The Second Letter From Bartholomeus Panten, Being An Instruction From The Word Of The Lord, To All Lovers Of The Truth; Together With A Brief Account Of His Examination.

Again, we also had a controversy concerning baptism with the same Jesuits, and also with the Dean of St. John’s and their pastor, who defended infant baptism and considered it necessary for salvation. But I quoted to them divers Scriptures, that baptism pertains to believers, and that it is not enough, that the faith is confessed with the mouth, but that it must also be apprehended with the heart, as Philip said to the eunuch. Acts 8:37. “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” I also told them that Philip preached the word of God to those of Samaria, and when they believed Philip (who preached to them of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ), they were baptized both men and women. And Michiel quoted the Scripture from the Acts of the Apostles, in the second chapter: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart; and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do? Then Peter said unto, them, Repent. Thereupon one of them said: What is it, to repent? That is: Be sorry for your sins, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the same chapter it is also written: And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls.

And the Dean of St. John’s, and the pastor of the same church, when we talked with them, made a long speech from John 3, where Christ declares: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. I said that he had spoken that to the adult; but he would claim, that it was spoken of every one, of children as well as adults; and wanted to conclude from it, that infants that died without baptism were lost, which is untrue, for the kingdom of God belongs to infants, according to Christ’s own promise; and the words which Christ speaks to Nicodemus do not concern infants, but only those that have ears to hear, and hearts to understand. But they insisted: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And they thought that water baptism constitutes the new birth, and that infants are thus regenerated; which is a great misapprehension; for, according to Peter’s words, it is as he says in his first epistle: “Purifying your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” 1 Pet. 1:22,23. And James says: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” James 1:18. And John says: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” 1 John 5:1. Christ also says: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:6–8. Behold, thus, the new birth is effected by receiving the word of God; for the old man and his works must be put off, and the new man put on, and this is no child’s work. This I have added here as an explanation to you of the new birth.