Part 2: What we maintain

The truth taught in the whole of the Scriptures:

  1. Of God
    1. Who is one and the same God of Salvation in Christ in all the generations of His redeemed people (Ex. 3:14, 15; Deut. 6:4)
      1. Who is a faithful covenant God to believers and their seed from generation to generation (Ex. 3:14, 15; Psalm 102:12, 27, 28; Psalm 103:17; Gen.17:7; Acts 2:39; Acts 16:31; Gal. 3:29; Gal. 4:28)
      2. Who is unchangeable in His purpose of grace, also with the children of believers (Gen. 17:7; Deut. 30:6; Psalm 127:3; Psalm 128:4-6; Mal. 3:6; Mark 10:14; Acts 3:39; Acts 16:31; I Cor. 7:14; Eph. 6:4)

    2. Who is sovereign in His electing love, also toward the children of believers (Acts 2:39; Rom. 9:8, Gal. 4:28)

      1. According to which God commands the grace of election to run in the generations of believers gathering to Himself a spiritual seed of promise "as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Gen17:7; Rom.9:8; Gal. 3:29; Gal. 4:28)
        1. Of which Christ is that seed centrally as the seed of promise (Gen. 3:15; Gen. 17:7; Gal.3:16)
        2. But which includes in Christ, the elect according to the promise who are likewise the seed of the woman (Gen.3:15; Rom. 16:20); the true spiritual seed of Abraham, the father of believers (Gal. 3:29); the true Israel of God (Rom. 9:8; Gal. 4:28)
        3. Into which God now engrafts the Gentiles in their generations (Eph. 2:19; Rom 11; Acts 2:39)

      2. Which spiritual seed God is pleased to gather in the generations of believers and their natural seed according to the grace of election
        1. As the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 12; Rom. 16:20) of whom were Abel, and Seth in his generations
        2. As the seed of Noah in his generations (Gen. 9:9, 26, 27)
        3. As the seed of Abraham, (Gen.17:7), a spiritual seed in Christ (Gal. 3:16, 29) yet gathered in the generations (Gen.17:19, 22)
        4. As the spiritual seed of Israel gathered in his generations by the power of God's promise and grace, the true Israel of God (Gen. 28:13, 14; Rom. 9:6-8)

      3. Into which blessings of His electing grace God now brings Gentile believers and their seed in their generations(Acts16:31; Eph. 2:12, 19; Gal. 3:29; Rom 11)
  2. Of Christ
    1. Who is the one only Savior in both the Old and New Testaments (Gen. 3:15; Psalm 89:27-29; Isa. 53:10; John 5:39; John 8:56; Eph. 4:4, 6)
    2. Who is the Shepherd of the sheep, also the lambs of the flock of Christ which are His (Isaiah 40:11; John 6:65; Acts 2:39)
    3. Who embraces the children of believers in His church and kingdom (Mark 10:14)
    4. Who saves adults in the same manner in which He saves children, by regeneration (John 3:3; Mark 10:15)
    5. Who works in them saving faith ( John 5:25; Mark 9:36, 42)

  3. Of the Holy Spirit and His sanctifying work
    1. Who circumcises the heart in the regeneration of His people, both children and adults according to the promise (Deut. 30:6; Psalm 22:9, 10; Gal 4:26)
    2. Who makes the children of believers holy as the body of Christ in its infancy (Psalm 127:3; Mal. 2:15; I Cor. 7:14)
    3. Who makes the children of believers living plants in Christ capable of spiritual nurture (Mark 9:42; Eph. 6:4)

  4. Of the gospel in all its fullness
    1. Which promises to a believer that God will save him and his seed in their generations (Gen. 9:9; Gen. 17:7; Psalm 127:3; Acts 2:39; Acts 16:31)
    2. Which embraces the children of believers in the instruction and discipling of the gospel as members of His church (Matt.28:19; Eph. 1:1; Eph. 6:1-4; Col. 1:2; Col. 3:20, 21)

  5. Of the church as the true Israel of God
    1. Which consists of the whole body of the redeemed of all ages, Jew and Gentile, under one shepherd, Christ (John 10:16)
    2. Which was always a spiritual reallity, as the true people of God (Rom. 9:6-8) and not the nation of Israel as such.
    3. Which national existence of Israel was the institutional form of the church under the administration of the law, which has passed away (Gal .3:21-25) and has done so by the fulfilment of the promises in Christ (Acts 32, 33)
    4. Into which fufillment of promise God brought the remnant of true believing Israel, of the seed of Abraham after the flesh ( Acts 2:36-41; Rom. 11:1, 2)
    5. Into which fulfilment God also brings the Gentiles upon the same promises (Gen. 22:18; Isa. 60:5; Acts 2:39; Eph. 2:12ff., 3:6;Rom. 11)
    6. Which Gentiles in Christ are likewise the true spiritual seed of Abraham (Gal.3:29)
    7. Which promises, in the New Testament form of the church institute, continue to embrace the children of believers, both Jew and Gentile (Gen. 17:7, Eph. 2:19; Gal. 3:29, Gal. 4:28; Acts 2:39; Acts 16:31; Rom. 11)

  6. Of Baptism
    1. Which is God's Word and seal upon the promise of the gospel and not man's word or testimony to God
      1. Which is evident from the fact that the Scriptures speak of "being baptized," by which man is set forth as passive in baptism
      2. Which is evident from the fact that we are baptized into the Name of the triune God (Matt.29:19)
      3. Which is evident from the language of Scripture which speak of baptism in terms of the work of grace as a washing of the blood of Christ and a washing of regeneration (Acts 2:38; Titus 3:5)
    2. Which according to the apostolic practice of baptism was to be administered according to the promise to those who believed and their household and not merely to individual believing adults and which, according to the whole testimony of the Scriptures above, requires the baptism of infants (Acts 2:39; Acts 10:44, 47; Acts 16:15; Acts 16:31-34)
    3. Which has come in the place of circumcision (Col.2:11, 12)
    4. Which God continues to command to be administered as the token of His covenant to the children of believers, as He first commanded Abraham, the Father of believers, under the Old Testament sign of circumcision which is now baptism (Gen. 17:9ff.)

  7. Of the Scriptures
    1. Which are God's Word in Christ (John 5:39)
    2. Which whole Word of God, not just a portion, is determinative for understanding the work of grace, the promises of the gospel, the form and institution of the church in the New Testament, the place of children in the church and their inclusion by baptism (I Tim. 3:16)

  8. Of Sovereign Grace Therefore we regard the children of believers as the body of Christ in its infancy, organically, "as many as the Lord our God shall call." Acts 2:39. That the children of believers are to be included in His church by baptism and be brought up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord," Eph. 6:4. We testify against the serious error of those, who excluding their children from baptism, exclude them from Christ's church and body, and therefore from the head, Christ Himself. For this is displeasing to the Lord who said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God," Mark 10:14.

Moreover we testify that the truth of children's inclusion in the church by baptism is the authentic doctrine of sovereign grace Calvinism, which is truly "Reformed"and which embraces the complete teaching also of the five points of Calvinism.

By Rev. Thomas Miersma
For Further Study
Additional Material

See also What Jesus said in the following articles

The Baptism Form, which is a confessional statement of the doctrine both of baptism and children's inclusion
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