An Article of Clarity on the 1689 London Baptist Confession: On Article 10:3 Concerning Elect Infants and the Mentally Disabled
Our church, Faith Community Church, in Bainbridge, GA was teaching on the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. As we got to Article 10, Chapter 3 on Effectual Calling, we entered into a discussion that needed some clarity. That topic of discussion was this; what happens to babies and those who are mentally handicapped when they die?
This article in the 1689 addresses this doctrine.
Article 10, Effectual Calling, Chapter 3 reads as follows:
“Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how he pleases. The same is true of every elect person who is incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
From the outset, let me say that this is a topic of discussion that is full of emotions. The reason I mention that is two fold; 1.) to acknowledge our emotions and their validity and 2.) to help subject our emotions to the Word of God and the character of God as revealed in the word of God. I, as a man who loves God and loves His word, take the emotions involved in this topic of discussion as a gift, not an evil that has no place in this discussion. In fact, this topic of discussion as my wife and I have gone through the loss of a child to miscarriage are quite near to me. As a pastor, I have had close friends go through miscarriage as well as the loss of young children. So, may our conscience be bound to the word of God as it pertains to emotions and theological discussions.
Here is the main question this article will aim to answer; what happens to those who are not able to outwardly respond in faith (babies who die in the womb, those who die early in life, and those who are mentally handicapped) to the call of the gospel through the proclamation of God’s word?
This article is aimed at accuracy and simplicity. Therefore, these arguments will not be teased out to each of their ends. In fact, many questions will not be answered in this article.
This sobering statement must be said, the Bible is not crystal clear on the precise answer to these questions. Differing opinions are available on this answer but they are not derived from a chapter and verse of the Bible. Rather, each person must develop a systematic approach to answer these questions based on the Bible as a whole and the character of God. One writer says, “The Bible doesn’t explicitly answer the question of whether children who die before they are born again go to heaven. However, enough indirect information can be pieced together from Scripture to provide a satisfactory answer, which relates to infants as well as those with mental handicaps and others.”
The 1689 Confession does not teach anything that is contrary to what the Bible teaches. There are no reservations in affirming the 1689, including Article 10:3, due to lack of clarity. In fact, Dr. James Renihan says, “Elect infants and all other elect persons– both groups due to their conditions or disabilities– unable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word, are saved by God's mercy through the mysterious working of the Holy Spirit and by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.”
The argument for the salvation of all infants and the mentally disabled come from the reality that they cannot be appropriately called to faith by the outward proclamation of the gospel. This outward call has to do with their culpability to respond due to their real physical and mental limitations. In other words, an infant or a mentally disabled person cannot appropriately understand and make a conscious decision to have faith in Christ, which is the agent of justification. This does not take away the reality that even infants and disabled handicapped individuals are still born with a sinful nature. They too, have been regenerated by the Spirit according to the finished work of Christ. Or in other words, I believe that the blood of Christ is sufficient and efficient to save all the elect, which includes all infants and mentally disabled.
John MacArthur argues in his book, Safe in the Arms of God: Truth From Heaven About the Death of a Child, that children are not innocent in their nature but they are innocent from the sin of unbelief. He says:
“Throughout the history of the church, unbelief has been singled out as the primary damning sin. A person who doesn’t believe doesn’t obey. Unbelief always produces evil works. It is this record of unbelief and subsequent evil works that is revealed in the Great White Throne judgment; this record becomes the basis for eternal condemnation.
Little children have no such record. They have no basis on which to believe or not believe. They are incapable of discerning right from wrong, sin from righteousness, evil from goodness. Scripture is very clear on this truth. Little children have no record of unbelief or evil works, and therefore, there is not basis for their deserving an eternity apart from God. As innocents, they are graciously and sovereignly saved by God as a part of the atoning work of Christ Jesus.
As mentioned previously, after the children of Israel rebelled against God in the wilderness, God sentenced that entire generation to die in the wilderness after forty years of wandering. The Lord said, “Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to your fathers (Deut. 1:35). But God exempted young children and infants from this decree, and He explained why he did so: “Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it” (Deut. 1:39).”
