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The 5th Commandment and Infant Baptism - by Rev. Ezekiel Hopkins

Covenant Theology - God's Master Plan to Give His Son Jesus Christ a Bride

Today, many Christians are turning back to the puritans to, “walk in the old paths,” of God’s word, and to continue to proclaim old truth that glorifies Jesus Christ. There is no new theology. In our electronic age, more and more people are looking to add electronic books (ePubs, mobi and PDF formats) to their library – books from the Reformers and Puritans – in order to become a “digital puritan” themselves. Take a moment to visit Puritan Publications (click the banner below) to find the biggest selection of rare puritan works updated in modern English in both print form and in multiple electronic forms. There are new books published every month. All proceeds go to support A Puritan’s Mind.

Check out these books on Covenant Theology.

A Simple Overview of Covenant Theology

When dealing with Covenant Theology “simple” is a good thing. After the Bible, this work is the FIRST that you should read, or one that you should introduce to a friend if they are struggling with covenant concepts.

Covenant Theology Made Easy

When dealing with Covenant Theology, making doctrine easy to under is important. This work is a great follow up to the “Simple Overview of Covenant theology” book.

A Masterful Work on Baptism

There is no better succinct, concise, precise and exegetically irrefutable work on infant baptism than Harrison’s work. It is not just about baptism – it’s about infant inclusion in the covenant of grace. It’s about church membership.

How are parents obligated before God to their children?

But then they are obliged to others, of a higher and nobler nature, which concern their Spiritual Good, and have an influence into their eternal happiness.

And, here, their first duty is to Incorporate them into the Church of Christ, by the presenting them to holy baptism; which is the laver of regeneration, and which Jesus Christ hath instituted, for the admission and initiation of new members into his body the Church, and of new subjects into his kingdom.

Nay, it is not an empty bare ceremony; but it is a seal of the promise of the covenant, a sign of the grace of the Spirit and a means appointed to convey it to the soul. And, therefore; those parents are highly injurious to their children, who, either through carelessness or contempt, debar them from so excellent and spirit­ual an ordinance and privilege; yea, indeed, the only spiritual privilege, which their age makes them capable of. What do they else hereby, but put their children into a worse condition than the chil­dren of the Jews? who, in their infancy, were admitted to the sacra­ment of Circumcision, which the Apostle calls a seal of the righteous­ness of faith: Rom. iv. 11; and, certainly, if this seal of circumcision were broken by the coming of Christ, and no other were instituted whereof the children of believers under the Gospel might be made partakers; our infants then must needs be in a worse condition than theirs; and Christ’s coming into the world hath, in this respect, rather diminished the privileges of the Church, than enlarged them. It ought, therefore, to be the first and chiefest care of every godly parent, to offer his children to this holy ordinance: especially con­sidering, that they are partakers of his sinful and corrupt nature, that he hath been an instrument of conveying down along to them the guilt of the first transgression, and that defilement which hath infected the whole soul; and therefore it is the least that his charity can do for them, to offer them unto that remedy, which our Saviour hath provided both to remove the guilt, and cleanse away the filth of their natures. For, be the parents themselves never so holy and sanctified, yet their children are born in their filth, and in their blood. And this Austin expresseth by a very apt similitude. “The chaff,” saith he, “is carefully separated from the wheat that we sow; and yet the wheat, which it produceth, groweth up with husks and chaff about it.” So those, whom the Holy Ghost hath sancti­fied and cleansed, yet produce children naturally unclean, though federally holy. And, therefore, being born within the promises of the covenant, their parents ought to see that the seal of the covenant be applied unto them; that is, as they derive corruption from them, they may by them be brought to the means of cleansing and washing.

Taken from The Works of Ezekiel Hopkins, Volume 1, Pages 396-397.

Covenant Theology Poster

The Puritans made many posters, even in their day, to aid church members in understanding Scriptural truth. I created this new poster to cover the Covenant of Redemption, Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace.

Check Out these Books on Covenant Theology

Presumptive Regeneration, or, the Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants by Cornelius Burges (1589-1665)
A Discourse on Covenant Theology and Infant Baptism by Cuthbert Sydenham (1622-1654)
Infant Baptism of Christ’s Appointment by Samuel Petto (1624-1711)
Covenant Holiness and Infant Baptism by Thomas Blake (1597-1657)
The Manifold Wisdom of God Seen in Covenant Theology by George Walker (1581-1651)
The Covenant of God by Thomas Blake (1597-1657)
A Chain of Theological Principles by John Arrowsmith (1602-1659)
The Covenant of Life Opened by Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)
The Covenant of Grace Opened by Thomas Hooker (1586-1647)
The Covenant of Redemption by Samuel Willard (1640-1707)
The Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace by Edmund Calamy (1600-1666)
The Doctrine and Practice of Infant Baptism by John Brinsley (1600-1665)
God’s Covenant and Our Duty By Samuel Willard (1640-1707)
God’s Glory in Man’s Happiness by Francis Taylor (1589-1656)
Infant Baptism God’s Ordinance by Michael Harrison (1640-1729)
Jesus Christ God’s Shepherd by William Strong (d. 1654)

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