Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants Professed by the Church of England, Treatise · Chapter 1
CHAP. 1. The introduction, declaring the occaſion and neceſſity of this treatiſe.
THere is no Ordinance ſet vp by Chriſt in his Church, more vſefull and comfortable vntounto a Chriſtian, throughout the whole courſe of his Militant condition, then ſacred Baptiſme, the Laver of regeneration and of the renewing of the Holy Ghoſt. Nor is there any fountaine which the Arch-enimy of mankinde,aTit. 3.5. hath more endeauoured to trouble, and corrupt with multiplicity of poiſonous errors, then that which is ſet open to all the inhabitants of ſpirituall Hieruſalem, for ſinne and for vncleanneſſe.bZach. 13.1.
For proofe hereof, I ſhall not need to thruſt any mans head ſo much as Within the doore of that Augaean ſtable of Popiſh abſurdities. we hauehave too many inſtances elſe where. Some aduance Baptiſme too high: Others depreſſe it as much too low. There are, that hold it ſo abſolutely neceſſary, as that none can be ſaued without it. On the contrary, there are, that in ſcorne call it Elementiſh water. Others, that thinke it a thing indifferent; and deny it to infantes, notwithſtanding that to them belongs the kingdome of God: cMar. 10 14.Others that make it a bare ſigne, and badge to diſtinguiſh the members of the viſible Church from the reſt of the World, ſome, in tearmes, yeeld it to be ſomewhat more; yet deny to it all preſent efficacy in, & vponupon infants, ordinarily, in the act of adminiſtration. Some grant an efficacy, but ſuch as is equally communicated to all infantes that are outwardly baptized. Some admit the efficacy of it vntounto remiſſion of ſinne in Infants elect: but, any preſent worke of the ſpirit, vntounto Regeneration in them, they either flatly deny, or refuſe to acknowledge. Againſt all theſe errors, and particularly againſt the laſt, the Church of England hath iuſtly oppoſed her ſelfe, in her Publique Doctrine, for the defence whereof hauehave I taken vponupon me this difficult province. The occaſion this.
In the courſe of my miniſtry, in mine own cure, I was lately*In Hilary Terme. 1627. caſt vponupon this point: viz: That all elect infants, doe, ordinarily, in Baptiſme receiue the ſpirit of Chriſt, to ſeaze vponupon them for Chriſt, and to be in them as the roote and firſt principle of regeneration, and future newneſſe of life *Vid. Hooker. lib. 5. Sect. 60.This I ſpeake (as then I expreſſed my ſelfe,) with reference only vntounto ſuch Infants as dye not in infancy, but l…ue to yeares of diſcretion, and then come to be effectually called, and actually conuerted by the ordinary meanes of the word applied by the ſame ſpirit vntounto them, when and how hee pleaſeth. As for the reſt of the elect who dye infants, I will not deny a further worke, ſometimes in, ſometimes before baptiſme, to fit them for heauen.
For this, am I peremptorily cenſured and condemned by many, as guilty not only of Arminianiſme, but euen of direct Popery, and of teaching a Doctrine of diuells. To make good what they hauehave done, they lay to my charge ſundry paſſages, as branches of my poſition, which, not only in ſtating the queſtion, but alſo in the proſecution of it, I often and often diſclaimed as errors, in expreſſe termes. This they know well enough; & it hath bin made manifeſt to ſome of their faces by others alſo. Howbeit, they owing me a ſpite for ſome thing elſe, (as by the effect appeares) take no notice of their wilfull miſtakes. That which they hauehave once reported, they are reſolued to maintaine; therefore they ceaſe not to purſue me with clamors, ſlanders, and revilings without end or meaſure. No proteſtations of mine owne, either publique or priuate, no Apologies made by my friends, are able to ſhelter mee from their virulent dartes which daily fly in my face where euer I become.
