Don’t Be Silly
Jan 25, 2017
Stephen Marshall (1594-1655) argued that infants of believers should be baptized because 1) they are within the covenant of grace and belong to the kingdom of Christ, 2) they are made partakers of the inward grace of baptism. In a previous article, I attempted to explain his second argument but did not provide or discuss any textual warrant for his premise that the infants of believers are made partakers of the inward grace of baptism. I want to now address this by looking at one text that Marshall appealed to in defense of his statement, namely, Mark 10:14: "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God" (see also Matt. 19:13-14; Luke 18:15-17).
If you are like me, you might have thought that he would have used this verse to support his first argument, as many have done so and still do today. But he didn’t. The reason that he appeals to this verse seems to be because the two arguments are interconnected. To belong to the kingdom of Christ is to partake of the blessings of the kingdom of Christ. This is not to say, as we noted in the previous article, that every infant or adult belonging to the kingdom are saved. The point is that church membership is not in vain and its members—infant and adult alike—do partake of its saving blessings. In other words, if infants, like adults, belong to the kingdom then they too, at least some of them, partake of its saving benefits. Therefore, if Mark 10:14 proves that infants belong to the kingdom, as Marshall argues, then it follows that they (some of them) are made partakers of the inward grace of baptism, especially in light of the fact that there is nothing about the grace of baptism that is unsuitable for infants. Besides, if the Baptist position is correct that membership in the kingdom is co-extensive with election and salvation, and if Mark 10:14 teaches at the very least that the particular children presented to Christ are in the kingdom, then Marshall’s point is proven: infants are partakers of saving grace.
The assertion that Mark 10:14 teaches that infants (see Luke 18:15) and little children belong to the kingdom is, of course, not always conceded. Marshall noted that some evade this interpretation by pointing out that this verse does not say “to them belongs the kingdom of God” but “to such belongs the kingdom of God.” The significance of this observation is that the verse should be taken figuratively or illustratively. Jesus is saying that you need to have child-like qualities (humble and meek) in order to belong to the kingdom.
Marshall admitted that Jesus does make this point elsewhere. Indeed, Jesus makes it in verse 15 as he turns this episode into a teaching moment: "Truly, I say to you [disciples], whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." Nonetheless, Marshall argued that this can’t be the meaning of verse 14 because of the context. Jesus rebukes his disciples and tells them to let the little children come to him "for to such belongs the kingdom of God." The Lord is concerned about these little children and gives a reason they should be brought to him. That reason can’t be that people need to have child-like qualities in order to enter the kingdom of God because then it could be used to justify bringing anything to Jesus that resembled child-like qualities such as a puppy or dove or sheep. Marshall writes:
…and what kind of argument had this been, if the Text should be interpreted as these men would have it, Suffer little children to come unto me, that I may touch them, take them up in mine armes, put my hands upon them, and blesse them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to them, who have such like qualities, who resemble children in some select properties? By the very same ground, if any had brought doves, and Sheep to Christ, to put his hands upon them, and blesse them, the Disciples had been liable to the same reproofe, because of such is the Kingdome of God, such as are partakers of the Kingdom of God, must be indued with such like properties.
Jesus, therefore, does not rebuke his disciples because they are keeping away children who illustrate an important truth about the kingdom. That would be silly. He rebukes them because they were wrong in keeping away the little children because they too belong to him and his kingdom. Incidentally, the parallel account in Matthew 19:13-14 does not mention the child-like requirement for entering the kingdom of God, which suggests that the phrase “to such belongs the kingdom of God” may and should be understood apart from that meaning.
Marshall’s second argument for infant baptism is not without Scriptural warrant. Mark 10:14 is one verse that he used to undergird his teaching that infants of believers ought to be baptized.
