BAPTISM
by Thomas Watson,
an excerpt (with minor editing) from The Ten Commandments [BOT, 1965], 217–223
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the HolyGhost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
(Matthew 28:19–20)
The first of two sacraments, which the Lord Jesus Christ instituted for the useof His Church, is baptism. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptisingthem in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teachingthem,” &c. “Go, teach all nations”; the Greek word is “Make disciples ofall nations.” If it be asked, how should we make them disciples? It follows,“Baptising them and teaching them.” In a heathen nation, first teach, and thenbaptise them; but in a Christian church, first baptise, and then teach them.
Q&A on Baptism
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What is baptism?
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A. | In general, it is a matriculation, or visible admission of children into the congregation of Christ’s flock. More particularly, “Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing or sprinkling with water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, does signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.” |
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What is meant by the parent when he presents his child to be baptised?
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A. | The parent, in presenting the child to be baptised, (1) Makes a public acknowledgement of original sin; that the soul of his child is polluted, therefore needs washing from sin by Christ’s blood and Spirit; both which washings are signified by the sprinkling of water in baptism. (2) The parent, by bringing his child to be baptised, solemnly devotes it to the Lord, and enrols it in God’s family; and truly it is a great satisfaction to a religious parent to have given up his child to the Lord in baptism. How can a parent look with comfort on that child who was never dedicated to God? |
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What is the benefit of baptism?
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A. | The party baptised has, (1) An entrance into the visible body of the church. (2) He has a right sealed to the ordinances, which is a privilege full of glory (Rom 9:4). (3) The child baptised is under a more special providential care of Christ, who appoints the tutelage angels to be the infant’s life-guard (Mt 18:10). |
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Is this all the benefit?
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A. | No! To such as belong to the election, baptism is a “seal of the righteousness of faith,” a laver of regeneration, and a badge of adoption (Rom 4:11). |
Q.
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How does it appear that children have a right to baptism?
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A. | Children are parties in the covenant of grace. The covenant was made with them. “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee…, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Gen 17:7). “The promise is unto you, and to your children” (Acts 2:39). The covenant of grace may be considered either, (1) More strictly, as an absolute promise to give saving grace; and so none but the elect are in covenant with God. Or, (2) More largely, as a covenant containing in it many outward glorious privileges, in which respects the children of believers do belong to the covenant of grace. The promise is to you and to your seed. The infant seed of believers may as well lay a claim to the covenant of grace as their parents; and having a right to the covenant, they cannot justly be denied baptism, which is its seal. It is certain the children of believers were once visibly in covenant with God, and received the seal of their admission into the church; where now do we find this covenant interest, or church membership of infants, repealed or made void? Certainly Jesus Christ did not come to put believers and their children into a worse condition than they were in before. If the children of believers should not be baptised, they are in worse condition now than they were in before Christ’s coming. |
Objections Against Infant Baptism
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But the Scripture is silent herein and does not mention infant baptism.
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A. | Though the word “infant baptism” is not in Scripture, yet the thing is. Mention is not made in Scripture of woman’s receiving the sacrament; but who doubts but the command, “Take, eat, this is my body,” concerns them? Does not their faith need strengthening as well as others? So the word “Trinity” is not to be found in Scripture, but there is that which is equivalent to it. “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 Jn 5:7). So, though the word “infant baptism” is not mentioned in Scripture, the practice of baptising infants may be drawn from Scripture by undeniable consequence. |
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How is that proved?
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A. | The Scripture mentions whole families baptised; as the household of Lydia, Crispus, and the jailer. “He… was baptised, he and all his” (Acts 16:33). Wherein we must rationally imagine there were some little children. If it be said, there is no mention here made of children; I answer, neither are servants named; and yet it cannot be supposed but that, in so great a family, there were some servants. |
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But infants are not capable of the end of baptism; for baptism signifies the washing away of sin by the blood of Christ. Infants cannot understand this; therefore what benefit can baptism be to them?
