Why Do Reformed Churches Baptize Infants? (Horton)

 There are several different biblical reasons why Reformed churches baptize both infants and adults.  Louis Berkhof, Francis Turretin, Charles Hodge, John Calvin, and others have pointed out the various biblical reasons why Reformed churches baptize infants as well as adults.  There's obviously more to the discussion, but I appreciate how Michael Horton put it: From …

Owen on Covenant Baptism and the Argument of Silence

Some years ago when I was studying the doctrine of baptism I came to the conclusion that the Reformed position is biblical: both infants and adults should be baptized based on the truths of the covenant of grace (Gen. 15-17).  I see the argument from silence as proving the Reformed view of baptism rather than …

Infant Baptism and the Reformation

Why do Reformed churches baptize infants along with adults?  That’s a huge question, obviously.  Using a few paragraphs from Bryan Holstrom’s Infant Baptism and the Silence of the New Testament, I’m only going to deal with one small part of a bigger discussion in this post.  Here’s Holstrom: “For years… [since becoming a Christian and …

Children, Church, New Covenant: Not Narrower, but Wider

  Since I'm the pastor of a Reformation church where there are very few Reformed churches, one question I get is, "Why do you baptize children? Are you Roman Catholic?"  The short answer is no, we're not at all Roman Catholic, we're Reformed.  We baptize children because we're a Reformed church.  All Reformed/Presbyterian churches baptize infants, not just ours.  …

Horton on Evangelical Ecclesiologies

Earlier, I posted a blurb from Mike Horton on Volf and Grenz, specifically discussing Free-Church ecclesiology.  Volf had a penetrating critique which Horton draws upon and expands from the Reformation point of view in People and Place.  By way of reminder, Volf (himself within the Free Church tradition), criticized Free Church ecclesiology for giving into …