The Future?

Ch 1- Salvation is through the covenant of faith in the old and new testaments.
The faithful receive a covenant blessing and sign. This covenant continues in the New Testament. God promised Abraham descendants, blessed by grace through faith. The Old testament sign of the covenant was circumcision, a removal of the old nature, a sign that the child belonged to God and was separated for holiness.
Why was the covenant sign commanded for all, even those without faith. Circumcision is a seal, a promise that God will fulfill all that he has promised for those who put faith in him.
When the conditions of the covenant where met the promises would apply. The bloody sign of circumcision was to prefigure the shedding of blood and cleansing by Christ.
Absence of a contrary command
Infant baptism is a sign that we trust God to honor the marking out of our children and set his grace upon them.
Chapter 2- Coming in faith, missions, making disciples, and hearing the words of Jesus.
Baptising them into the trinity is baptizing them into a relation with the triune God.
Parents baptize their children ot of love for them and a sign that they belong to the covenant family.
Mark 16 is probably not inspired.
Chapter 3
In the new testament turning to Christ was not individualistic but involved the entire household.
Partakers of the condemnation of Adam partake in the new graces of Christ. The household is involved with salvation and infant baptism and the covenant signs are assumed.
Heidelberg Catechism- Are infants to be baptized? The answer here is yes, they are to be included in the covenant.
The Jews that crucified Christ admit that this guilt was to be on them and their children. This was covenant language.
God is bound by his covenant to save those who turn to him and to destroy those who don’t. Infant baptism is a sign of faith that the believers understan God will keep his promises.
Covenant promises entail covenant responsibilities. The parents are to raise the child properly. The one who called us is faithful and he will do it.
Chapter 4
Cultural differences can create barriers but Christ is able to transcend these barriers.
The oinks formula Throughout the New Testament there is countless examples of God saving households. This was not an individualistic salvation but one that passed on from Generations.
Our generations have become distant from the New Testament understanding of oinks. To think that the head of the house would become a Christian and others would not receive those benefits was unheard of. The master of the family spoke for those who belnged to him. When he was baptized, so were they.
Chapter 5
Circumcision is a sign and seal that reminds us the covenant God made with Abraham. Circumcision is a promise to those inside the covenant and a warning to those outside or looking in. There are many signs throughout the testaments and the Greek word for sign someone is used over 70 times.
The example would be that of a woman who was recently engages. It is obvious that the woman with the ring is promised things regarding the upcoming marriage. The same is the sign of baptism. The child, through faith will be given certain blessings that are promised.
Chapter 6
Baptism is about union with Christ based on his death and resurrection. There are certain passages that prove “baptiso” is not literally buried but in most places figurative.
Although the word most often means dip, it could just have relation to a union. There is a baptism of spirit or suffering which means to be united to or engulfed in. The phrase itself means a radical union with Chrsit.
Immersion as a mode does not fit any of the illustrations seen here in the text. Baptism is symbolic of a union and the New testament christians may have diliberatly not submerged so they could prove it wasn’t the water doing the washing.
After baptism we have been charged to walk in newness of life.
One of the Bibles primary ways of referring to regeneration is the washing with water.
Chapter 7- The newness of the new covenant
What things are new about the new covenant? Hebrews 8 has been the discussion regarding baptism and Hebrews 8 has been hard for many paedo baptists to argue. However the exclusion of the children is not a mark of the new covenant.
God is making a new house of Israel. There are not new times or seperations in testaments but new people open to the covenant. God will put his law in their hearts and they will be called to be his people as a manifestation of his love and mercy.
The new covenant is different because it deals with internal religion as opposed to external religion. There is divine initiative as well as covenantal relationships. Lastly, people and their households will have a new knowledge of the Lord.
Jesus has fulfilled the law
Children are still included in the new covenant.
Chapter 8-
Jeremiah 31:31
How is this passage used against infant baptism?
It looks as though things are changing from the old way to the new way.
