If without faith it be impossible to please God, then children
must have some kind of faith, else they can never be accepted to life. I
know that the apostle doth principally speak of adult or grown persons,
men of age, such as come to God, and seek him: but though, however, the
rule is general, there is no salvation but by Christ, and there is no way of
salvation by Christ but by faith; and by the analogy of faith it concerns all
that are accepted to salvation; so that infants come under the rule,
therefore some kind of faith they must have. It were uncharitable and
contrary to the rich grace of the covenant to deny salvation and eternal
glory to infants. The scripture showeth, that ‘they are holy,’ and dedicated
to God, 1 Cor. 7:14; and Christ says, ‘of such is the kingdom of God,’ Mat.
19:14. Now this faith of infants is a matter very intricate and difficult.
Several opinions there have been about it….
Of those children dying in infancy, I assert, that they have faith, not
actual faith, but the seed of faith, by virtue of God’s election and his grace
issuing out to them through Christ in the covenant, which I Shall confirm
by showing—(1.) That it may be so; (2.) That it must be so; (3.) That it is
even so; (4.) How it is so, or what kind of faith they have: which things
being cleared, the way to application will be easy.
[1.] That it may be so, because the only prejudice against this opinion
seemeth to arise from the impossibility of the thing; and the Socinians
that bring down all things to the line and rule of corrupt reason, count the
faith of infants a thing so impossible, that they say it is a greater dotage
than the dream of a man in a fever; therefore my first work is to prove
that they are capable of faith. Certainly, totally incapable they are not, like
stocks and stones, and things without life; and yet out of these God can
raise up children to Abraham….
The only reason why they are said to be
incapable of faith is, because they cannot exercise it. Now, that they are
not incapable of faith, though they cannot exercise it, I shall prove by
several instances. This supposition will seem to infer that it may be so. If
infants had been born of Adam in innocency, they had been capable of
original purity and of the principle and root of all faith, and assent to the
word of God would naturally have been in them, which in time, and
according to the degrees of age, would have put forth itself. Infants in
their measure should have been as Christ was. As soon as he was born, he
was filled with the Holy Ghost, yet he grew in wisdom and knowledge,
Luke 2:40–52, The graces of the Holy Ghost did exert and put forth
themselves in Christ by degrees. Now this, according to their measure,
would have been the condition of infants born of Adam, if he had stood in
innocency; therefore there is no repugnancy, but that by a supernatural
work the seed and root of grace may be in them. I say, it is no more
inconceivable than the original purity of infants, if they had stood in
Adam. And I shall show you by another instance. Take nature as it is now
corrupted; if they are capable of sin by nature, why not of grace, by a
work of the Spirit of God above nature? Now we see that they are capable
of the root of sin, which lies hid in infants, and bewrayeth itself in time;
and if they are capable of sin, which is one habit, why are they not capable
of grace, if the Spirit of God will work it, which is another habit? They are
sinners not by any act of their own, but by an hereditary habit, or vicious
nature received from Adam, though not exerting and putting forth itself
by any act. So they may have grace, though not exerting and discovering
itself by any acts yet lying hid and shut up in the habitual principle of
grace. As they are defiled by the sin of Adam, though they be not capable
to understand it, so they may be sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, though
they be not sensible of the merit of Christ, nor capable of understanding
the way and the work of redemption. To take off the prejudice of
incapacity, take some resemblances of it in common things. We see that
infants are capable of reason, though not of discourse; they are rational
creatures. Infants have reason and understanding, though it lie hid for a
while. The whelp of the wolf has a principle of rapacity, which discovers
itself afterward. The vital and vegetative force in any plant lies hid in the
seed and root, which to appearance is dead and dry, and afterwards
plainly discovers and puts it forth; so infants, though they have no actual
sense and knowledge of the redemption of Christ, yet they may have some
impressions of the divine image upon their souls, which in time shows
itself by light in the understanding, by purity in the heart, and by
conformity in the life to the law of God. Again, that it is not impossible
appears by those expressions in scripture, where some are said to be
sanctified from the womb; as of John Baptist, it is said, ‘He shall be filled
with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb,’ Luke 1:15. Grant it to
be a peculiar privilege of John, but it is not so in all elect infants; yet it
may be so. So those expressions of trusting God from the mother’s womb,
David speaks it of his own person, as a type of Christ: Ps. 22:9, ‘Thou
didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts;’ and Job
saith, chap. 31:18, ‘From my youth he was brought up with me as with a
father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;’ meaning, he had
an indoles, or disposition of pity, put into him at his nativity. So also, why
may not a principle of faith be put into us in the womb, if God will work
it?
