve him as his obedient disciple. Now, I'm not saying that we don't also confess penitence. We do. But I'm saying that the focal point of the confession is upon Christ and our attachment to him in faith, even as the focal point of John's baptism was upon repentance and our detachment from sin.

57:53 Now, I say to you that the exercise of faith on the part of the person baptized unites the symbolism and the declaration. Colossians 2.12 indicates that you were buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised through faith in the working of God. Apart from a confession of faith on the part of the party baptized, the ordinance is eviscerated of its God-given significance.

58:34 And because confession of faith on the part of the party baptized, the ordinance is eviscerated of its God-given significance. And because confession of the mouth is linked in Scripture with faith in the heart. If you shall confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Heart, belief and mouth confession are united in Romans, ten 9, and I believe that's the emphasis in a text like Acts 2.38 where he says Repent and be baptized.

59:14 I submit that what's in focus there is the declaratory aspect of the ordinance. Repent and confess. Repent and believe, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Repent and confess.

59:30 Confess Christ with the mouth is intimately linked to believing in Christ in the heart. And baptism is intimately linked to confessing Christ with our mouth. It's a declaratory ordinance.

59:44 Also, 1 Peter 3.21, baptism saves you, not the washing of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience before God. In that confession, there is the declaration of a good conscience. Now, this does not imply baptismal regeneration, and it does not imply that salvation is absolutely impossible without water baptism.

60:07 I'm not saying either of those things. All I'm saying is that baptism is God's ordained ordinance by which we declare. We declare our faith in Christ. Now, I submit to you, if this is biblical, that infant baptism is incompatible with this testimony.

Paedobaptist Evasion of Incompatibility and its Tragic Impact

60:25 Incompatible with it. It's incompatible with the symbolism in the ordinance, and it's incompatible with the declaration of the ordinance. Now, you may find this amazing or unbelievable, but it is true, and I can prove it on the tapes. I have many quotes.

60:47 I didn't put them here in the answer sheet, but I can prove it. I didn't put them here in the outline, but many quotes from these very respected works that I've mentioned to you at the beginning, which indicate that paedobaptists accurately identify the symbolism of the ordinance. They would agree with everything I said about the symbolism in the ordinance. They might not agree with the precise way in which I put it, but they would agree with what I said about the symbolism, and they would agree, furthermore, with what was said about the fact that baptism is not only symbolic, but also declaratory.

61:18 They would agree with both of those assertions. Then, the second point I get into, and I don't need to go into this in detail for the sake of time, but here's their attempt to evade the incompatibility of their practice and the symbolism. They say, they start out by saying that baptism does not guarantee salvation. See, and that muddies the waters.

61:43 Once that is done, then here comes the crucial change. They change the party is saved, is saved to he will be saved on God's promise. See? It doesn't symbolize that a person will be saved on God's promise.

62:01 It doesn't symbolize that at all. It promises that, it symbolizes that a person has been saved. And there's a big difference between those two things. But that's the subtle change.

62:13 And by making that subtle change, the infant will be saved according to God's promise, and the confessor has been saved. They attempt to get around it. Now, I say that the ironic scriptural nemesis of their attempt is found in Colossians 2.12.

62:32 And it's ironic because it's one of their major texts that's used to support their analogy from the covenants. I'm sorry, from circumcision. And yet, this very text intimately and explicitly binds the present exercise of faith on the part of the party baptized to the symbolism of baptism. And that blows that whole thing up.

62:55 And then I say that beneath this attempt, there is an insoluble dilemma that they face. And if you want to read about the pressure that this dilemma creates upon their hearts, here is where Cunningham is so helpful. Read Cunningham. Cunningham and historical theology.

63:14 Either they teach that infant baptism has the precise same significance as disciple baptism, that is, that it signifies, and symbolizes the application of salvation, in which case they're guilty of gross presumption, the infant has been saved, or they violate Colossians 2.12, or they teach that infant baptism does not have the same significance as they teach baptism has. And there is where Cunningham comes in, which is against their own definitions of its symbolism. So they have a real problem.

