JGR writes

"To me the final word is "Shall not the righteous judge of all the earth do
right."

Amen Brother!
Jean Claude

-----Original Message-----
From: John Reisinger [mailto:jreisinger@...] 
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 12:32 PM
To: soundofgrace@...
Subject: [soundofgrace] Infant Salvation

The thread concerning infant salvation has demonstrated some amazing use of
texts of Scripture. At times the discussion has veered off from biblical
exegesis into "I want to believe this so it has to be true."

 

First of all, I am not sure it is fair to say, as some have, that
"Calvinists, or Reformed people, are antagonistic to infant salvation."
Nearly all Reformed people believe in the salvation of "elect children."
They merely insist that Jacob and Esau must be considered in the mix when
the subject of general infant salvation is discussed.

 

It seems to me that any discussion of infant salvation must begin with the
biblical data that we have that might, in one way or another, touch on the
subject. MacArthur has mentioned many texts of Scripture that I had never
before seen used in an attempt to prove infant salvation. I will leave it to
others more capable than I am to evaluate whether his exegesis of those
texts are correct. At this point in my thinking I would say, "I do believe
in infant salvation but I cannot prove it as a fact from Scripture." To me
the final word is "Shall not the righteous judge of all the earth do right."
In no sense is that a hardnosed response without any compassion for an
aching heart looking at an empty cradle. What more comfort is needed for a
child of God who believes that a wise, holy, gracious heavenly Father
ordained the death of that Child just as He ordained the horrible death of
his own only begotten son? Likewise it is not a cop out but an honest
opinion that Scripture is not all that clear on the subject.

 

Ever person with an ounce of humanity in their hearts wants to believe in
"instant heaven" for all babies who die? Does Scripture give us clear
assurance that such is the case? I must answer, "NO, it does not." Does
Scripture give us any hints at all upon which we can hope? I can answer,
"Yes, it does." However, "hints of hope" and "clear assurance" are two
different things. My biggest problem with a lot of the posts on the chat
room is that they simply do not start with the clear facts about the DEATH
of infants.

 

First of all, do some one day old infants die? Of course they do. That is a
fact beyond dispute. We have all witnessed or heard of that heart wrenching
event. It is essential that we ask, "How and why is it possible for a one
day old baby to die?" Any discussion of whether or not that one day old baby
can possibly be saved is a waste of time until you established the ground
upon which death had a just claim on the child?and death did have a just
claim on the infant or they could not die in the first place. There may not
be much information concerning an infant's salvation but there is ample and
clear evidence in Scripture concerning the ground of the infant's just
death. A one day old child deserves to die or else God acts unjustly when he
takes that infant's life. That is clear biblical fact.

 

Secondly, why does any infant die? He dies for the same reason that anyone
else dies. He dies only because he is a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy
God. The Bible is clear: "The wages of sin is death." Wherever you find
death you find the wages of that sin being punished. Death is the penalty
for sin and the penalty, death, is only exacted where it is deserved. Death,
as the wages paid for sin, is never given to anyone who is not a guilty
sinner deserving those wages. I know that some people will cringe when I say
that a one day old baby is a "guilty sinner deserving death" but if that
were not true then no baby would ever die. DEATH IS THE ABSOLUTE AND
IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT AN INFANT IS A GUILTY SINNER DESERVING GOD'S WRATH!
In order to believe in infant salvation we must believe that the benefits of
the atoning work of Christ are somehow applied to the infant. That infant,
as a guilty sinner, must be regenerated and cleansed from sin before it can
be saved. The Bible is quite clear that the infant is a guilty sinner who
NEEDS to be saved but it seems to me the Bible is not clear on exactly HOW
redemption is applied to the infant.

 

Thirdly, what did an infant ever do that made them a guilty sinner in the
sight of God deserving death as the penalty of their sin? Again, Scripture
is quite clear on this point. Romans 5:12-14 specifically deals with this
very thing. All people, including the infant who dies, actually sinned in
Adam. Romans 5:12 does not say that Adam "sinned for me" but it says that I
"sinned in Adam." Adam's sin is my sin. When Adam sinned that infant who
dies was in Adam and, in God's sight, that infant is accounted to be just as
guilty in the sight of God as Adam. That is the doctrine of imputation
because of representation. We may talk about "not fair" or "I had nothing to
do with it" but the Biblical fact remains, the actual guilt of Adam's one
transgression is credited to everyone of his posterity including the infant
who dies. If we start our discussion of an infant's salvation by even
suggesting the child is "innocent" and does not need to be washed in the
blood of Christ, we are flying right in the face of clear Biblical truth.

 

Paul's formula in Romans 5:12-14 is iron clad.  

(1)      Death follows sin as the just penalty of sin. 

(2)      If there is no sin there can be no death or penalty.  "Remember
now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut
off?"  Job 4:7.

(3)      Find death and you have also found sin and guilt being punished. We
must grasp this fact.

(4)      Infants incur death as the penalty of sin only because they are
guilty sinners who deserve that penalty.

(5)      But infants (a) never knowledgably disobeyed a commandment as Adam
did. How can they be "guilty?" (b) Sin is not imputed where there is no law
and there was no codified law until Sinai. 

(6)      Fine, but then why did the infants, from the time of Adam to Sinai,
who had broken no law by actual transgression, still die before the law was
given at Sinai?

(7)      Answer:  They were represented by Adam and they literally "sinned
and became guilty in Adam."  

(8)      Romans 5:12 does not say "death spread to all men, because ADAM
sinned," but because "ALL sinned." All people, including the infant who
dies, actually, literally, "sinned in Adam."

(9)        Every infant who dies is a guilty sinner. They, and we today, are
accounted just as guilty as Adam because in him we choose to eat the fruit.
If you struggle with the imputation of guilt by representation in Adam then
you will never understand the imputation of righteousness by representation
in Christ.

(10)     The only way the guilty infant can be saved is by proving that just
as the infant, and all the elect, were actually in Christ on the cross at
Calvary in the same sense that they were in Adam in the Garden. Our
condemnation and our justification are both grounded in the same truth of
imputation and representation. 

 

Rom 5:12-14

12  Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world [by
Adam's one sin], and death [as the just penalty for sin] through sin, and
thus death spread to all men [including infants], because all sinned
[because they were in Adam and represented by him. Adam's act was their
act.]--

13  [Problem!!]  (For until the law [From Adam to Sinai] sin was in the
world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. [All agree. You can't
break a law that does not exist or is not known]

14  [I agree, but your argument proves too much]  Nevertheless death reigned
from Adam to Moses [in spite of the fact there was no law people still
suffered the penalty of sin, or death], even over those who had not sinned
according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam [death reigned over
infants who had never broken a known law in the sense that Adam did], who is
a type of Him who was to come.  (NKJ)

 

The only answer to the death of infants is they must have been someway
united to and represented by Adam. When Adam sinned they also sinned in him.
Adam's guilt is imputed to all his posterity. All his posterity, including
infants who die, are just as guilty as Adam.

 

Once the above is acknowledged and we choose to believe in infant salvation
then we must demonstrate how infants as guilty sinners can somehow have the
redeeming grace of Christ applied to them. If they have to exercise their
wills, as the Arminian insists, then there is no hope. If we believe
regeneration precedes faith then we can hope that happens in the infant's
case. I cannot prove from Scripture that it does but I think there are some
hints of it being more than possible.

 

I have a list of charts on Romans 5 called "The Theology of Death."  They
are in Microsoft Word 97 format. I would be happy to e-mail them to anyone
desiring them. Send me your personal e-mail address.

 

JGR