We Reformed should be able to agree w/this! [while disagreeing w/our Lutheran church fam once we get into the weeds] Here’s the historic Dutch Reformed form for infant💧[that is virtually replicated everywhere on the Continent & England pre-Westminster Assembly] 🧵⬇️

1st,💧teaches that we & our children are conceived & born in sin. This means that we are by nature children of wrath & for that reason cannot be members of X’s kingdom unless we are born again. 💧, whether by immersion or sprinkling, teaches that sin has made us so impure…

…that we must undergo a cleansing which only God can accomplish. By this we are admonished to detest ourselves, humble ourselves before God, & turn to Him for our cleansing & salvation. 2nd,💧signifies & seals to us the washing away of our sins through JC…

…For this reason, we are💧into the name of the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit. When we are💧into the name of the Father, God the Father testifies & seals to us that He makes an eternal covenant of grace w/us & adopts us as His children & heirs…

…Therefore, He promises to provide us w/everything good & protect us from all evil or turn it to our profit. When we are💧into the name of the Son, God the Son seals to us that He washes us in His🩸from all our sins. X unites us to Himself, so that we share in His death &…

…resurrection. Through this union with X, we are freed from our sins & accounted righteous before God. When we are💧into the name of the HS, God the HS assures us by this holy sacrament that He will make His home w/in us & will sanctify us as members of X. He will impart…

…to us what we have in C, namely, the washing away of our sins & the daily renewing of our lives. As a result of His work w/in us, we shall finally be presented w/o the stain of sin among the assembly of the elect in life eternal. 3rd, the covenant of grace contains both…

…promises & obligations. Having considered the promises, we now consider the obligations. Through💧, God calls us & places us under obligation to live in new obedience to Him. This means that we must cling to this 1 God, Father, Son, and HS. We must trust in Him & love Him w/…

…all our heart, soul, mind, & strength. We must renounce the sinful way of life. We must put to death our old nature & show by our lives that we belong to God. If we through weakness should fall into sin, we must not despair of God’s mercy, nor use our weakness as an excuse…

…to keep sinning.💧is a seal & totally reliable witness that we have an eternal covenant w/ God. Our children should not be excluded from💧because of their inability to understand its meaning. Just as, w/o their knowledge, they share in Adam’s condemnation, so are they…

…w/o their knowledge, received to grace in X. G’s gracious attitude toward us & our children is revealed in what He said to Abraham, the father of all believers: “And I will establish my covenant between me & you & your offspring after you throughout their generations for an…

…everlasting covenant, to be God to you & to your offspring after you.” The apostle Peter also testifies to this w/these words: “For the promise is for you & for your children & for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Therefore, God formerly…

…commanded that children be circumcised as a seal of the covenant and of the righteousness that comes by faith. X also recognized that children are members of the covenant people when He embraced them, laid His hands on them, & blessed them. Since💧has replaced circumcision…

…as the sign and seal of the covenant, our children should be💧as heirs of God’s kingdom & of His covenant. As children grow up, their parents are responsible for teaching them the meaning of💧. In order that we may now administer this holy sacrament of God to His glory…

…for our comfort, & to the edification of the church, let us call upon His holy name: Almighty, eternal God, long ago You severely punished an unbelieving & unrepentant world in holy judgment by sending a flood. But in Your great mercy, You saved & protected believing Noah…

…& his family. You also drowned the obstinate Pharaoh & his whole army in the Red Sea, & You brought Your people Israel through the sea on dry ground. In these acts, You revealed the meaning of💧& the mercies of Your covenant in saving Your people, who of themselves deserved…

…Your condemnation. We therefore pray that in Your infinite mercy, You will graciously look upon this, Your child, and bring him/her into union w/Your Son, JC, through Your HS. May he/she be buried w/X into death & be raised w/Him to walk in newness of life. We pray…

…that he/she may follow C day by day, may joyfully bear his/her cross, & may cling to Him in true faith, firm hope, & ardent love. Comfort him/her in Your grace, so that, when he/she leaves this life & its constant struggle against the power of sin, he/she may appear before…

…the judgment seat of X, Your Son, w/o fear. We ask this in the name of our Lord JC, who, w/the Father & the HS, the one & only God, lives & reigns forever. Amen. Address to the Parent(s): Beloved in X the Lord, as you have now heard,💧is given to us by God to seal His…

…covenant to us & our children. We must, therefore, use the sacrament for the purpose that God intended & not out of superstition or mere custom. That it may be clear that you are doing what God commands, you are to answer the following questions sincerely:

1. Do you acknowledge that our children, who are conceived & born in sin, & are subject to the misery that sin brings, even the condemnation of God, are sanctified in X & so, as members of His church, ought to be💧? 2. Do you acknowledge that the teaching of the Old & New…

…Testaments, summarized in the articles of the Christian faith and taught in this Christian church, is the true & complete doctrine of salvation? 3. Do you sincerely promise to do all that you can to teach this child, & to have him/her taught, this doctrine of salvation?

Thanksgiving Almighty God & merciful Father, we thank & praise You that You have forgiven us & our children all our sins through the🩸of Your dear Son, JC. You received us through Your HS as members of Your only begotten Son, & so adopted us as Your children. You sealed &…

…confirmed this to us by holy💧. We earnestly pray, through Your beloved Son, that You will always govern this child by Your HS. May he/she be nurtured in the Christian faith & in godliness, & grow & develop in the Lord JC. Grant that he/she may see Your fatherly goodness &…

mercy, which You have shown to him/her and to us all. May he/she live in all righteousness under our only Teacher, King, and High Priest, JC. Give him/her the courage to fight against & overcome sin, the devil, & his whole dominion. May he/she forever praise & magnify You &…

…Your Son, JC, together w/the HS, the one & only true God. Amen.

@threadreaderapp unroll please