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•a*

' J^lUJK

CONVERSATIONS

. 4%

OFFIOE OF SPONSORS FOR IKFANTS,

-A-IsTID

THE USE OF THE

SIGN OF Tl CRO!i!i IN BMW

REV. WILLIAM BELT, M.A

'•Cttiiany man forbid water, tbat these should not be
baptized."? Acts x, 47.

-^"v.-V^V^-X.'-N^N,

DIOCESE OF TORONTO.

1870.

^J4t., ill WHI P

f. -'

37^

Note. — The aim of this treatise is to present the more
vsaal objections, with their answers, in a readable form.
Those who wish for fuller satisfaction, may consult the
works of Hooker, Wall, Waterland, &c , &c , as well as
more modern works, " Loutron," " The Sacrament of Re-
sponsibility," "Mercy to Babes," &c., &c.

CONVERSATION I.

Clergyman — Good morniog, Mr. Newcome. I am Mr. ■
the Church of England minister here. I have heard that you
are a member of the Church, come to reside in this parish, and
have called to make your acquaintance.

Mr. Newcome^^Thank you, Sir. I belong to the Church of
England, but since I came out. seven years ago, I have lived
much of the time in places where I had not the opportunity of
fkttsnding church.

Clergyman — That was unfortunate; but now that you have
the opportunity, I hope you wiil improve it. You and your
wife were, I donbt not, bantized and conBrmed before yon left
the old coantry ?

Mr. N.— Yes, Sir.

Clergyman — Then I will hope to see you both, not only at
the public worship of the Lord's House, but with due prepara-
tion at the Lord's Supper also (Cor. xi 1 28). Have your little
ones been baptized ?

Mr. N.— The two oldest were baptized before we left homei
but we have four more, born in this country, that have not been
baptized ?

Clergymaa — I am sorry to hear that. A sacrament of so
much grace and blessing (Mark xvi. IG, Acts ii. 38, zxii. 16,
6al. iii. 27, kc, &c.) should not be neglected; but I suppose it
was want of opportunity, not neg'lect, that prevented their
baptism.

Mr. N. — I can hardly say so, Sir. There were times when I
might have had it done. But you know that in America it i»
not thought of much consequence whether children be baptized
or net.

Clergyman — I know that there are too many persons, both
heie and elsewhere, who speak slightingly of infant baptism, bat
can anything be unimportant which the Lord hath appointed ?
(Matt, zzviii. 19.)

Mr. N.— 'But some think that there is no authority for baptiiiog [
infiuitf. ;

Clergyman— Is there any Scripture authority forbiddioflr
infant baptism 7 Dil our Sariour, when he bude his diaciples
" baptise all nations," say, <' excepting little infants ?"

Mr. N.— No.

Clergyman— Would not his disciples then feel authorized to do
as they had seen done ? They had seen Jewish children circum-
cised at 8 days old, and so admitted into the Church of God >
would they not probably admit the young children of Christians
into the Church of God by baptism, the Christian substitute for
circumciaion. They had seen the children of converts to Judaism
baptized with their parents ; would they have any doubt that
the children of converts to Christianity should be baptized also ?
Nay, they had heard the Lord say, " Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom
of heaven," could they hesitate to believe that children may be
fit subjects of God's Church, or Kingdom, on earth?

Mr. N, — But is there any proof that the Apostles did baptize
infants ?

Clergyman — There is proof that they baptized whole families
without excepting infants; as for instance, Lydia and her house-
hold (Acts xvi. 15), the Jailor and all his (ver. 33), and the
household of Stephanos (1 Cor. i. 16). The fact that the Gospel
was then a " new thing" in the world, and bad 5rst to convince
adults that it came from God, sufficiently accounts for our only
reading at first of children baptized in families. A fterwards
when children were born to parents who were Christians al-
ready, they were baptized by themselves. Justyn Martyr and
Ireneus, of the 2nd centuary; Tertullian, Origen and Cyprian, of
the 3rd, and Gregory Nazian'cen and Chrysostom, of the 4th —
all testify to the universal prevalence of infant baptism.

Mr. N. — To tell you the truth, Sir, I have scarcely a doubt
myself (especially after what you have said) about the authority
for infant baptism, but I am not so clear about the office of
sponsors, which our baptismal service plainly requires.