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A. | Neither could the child that was to be circumcised understand circumcision; yet the ordinance of circumcision was not to be omitted or deferred. Though an infant understands not the meaning of baptism, it may partake of the blessing of baptism. The little children that Christ took in His arms, understood not Christ’s meaning, but they had Christ’s blessing. “He… put his hands upon them, and blessed them” (Mk 10:16). |
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But what benefit can the child have of baptism if it understands not the nature of baptism?
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A. | It may have a right to the promise sealed up, which it shall have an actual interest in when it comes to have faith. A legacy may be of use to the child in the cradle; though it now understands not the legacy, yet when it is grown up to years, it is fully possessed of it. |
But it may be further objected:—
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The party to be baptised is to be engaged to God; but how can the child enter into such an engagement?
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A. | The parents can engage for it, which God is pleased to accept as equivalent to the child’s personal engagement. |
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If baptism comes in the room of circumcision, and the males only were circumcised, what warrant is there for baptising females? (Gen 17:10).
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A. | Females were included, and were virtually circumcised in the males. What is done to the head is done to the body; the man being the head of the woman (1 Cor 11:3). What was done to the male sex was interpretatively done to the female. |
Proofs by Argument of Infant Baptism
(1) If children during their infancy are capable of grace, they are capable ofbaptism; but children in their infancy are capable of grace, therefore they arecapable of baptism. I prove the minor, that they are capable of grace, thus: ifchildren in their infancy may be saved, then they are capable of grace; butchildren in their infancy may be saved; which is thus proved: that if thekingdom of heaven belongs to them, they may be saved; but the kingdom of heavenmay belong to them, as it is clear from, “Of such is the kingdom of God” (Mk10:14); who then can forbid that the seal of baptism should be applied to them?
(2) If infants may be among the number of God’s servants, there is no reasonwhy they should be shut out of God’s family; but infants may be in the numberof God’s servants, because God calls them His servants. “He shall depart fromthee,… and his children with him,… for they are my servants” (Lev 25:41).Therefore children in their infancy, being God’s servants, why should they nothave baptism, which is the tessera, the mark or seal which God setsupon His servants?
(3) “But now are they [your children] holy” (1 Cor 7:14). Children are notcalled holy, as if they were free from original sin; but in the judgement ofcharity they are to be esteemed holy, and true members of the Church of God,because their parents are believers. Hence that excellent divine, Mr.Hildersam, says, “that the children of the faithful as soon as they are born,have a covenant holiness, and so a right and title to baptism, which is thetoken of the covenant.”
(4) From the opinion of the fathers and the practice of the church. The ancientfathers were strong asserters of infant baptism, as Irenaeus, Basil,Lactantius, Cyprian, and Augustine. It was the practice of the Greek church tobaptise her infants. Erasmus says that infant baptism has been used in thechurch of God for above fourteen hundred years. And Augustine, in his bookagainst Pelagius, affirms that it has been the custom of the church in all agesto baptise infants. Yea, it was an apostolic practice. Paul affirms that hebaptised the whole house of Stephanus (1 Cor 1:16).
(5) Having seen Scripture arguments for infant baptism, let us consider whetherthe practice of those who delay the baptising of children till riper years, bewarrantable. For my part, I cannot gather it from Scripture. Though we read ofadult persons, and grown up to years of discretion, in the Apostles’ times,being baptised, yet they were such as were converted from heathenish idolatryto the true orthodox faith; but that in a Christian church the children ofbelievers should be kept unbaptised for several years, I know neither preceptnor example for it in Scripture, but it is wholly apocryphal. The baptising ofpersons, grown up to maturity, we may argue against ab effectu,from the ill consequence of it. For, how far God has given up many persons, whoare for deferring baptism, to other vile opinions and vicious practices, isevident, if we consult history; especially if we read the doings of the Anabaptistsin Germany.
Uses of the Doctrine and Practice
Use one. See the riches of God’sgoodness, who will not only be the God of believers, but takes their seed intocovenant with them. “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thyseed after thee…, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed” (Gen 17:7). A fathercounts it a great privilege, not only to have his own name, but his child’sname put in a will.
