Moreover, although the sacraments are (given) to us for a pledge (arrabon), through which we are reassured of the promises of God, nevertheless I acknowledge that they will be useless to us unless the Holy Spirit should render them efficacious in us, as instruments, so that our confidence, intent on created things, is not severed from God. Yes, indeed, I confess that sacraments are depraved and perverted which are not drawn back to this goal—that we seek in Christ whatever is required for our salvation—and as often as they are changed for a use other than that whereby we fix all of our faith fully on Him. Furthermore, since the promise of adoption is held out even to the posterity of the faithful, I acknowledge that it is necessary for the infants of believers to be received into the church through baptism; and on this issue I detest the ravings of the Anabaptists.

James T. Dennison Jr. ed., Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation: 1523–1693, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2008–14), 130.

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