What did Jeremiah mean by this. Future planting of God’s people in the land. A new covenant with God’s people and a rebuilding permanence of his holy city.
There are Old testament expectations, Inaguration or partial fulfillments, Continuation and an eventual consummation.
We continue to have children to multiply and fill the earth. We baptize our children as the community of faith did circumcise and we train them up with the reminder they have blessings and responsibilities before God.
Chapter 9- Covenant transitions
The transition began with John the Baptist and his call for people to repent. After was the coming of the Messiah. This began the transition between testaments.
When someone outside Abrahams household embraced God they to became part of the promises. Faith and obedience have always been necessary for covenant blessings. The new testament is not a brand new covenant but an improvement and fulfillment of the old.
There is a unity and continuity in God’s revelation to us.
God does not tolerate covenant breakers in the covenant households. At the heart of the redemptive covenant is a relationship between fathers and their children. Christian households where the father falls is normally detrimental to the family as a whole, even moreso than the wife
Christ has been the mediator of both old and new covenants. Both Old and New covenants are a smooth transition pointing to God’s Grace. The new testament is totally dependant on the revelation of the Old testament because it appeals to its authority.
Chapter 10- Covenant Theology and Baptism
God established his covenant with Abraham and included children, until he takes them out they are included. Since they are emmebers of the church they are entitled to its ordinances.
Who belongs to the church and the covenant community of God’s people?
Baptism, a seal of God’s covenant promise must be administered to all the people of God. The baptism of children is a divine ordinance and parental obedience to God. The new testaments silence on this argument may be evidence for infant baptism as it continued among early christians.
The benefits of the covenant of Grace
The benefits of the covenant
There are obligations to this covenant and there is Jesus, the covenant mediator.
The covenant of grace and its promises are to the children.
These are children of the covenant.
Chapter 11- Infant Baptism and the reformed confessions
The chapter looks at 5 different confessions of the reformed faith.
The catechisms were overwhelmingly for the idea that children should be marked with the sign of the covenant.
The Heidelberg Catachism was for infant baptism.
At the very least the mark distinguishes them from unbelievers. The helvetic confessions condemned the anabaptists. Infants that descend from even one believing parent are in the covenant and are to be baptized. Westminster Confession
This has been a perspective on the flow of redemptive history. Infant baptism is about Gods election through grace alone and it comes in the midst of the covenant community’s administration or intiation.
Chapter 12
Tertullian believed that infants should not be baptized because it gave them a pressure they could not live up to and the sacrament should be delayed.
By the time of Augustine infant baptism was widely practiced.
Samuel miller wrote that for 1500 years after the birth of Christ there is no evidence that anyone was opposed to infant baptism.
The writer concludes by reminding us that after a long history of paedo baptism it would be tragic to see the church turn to Credo baptism.
Chapter 13
The early history of the debate over baptism is so dismal that sometimes it even results in death. The same holy waters that unite God to his people cause gret strife in the church, it is obvious we are a fallen people.
Anabaptists who went against the church would have to be put to death by drowning.
The anabaptists wanted to be so far from Roman Catholicism that they even rejected infant baptism. However, without understanding and mainly having a somewhat cler view on the New Testament this was a mistake.
Credo baptists believe that baptism is to be exclusive. There is no evidence in the new so it shoud not be done. The argument was ubsurd, it would be the same as to say woman should not receive communion because it is not mentioned.
Anabaptists fail to show that paedobaptism is an error.
Chapter 14-
Most people will go to the text and find that there is no particular illustration of an infant being baptized so why even make it a discussion. Turning to the scriptures is the right thing to do and the author here tries to argue from the text. The debate about infant baptism is a debate about children and not baptism at all.
The bible does not illustrate even one woman partaking in the Lords Supper. We are to view children as given to us by God and we are to raise them up in the faith. Woman had to be faithful recipients of baptism even though there is no record of a woman beign baptized.
God makes man and woman in one flesh to create more Godly offspring.