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Paedofaith
At what point is it reasonable to suggest that a child has faith? The Scriptures indicate that we can be confident that our children have faith from the womb and that we can expect that faith to flower and bloom throughout their lives by God's grace. What is the nature of such faith? From where does it come and what do the Scriptures have to say about it? How can anyone say that an infant has the capacity for faith? In this book, Rich Lusk answers these questions and more, giving hope to Christian parents that their little ones do indeed belong to Christ and have the capacity to trust him.
171 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 25, 2024
How should Christian parents regard their young children, infants, or even unborn babies? Are they vipers in diapers desperately depraved and in need of salvation? Is our first and perhaps primary task as parents to evangelize our heathen kids?
Or, is God their God from their very conception (Gen 17:7)? Are they already declared righteous (Ps 103:17), Spirit indwelt (Isa 59:21), and holy (1 Cor 7:14) members of the Covenant community (the Church) through God's gracious promises to the Covenant family? Crucially, because no one is saved apart from union with Christ by faith (the stipulation of the Covenant of Grace), do Covenant infants have faith and, if so, in what sense can it be said that they do?
In Paedofaith, Lusk gently, clearly, and humbly argues for the latter position. From conception, the infants of believing parents have a seed of faith (or "baby faith") imparted to them by the Holy Spirit, which Lusk proves is also the biblical and historic position of the Church up until around the early-mid 1800s in the West.
The book itself is relatively short and to the point, and the tone throughout is judiciously pastoral and personable, which is wise as his topic of choice has the potential to broach painful memories of grief in the lives of parents who have gone through the loss of a child. (He takes on the topic of infant mortality and the ramifications paedofaith has for our blessed assurance of their salvation in chapter 4.)
To summarize the argument, Lusk believes that the essence of faith is a child-like relational trust (or trusting relationship) accommodated to the capacities of the one exercising it. Thus, the infant, the intellectually disabled, and the aged senile members of the Covenant community can have faith in its essence (a seed of faith), as they are mysteriously placed in a personal give and take Covenant relationship with their God as God (cf. David in Psalm 22, 71, 139; John the Baptist in Luke 1; especially Jesus in the Gospels, etc.).
As faith matures, it naturally develops into believing propositional truth (as guided by the Spirit through the Word in the Covenant community) and obedience to God's Law as necessary aspects of its expression and life, but neither of these are its essence. In fact, great danger lies in making either knowledge or obedience the essence of faith, as if saving faith consists merely of assenting to the right things or physically doing the right things. The relationship then, of baby faith to adult faith is analogous to the relationship of an acorn to an oak tree. You should never judge the former by the mature attributes of the latter, but you absolutely should judge the latter by the former (Matt 18:3). Is your faith marked by a child-like trusting relationship with Christ?
The book ends with an exhortation to Christian parents to raise our Covenant children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, nurturing their baby faith (the seed) so that it grows into a mature faith (the oak tree) by discipling our kids in the promises and the Law of God through the sacraments, exhortation, discipline, and family worship surrounded by the community of faith.
I highly recommend all Christian parents read this book. At the very least, it cuts directly against the unbiblical individualistic, revivalistic, crisis-conversionist idea of salvation the church in America has imbibed since enlightenment rationalism overtook it in the early 19th century.
Or, is God their God from their very conception (Gen 17:7)? Are they already declared righteous (Ps 103:17), Spirit indwelt (Isa 59:21), and holy (1 Cor 7:14) members of the Covenant community (the Church) through God's gracious promises to the Covenant family? Crucially, because no one is saved apart from union with Christ by faith (the stipulation of the Covenant of Grace), do Covenant infants have faith and, if so, in what sense can it be said that they do?
In Paedofaith, Lusk gently, clearly, and humbly argues for the latter position. From conception, the infants of believing parents have a seed of faith (or "baby faith") imparted to them by the Holy Spirit, which Lusk proves is also the biblical and historic position of the Church up until around the early-mid 1800s in the West.
The book itself is relatively short and to the point, and the tone throughout is judiciously pastoral and personable, which is wise as his topic of choice has the potential to broach painful memories of grief in the lives of parents who have gone through the loss of a child. (He takes on the topic of infant mortality and the ramifications paedofaith has for our blessed assurance of their salvation in chapter 4.)