So, why does the 1689 clarify “elect” infants? Well, in some of Spurgeon’s versions of the 1689, the word “elect” is not there. This could have been from Spurgeon’s preference to take away confusion about whether or not all or some infants were elect. The emphasis of the original authors of the 1689 seems to be that all who are unable to be outwardly called by the proclamation of the gospel, which are babies who die in the womb, infants, and mentally handicapped, are indeed elect. Each of these individuals are sinful in nature yet saved by grace and regenerated by the Spirit to the glory of God.
So why would the 1689 make such a bold, clear statement on something that the Bible is not crystal clear on?
First, they wanted to address a clear need in their day, and it is still a need to be addressed in our day as well. Renihan says, “It is a pastoral attempt to address a real problem. Perhaps it was more acute than in the twenty-first century, though even now it speaks to a reality faced by many Christian families.”
Secondly, the difficulty of forming convictions on doctrines that are not explicitly clear in the Scripture is a real difficulty. However, these types of convictions can be formed based on the character of God and other implications that are derived from the Scripture. While we can hold these convictions, the reason they must be derived from the Scripture is because our ultimate comfort comes from the character of God, which is found exclusively in the contents found on the pages of Scripture. Sam Waldron says, “Our knowledge of the character of God, his mercy and goodness, his justice and righteousness, his power and sovereignty, should guide us. We know that, whatever God does with infants, he will do what is good and just (Gen. 18:25). We also know that nothing will prevent him from doing what he pleases. He is not unable to save our infants dying in infancy (John 3:8).”
In conclusion, the doctrine put forth in the 1689 is derived from biblical principles and when understood in the context of the entirety of the 1689 and the biblical principles found therein, should be affirmed with confidence. However, this article is written to offer clarity for Faith Community Church in Bainbridge, GA.
Concerning Article 10:3 of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, Faith Community Church affirms:
“Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how he pleases. The same is true of every elect person who is incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
Further clarifications, more simply put:
For more detailed research on this topic, here are helpful resources:
Ryan Wade
Pastor, Faith Community Church
11/23/2023
This article in the 1689 addresses this doctrine.
Article 10, Effectual Calling, Chapter 3 reads as follows:
“Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how he pleases. The same is true of every elect person who is incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
From the outset, let me say that this is a topic of discussion that is full of emotions. The reason I mention that is two fold; 1.) to acknowledge our emotions and their validity and 2.) to help subject our emotions to the Word of God and the character of God as revealed in the word of God. I, as a man who loves God and loves His word, take the emotions involved in this topic of discussion as a gift, not an evil that has no place in this discussion. In fact, this topic of discussion as my wife and I have gone through the loss of a child to miscarriage are quite near to me. As a pastor, I have had close friends go through miscarriage as well as the loss of young children. So, may our conscience be bound to the word of God as it pertains to emotions and theological discussions.
Here is the main question this article will aim to answer; what happens to those who are not able to outwardly respond in faith (babies who die in the womb, those who die early in life, and those who are mentally handicapped) to the call of the gospel through the proclamation of God’s word?
This article is aimed at accuracy and simplicity. Therefore, these arguments will not be teased out to each of their ends. In fact, many questions will not be answered in this article.
This sobering statement must be said, the Bible is not crystal clear on the precise answer to these questions. Differing opinions are available on this answer but they are not derived from a chapter and verse of the Bible. Rather, each person must develop a systematic approach to answer these questions based on the Bible as a whole and the character of God. One writer says, “The Bible doesn’t explicitly answer the question of whether children who die before they are born again go to heaven. However, enough indirect information can be pieced together from Scripture to provide a satisfactory answer, which relates to infants as well as those with mental handicaps and others.”
The 1689 Confession does not teach anything that is contrary to what the Bible teaches. There are no reservations in affirming the 1689, including Article 10:3, due to lack of clarity. In fact, Dr. James Renihan says, “Elect infants and all other elect persons– both groups due to their conditions or disabilities– unable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word, are saved by God's mercy through the mysterious working of the Holy Spirit and by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.”
The argument for the salvation of all infants and the mentally disabled come from the reality that they cannot be appropriately called to faith by the outward proclamation of the gospel. This outward call has to do with their culpability to respond due to their real physical and mental limitations. In other words, an infant or a mentally disabled person cannot appropriately understand and make a conscious decision to have faith in Christ, which is the agent of justification. This does not take away the reality that even infants and disabled handicapped individuals are still born with a sinful nature. They too, have been regenerated by the Spirit according to the finished work of Christ. Or in other words, I believe that the blood of Christ is sufficient and efficient to save all the elect, which includes all infants and mentally disabled.