Use two. Those parents are to beblamed who forbid little children to be brought to Christ; and withhold fromthem this ordinance. By denying their infants baptism, they exclude them frommembership in the visible church, so that their infants are sucking pagans.Such as deny their children baptism, make God’s institutions under the law morefull of kindness and grace to children than they are under the gospel; which,how strange a paradox it is, I leave you to judge.
Use three. For exhortation.
(1) Let us who are baptised, labour to find the blessed fruits of it in our ownsouls; not only to have the signs of the covenant, but the grace of thecovenant. Many glory in their baptism. The Jews gloried in their circumcision,because of their royal privileges; to them belonged the adoption, and theglory, and the covenants (Rom 9:4). But many of them were a shame and reproachto their circumcision. “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentilesthrough you” (Rom 2:24). The scandalous Jews, though circumcised, were, inGod’s account, as heathens. “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians to me?…saith the Lord” (Amos 9:7). Alas! what is it to have the name of Christ, andwant His image? What is baptism of water without the baptism of the Spirit?Many baptised Christians are no better than heathens. O let us labour to findthe fruits of baptism, that Christ is formed in us (Gal 4:19); that our natureis changed; that we are made holy and heavenly. This is to be baptised intoJesus (Rom 6:3). Such as live unsuitable to their baptism, may go withbaptismal-water on their faces, and sacramental bread in their mouths, to hell.
(2) Let us labour to make a right use of our baptism. Let us use it as a shieldagainst temptations. Satan, I have given up myself to God by a sacred vow inbaptism; I am not my own, I am Christ’s; therefore I cannot yield to thytemptations, for I should break my oath of allegiance which I made to God inbaptism. Luther tells us of a pious woman, who, when the devil tempted her tosin, answered, Satan, Baptizata sum, “I am baptised”; and so beatback the tempter.
(3) Let us use it as a spur to holiness. By remembering our baptism, let us bestirred up to make good our baptismal engagements; renouncing the world, flesh,and devil, let us devote ourselves to God and His service. To be baptised intothe name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, implies a solemn dedication ofourselves to the service of all the Three Persons in the Trinity. It is notenough that our parents dedicate us to God in baptism, but we must dedicateourselves to Him; this is called living to the Lord (Rom 14:8). Our life shouldbe spent in worshipping God, in loving God, in exalting God; we should walk asbecomes the gospel (Phil 1:27). We should shine as stars in the world, and liveas earthly angels.
(4) Let us use it as an argument to courage. We should be ready to confess thatHoly Trinity, into whose name we were baptised. With the conversion of theheart must go the confession of the tongue. “Whosoever shall confess me beforemen, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God” (Lk 12:8).Peter openly confessed Christ crucified (Acts 4:10). Cyprian, a man of a bravespirit, was like a rock, whom no waves could shake; like an adamant, whom nosword could cut. He confessed Christ before the pro-consul, and sufferedhimself to be proscribed; yea, chose death rather than betray the truths ofChrist. He that dare not confess the Holy Trinity, shames his baptism, and Godwill be ashamed to own him at the day of judgement.
Use four. See the fearfulness ofthe sin of apostasy! It is renouncing our baptism. It is damnable perjury to goaway from God after a solemn vow. “Demas hath forsaken me” (2 Tim 4:10). Heturned renegade, and afterwards became a priest in an idol-temple, saysDorotheus. Julia the apostate, Gregory Nazianzen observes, bathed himself inthe blood of beasts offered in sacrifice to heathen gods; and so, as much as inhim lay, washed off his former baptism. The case of such as fall away afterbaptism is dreadful. “If any man draw back” (Heb 10:38). The Greek word to drawback, alludes to a soldier that steals away from his colours; so, if any mansteal away from Christ, and run over to the devil’s side, “my soul shall haveno pleasure in him”; that is, I will be severely avenged on him; I will make myarrows drunk with his blood. If all the plagues in the Bible can make that manmiserable, he shall be so.
—19 May 2002