To summarize the argument, Lusk believes that the essence of faith is a child-like relational trust (or trusting relationship) accommodated to the capacities of the one exercising it. Thus, the infant, the intellectually disabled, and the aged senile members of the Covenant community can have faith in its essence (a seed of faith), as they are mysteriously placed in a personal give and take Covenant relationship with their God as God (cf. David in Psalm 22, 71, 139; John the Baptist in Luke 1; especially Jesus in the Gospels, etc.).
As faith matures, it naturally develops into believing propositional truth (as guided by the Spirit through the Word in the Covenant community) and obedience to God's Law as necessary aspects of its expression and life, but neither of these are its essence. In fact, great danger lies in making either knowledge or obedience the essence of faith, as if saving faith consists merely of assenting to the right things or physically doing the right things. The relationship then, of baby faith to adult faith is analogous to the relationship of an acorn to an oak tree. You should never judge the former by the mature attributes of the latter, but you absolutely should judge the latter by the former (Matt 18:3). Is your faith marked by a child-like trusting relationship with Christ?
The book ends with an exhortation to Christian parents to raise our Covenant children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, nurturing their baby faith (the seed) so that it grows into a mature faith (the oak tree) by discipling our kids in the promises and the Law of God through the sacraments, exhortation, discipline, and family worship surrounded by the community of faith.
I highly recommend all Christian parents read this book. At the very least, it cuts directly against the unbiblical individualistic, revivalistic, crisis-conversionist idea of salvation the church in America has imbibed since enlightenment rationalism overtook it in the early 19th century.
March 7, 2022
I disagreed with a major premise of this book, but still thoroughly enjoyed it. It helped me flesh out how I think about and parent my child in light of who they are in God's eyes.
The more I read (and the longer I live in a baptist community) the more I'm convinced it's sinful for parents to deny their children access to the covenant. Lusk describes it as tyrannical Pharoah-style parenting - demanding bricks but not giving any straw. Demanding fruit but not allowing the spirit. I think God is and will continue to judge us for this abuse of our kids, and I've seen it cause nothing but sorrow in the lives of believers.
The more I read (and the longer I live in a baptist community) the more I'm convinced it's sinful for parents to deny their children access to the covenant. Lusk describes it as tyrannical Pharoah-style parenting - demanding bricks but not giving any straw. Demanding fruit but not allowing the spirit. I think God is and will continue to judge us for this abuse of our kids, and I've seen it cause nothing but sorrow in the lives of believers.
August 27, 2023
Phenomenal resource.
January 5, 2024
Through quite a wide variety of influences I've become a paedobaptist. Two key aspects are (1) God's gracious extension of the covenant and its promises to his people's children, even under the new covenant (Jeremiah 31 is a key bone of contention here, and I believe it supports this understanding); and (2) the ordinary ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the children of believers.
Lusk's book focuses on the latter, and I think he does an effective and convincing job of arguing from Scripture for the idea of paedofaith. One's immediate reaction may be that, of course, infants cannot know or assent to anything. But it is not a full-orbed notitia, assensus and fiducia that Lusk is arguing for. Rather, it is an essential fiducia that is ordinarily accompanied with a growing age-appropriate notitia and assensus -- all without negating the effects of indwelling sin or each child's absolute need to arrive at a substantive trust in Christ. What a gift that the Holy Spirit is already at work in our children.
Incidentally, this book was one of several encouragements for me to start learning Psalms to sing in family worship. I want to capture aspects of God's lovingkindness that we may sing less frequently on Sunday mornings.
Lusk's book focuses on the latter, and I think he does an effective and convincing job of arguing from Scripture for the idea of paedofaith. One's immediate reaction may be that, of course, infants cannot know or assent to anything. But it is not a full-orbed notitia, assensus and fiducia that Lusk is arguing for. Rather, it is an essential fiducia that is ordinarily accompanied with a growing age-appropriate notitia and assensus -- all without negating the effects of indwelling sin or each child's absolute need to arrive at a substantive trust in Christ. What a gift that the Holy Spirit is already at work in our children.
Incidentally, this book was one of several encouragements for me to start learning Psalms to sing in family worship. I want to capture aspects of God's lovingkindness that we may sing less frequently on Sunday mornings.