John MacArthur argues in his book, Safe in the Arms of God: Truth From Heaven About the Death of a Child, that children are not innocent in their nature but they are innocent from the sin of unbelief. He says:
“Throughout the history of the church, unbelief has been singled out as the primary damning sin. A person who doesn’t believe doesn’t obey. Unbelief always produces evil works. It is this record of unbelief and subsequent evil works that is revealed in the Great White Throne judgment; this record becomes the basis for eternal condemnation.
Little children have no such record. They have no basis on which to believe or not believe. They are incapable of discerning right from wrong, sin from righteousness, evil from goodness. Scripture is very clear on this truth. Little children have no record of unbelief or evil works, and therefore, there is not basis for their deserving an eternity apart from God. As innocents, they are graciously and sovereignly saved by God as a part of the atoning work of Christ Jesus.
As mentioned previously, after the children of Israel rebelled against God in the wilderness, God sentenced that entire generation to die in the wilderness after forty years of wandering. The Lord said, “Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to your fathers (Deut. 1:35). But God exempted young children and infants from this decree, and He explained why he did so: “Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it” (Deut. 1:39).”
So, why does the 1689 clarify “elect” infants? Well, in some of Spurgeon’s versions of the 1689, the word “elect” is not there. This could have been from Spurgeon’s preference to take away confusion about whether or not all or some infants were elect. The emphasis of the original authors of the 1689 seems to be that all who are unable to be outwardly called by the proclamation of the gospel, which are babies who die in the womb, infants, and mentally handicapped, are indeed elect. Each of these individuals are sinful in nature yet saved by grace and regenerated by the Spirit to the glory of God.
So why would the 1689 make such a bold, clear statement on something that the Bible is not crystal clear on?
First, they wanted to address a clear need in their day, and it is still a need to be addressed in our day as well. Renihan says, “It is a pastoral attempt to address a real problem. Perhaps it was more acute than in the twenty-first century, though even now it speaks to a reality faced by many Christian families.”
Secondly, the difficulty of forming convictions on doctrines that are not explicitly clear in the Scripture is a real difficulty. However, these types of convictions can be formed based on the character of God and other implications that are derived from the Scripture. While we can hold these convictions, the reason they must be derived from the Scripture is because our ultimate comfort comes from the character of God, which is found exclusively in the contents found on the pages of Scripture. Sam Waldron says, “Our knowledge of the character of God, his mercy and goodness, his justice and righteousness, his power and sovereignty, should guide us. We know that, whatever God does with infants, he will do what is good and just (Gen. 18:25). We also know that nothing will prevent him from doing what he pleases. He is not unable to save our infants dying in infancy (John 3:8).”
In conclusion, the doctrine put forth in the 1689 is derived from biblical principles and when understood in the context of the entirety of the 1689 and the biblical principles found therein, should be affirmed with confidence. However, this article is written to offer clarity for Faith Community Church in Bainbridge, GA.
Concerning Article 10:3 of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, Faith Community Church affirms:
“Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how he pleases. The same is true of every elect person who is incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
Further clarifications, more simply put:
- All babies who die, either in the womb or in infancy, are saved and go to heaven
- Mentally handicapped individuals also are saved and go to heaven
- These truths are found principally in the Scriptures
- Our ultimate comfort comes from the character of God, particularly his goodness, justice, love, grace, and mercy
For more detailed research on this topic, here are helpful resources:
- A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith by Samuel E. Waldron
- Safe in the Arms of God: Truth from Heaven About the Death of a Child by John MacArthur
- A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 by Rob Ventura
- To the Judicious and Impartial Reader: Baptist Symbolics Volume 2: A Contextual-Historical Exposition of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith by James M. Renihan
- https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/will-my-son-go-to-heaven
- https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/cognitive-disability-and-eternal-destiny
- https://www.gotquestions.org/do-babies-go-to-heaven.html
- https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/do-all-infants-go-to-heaven/
- https://www.gty.org/library/questions/QA101/Do-babies-and-others-incapable-of-professing-faith-in-Christ-automatically-go-to-heaven
Ryan Wade
Pastor, Faith Community Church
11/23/2023
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