Clergyman — The Church seems in the first place to have de-
rived the office of sponsors from the custom of the Jews. See
the account of the circumcision of John the Baptist (Luke i. 59-
63), where the coming together of kinsfolks and friends to cir-
cumcise the child is spoken of as if it had been a common custom.
It was a custom as old, indeed, as the time of Isaiah (viii. 2), if,
with many learned divines, we consider the witnesses there
tpoken of as witnesses of the child's circumcision. And Buxtorf
in hit work on the Jewish Synagogue, tells us that the Jews at

the circumcifioa of an infant had, besides the pareats, a witness
or instructor. The same witness, or witnesses, according to
Dr. Lightfoot, were required at the baptism of Proselytes.
Following such example and authority, the primitire Christians
had sponsors for infants at baptism, as Hyginus and Augustino
testify; and this custom, followed universally for many centu-
ries, has also the approbation of the Bohemian, French Pro-
testant, Dutch Reformed, and other Churches on the Continent
of Europe. (See Falloon's Apostolic Church, page 243, &c.)

Mr. N. — I can readily admit, even if there were no authority
such as you adduce, that the Church has power to appoint any
office or ceremony which she may think conducive to piety, so
long as nothing be done contrary to Scripture, but what is the
advantage of the office of sponsors 7

Clergyman — In times of persecution (1) it provides for the
religious instruction of children in case of the flight, banish-
ment, imprisonment, or death of their parents; and it gives ad-
ditional security and attestation to the profession of the Chris-
tian rrligion. At all times (2) it supplies means whereby
infants, the sick, the dumb, and all who are unable to answer
for themselves, may be admitted into the Christian covenant by
virtue of an undertaking made for them by their sureties. It
establishes a special relationship to see to the religious instruc-
tion of children in case of the death of their parents, or their
incompetence or neglect; and it provides witnesses and remem-
brancers of the Christian profession of those who are able to
answer for themselves.

Mr. N. — So far as your reasons go, the office seems useful
and expedient ; but is it ever in practice found so useful ? Do
sponsors generally fulfil their duties ? I have known many,
who seemed neither to be religious themselves, nor to care for
the religion of others, and they certainly never interested them-
selves in the religious instruction of iheir godchildren.

Clergyman — What you say is no doubt true, and greatly to be
lamented, but if the office itself is a useful one, we ought not to
abo ish it because some do not fulfil the duties of it. Our aim
should be to have it better understood and more faithfully carried
out. Some blame, I fear, most be attached to parents in
choosing irreligious persons as sponsors for their children ;
whereas, if they would comply with the Church's rule, and
choose none but communicants for that office, there would be less
objectian on this score. While too many sponsors a.e utterly

otreless of their da ties, there are some, on the other haad,
faithful and conseienitcus, who alwajs, as in datj bonnd, maiO'
tain a watchful interest orer the religious well-being of their
godchildren, and commend them daily in their prayers to Qod's
continued grace and blessing.

Mr. N. — It seems to me, Sir, in this view, that the sponsor's
office is a very weighty one. I would hardly lilce to undertake
it for the child of another, and therefore I would shrink from
asking another to undertake it for mine.

Glergyman — Qod forbid, my friend, that you should under-
estimate the office of the sponsorship. It is a useful and im-
portant one; but is it too weighty to be undertaken 7 Some
person, in case of the parents' death or inability, should care tor
the child's spiritual interests; and why should you decline so
charitable a work ? If the orphan's temporal afifairs required a
guardian, there would be no lack of friends or relatives to look
after his temporal interests, and is it not as necessary that some
one should look after his spiritual and eternal interests ? Is the
child's soul to be exposed to danger because no one will care for
it ? Shame on those professing Christians who would willingly
be guardians for a child in temporal matters, but will not be
guardians for it in spiritual things !

Mr. N. — But the promises, as I understand them, are beyond
my ability. I cannot answer for any child renouncing sin, be-
lieving Ood, and keeping His commandments. I can hardly
answer for myself, much less for another.

Glergyman — That objection arises from a misunderstanding of
the sponsor's duty. The sponsor is only the child's mouthpiece
in making the engagement. The transaction is between Christ
and the infant, the minister being Christ's agent, and the sponsor
the infant's. And as what the minister says, he says on behalf
of Christ, 80 what the sponsor says, he says on behalf of the
child. In every baptism it is the child, and not the sponsor
that is bound by the promises.

Mr. N.->But what, then, is the use of the sponsor's answers?

Clergyman — As every man is bound to believe and to do as
God directs, whether he promise it or not, the answers do Bot
add anything to the child's obligations. But their use is to ex-
press the nature of the Christian covenant, God in that covenant
promising certain blessings on condition of certain duties ta l>e
performed by man. It is to do for the unconscious child what
you would do for a dumb adult, who, being unable to

■peak, made a coTCDant and promlied for his own advantage,
through yonr mouth. It is to set baptism in its true light before
Christians, as representing to them their profession, and remind-
ing them of their obligations; and to keep before sponsors the
great object of their office, which is to see that ** the infant be
taught, so soon as lie shall be able to learn, what a solemn
vow, promise and profession he hath made in that sacrament*
to " call upon him to hear sermons, and chiefly to provide that
he may learn the creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Oom-
mandments, and all other things which a Christian ought to
know and believe to his sours health." And now, will you
think over our conversation, and let me know your impressions
of it when we meet again ? We can resume the subject then if
you are not quite satisfied. I trust you will find your residence
here pleasant and profitable in the best sense of the words.
Oood bye !

