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The Salvation of Infants
by Gilbert Beebe
The Signs of the Times -December 1, 1856
The doctrine of salvation by grace alone, as held by all consistent Old
School Baptists, is the only doctrine ever published in the world that affords the
least hope for the salvation of those who die in infancy. This we propose to
prove by the most clear and positive testimony. All other doctrines represent
salvation to be conditional; but the theories of men vary much in regard to
what the conditions are on which salvation is to be secured, but all
conditionalists agree that something is to be done by the sinner, in order to
secure salvation. Some assert that the condition is faith and repentance; some
that it is the giving up of our hearts to God, while others contend that a law
of righteousness must be worked out, and "except we be circumcised and
keep the law, we cannot be saved." Some again represent the salvation of
infants of rest upon the piety of their parents, and their work in having them
rantized, or sprinkled into the pale of the church. Perhaps the most common
theory among the Arminians is, that infants are not sinners, consequently are
not lost, do not require to be saved. This last position is generally taken by
conditionalists, to avoid the inconvenience and impractibility of showing how
any infants can be saved on their conditional plans. Hence they set forth one
way for adults, and another for infants. But if infants were not sinners, they
could not die. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the
law." "Death has passed on all men, because all have sinned." As
Adam embodied all his posterity when he transgressed the law of God, all the
human family sinned in that transgression. "By one man’s offense death
reigned by one." "Therefore as by the offense of one, judgment came
upon all men to condemnation." Rom. v. 18. The Scriptures fully
demonstrate the fact that all infants and all adults have sinned, and as
sinners judgment has come upon all unto condemnation, and it is therefore
"appointed unto them all once to die." And the fact that some infants
do die, corroborates the testimony of the Scriptures, that all have sinned and
are sinners. By these two witnesses the solemn fact is so clearly demonstrated
as to defy successful contradiction. Certainly if it were not so, they could
have neither part nor lot in that redemption and salvation which is by and
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Admitting, then, what cannot be denied, that all infants are conceived in
sin, shapen in iniquity, and that they all go astray from the womb, speaking
lies, the question arises, How can they be saved from sin, and the consequences
of sin? Divine revelation declares positively that there is but one way. Our
Lord Jesus Christ has said, "No man can come unto the Father but by
me." "There is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we
must be saved." If then there is but one way whereby a sinner can be
saved, and that one way is Christ, then the notion that infants are saved by
the piety, faith or works of their parents, is swept by the board. How strange
the infatuation, that the piety and works of parents can save their infants,
when neither can avail anything in their own salvation. For salvation is
"Not of works, lest any man should boast." As parents, therefore,
cannot save their children, and God has said, If Noah, Daniel and Job stood
before him, they could neither save son nor daughter, let us examine the
conditional plan. Supposing salvation were offered to all sinners, on condition
of something to be by them performed, could the infant perform it? Tell them
that they must believe a preached gospel, repent of their sins, make themselves
a new heart and a right spirit that they must love God, reverence, obey and
worship him, that they must give up their hearts, and that if they fail to do
so, they must be damned, (for in this kind of language all conditionalists talk
and preach to adult sinners,) On that plan who could hope for the salvation of
a single infant Very few, if any, even of the Arminians, will claim that
infants can be saved by their own compliance with terms and acceptance of
overtures, or even use of means.
Some contend that infants come into the world pure and sinless, and go so
far as to fix for them a period in life at which they become accountable to God
for their conduct; previous to which, they affirm, the infant is not
accountable To fix the precise time at which they cross the line, and become
responsible beings, has been a matter of grave and perplexing deliberation among
them. But in direct contradiction to this theory, the Scriptures of truth
declare that they are conceived In sin and shapen in iniquity, and all infants
and adults became accountable beings to God, as soon as God breathed into
Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. To deny this,
is an attempt to impeach the justice of God himself; for if in their creation
in Adam they were not accountable to God, what right had God in justice to pass
on them the judgment to condemnation, of which we read in Romans v. 18? Did the
holy and righteous God enter judgment on any that were not accountable beings?
Did, or did not death reign by one man, and from Adam to Moses, over them that
had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression? Most certainly it
did; see Rom. v. 14. And could it have so reigned in justice over unaccountable
beings? What daring impiety! What blasphemy then, to say that children come
into the world holy and sinless, when the Scriptures, which are inspired by God
himself, declare the very reverse. Perhaps we have written enough for this
time, in defense of our position that all infants and all adults are sinners,
and by nature children of wrath. The object of this article is to give our
views on the subject of their salvation. We have already said, and proved, too,
that there is but one way of salvation for any of the posterity of Adam. To
show then that this one only way of salvation is perfectly adapted to the
condition of infants, let us examine the doctrine of salvation by grace, and
that in the light of what God has revealed in his word on the subject.
First- The doctrine of eternal and personal election is essential
to salvation. We must admit this, or charge God with doing that which was not
necessary to secure the salvation of his people. For the apostle has said,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love." Eph. i. 3, 4. This was God’s method of
securing his object, namely, that we should be holy and without blame Arminians
may think election unnecessary to secure our holiness and blamelessness before
God, but it is enough for us to know that "So it seemed good in his
sight." And whether men like it or not, God hath chosen us (his people) in
Christ, before the foundation of the world.