[2.] I shall prove that it must be so; how else should infants be saved?
There is no salvation without the covenant, and in the covenant there is
no salvation but by faith in Christ….In the first commission
of the apostles, when they went forth to preach the word of life, this was
the tenor of the gospel: Mark 16:16, ‘He that believeth shall be saved; and
he that believeth not shall be damned.’ Let men show any ground in
scripture of a middle sort of men, between believers and unbelievers, or
any other way of salvation but by Christ; and in Christ, but by faith in
Christ. If men say, All those places belong to grown persons, or those that
are of age; by this shift you may elude any scripture; and where then shall
we have a rule whereby to judge of infants? which, how comfortless it will
be to parents, and how derogatory to the grace of the covenant, anyone
cannot choose but see.
[3.] That it is so I shall prove from the promise of God; for God being
faithful and true, his promise is as good as a positive assertion: God
promiseth grace and glory to infants. Grace, Isa. 44:3, ‘I will pour out my
Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring.’ In the original,
upon thy ‘buds;’ where the Spirit is promised to be poured out upon
infants, not only on their seed in general, as implying persons of age, but
on their ‘buds,’ ere they come to grow up to stalk and flower. Then for
glory, Christ saith, Mat. 19:14, ‘Suffer little children to come to me, and
forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven;’ heaven is theirs by
grant and promise….Luke 18:17, ‘Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall
in no wise enter therein;’ they have not only a right to the kingdom of
God, but they receive the kingdom of God ‘as a little child receiveth it.’
The sense carrieth it so: that is, receiveth it by faith, accompanied with
humility. But more plainly yet: Mat. 18:6, ‘Whosoever shall offend one of
these little ones which believe in me,’ &c; there is the very word—’which
believe in me; these little ones.’ Christ speaks not metaphorically, but
literally; ‘these,’ such as were then before him, and of them he saith,
‘which believe in me.’ Some make exception against this, and say, The
child to which Christ alluded was then grown. I answer, that cannot be:
for in Luke it is called βρέφος, an ‘infant,’ Luke 18:15; in Matthew
παίδιον, a ‘little child;’ and Mark 9:36, it is said, ‘Christ took him in his
arms.’ And besides, in children that are more grown, pride, fierceness,
and other ill qualities are bewrayed; therefore such an one would not
have been so fit for Christ’s purpose to be propounded to the apostles for
a pattern of meekness and humility. As they are called rational before
they had the use of reason, so we have found that infants may, must, and
have a principle of faith, from whence they may be said to be believers…
[4.] How is it so. What is the faith which children have? I proved before
that actual faith they have not, which begins in knowledge and ends in
affiance. It remains therefore that they have the seed of faith, or some
principle of grace conveyed into their souls by the hidden operation of the
Spirit of God, which gives them an interest in Christ, and so a right to his
merit for their salvation. I confess among the orthodox there are different
expressions about this matter, but they all agree in the thing. Some call it
a habit of faith, some a principle, some an inclination some the first-fruits
of the Spirit, others the gift of the Spirit, which answers to actual faith. All
agree in this, that it is some work of the Holy Ghost, which gives them a
relation to Christ, and by virtue of this relation, they have an interest in
his merit for the remission of sins and acceptance with God….In short, it is the work of grace, whereby the heart is quickened with spiritual life, and made a
sanctified vessel to receive Christ. By the sanctifying Spirit all outward
means are supplied, and infants are enabled unto that, which Dr Ames
calls ‘a passive reception,’ by which they are in Christ, and united to him.
It is not altogether without act, though it be such an act as is proper to
their age.
Certainly it is a great advantage to be born of parents within the covenant; they have an excellent inheritance, till they disinherit themselves by their own unthankfulness and rebellion. Look, as we judge of the graft by the stock from whence it is taken, until it bring forth other fruit, by which it may be discerned; so for children, we judge of them by their parents until they come to years of discretion and choose their own way, and so do actually choose or refuse the grace of God…
Use. 1. To press parents to bless God for the rich grace of the covenant.
Ah, consider not only your persons are accepted with God, but also your
seed, by virtue of which the merit of Christ is applied, and the Spirit of
Christ infused into them, leaving God to the liberty of his counsel. Oh,
how greatly doth the Lord love those that fear him! He cannot satisfy
himself in doing good, only to other persons, but will do good to their
children and posterity for their sakes…
[Taken from his sermons on Hebrews 11: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/manton/By%20Faith_%20Sermons%20on%20Hebrews%2011%20-%20Thomas%20Manton.pdf]
TPC Pastor's Page 