February 24, 2023
All parents should read this book. Lusk tackles a challenging topic of paedofaith with much humility. One might disagree with much of what he says but it will certainly challenge many of the preconceived notions that we have as post-enlightenment rationalists. He lets the scriptures speak for themselves and writes on historical reformed thought as well as a covenantal hermeneutic and ties it all together nicely. Agree or disagree with Lusk, (and I tend to largely agree), one will not finish this book and have a lower view of children and covenant. One will likely will see their infants through new eyes to the glory of the Triune God.
April 7, 2023
This was a phenomenal book. We all know the passages in Scripture about infant faith. God caused David to trust in Him at his mother’s breast; John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb, for example. Today, most would look at those passages and deduce that those are extraordinary circumstances and that paedofaith is not the norm. However, paedofaith being the norm among God’s covenant people is exactly what Lusk argues for. Convincingly, I might add.
Psalm 22 is a famous Christological psalm. In it, David says, “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.” Of course, this passage is Christological, but if we jump right to Christ in the passage, we’ll miss the fact that the immediate context is a psalm written by David long before Christ was born. He was writing prophetically, sure. And he was writing in the Spirit of Christ, no doubt. But he was not writing something that was not true for him. God, by the power of His Spirit, was speaking prophetically through David’s own words and experience of being a covenant child. These psalms were sung, and are still sung, by God’s covenant people. When we sing the psalms, we join in the words of David in the Spirit of Christ and sing these words over ourselves and each other for the building up of the brethren in the faith. We, the Gentiles, have been grafted in. Israel’s history is our history. Christ’s history is our history. This is what it means to be in God’s covenant, to have union with Christ. What a powerful thing it is to speak the words of Christ in the Spirit of Christ over the body of Christ and believe what He says to be true. It is awe-inspiring to think about the depth and richness that this brings to the lives of Christians today. Glorious!
Faith is not intellectual ascent. Rather, it is relational trust. When God blesses us with children, because no life is conceived apart from His will, He is the One who brings them forth from the womb, causing them to trust in Him at their mother’s breast. If there is at least one believing parent, God’s favor rests on that home. Whether it is the mother or the father, covenantally, that child is safe in the arms of his Heavenly Father.
Why do we baptize our children and bring them to the Table? Because faith is founded on the promises of God in Christ. The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. An infant is not yet capable of showing their faith in the same way a normally functioning adult would—through knowledge coupled with works. Therefore, they need an advocate who will intercede for God’s grace on their behalf. We have an Advocate in heaven who intercedes for us, and He has appointed Mother Church to give birth to His elect, covenant people, through baptism. She has been tasked with caring for and nurturing these young ones in her bosom. By grace, she cleanses them, and by grace, she feeds them. We bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and at the appropriate times, according to their maturity both biologically and in Christ, we demand more from them because God demands more from them. This is Christian discipleship. No one expects a baby Christian to start with meat, but we do need to feed them something lest they starve. We don't demand works for anyone to earn a right standing before God, because that would be putting the cart before the horse. Rather, we extend God’s grace, and they accept Him with humility, for the kingdom of God belongs to ones such as these. Then, we raise them to maturity in Him, from faith to faith and from glory to glory, as God does with us all. We all enter the kingdom as little children. Christ has given the humility of little ones as an example for us all to follow. If we want to enter the kingdom of God as adults, we must become like them!
What a picture of God’s grace for a child to grow up in a covenant home, look back on their life, and not remember a moment where Christ didn’t welcome them into His presence as His own. We join together with our spouses in a marital covenant union in order to produce godly offspring. What God has joined together, let no man separate.
Psalm 22 is a famous Christological psalm. In it, David says, “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.” Of course, this passage is Christological, but if we jump right to Christ in the passage, we’ll miss the fact that the immediate context is a psalm written by David long before Christ was born. He was writing prophetically, sure. And he was writing in the Spirit of Christ, no doubt. But he was not writing something that was not true for him. God, by the power of His Spirit, was speaking prophetically through David’s own words and experience of being a covenant child. These psalms were sung, and are still sung, by God’s covenant people. When we sing the psalms, we join in the words of David in the Spirit of Christ and sing these words over ourselves and each other for the building up of the brethren in the faith. We, the Gentiles, have been grafted in. Israel’s history is our history. Christ’s history is our history. This is what it means to be in God’s covenant, to have union with Christ. What a powerful thing it is to speak the words of Christ in the Spirit of Christ over the body of Christ and believe what He says to be true. It is awe-inspiring to think about the depth and richness that this brings to the lives of Christians today. Glorious!
