by the Righteousness of Christ imputed to them An Answer no doubt pleasing to the Ignorant sort that will Swallow down any thing true or false that hath but the Name of Christ or the Righteousness of Christ annexed to it But sure this bold Asserter had forgotten that Text Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimony if any Man an Anabaptist not excepted walk not according to this Rule 't is because there is no Light in him or rather I have reason to judge he was resolved his own Fancy should guide him in this Matter Now I would fain know where this Author can prove from Scripture any imputation of Christ's Righteousness to any but Believers I am sure he cannot and till he can however fond he or his Brethren may be of his Notion it not agreeing with the Rule in God's Word we are bound to look upon it as arising from the Darkness his own deluded Fancy Since I have been a Student in Divinity I have been taught both out of God's Word and from our most Worthy Authors that the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ had respect to the removal of our Guilt and that it was the Work of the Spirit within us to remove the Filth and destroy the Power of Sin Tit. 3.5 By the washing of Regeneration and renewings of the Hely Ghost Hence we are said to be born of the Spirit Justification and Sanctification though inseparable yet are widely distinguished by all but Papists and such as do adhere to them Sure this Gentleman had strangely forgot the great difference between our Title to Heaven and our Meetness for Heaven unless he looks upon our Claim to rise from our Meetness The Righteousness of Christ though it gives us a Title to Heaven as we do apprehend the Person of Christ by Faith yet it doth not take away our Filth any other way than by way of Purchase 'T is the Spirit of God in us that is the Efficient and that is the thing we are enquiring into VVhy then doth this Author thus beguile his unwary Reader when he is enquiring how Sin comes to be subdued he tells him how Sin comes to be pardoned As if a Pardon to a Malefactor would change his Heart or as if that Promise of a new Heart added to Forgiveness was a Promise of little worth I know not what it is to him I am sure 't is precious to all Saints what doth this imply but that the Righteousness of Christ was imputed to Infants to the end they may go to Heaven reeking in Sin and that they might be exempted from Regeneration But to put all out of doubt I come now to prove there is a Necessity for Infants to have Faith in the Sence aforesaid if ever they get to Heaven whatever such bold Men may say to the contrary who care not how much they say and how little they prove Let God be true tho' all such are found Liars Now there is a twofold Necessity for Infants to have Faith in order to their getting to Heaven one arising from God's Ordination and Appointment the other from the Corruption of our Natures as we come into the VVorld First From God's Appointment and Ordination he hath made this the way and the only way to Heaven Mark 16.16 He that believes not shall be damned I think that is plain Scripture since 't is so defired by the Anabaptists and the Expression being Indefinite is equivolent to a Universe He that is any he High or Low Rich or Poor Adult or Infant So John 3.3,5 Verily verily I say unto thee except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God And then adds by way of Explanation Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Now Regeneration is an Infusing the Principles of all Grace into the Soul as the Learned Pemble observes one Grace not being the Cause of another and if of all Grace then of Faith for that is a Grace But perhaps the Anabaptists may object that by the Word Man we are to understand Adult only yet at best this is but a bare Conjecture which in others Cases is contemned by them and therefore with their Leave or without it I shall tye them up to the same Measures For it seems unreasonable to contemn this in others which we allow in our selves especially in Matters of Religion may we not by the same Rule exclude Women And then I know no Scripture to prove a Necessity for them to be regenerated But lest this should not suffice for by this time I may suppose the Anabaptists to be like a Man drowning that catches hold of every Straw to keep him from sinking I shall therefore prove from Scripture that the Word Man oft takes in Women and Children without Distinction of Age or Sex and to this end I might multiply Texts but I shall only give you Two for many The first is Gen. 6.7 I will destroy Man Now it is well known that all the old World was destroyed both Men Women and Children excepting those few in the Ark and yet only Man is mentioned So John 16.21 A Woman when she is in Travail hath Sorrow because her Hour is come but as soon as she is delivered of the Child she remembreth no more her Anguish for Joy that a Man is born Mind that which in the beginning was called a Child is after called a Man nor can we once suppose that we come grown Men immediately out of the Womb and yet this may be as easily proved as the former And as the Word Man sometimes is of this extent so 't is most evident it is so here For the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek signifies any one Beza renders it Aliquis any Body or any one But notwithstandstanding all that hath been said I lately saw a Piece put out by one of the Ablest of the Anabaptists in which he will prove that Christ in that Place meant Adult only and he proves it thus It must be so because Nicodemus understood him so but to me it seems strange that any unless one as ignorant as Nicodemus of the new Birth should think such a blind Idiot as he a meet Judge of Christ's Meaning and infallibly to conclude it must be so because he understood him so as if Nicedomus was an infallible Judge of this Matter That Nicedomus understood him so I cannot deny but if that must be his meaning because he understood him so then we must conclude Christ meant a natural Birth also for so Nicodemus understood him Verse 4. Can he enter the second time into his Mother's Womb and be born which was a gross Mistake as is clear from Verse 5. Which Words are a Reproof of his Ignorance and Carnal Conceptions and an Interpretation of Christ's own Words and might he not mistake as to the Subject as well as concerning the Nature of the thing Sure I am that Cause
