Presumptive Regeneration, or, the Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants

by Cornelius Burges, C. Matthew McMahon, Therese B. McMahon (Editor)

Cornelius Burgess (1589-1665) was an active and zealous puritan, a member of the Westminster Assembly, and esteemed as a very learned and judicious divine.

This work by Burgess was written to prove and declare the Scriptural position of Presumptive Regeneration in administering the covenant sign on infants of believers. Burgess' thesis is, "That it is most agreeable to the institution of Christ, that all elect infants that are baptized (unless in some extraordinary cases) ordinarily receive the Spirit from Christ in baptism, for their first solemn initiation into Christ; and for their future actual renovation, in God’s good time, if they live to years of discretion, and enjoy the other ordinary means of grace appointed of God to this end." It also serves to separate the Reformed Doctrine from the Scripturally deviant positions of the Anabaptists, Arminians and the Roman Catholic Church.

Burgess teaches through a careful study of Scriptural doctrine and application, that the benefits of the Covenant of Grace are only efficaciously conferred by the Holy Spirit to the elect, which include infants. This laver of regeneration (Titus 3) is found opened to us in baptism, and that infants of believers receive the same benefits in the sacrament as any others.

This topic was debated thoroughly at the time Burgess was writing, and his work serves as a Reformed polemic to those who would take exception to the Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th century, as well as from various divines such as the early church fathers like Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine, Reformers like Calvin, Bucer and Beza, Reformed Confessions like the Helvetica and Belgica, as well as English divines of his day like Bishop Jewel, Dr. Whitaker, Dr. Fulke, Dr. Davenant, Bishop of Salisbury, Dr. White, Bishop of Norwich, Dr. Daniel Featly, Dr. William Ames, and many others.

This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Genres: Theology

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1640

Reviews

[Jake Litwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is dense. There were sections towards the second half of the work I skimmed and will need to go back to chew on it more. Mainly looked into this book to see what a member of the Westminster Assembly said on this subject.

[Zach de Walsingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the (Presbyterian) Westminster Divines

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only downside to this book is that the title will make modern Reformed people think that Burgess was a Roman Catholic. This is a marvelous volume, full of Scripture exegesis, sound commentary by some of the greatest luminaries of the Reformation, Patristic citations, and pastoral theology.Burgess was a Westminster divine. He is said to have been involved in nearly every important decision of the Assembly. He and Stephen Marshall were considered the experts, par excellence, on the subject of baptism. Whenever the need arose for someone to address the issue, whether in sermon or print, they two were assigned the task by the Assembly. The book clearly demonstrates that the Reformed view of baptism is not Romish 'magic,' on the one hand, nor a bare sign, on the other. Those who think they know Reformed doctrine concerning baptism need to read this book.