Chapter 24.—32. And if any one seek for divine authority in this matter, though what is held by the whole Church, and that not as instituted by Councils, but as a matter of invariable custom, is rightly held to have been handed down by apostolical authority, still we can form a true conjecture of the value of the sacrament of baptism in the case of infants, from the parallel of circumcision, which was received by God’s earlier people,
and before receiving which Abraham was justified, as Cornelius also was enriched with the gift of the Holy Spirit before he was baptized. Yet the apostle says of Abraham himself, that "he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith," having already believed in his heart, so that "it was counted unto him for righteousness."1464
Why, therefore, was it commanded him that he should circumcise every male
child in order on the eighth day,
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though it could not yet believe with the
heart, that it should be
counted unto it for
righteousness, because the sacrament in itself was of great avail? And this was made manifest by the message of an
angel in the case of
Moses’ son; for when he was carried by his mother, being yet
uncircumcised, it was required, by manifest present
peril, that he should be circumcised,
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and when this was done, the
danger of
death was removed. As therefore in
Abraham the
justification of
faith came first, and
circumcision was added afterwards as the seal of
faith; so in
Cornelius the
spiritual sanctification came first in the
gift of the
Holy Spirit, and the sacrament of
regeneration was added afterwards in the laver of
baptism. And as in
Isaac, who was circumcised on the eighth day after his
birth, the seal of this
righteousness of
faith was given
first, and afterwards, as he
imitated the
faith of his
father, the
righteousness itself followed as he grew up, of which the seal had been given before when he was an
infant; so in
infants, who are
baptized, the sacrament of
regeneration is given first, and if they maintain a
Christian piety, conversion also in the
heart will follow, of which the mysterious sign had gone before in the outward body. And as in the
thief the gracious
goodness of the
Almighty supplied
what had been wanting in the sacrament of
baptism, because it had been missing not from
pride or contempt, but from want of opportunity; so in
infants who
die baptized, we must believe that the same
grace of the
Almighty supplies the want, that, not from perversity of will, but from insufficiency of age, they can neither believe with the
heart unto
righteousness, nor make confession with the mouth unto
salvation. Therefore, when others take the vows for them, that the celebration of the
sacrament may be complete in their behalf, it is unquestionably of avail for their dedication to God, because they cannot answer for themselves. But if another were to answer for one who could answer for himself, it would not be of the same avail. In accordance with which rule, we find in the gospel what strikes every one as natural when he reads it, "He is of age, he shall speak for himself."
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