Faith is not intellectual ascent. Rather, it is relational trust. When God blesses us with children, because no life is conceived apart from His will, He is the One who brings them forth from the womb, causing them to trust in Him at their mother’s breast. If there is at least one believing parent, God’s favor rests on that home. Whether it is the mother or the father, covenantally, that child is safe in the arms of his Heavenly Father.
Why do we baptize our children and bring them to the Table? Because faith is founded on the promises of God in Christ. The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. An infant is not yet capable of showing their faith in the same way a normally functioning adult would—through knowledge coupled with works. Therefore, they need an advocate who will intercede for God’s grace on their behalf. We have an Advocate in heaven who intercedes for us, and He has appointed Mother Church to give birth to His elect, covenant people, through baptism. She has been tasked with caring for and nurturing these young ones in her bosom. By grace, she cleanses them, and by grace, she feeds them. We bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and at the appropriate times, according to their maturity both biologically and in Christ, we demand more from them because God demands more from them. This is Christian discipleship. No one expects a baby Christian to start with meat, but we do need to feed them something lest they starve. We don't demand works for anyone to earn a right standing before God, because that would be putting the cart before the horse. Rather, we extend God’s grace, and they accept Him with humility, for the kingdom of God belongs to ones such as these. Then, we raise them to maturity in Him, from faith to faith and from glory to glory, as God does with us all. We all enter the kingdom as little children. Christ has given the humility of little ones as an example for us all to follow. If we want to enter the kingdom of God as adults, we must become like them!
What a picture of God’s grace for a child to grow up in a covenant home, look back on their life, and not remember a moment where Christ didn’t welcome them into His presence as His own. We join together with our spouses in a marital covenant union in order to produce godly offspring. What God has joined together, let no man separate.
September 29, 2012
Lusk's argument falls flat in two ways. First, Lusk assumes that 'union with Christ' makes the reception of particular benefits of Christ's redemption to be redundant. This is Lusk's argument regarding imputation. In other words, "If I am united to Christ, why do I need imputation of righteousness if I already have Jesus?" But, one might respond in pointing out that other benefits of redemption that we receive BY VIRTUE of our union with Christ are not redundant (justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification, etc.). Why doesn't Lusk go all the way?
Second, Lusk tries to use Calvin as a source to back up his claim that "infant faith" has merit in Reformed orthodoxy. However, if one reads the entire section quote from Calvin, you see that Calvin doesn't promote infant faith. Rather, Calvin believes that the "seed of faith" might be planted in young ones that could grow into saving faith, which would then make the graces of preaching and baptism efficacious. This "offer-reception" model in Calvin is foreign to Lusk's argument, though Lusk wants Calvin to back him up.
Second, Lusk tries to use Calvin as a source to back up his claim that "infant faith" has merit in Reformed orthodoxy. However, if one reads the entire section quote from Calvin, you see that Calvin doesn't promote infant faith. Rather, Calvin believes that the "seed of faith" might be planted in young ones that could grow into saving faith, which would then make the graces of preaching and baptism efficacious. This "offer-reception" model in Calvin is foreign to Lusk's argument, though Lusk wants Calvin to back him up.
November 5, 2021
5 stars because the scholarship is superb and the topic is one that needs to be brought up and addressed today.
April 6, 2025
I don't hand out 5 stars often. This is 🤌. We need 50 more authors writing books like this. The question of infant faith is arguably one of the most overlooked theological issues in our day, and Lusk's work on the topic warmly and wisely surveys the biblical story revealing rich (no pun intended) reflections on the promises of God to parents. I think every Christian parent and pastor should read this book.
November 28, 2025
Technically didn't "finish" it but I got the basic gist in the first 30 pages. Really solid application on how to parent faithful children weighed down by some of the most loosey-goosey hermeneutics I've ever seen. He also severely mischaracterizes opposing views even though his denomination had very public issues w him over this exact topic.