Second- As we have proven that all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God, and that the chosen people of God were all by nature the
children of wrath, even as others, and all were under condemnation by the law,
as sinners, therefore redemption was also indispensably necessary to our
salvation. And we are happy to find the testimony, "engraved as in eternal
brass," that, "By one offering Christ has perfected forever them that
are sanctified." That he has carried their sorrows, borne their griefs,
and the chastisement of their peace was upon him, and with his stripes they are
healed.
Thirdly- Regeneration is indispensable to our salvation.
"Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."John
iii. 3. And that birth must be "Not of blood nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man; but of God." John i 1.2
Election, redemption and regeneration, and every other requisite brought
to view in the gospel of our salvation, are so essential to our salvation that
in their absence, all, whether infant or adult, must forever perish in their
sins. Now let us inquire if it was or is any more difficult for God to elect,
redeem or regenerate infants than adults? Election being before the foundation
of the world, must have bean wholly of God, and in that matter the people
chosen must have been perfectly passive, "Ye have not chosen me; but I
have chosen you."John xv. 16. Adults then could have no more to do in
effecting their election, than infants, for it is all of God, "Who hath
saved us, and called us, with an holy calling; not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began."2 Tim. i. 9.
Redemption also was a work in which all infants and adults were equally
passive. "For our Lord Jesus Christ is of God, (not of us) made unto us,
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption." We had no hand in
this work. He, Christ, gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Can
there then be anything in redemption better adapted to adults than infants?
Neither adults nor infants could have any agency, directly nor indirectly in
their regeneration. None are so silly as to pretend that they were the agents
of their own natural generation, and if that was impossible, is it not a still
greater impossibility that an earthly, fleshly being could beget, conceive and
bring forth immortality? That which is born of the flesh is flesh, nothing
more, but that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. "It is," says
Jesus, "the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words
which I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life." But generation
and regeneration imply a prior existence in a progenitor. Levi was in the loins
of his great grandfather, Abraham, when Melchisedec met him and blessed him.
And all the saints were in Christ Jesus, their spiritual immortal progenitor,
when the eternal Father blessed him, and all his saints in him, with all
spiritual blessings, according as he had chosen them in him before the
foundation of the world. What agency could infants or adults, or adults more
than infants, have had in that before the foundation of the world? But the
inspired testimony of God allows no room for caviling on this subject, for, as
we have already quoted, "They were born of incorruptible seed, by the word
of God," "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man; but of God."
From what we have said and proved, it appears that in all that is
essential to salvation, the subjects of it are as passive in the hands of God
as is the clay in the hands of the potter. The mightiest man that ever trod
upon the earth, is just as powerless and helpless in the matter of salvation,
as the feeblest infant that was ever inspired with human life, and neither the
one nor the other can possibly be saved by any other than by the power of God.
To all who are saved it is said, "For by grace are ye saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man
should boast; for ye are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that ye should walk in them." The
hope and prospect of the application of this salvation which is altogether of
God, in regard to its application to any of the children of men, is founded on
the eternal purpose purposed in himself before the world began, and not on
anything to be done by us, after the world began; and on the faithful pledge
which God has graciously given. Hence Paul says, "In hope of eternal life,
which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began."Titus i. 2.
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are
afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Can any child of
grace ask for more?
"Enough, my gracious God,
Let faith triumphant cry;
My heart can on this promise live,
Can on this promise die."
We have redeemed our pledge, and proved that the doctrine of salvation
alone by grace, as held by all consistent Old School Baptists, is the only
doctrine that can possibly save infants. But still the question returns, Are
all infants saved? The answer to this inquiry God has seen proper to withhold
from us, it is not our privilege therefore to answer it. Why he has not told us
plainly, may be that from necessity on our part, we should trust the whole
matter to him. The trial of our faith is very precious, and when we are called
to give up unto his hands our little ones, our faith and confidence in him is
put to a trying test. Job said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken
away; and blessed be the name of the Lord." David said, "I was dumb,
because thou didst it." And our God has said, "Be still, and know
that I am God." Are we afraid to resign our infants to his hand? Why
should we be? We know that he is too wise to err, and too gracious to be
unkind.
We may take another view of this subject. Had the Lord plainly told us
that all who should die in infancy should certainly be saved, would we not beg
of him to take all our infants away in that state? But there is no saving
virtue in their early death, for in their death, as in their birth, they are
passive. The bounds of their habitation, as well as the number of their days,
are with the Lord. It is infinitely better for us, better for our infants, and
more sure to promote the glory of God, that it should be even so. The writer of
this article has been called in the inscrutable providence of God to surrender
four lovely babes to him who gave them, but he has never felt in the least
uneasy about their future state. They are taken from the evils of this mortal
state. And we do believe that God can and does regenerate infants as well as
adults. That quickening power and grace which could reach the thief on the
cross, in his expiring moments, or could impart spiritual life to John the
Baptist even before he was born, can and does reach the dying infant. Without
being born of the Spirit no infant or adult can enter into the kingdom of God, but
that preparation being wholly of God, will never be withheld where its
bestowment would be for the glory of God, or the best good of his saints. How
ready Abraham was, when exercised by that faith which God had given him, to
offer up his only son to God, and if we have that faith which Abraham had, will
it not subdue our fears, and lead us to yield up our children, in death and in
life, into his gracious hands? Living or dying, may God direct their course,
and ours, and may his will be done on earth as in heaven. Be it our prayer that
he may reconcile us to his will, conform us to the image of his Son, and save
us with an everlasting salvation. Amen.
Please direct your comments to Mike Krall.
