The Church Membership of Infants [pp. 347-389]

The Church Membership of Infants.
elements of our nature. There is moreover the bond of
common interest. The destiny of the child is involved in that
of the parent. The parent is responsible for the child, and the
child is dependent on the parent. It is in virtue of this intimate relationship that, by the will of God, and the very nature
of human society, the act of the parent is, in a multitude of
cases, the act of the child. If the father becomes a citizen of
a country, he makes his children citizens. If he turns Jew or
Mohammedan, his infant children are included in the change.
This is unavoidable. It arises out of the very nature of the
parental relation. All the analogies of human society, therefore, are in favour of the doctrine, that when a parent becomes
a Christian, his infant children are to be regarded as Christians.
If this ought not to be done, it must be for some specific reason,
making this an exception to all analogous cases. There is, however, no such reason. The fact that the child cannot understand what it is to be a Christian, cannot profess the Christian
faith, nor give evidence of Christian character, is nothing
peculiar. All this may be said in similar cases. When a
foreigner becomes a citizen of this country, his children
becomes citizens also, although they cannot understand our
political system, nor make any profession of fidelity to our
government. The parent is recognized as having the right in
such cases to act for his child, and it is assumed, or presumed,
or taken for granted, that the child will ratify the act of the
parent. In like manner when a man becomes a Christian,
when he lays hold of the covenant of grace for himself, his
children are to be regarded as doing the same thing. He has
a right to represent them and act for them. And it is to be
assumed, or presumed, until the contrary appears, that the
children are included in his act. At any rate they are to be
so regarded and treated, until they become old enough to act
for themselves. This was the law of God under the old dispensation. When any foreigner became a Jew, his children
became Jews. Exodus xii. 48. They were included in the
covenant embraced by the father. It was not a mere external
political relation, but a spiritual or religious one, which was thus
assumed for the child. He came under covenant obligations
to adopt the Jewish religion, to acknowledge Jehovah to be the
1858.]
353