05.04.2013 Views

The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology - Saint Mary ...

The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology - Saint Mary ...

The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology - Saint Mary ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

of grace, are inserted into Christ <strong>and</strong> His mystic body, the Church, are<br />

justified by God, for the sake of Christ's blood shed for us, <strong>and</strong><br />

regenerated by Christ's Spirit." This definition he gives from POLANUS.<br />

Another <strong>and</strong> shorter one h6 furnishes from WOLLEBIUS, as follows:<br />

"Baptism is the first sacrament of the new covenant, in which to the elect<br />

received into the family of God, by the outward application of water, the<br />

remission of sins <strong>and</strong> regeneration by the blood of Christ, <strong>and</strong> by the Holy<br />

Spirit, are sealed." He gives only one other, which is from HEIDEGGER,<br />

thus: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration, in which to each <strong>and</strong> to<br />

every one embraced in the covenant of God, the inward washing from<br />

sins through the blood <strong>and</strong> Spirit of Christ, is declared <strong>and</strong> sealed."<br />

<strong>The</strong> doctrine thus stated, <strong>and</strong> correctly stated, for it is the doctrine of<br />

all genuine Calvinists, involves several things, which the detractors of our<br />

Church may do well to ponder. First, It draws a line between baptized<br />

infants as well as between baptized adults, representing some as belonging<br />

to the elect, some to the non-elect, some as belonging to the class to whom<br />

the covenant of grace pertains, others as not of that class. Shall we prefer<br />

this part of the doctrine to that which teaches that God is the Father of all,<br />

<strong>and</strong> Christ the Saviour of all, heartily loving all <strong>and</strong> desiring to save them?<br />

Can a mother believe it possible that between her two beloved little<br />

children prattling at her knee, there may be, in God's love, will, <strong>and</strong><br />

purpose, a chasm cleft back into eternity, <strong>and</strong> running down to the bottom<br />

of hell? Can she believe this when her conscience tells her that the<br />

slightest partiality on her part, for the one or the other, would be a crime?<br />

Can she believe that God's absolute sovereignty elects absolutely one of<br />

her children to eternal glory, <strong>and</strong> passes by the other, when that passing by<br />

necessarily involves its ruin forever? Can it be wondered at that High<br />

Calvinism has, in so many cases, been the mother of Universalism--that<br />

men who start with the premise, that the absolute sovereignty of God<br />

determines the eternal estate of men, should draw the inference, not that He<br />

elects some to life, <strong>and</strong> leaves the mass to go to perdition, but that He<br />

elects all? Shall we give up this part of the baptismal doctrine of

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!