Mr. N.~Good bye, Sir, iind [ thank you for your good wishes.
I will certainly think over again carefully all that you have
said.

'J.f

ik.^...

• /

CONVERSATION 11.

SIGN OF THE CROSS.

V'^-;

Mr. N. — I am glad to see jou agrain so soon. Since yoar last
yisit my wife and \ bare otton talked about the baptism of our
children, and I was able te repeat to her the substance of our
conversation. It has greatly settled our minds in this matter.
We were not aware before that such good reasons could bb
assigned for the office of sponsors.

Glergy man— There is no doubt, that these reasons were con-
vincing to our forefathers, when, at the Reformation, they or-
dered BO ancient and useful an office to be retained in the Church.
It has come down to us, approved and practised by the Church
of the New Testament from Apo3tolic times, and commended to
oUi" observance not only by the Church of England, but by
nearly all the Reformed Churches on the continent of Europe,
us well as by the Roman and Greek Churches. Its inherent use-
fulness and advantages have been acknowledged by good and
wise men of every age. If it were nothing more than providing
a substitute who, in case of the death, neglect, or incompetence
of parents, would see after the religious well-being of their
children, no unprejudiced person could reasonably object to it.

Mr. N.— I must honestly say, sir, that your arguments as re-
gards sponsors are satisfactory and convincing io my mind ;
but there is still another point on which I have felt scruples,—
that is the use of the sign of the cross in baptism.

Clergyman—- 1 do not wonder that you have felt scruples
'Concerning it, cousidering the superstitious uses to which some
have put the cross ; but if the sign be useful and edifying, why
deprive ourselves of the proper use of it on that account ?

Mr. N. — Well, sir, it seems to me to be adding a device of
man to an ordinance of God.

Clergyman — If the human device were put in place of the
Divine Ordinance, or on an eqnality with it, there would be

reftfoti in your objection. But aucb is not the caie. The bap*
tism if complete in aII essentiftle before, and the sign followi
afterwarids, eimplj as an emblem of the Gbristian faith, to
which the baptised is pledged, — "in tolcen that hereafter h*
shall not be ashamed of the faith of Ohrist crucified," Ac. Tout
argumeut would forbid the use of anything in baptism except
the bare words of Obi'u^t; even the prayers and other services,
that have been added for the more solemn and edifying cele-
bration of the sacrament. Nay, it would forbid public worship
altogether, since prayers and ceremonies of men's devising,
form a necessary part of every Christian service.

Mr. N.— Is there any good reason or authority for the ujt of
tiiis sign ?

Clergyman — Its use is grounded not only on the appropriate-
ness of the sign itself, as an emblem of the Christian religion,
but also on what we conceive to be the spirit of such passages
as those :— **Whoso doth not bare his cross, and come after me,
cannot be my disciple," (Luke XIV 27), and, "God forbid that
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," Ac.,
(Qal. VI 14.) "The cro^s" here means of course "trials and
sufferings," — any self-deaials, reproaches, pains or sorrows,
which we are called on to bear for Jesus's sake. In token of
this obligation of theirs, and ol their willingness to suffer for
Christ, the early Christians adopted the sign of the Cross, and
60 far from from being ashamed of it, amid the reproaches of
iheir enemies, they gloried in it, "rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." As, therefore,
Christians are described as "sealed" for Christ, (2 Cor. I 22
Eph. I, 13, Rev. VII, 3, 4, &c.,) and as having his name or mark
on their forehead, (Rev. XXII, 4), and as masters and generals
anciently marked the foreheads of their servants and soldiers
with their names or marks, that it might be known to whom
they belonged, so the Church in all ages has adopted the sign
of the cross, as an appropriate emblem of Christianity, to mark
all those who become in baptism the servants and soldiers of
Christ. It was in allusion to this, that the ancient fathers called
the sign of the cross, "The Lord's Siguet/' or the "Lord's
Seal."

Mr. N. — Yet surely, it is not the cross on our foreheads, but
in our hearts, that arms us with faith, patience, constancy, and
courage.

Clergyman — So in effect, said St. Paul, "Neither is that cir-

eumcisioD, which is outward in the fleeh ; but circumeinioD— if
that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter/' Ac. Yet
circumcision was ordained by God as a sign of the obligation of
the Jew io circumcise bis heart. And the sign of the cross may,
in like manner, impress upon us our obligation to "crucify the
flesh, with its affections and lusts." We are naturally more im-
pressed by signs and act£>, than by words alone. And so in alf
societies, the ceremony of initiation is usually accompanied by
the use of signs and emblems, intended to impress on the mem-
bers the fact of their membership, and the obligations they are
under.

