Baptism
James Dodson
Covenanters dispensing the ordinance of baptism.
THE MEANING AND MODE OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM HOMEPAGE.
“Why is it the will of God that unbelievers and impenitent sinners should not be baptized? It is because he denies them the grace, he will not grant them the sign. If, therefore, God denies the sign to the infant seed of believers, it must be because he denies them the grace of it; and then all the children of believing parents dying in their infancy, must without hope perish.”—James Milligan, A Plea for Infant Baptism.(1818).
Works On The Meaning And Mode Of Baptism:
A Sermon of the Baptizing of Infants.-1644-Stephen Marshall.-A sermon by one of the Westminster divines showing the continuity of the Covenant of Grace between the Old and New Testaments and its implications for the baptizing of infants.
On Infant-Baptisme.-1649-George Gillespie.-This is a short chapter in defense of infant baptism against some of the assertions of Mr. John Tombes, a Presbyterian who held antipædobaptist views.
Questions, and Cases of Conscience about Baptism.-1659-Samuel Clarke (1599-1683).-This chapter from Clarke’s Medulla surveys various questions that often surround the matter of Christian baptism. From the question of who should be baptized to the method that is to be used together with many other related questions, Clarke provides accurate and pithy answers.
The Church Membership of Children, and Their Right to Baptism.-1662-Thomas Shepard (1605-1649).-A treatise on the inclusion of children in the church covenant and their entitlement to the sacrament of baptism by New England Puritan and minister to Harvard University.
Vindiciæ Legis et Fœderis-1690-John Flavel.-A defense of infant baptism wherein it is shown that the continuity of the law whether in the Covenant of Works, in the covenant of circumcision with Abraham or at Sinai are all the same and altogether distinct from the Gospel.
Of Infant Baptism and Dipping.-1721-John Owen (1616-1683).-Here are a series of short points and exegetical comments designed to show the reasonableness of infant baptism and the unreasonableness of insisting that baptism means dipping, or immersion.
A Discourse on the Nature, the Proper Subjects, and the Benefits of Baptism.-1808-Samuel Stanhope Smith (1751-1819).-A sermon defending the baptism of infants together with a discussion of why Presbyterians baptize using sprinkling or pouring rather than immersion.
A Plea for Infant Baptism.-1818-James Milligan.-A Plea for Infant Baptism is a work of value, not only for its defense of sprinkling and infant baptism, but because Milligan addresses many issues of doctrinal and practical importance. He spends time establishing both the authority of the Old Testament in the life of the Christian and setting forth the true nature of the covenant made with Abraham. Apart from the discussion of baptism, his discussion of the morality of the Sabbath is must reading for those who have questions respecting the binding nature of the Fourth commandment.
The Waldenses no Anabaptists, but Presbyterians.-1838-Samuel Miller.-Written at the request of Mr. James Wharey, for his small history of the church, this brief appendix contains Miller’s learned opinion that the Waldenses practiced infant baptism.
The Substance of some Discourses on Baptism;-1846-John Black.-This is a very good summary of Black’s discourses on baptism. The first portion defends the doctrine of infant baptism; the second portion is devoted to the defense of sprinkling as a proper mode of baptism.