1. The rite of baptism is God’s act by which, through His representative and the power of the Holy Spirit, He confers citizenship in His Kingdom upon the one baptized, and incorporates the person into Christ’s body, the Church. This is not done to some baptized individuals (the elect) but to all who are baptized. God’s promise in baptism is worthless if it cannot be trusted.

2. Baptized believers are covenant keepers, and baptized unbelievers (in doctrine or life) are covenant breakers. A “believer” here refers to one who simply demonstrates a credible confession of faith (in doctrine and life).

3. Baptized infants who cannot demonstrate faith as is legitimately expected of older Christians, are believers. Simply being baptized counts as a credible confession for a baby.

4. The children of baptized believers possess the right to membership in the Covenant, and their parents are under obligation to offer them to be baptized into the Church. They are God’s by right, like the tithe, because He demands that they be brought to Him. They are His by possession when they are incorporated into His Kingdom by baptism — just as the tithe is possessed by God when the tither relinquishes it to the Church (otherwise the tither has stolen from God). Thus, though baptism incorporates one into Christ, one need not fear for the salvation of babies and other believers who die before baptism can be administered. God will not be robbed of his elect by their death.

5. All covenant keepers are to be considered regenerate. Not “presumed” (which implies an unwarranted assumption), but considered — reckoned, regarded, and / or treated as — regenerate.

6. All covenant keepers are given the Holy Spirit. They may have been regenerated before they entered covenant (infants perhaps, and adults converted from unbelief almost certainly), or at their baptism (infants perhaps). Since some people do apostatize and break covenant, we know they never were truly regenerate. However, all are truly given the Holy Spirit at baptism, and either persevere in His fellowship (if truly regenerate) so that they attain to Eternal Life, or grieve the Spirit so that He departs from them and they die in their sins (if unregenerate). Furthermore, for a baptized individual who apostatizes (as a child or adult) and then is brought back by a new understanding of the Gospel, there is virtually no way to be sure when he was truly regenerated. Nor does it really need to be known.

7. All covenant keepers, infants and adults, must continue to be discipled and persevere in the faith in order to inherit Eternal Life.

8. All those who die in the covenant, have persevered by God’s grace, and thus can be assured of Eternal Life.

9. Parents of baptized babies can be assured of the eternal salvation of their infants, should untimely death befall them. They do not need to be told that, “If your infant was elect then he is in Heaven.” That tautology is a useless torment from Satan. A promise to be the God of you and those of your children of whom God decides to be the God,” is no promise at all. The promise is to us and our children. Our covenant children who die have died in the Lord. They are shown to be elected unto Eternal Life.

10. Baptized children are just as much Christians as their parents are. Both are in covenant with Christ and both must endure to the end to be saved. God is equally the God of parents and their children.

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