Page:Short illustration of the commission given by Jesus Christ to his apostles.pdf/10

 kingdom; taking them up in his arms and blessing them; if while he had such a fair opportunity of being explicit as to their baptism, and of setting an example of it that might have prevented all the disputes which he forsaw would arise on that subject; but, if on such an occasion, he neither baptized them himself; nor commanded them to be baptized, nor so much as gave the least hint of his will that such should be baptized in future; what can we reasonably infer from all this, but that infant-baptism is no institution of his, nor was ever intended by him? We may also learn from this passage what some do not seem to understand, viz. that infants may be acknowledged of Christ’s kingdom, brought unto him, and obtain his blessing, without being baptized.

Peter, addressing the convicted Jews, says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 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. ” Hence it is pleaded, That since the promise of salvation is made unto the infant children of believers as well as to themselves, therefore they ought to be baptized.

But this argument is grounded upon a complication of mistakes. The here referred to is not the promise of salvation in