2.
The natural, close, and loving relationship which exists between parents and
children provides a strong argument in favor of the church membership of the
infant children of believers. Once their membership is conceded, any opposition
to the public acknowledgement of it by the seal of baptism vanishes, for it
follows as a necessary consequence. One cannot be a member while being denied
the seal of said membership.
It
seems to me that nature itself pleads the case of children in this regard.
Across the globe, across all eras of time, across all cultures, races, and
languages, the natural bond between parents and their offspring is daily
manifested. Are we to believe then, that in the Church (which is the ultimate
family) this bond of love is nonexistent or suppressed?
Can
the stem be in the church, and the branch be out of it? Is it possible that the
parent, while he is in the visible kingdom of God, his children: bone of his
bone and flesh of his flesh, - have no connection to it at all? This is not the
case in any other society in the entire world!
No civil society
operates on this principle. Children are born citizens of the nation in which
their parents resided at the time of their birth. By virtue of their birth they
are plenary citizens. This means they are bound by all the duties, and entitled
to all the privileges of that citizenship whenever they become capable of
exercising them. They can never lose the privileges of their citizenship except
by the commission of a crime. So why should this great principle which God has
so deeply and permanently implanted in all human relations be set aside in the
church of God? Why should it be less powerful in grace than it is in nature?
Yes, scripture supports your view in this. Paul says, in I Corinthians 7:14, "[T]he unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." For both the unbelieving spouse and the children of at least one believing parent, both the spouse and children are under the holy status of the believing spouse/parent. This isn't a personal holiness, of course, but rather "federal holiness," i.e., as seen together, as a covenant family. As such, those children have a right to receive the covenantal sign, circumcision under the old covenant, baptism under the new covenant.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris, for commenting. I always enjoy your insight.
ReplyDelete