63:58 And then there's one thing we need to note here. And that is the tragic impact of this effort that they make on godly Christian parents with ungodly children. Because if indeed they're baptized upon a promise that they will be saved, then often the route that is taken is that these dear brethren are forced by their own theology to become Job's comforters to grieving Christian parents with ungodly children. Right?

64:30 They say, the reason that your children have not been saved is because you failed as a parent. It's the only explanation, because God's promise is sure. And they were baptized upon the promise of God that your children will be saved. So if they're not saved, then you're a failure.

64:46 Now, that's the logic. Now, I'm not saying that everyone is forced by logic to become a Job's comforter, but often it is so. And then, finally, I simply close by exegeting the promises which tend to lend some credibility to those things. Promises from both the New and the Old Testament, which seem to imply that if you're a Christian, your children will automatically be saved and show that that is not what the texts are teaching.

Infant Baptism's Incompatibility with Declaration and Attempts to Circumvent It

65:17 All right, then, secondly, and here's another important point to recognize, infant baptism is incompatible with the declaration of the ordinance. It's incompatible with the declaration of the ordinance. And again, I say, and I could prove it from the quotes, that they admit the declaratory aspect of the ordinance, but now they attempt to circumvent the necessity of the infant declaring its own personal faith in Christ, and it's obvious why they attempt to have to do that. Now, we should recognize that they do have an option to them which none of them have ever taken, to my knowledge, not even Roman Catholics.

65:59 Now, I may be wrong about that, but to my knowledge, none has ever taken it. That would be the direct route, which would be simply the flip side of transubstantiation. You can, just like you teach that even though it looks like bread and it smells like bread and it tastes like bread, it's not bread. It is the body of Christ, and it looks like the juice from the fruit of the vine, and it tastes like it and it smells like it, but it isn't.

66:24 It's the blood of Christ. So also, they could say, you don't see the lips moving, you don't hear anything, but that infant is declaring its faith in Christ by an inaudible confession. Now, that hasn't been done, but that would be, if it were done, the flip side of the doctrine of transubstantiation. But what has been done?

66:47 Well, three efforts to get a declaration by that infant into the ordinance have been made. Three major efforts. Number one, sponsorship. Number two, confirmation.

66:58 And number three, dedication. Sponsorship is vicarious declaration. And in sponsorship, someone else stands for the infant, and because the infant cannot declare its own faith in Christ, the sponsor declares the infant's faith for it. Secondly, delayed declaration.

67:22 This is the doctrine of confirmation. When a child reaches puberty, the act of confirmation in puberty and sprinkling in infancy are one. And the baptism or the sprinkling is completed at confirmation. And the declaration made at age 12, 13 is actually the declaration associated with the sprinkling in infancy.

67:47 That's delayed declaration. And thirdly, dedication. And in dedication, the declaration does not come from the infant, either vicariously or 12 years later, but the declaration comes from the parents. It's a declaration of the parent's faith and the parent's determination to raise the child in obedience to God.

Tragic Fruits of the System and Baptist Dangers

68:13 So those are three ways that they attempt to get declaration into the ordinance. Now then, the important thing is to note the common, not, I'm not prepared to say inevitable, but common and tragic fruits of this system on church life. Number one, what are the fruits? Formalism, heterodoxy, and apostasy.

68:39 You look at the major denominations, and you will see that that is precisely what has happened. And I say to you that the roots of it are right here. Secondly, how can our paedobaptist brethren avoid this? They must avoid this by tightly guarding the communicant membership of their church.

69:02 And thirdly, are we exempt because we're Baptists from the danger of formalism? No, we are not. If we become involved in easy believism and toddler and little child baptism, we will soon be involved in formalism and in heterodoxy and in apostasy. And we will essentially have the same system.

69:38 And that is our danger. So we should learn from our paedobaptist brethren to avoid the danger which is the fruit of their system. All right then, the third unit, and I think that what I'll do is I'll stop right here. Time out.

69:53 And we'll take a break, and then we'll come back and consider the sacraments, the church, and the covenant. Okay?