Gavin says, "Part 6 … 7 & 8 are to some extent connected by the issue of baptism, as in this Part 6, I shall be preaching in favour of the general, though not absolute rule, found in the Anglican 1662 Book of Common Prayer with respect to 'children … dying before they commit actual sin,' that on the basis of 'God's Word,' prepubescent 'children which are baptized' who die, e.g., those 'dying before they commit actual sin, are … saved.' … And this Part 6 … carries on a 5th point from the 4 points made in the previous Part 5. … Now … in this Part 6 we shall be consider a 5th carry on point, to wit, Scripture teaches that Christian parents should have their children baptized, & so for religiously conservative Protestant Christians, understood as an evidential fruit of obedience to God on the matter of infant baptism, as a general, though not absolute rule, one may say on the basis of 'God's Word, that' prepubescent 'children which are baptized' who die, e.g., those 'dying before they commit actual sin, are … saved'. And the reason I say this is 'a general, … not absolute Biblical rule,' is that it sometimes transpires that the parental profession of faith is disgenuine, Matthew 13:25-30 & 36-43 & I John 2:19; & so since baptism evidences parental faith, and since that faith is sometimes disgenuine, I say that it is 'a general, … not absolute Biblical rule'." |