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Order of Contents
Catechisms 2
Sermons 2
Administration of 2
Infant Baptism 5
Efficacy of Baptism in Infants 1
Children of Adherents 2
Roman Catholic Baptism 1
Anabaptists 3
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Catechisms
Palmer, Herbert – The Sacraments, Questions 6-10, in An Endeavor of Making the principles of Christian religion, namely the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Sacraments plain and easy, 1644
Twisse, William – The First Catechism Touching the Sacraments, pp. 6-8, in A Brief Catechetical Exposition of Christian Doctrine. Divided into Four Catechisms, comprising the doctrine of the 1. Two Sacraments. 2. Lord’s Prayer. 3. Ten Commandments. 4. And the Creed, 1632
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Sermons
Lightfoot, John
‘Matt 28:19, Baptize All Nations’, 1655, in Works, vol. 6, pp. 391-411
‘1 Cor. 10:2, Baptism’, in Works, 1660, in Works, vol. 6, pp. 412-416
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On the Administration of Baptism
Henderson, Alexander – The Order of Baptism, 1641, 3 paragraphs, being pp. 18-20 of The Government and Order of the Church of Scotland
Rutherford, Samuel – Baptizing, 1642, 3 paragraphs, being the 5th Article of Chapter 20 of A Peaceable and Temperate Plea for Paul’s Presbytery in Scotland
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On Infant Baptism
Cawdrey, Daniel – A Sober Answer to a Serious Question Propounded by Mr. Giles Firmin, minister: Whether the ministers of England are bound by the Word of God to baptize the children of all such parents which say they believe in Jesus Christ. Which may serve also as an appendix to the diatribe with Mr. Hooker, concerning the baptism of infants, 1652, 30 pages, the book is incomplete: the end is missing.
Marshall, Stephen – A Sermon of the Baptizing of Infants, on 1 Peter 3:21, no date
Marshall, Stephen – A Defense of Infant Baptism in Answer to Two Treatises, 1646
Baillie, Robert – Anabaptism, the true fountain of Independency, Brownism, Antinomianism, Familism, and most of the other errors (which for the time do trouble the Church of England) unsealed. Also the questions of paedobaptism and dipping handled from Scripture. In a second part of the Dissuasive from the Errors of the Time ToC
Carter, William – The Covenant of God with Abraham, Opened. Wherein 1. The duty of infant-baptism is cleared. 2. Something added concerning the Sabbath, and the nature and increase of the kingdom of Christ. Together with a short discourse concerning the manifestations of God unto his people in the Last Days. Wherein is showed the manner of the Spirit’s work therein to be in the use of ordinary gifts, not by extraordinary revelations 1654 86 pp.
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The Efficacy of Baptism in Infants
Burges, Cornelius – Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants professed by the Church of England, according to the Scriptures, the primitive Church, the present reformed churches, and many particular divines apart ToC Buy
Burges argues “That it is most agreeable to the institution of Christ, that all elect infants that are baptized (unless in some extraordinary cases) ordinarily receive the Spirit from Christ in baptism, for their first solemn initiation into Christ; and for their future actual renovation, in God’s good time, if they live to years of discretion, and enjoy the other ordinary means of grace appointed of God to this end.”
This position is within the bounds of the statements of the Westminster Standards, though it is not necessarily entailed by the Standards.
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On the Baptism of the Children of Adherents
An adherent is a person who is a non-communicant member of the visible Church. That is, the person is baptized, is part of the universal visible Church (thought not necessarily under the governance of a particular local church), has some measure of a profession of faith, but he or she does not partake of the Lord’s Supper (either voluntarily or involuntarily). The question is: Is such a person externally in Covenant with God? If they are, then their children are as well, and they should receive the sign and seal of being externally in Covenant with God: Baptism. For more on this topic, see The Baptism of the Children of Adherents.
Cawdrey, Daniel – A Sober Answer to a Serious Question Propounded by Mr. Giles Firmin, minister: Whether the ministers of England are bound by the Word of God to baptize the children of all such parents which say they believe in Jesus Christ. Which may serve also as an appendix to the diatribe with Mr. Hooker, concerning the baptism of infants, 1652, 30 pages, the book is incomplete: the end is missing.
While Cawdrey is responding to a very loaded question, he answers with a very qualified Yes.
Rutherford, Samuel – ‘On the Baptism of the Children of Adherents’ PDF 1642, 29 pages, being ch. 12 of his A Peaceable and Temperate Plea for Paul’s Presbytery in Scotland. An updated, easier to read edition.
To see how Rutherford interprets 1 Cor. 7:14, and hence Westminster Confession 28.4, see the 9th Argument, 4th Objection.
Rutherford, Samuel – On the Baptism of the Children of Adherents, Part 2 1644, 16 pages, being the 2nd Part, Chapter 4, Section 6 of The Due Right of Presbyteries, pp. 256-66, with a 3 page extended outline
Rutherford further argues against the Independent John Cotton.
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Roman Catholic Baptism is Valid
Samuel Rutherford – The Due Right of Presbyteries, or a Peaceable Plea for the Government of the Church of Scotland, pp. 237-41, 1644, in pp. 23-29 of The Reformed Churches and Roman Catholic Baptism – An Anthology of Principle Texts, by the Peru Mission
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On the Anabaptists
‘Anabaptist’ means ‘re-baptizer’. They did not believe in the validity of Roman Catholic baptism or infant baptism, so they rebaptized converts to their sect. They were also radical and extreme on many other points as well, often being seen as disruptive of civil order.
Byfield, Richard – Temple-Defilers Defiled, wherein a true visible Church of Christ is described. The evils and pernicious errors, especially appertaining to schism, anabaptism, and libertinism, that infest our Church, are discovered. And directions to preserve from the sin and punishment of temple-defiling, delivered in two sermons, Feb. 20 & 27, 1644, out of 1 Cor. 3:17 ToC
Baillie, Robert – Anabaptism, the true fountain of Independency, Brownism, Antinomianism, Familism, and most of the other errors (which for the time do trouble the Church of England) unsealed. Also the questions of paedobaptism and dipping handled from Scripture. In a second part of the Dissuasive from the Errors of the Time ToC
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Related Pages
The Baptism of the Children of Adherents
All of the Works of the Westminster Divines on Covenant Theology
All of the Writings of the Westminster Divines Online
All of the Writings of the Westminster Divines Online by Topic