January 20, 2023
Really good. I love the historical surveys that showed the gradual decline of our view of children in the covenant. Really helpful
December 31, 2023
Excellent book. Faith is not dependent on intellectual or rational capacity, but on God’s giving of it, including to unborn children which David draws out in Psalm 22:9-10 and Psalm 71:5-6 and John the Baptist images for us when He leaps in Elizabeth’s womb at the presence of the unborn Christ. God will be God to us, and our children. Calvin affirms a seed faith that matures without necessitating a “conversion” experience to legitimize it. Luther affirms infant faith as well. We sort of lost this tradition in American Puritanism due to the rise of conversionism/revivalism/experientialism, but it is making a return along with a right view of the efficacy of the sacraments. Paedofaith, paedobaptism, and baptismal efficacy go hand in hand. We baptize our infants because God is already working in them, they are holy, and so, their baptism is actually effectual in joining them to Christ and the church.
December 18, 2013
For nit-picky systematic theologians, this book will appear more unclear than helpful. This is a book about the faith of children. If you are already predisposed to think the bible or the historic Christian faith doesn't have much to offer on this topic, don't bother reading this book. If you're open to the idea, this might be the most accessible layman's book on the subject.
April 7, 2021
After reading the first two chapters of this book on the OT and NT insinuations of pre-rational children possessing faith in the Lord, I was struck by how much the Scriptures speak to this idea. I had only begun to notice the implications of these passages in the past year, and this book did much to deepen my understanding of the idea that covenant children can possess a "seed of faith" that is on a continuum with more mature, adult expressions of faith. The historical chapters regarding the Reformers' positions on paedofaith were also a nice addition, as well as Lusk's advice for Christian parenting. I come at this from a credobaptist background, and this book has led me to search the Scriptures over again on this topic.
August 3, 2025
Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Lusk writes well and logically presents several evidences from scripture (both OT and NT) to include children into the covenant family when born into believing households. Paedofaith presents God as kind, loving, and good to include our children in the covenant from their earliest moments.
December 1, 2025
I really appreciated this book for helping me clarify my view on paedofaith. I valued the strong scriptural proofs and, ultimately, that the author relied primarily on Scripture rather than church history to support his position. This book is an admonition to raise our children from baby faith (seed) to strong, mature faith (mature plant) through faithful exposure to God’s Word and law, the administration of the sacraments, discipline, and family worship.
July 17, 2017
Good and encouraging. The general thesis of this book is, I believe, spot on and biblical. Though, I would not agree with every last thing said, nor am I entirely aware of the history of this topic in reformed church history - reformation to modern day. This has definitely sparked my interest to read older pastors and theologians on this topic.
March 21, 2022
A really helpful antidote to the revivalistic mentality at work in the evangelical church and the millstone that mindset often ties around our covenant children's necks. Quite encouraging to Christian parents as well, though the average reader should know that the content is a bit dense at points.
November 8, 2022
Lusk gives an excellent account of paedofaith, or baby faith, with the Holy Scriptures. Lusk debunks the necessity "conversion-experience" and promotes child participation in baptism and communion. A must read for to-be parents and Christians alike.
November 19, 2025
Extremely glad I read this as a prospective parent and as someone who grew up Christian yet ended up being bamboozled into an egregiously rocky conversionist rendering of Christianity. Hoping to get into the resources in the bibliography soon.
April 10, 2018
Even if you don't agree, it's doggon compelling, quite well-written and well-argued.
July 11, 2019
Very carefully thought out, very Scriptural, and bringing in the testimony of Church history, Lusk's case for infant faith is very intellectually compelling and pastorally comforting.
June 25, 2020
I think he has an inconsistent view of faith. It seems like the first half of the book believes faith in one regard and the second half in another. It is a helpful book though.
August 10, 2020
Great book. Appreciated his insights regarding the relational nature of faith
November 7, 2020
A very interesting and thought provoking work dealing with the question of not only whether infants of believers can have faith, but is it normative that they do.
January 14, 2023
3.5 Stars.
June 1, 2023
Absolutely fantastic. Couldn’t recommend more.
April 24, 2024
An excellent book outlining how we should view covenant children. Highly recommended.
September 11, 2024
A bit heady and therefore laborious to read.
Nevertheless it’s a wonderful and thorough book on the subject, and absolutely worth a read.
Nevertheless it’s a wonderful and thorough book on the subject, and absolutely worth a read.
January 18, 2025
Incredible.
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