prove thus from this following Argument and it seems cogent Argument 2. Those that the Scripture give us good ground to hope are Believers may and ought to be Baptized but the Infant Seed of Believers are such as we have good ground from Scripture to hope are Believers therefore such may and ought to be Baptized All that I can conceive can be said against my Major Proposition is to deny that we are to Baptize any upon hopes that they are Believers and to affirm that we ought to Baptize none but such as we are sure have true Justifying Faith But sure I am such an Objection savours of high Presumption since this is to pretend to be Wiser than the Apostles and as Wise as God himself First Wiser than the Blessed Apostles as you may see by comparing Acts 8.13 with 22.23 where you read of one Baptized that was in the Gall of Bitterness and Bonds of Iniquity and yet we cannot be so uncharitable as to think they had no hopes of him when they Baptized him But if any should so judge it makes the more for me for if the Apostles themselves Baptized such as they had no hopes had true Faith then sure we may Baptize such 〈◊〉 we have good ground to hope 〈◊〉 Faith But if they had Hope 't is evident it was but Hope unless he could lose his Faith or have Faith and at the same time be in the Gall of Bitterness and Bonds of Iniquity neither of which could be Secondly This is to pretend to be as wise as God at least in this point since he only that works Faith can infallibly judge where it is 'T is peculiar to God to search the Heart where Faith is seated the Lord only knows who are his we see the best of Churches have been mistaken in taking in of Members The Apostles did not know Judas to be a Hypocrite till he betrayed his Lord unless we can suppose they would take in known Hypocrites And I would ask my Friends the Anabaptists if they themselves have not Baptized some as Believers who have afterward discovered themselves to be in the Gall of Bitterness So that in a word if we must Baptize none but such as we are sure have true Justifying Faith we must Baptize none in this World For though many have such a Faith yet no Man can infallibly tell the Anabaptist themselves not excepted who they are This is that new Name which none knows but God and them that have it So that I think it needless to add any more to confirm the former part of my Argument viz. That we can only hope that this or the other Person hath true Faith Minor Proposition But the Infant Seed of Believers are such as we have good ground from Scripture to hope are Believers Now if any thing of force be Objected it must be against this and therefore I shall labour the more to confirm it But before I come to the Proof I must add a Caution that when I speak of Faith in Infants I mean Habitual Faith for though it cannot on good ground be denyed but that some Infants may actually Believe since God is able to cause them so to do and hath no where in his Word declared he will not yet it may easily be proved that some Infants have Habitual Faith and that will render one as truly a Believer as the Act. He that hath the Habit of Faith is a Believer though asleep and so as uncapable of Acting Faith as an Infant having during that time no more use of Reason than a Child at the Breast nor perhaps so much for an Infant hath so much Sense as to know when it is Hungry or to Cry for Food and if it be in Pain But let a Man be never so Hungry or in Pain yet when asleep he is unsensible of either And yet such may be Believers in the mean time they having the Habit of Faith Now by the Habit of Faith in Infants I mean a Principle of Grace or Internal Renovation which is wrought in Regeneration for Regeneration is an infusing the Seeds of all Grace into the Soul and consequently of Faith This being premised I come to lay down a Proposition for the clearing the Way to that which I intend more largely to insist upon Proposition That Infants are capable of having the Habit of Faith wrought in them And though we cannot from hence conclude that all such have it yet it is a good Foundation for my following Argument And because in all Cases the Foundation had need stand fast I shall therefore confirm it that Infants are capable of Grace is not my Judgment alone however strange a Doctrine it may seem to some for I have the Judgment of all the Church of England on my side their Words after Baptism are Seeing now Dearly beloved Brethren that this Child is by Baptism Regenerate c. And again We yield thee most hearty thanks most merciful Father that it hath pleased thee to Regenerate this Infant by thy Holy Spirit c. Now though I am far from being of the Judgment which they seem to be in this that all that are Baptized are in that Ordinance Regenerated and so consequently many fall from Grace My Soul abhorrs that Popish Doctrine that Baptism confers Grace ex opere operato from the Work-wrought but while they thank God for the Work done 't is evident they suppose them capable of having that Work wrought in them and so far I agree with them But because the very citing any thing from the Church of England may make some giddy-headed People who have more Zeal than sound Knowledge nauseate what I have said I shall therefore proceed to prove that both they and I have Divine Testimony on our side in this that Infants are capable of Grace and I shall make use of plain Scripture since the Anabaptists pretend so much delight in it and I shall produce several Instances that in the Mouth of two or three Witnesses this truth may be established Jer. 1.5 Before thou camest out of the Womb I Sanctified thee and Luke 1.15 of John it is said He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his Mothers Womb and then no doubt Sanctified And of Christ it is said verse 35. That Holy Thing that shall be born of thee c. mind born of thee was Holy when Born From whence it is past all dispute unless we dare dispute with God that Infants even in the Womb and as soon as Born are capable of Grace nor doth it seem harder to me to conceive that Infants should have Grace wrought in them than Adult since the latter are purely passive in the Work and so may the former be If it was a Work of Reason or performed by Humane Power or Policy something might be said but it is not Eph. 1.19 Nay according to our apprehension it seems harder to work Grace in Adult than in Infants for as a Tender Plant