This alone were cauſe ſufficient of publiſhing this Treatiſe, that I may purge my ſelfe of theſe odious crimes ſo vniuſtly imputed. He that being a Miniſter is not carefull to vphold his neceſſary reputation among the people of God, as well as to keepe a good conſcience towards God, is both cruell to himſelfe,Nobis enim neceſſari eſt vita noſtra, aliis fama noſtra. Aug. De Bono Viduit. Mihi ſufficit conſcientia mea, vobis neceſſaria eſt fama mea Jdem. ad Frat. tu Erem. and iniurious to his Maſter. His Miniſtry muſt needs bee of leſſe eſteeme, if not deſpiſed out-right, who ſhall ſuffer himſelfe to bee proclaimed guilty of Error, and Hereſie; and ſees his Good Name hang'd vp in chaines by the giddy multitude, even before his owne doores, and hee not endeauour, in a meet & temperate manner, to declare himſelfe innocent, when he is well able to plead, not guilty, to the indictment.
If any man ſhall ſay; Jt is a mans honour to paſſe by offences, and therefore it had beene farre better to hauehave endured a while, with patience, the tongues of intemperate men, then thus to hauehave ſpred the cauſe before the whole world: this courſe being likely more to exaſperate, rather then to ſatisfie or mollifie ſuch as hauehave appeared in oppoſition againſt me. To ſuch a perſon mine anſwere is this. If the wrong had not trenched ſo much vponupon the credit of my Miniſtry (which ought to bee as deare vntounto me, as any mans is to him;) or if I had beene handled thus in priuate onelyonly, by priuate men, I could willingly hauehave borne all that reproach and infamy that is laid vponupon me, without complaining; but, not without bewailing, with a bleeding heart, the ſtrange pride and inſolency of ſuch ſpirits as dare thus wilfully to traduce any Miniſter of Chriſt.
That which hath imbarked mee in this publique action is of more importance then the maintaining of mine owne innocency againſt the murmur of priuate perſons: yea there are many weighty cauſes concurring to put vponupon mee a neceſſity of doing ſomething in this kinde. If any ſhall take occaſion hence to be more exaſperated, it ſhall be only his owne fault: for I hope I ſhall ſo manage this worke, that it ſhall evidently appeare to all Godly, Iudicious, temperate men, that I no where giuegive any cauſe of offence vntounto any peaceable Chriſtian; but endeauour only, in a modeſt and humble maner, to cleare and maintaine a Truth, and to giuegive all ſatisfaction that I may, vntounto ſuch as louelove Truth better then Victory.
Breifly, the Cauſes cheifly enducing mee to ſend theſe Papers vntounto the Preſſe, are theſe Three.
1 The iuſt Defence of the publique doctrine of our Church, which hath beene by ſome, vponupon this occaſion, publiquely oppoſed ſo farre as they durſt. For, how freely ſundry Miniſters doe cry downe this Poſition (and that publiquely too) notwithſtanding that this truth is ſo clearely conſonant to the Leiturgy and Publique Catechiſme of the Church in which wee liue, is too well knowne. Through my ſides therefore hauehave they gored and wounded our common Mother, who ſuffers in the cauſe, much more then my ſelfe, or then any Particular either doth, or can.
2 I finde that ſundry ſober and well affected Chriſtians are often puzled, and at a loſſe in this particular, for want of information; yea in danger to bee drawne vnawares into Schiſme;2. Sam. 15.11. not vnlike thoſe 200 men that followed Abſolon, in the ſimplicity of their hearts, not knowing any thing of his conſpiracy. For their ſakes therefore it is very requiſite that this point ſhould be throughly ſearched into, and made publique. This is not a quarrell about Goats haire; Scomma.nor ſo poore a buſineſſe as ſhould deſerue (in a Pulpit) to bee compared to the action of a Famous Generall that levies a ſtrong Army, drawes them out into the field, ſets them in order or battaile, and raiſeth a great expectation of ſome honourable exploit, which in concluſion proues to bee no other then the breaking of an Egge-ſhell*That Great Athanaſius was of another opinion, when he placed this very queſtion (how one may knowe whether be receaued the ſpirit in Baptiſme?) amongſt thoſe which he termeth foreign Queſtions neceſſary & vſeful… for all Chriſtians to bee acquainted with. In titulo Iabri Quaeſt ad Antio h. Princ. tom 2.
