Infants of believing parents are likewise to be baptized. The grounds of their baptism are these. First, the commandment of God, “Baptize all nations” (Matt. 28:19), in which words the baptism of infants is prescribed. For the apostles by virtue of this commission baptized whole families (Acts 16:15, 31–33). Again, circumcision of infants was commanded by God (Gen. 17:14), and baptism in the New Testament succeeds in the room of circumcision (Col. 2:11–12); therefore baptism of infants is likewise commanded. The second ground is this. Infants of believing parents are in the covenant of grace. For this is the tenor of the covenant: “I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed” (Gen. 17:7).
William Perkins, Commentary on Galatians, in Works, 2:230. (HT: Inwoo Lee)
Resources
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- A Curriculum For Those Wrestling Through Covenant Theology And Infant Baptism
- Resources For Those Beginning To Study Covenant Theology
- Resources On The Role Of Abraham In Redemptive History
- Resources On The Unity Of The Covenant Of Grace
Inwoo Lee
Inwoo Lee (BA, UCSD) earned his MA (Historical Theology) in 2020 from Westminster Seminary California and is author of “Righteous Before God: William Perkins’ Doctrine of Justification in Elizabethan England” (MA Thesis, Westminster Seminary California, 2020). He lives in the Great Seoul area, in South Korea with his wife Holly.
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