Mr. N.— But if the early Christians did well to honor the
cross, when the cross was despised, should we not do well to
abolish the sign, when the cross is worshipped ? Did not Heze-
kiah destroy the brazen serpent when it became an object of
idolatry?

Clergyman— Observe that the material crosf, and the fign of
the cross, are too different things, and the abuse of the one will
vot take away the lawful use of the other. We make no use of
the material cross in worship ; we merely use the sign to signify
that we belong to Christ, the crucified one ; and are bound, a&
his disciple, to bear the cross for him, (Luke XIV, 27). Wer
place no virtue in its use, and pay no honor to it; we regard it
as an impressive sign and nothing else. May we not believe
that Hezekiab, who destroyed the image of the serpent, would
have retained the sign, if it had been capable of a like-edifying
use?

Mr. N. — Still, sir, for the prevention of possible evil, would
it not be right to take it away ?

Clergyman — It is ceither necessary nor right, nor wise, ta
ruu into one extreme for the prevention of another. There is
no Christian institution that is not liable to abuse. Take the
Lord's Day for example. Perhaps more sin is perpetrated dur-
iog its idle hours than upon any other day in the week ; yet no
Christian, (even apart from the Divine command), would be
willing to give up its sacred rest and worship on account of
the abuse to which it is liable. Our best course, and the prin-
ciple upon which the Church has proceeded is, to reform the
abuses of that which may have a lawful use. For instance,
because some men abuse alchohol, should we therefore destroy
and abolish it 7 No. It has its uses in medicine and in the
Arts. Suppose that some Israeli'.e had proposed to destroy the

)le. o»

the gronnd that their fathers had once worshipped a goldea
calf, would they not have been justly chidden for their folly f
And is it any wiser to take away the ceremony of crossing the
forehead in bapdsm, because some have adored a visible cross f

Mr. N. — Tour explanations have gone far to remove my
scruples, which I now perceive were mistaken ones ; and I shall
certainly no longer regard the use of the sign of the cross in
baptism with aversion, since, rightly understood, it tends to
profit and edification. But, why has the church not explained
her views on this point 7

Clergy man-'-That she has done, as I will now show you. JB
the note at the end of the office for public baptism o
she says : "To take away all scruple concerning the use of the
sign of the cross in baptism ; the true explanation thereof, and
the just reasons for the retaining of it, may be seen in the 30th
«anon, first published in the year 1604." The 30th canon eaters
at length into this explanation ; but the chief reasons for re-
taining the sign are summed up in this extract, which I will
leave with you : —

*<First — The Church of England, since the abolishing of Popery,
hath ever held and taught, and so doth hold Und teach, that
the sign of the cross used in Baptism, is no part of the substance
<of that sacrament ; for when the Minister dipping the infant ia
water, or laying water upon the face of it, (as the manner also
is), hath pronounced those words, 'I baptize thee in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, aad of the Holy Ghost," the in-
fant is fully and perfectly baptized. So the sign of the cross
being afterward used, doth neither add anything to the virtue
and perfection of baptism, nor, being omitted, doth detract any-
thing trom the effect and substance of it."

"Secondly — It is apparent in the Communion Book, that the
Infant baptized, is by virtue of baptism, before it is signed with the
sign of the cross, received into the congregation of Christ's flock
as a perfect member thereof, and not by any power ascribed unto
the sign of the cross. So that tor the very remembrance of the
•cross, which is very precious to all them that rightly believe in
Jesus Christ, and in the other respects mentioned, the Church of
England hath retained still the sign of it in baptism ; following
therein the Primitive and Apostolical Churches, and accounting
it a lawful, outward ceremony and honorable badge, whereby
the infant is dedicated to the service of Him that died upon the
«ro8f| ae by the words used in the Book of Common prayer il

«»y KL

»•»

1/^

"Lastly— The use of the sign <. >*" vho cross ia baptism, beiQg
tbas purged from all Popish superstitions and error, and reduced
in the Obarch of Lagland to the priniary institution of ii, npoa
those true rules of doctrine concerning things indififercnt, which
are consonant to the Word of Qod, f.nd the judgment of all the
ancient Fathers, we hold it the part of every private man, both
Minister and other, reverently to retain the true use of it pres-
cribed by public authority: considering that things of them -
selves indifferent do in some sort alter their natures, whet*
they are either commanded or forbidden by a lawful magistrate;
and may not be omitted at every man's pleasure contrary to the
law, when they be commanded, nor used when they are pro-
hibited."— XXX Canon.

ill " . I