3 Nor was there euer ſuch need of opening this truth vntounto the people, as now: becauſe, neuer, ſince the hereſies of the Sacramentarians and Anabaptists were hiſſed out of the Church of Chriſt, were men ſo violent againſt it, and ſo impatient of contradiction. They cry out, What vſe, what vſe of ſuch a Doctrine? Whether doth it tend? Mee thinkes they ſhould be able to anſwere themſelues, without help. Is it nothing vntounto a Chriſtian, in time of a violent temptation, when hee hath loſt all ſight of his Saviour, to be aſſured that even in his Baptiſme hee receiued the Holy Ghoſt as an anointing that ſhall abide with him for ever? Is the conſolation of God a ſmall matter vntounto a Chriſtian Parent, that in obedience to Chriſt, and in faith in his promiſes, hath preſented his child to the ſacred Laver*Quam enim ſuaue piis animis, non verbo tantum, ſed oculari etiam ſpectaculo certiores fieri tantum ſe gratiae apud Patrem caeleſtem obtinere, vt poſteritas ſua illi curae ſit? Hic enim videre eſt vt providentiſſimi erga nos patris familias perſonam ſuſcipit, qui ne poſt mort…m quidem noſtram, ſolicitudinem noſtri deponit quin liberis noſtris conſulat ac proſpiciat. Calvin. Inſtit. l 4. cap. 16. Sect. vlt., where the Holy Ghoſt hath ſeazed vponupon him for Chriſt, ſo as, whether himſelfe liue or die, he may conceiue good hope that Chriſt hath taken the charge of his child, & will prouide all things needfull for it, and giuegive it both grace and glory? What a comfort (ſaith a learned writer*M. T. Taylor. vpō Tit. 3.5. making it one Vſe of this very Doctrine) is it for a father to ſee his child waſhed with the bloud of Ieſus Chriſt? Clenſed from ſinne? Set into the viſible Church, yea, into the Body of Chriſt, in the right vſe of this Sacrament? Wherein a Parent ought more to reioyce, then if hee could make it heyre of the world.
All theſe conſidered, I appeale to any Vnderſtanding Man, whether I hauehave not cauſe to publiſh my Labours vponupon this ſubiect, out of duty that I owe to the Church of Chriſt; and whether (conſidering how little is done in this kinde) it were not worth the beſt ſearch, and greateſt labour of the moſt able Diuines in the kingdome,*I am ſure D. Whitaker was of this minde. Tract. de Sacram. controu: de Bapt: quaeſt. 4. c. 5. in principio. Where ſpeaking of the efficacy of Baptiſme in Infants: he hath theſe words. Eſt autem ea quaeſtio cum difficilis & plena controverſiae, tum digna quae tractetur, & explicetur diligenter. This is a queſtion that is both difficult & full of controverſie, and ſuch alſo as is worthy to be hādled and carefully opened. to cleare this point to the full, for the edification and comfort of pious and peaceable Chriſtians †.
What I hauehave performed herein, I humbly offer to bee freely cenſured by the more Iudicious who, truly and indeed, are both able and willing to maintaine the publique Doctrine of this Church already eſtabliſhed. I will not take vponupon me to tie all men, or any man, to my private opinions. I knowe that the Learned may without blame, diſſent from each other in many things, ſo long as they obtrude them not vponupon others, nor trouble the peace of the Church thereabout. Howbeit if this, of mine, be a private opinion, I renounce it, and craue pardon of the whole Church of God for troubling the world with ſuch a toy. But, if it appeare, to impartiall Iudges able to weigh it in the ballance of the Sanctuary, to be a truth, & ſuch a truth as the whole Church of England is as much engaged in, as my ſelfe; I truſt that then, it ſhall finde acceptance with all ſober men; and, by Gods bleſſing, proue profitable to all, that in humility and louelove, deſire & endeavour to imbrace the truth. As for others, I ſhall paſſe them by with pitty, and prayer that they may at length come againe to themſelues.