# Two Letters Written By These Imprisoned Friends, As We Have Found Them In A Small, Old, Printed Book. · Page 4 of 7 [Previous page: TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY THESE IMPRISONED FRIENDS, AS WE HAVE FOUND THEM IN A SMALL, OLD, PRINTED BOOK.](/en/stories/mm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book/part-3/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY THESE IMPRISONED FRIENDS, AS WE HAVE FOUND THEM IN A SMALL, OLD, PRINTED BOOK.](/en/stories/mm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book/part-5/) That they also assert that we must be born again of the water and the Spirit, or we cannot enter into the kingdom of God, and would conclude that children must be baptized, because water precedes the Spirit; or they will not be saved: to this we reply, in the first place: That Christ here does not speak of children, but to an adult person, that came to him by night, to whom Jesus said: “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:5,6. In the second place, Christ speaks of a regeneration before the water (v. 3), which regeneration cannot be effected except through faith in Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures teach. This also Martin Luther writes,[340](/en/stories/mm-footnotes/part-17/#Footnote_340) that faith is a divine work in us, which changes and renews us by the power of God, mortifies the old Adam, makes of us entirely different beings in heart, mind and every power, and brings the Holy Ghost with it. These words do in no respect concern innocent children, for they do not have the old birth, from the original sin which condemns them, as some would prove, because David says: I was begotten of sinful seed; and in sin did my mother conceive me. This psalm David made, when he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and was reproved by the prophet Nathan. Then he lamented on account of the inborn sin from Adam, but it was not accounted unto his condemnation, because of the promised seed which had been promised to Adam and Eve, namely, Christ Jesus, who reconciled Adam’s transgression and took the original sin upon himself, as Paul says: “As by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men, unto justification of life.” Rom. 5:18. Thus also Martin Luther declares, writing on the fifteenth chapter of John: “That original sin was taken away through Christ, and that since Christ’s advent it does no more condemn any one. Since, then, original sin was taken away through Christ, and no longer condemns any one, there is also no sin can condemn infants if they die without baptism: for the children shall not die for the iniquity of the father, saith the Lord.” Deuteronomy 24:16; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chronicles 25:4; Ezekiel 18:20. Hence it is a great sin before God, to demand that the children be baptized for the sake of original sin, or that they shall not be saved. Those who demand this, esteem Adam’s sin greater than the merits of Christ: they also seek salvation more in the water than in the blood of Christ, which is openly contradicting the Scriptures, since it is so clearly declared “that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 1:5; Heb. 9:12. That they also want to argue, that circumcision is a proof for the validity of infant baptism; this can not be. Reason, if children were to be baptized as they were circumcised, only the male children would have to be baptized, and not the female, for the female children were not circumcised, but only the male children. Paul does not apply circumcision to baptism, but to the circumcision of the heart, which is a circumcision of the spirit. Rom. 2:29; Col. 2:11; Philip. 3:3. God commanded Abraham to use circumcision on the eighth day; this commandment Israel kept until Christ came, and they did not change it, whether in little or in much, but adhered to the eighth day, and did not want to follow their reason and say: that when children die before the eighth day without circumcision they are damned; but they would obey God and his commandments and would not follow their own wisdom. In this manner we in the New Testament are also to use baptism: Namely, at the time Christ commanded it; that is, on believers, and we are not to follow our own opinion in the matter of baptism, that we should use it before the proper time on speechless and unreasonable children; because God has not commanded it, and it has not been his will. Had it been the will of God, that infants should be baptized, as they were circumcised when they were eight days old, God would doubtless have commanded it with an express command, that children should be baptized, even as well as he commanded to circumcise the children. Christ would also have received baptism in his infancy, as well as that he was circumcised when he was eight days old. But now this was not the will of God; hence he did also teach otherwise, and received it himself in a different manner. For Christ came to John, and desired that he should baptize him, as he also did. By this he teaches us, and has shown us by examples, that they who are to be baptized must have a desire for baptism. ## Original source [Read this passage on Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65855/pg65855-images.html#FNanchor_340) [Edition details](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65855) [Previous page: TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY THESE IMPRISONED FRIENDS, AS WE HAVE FOUND THEM IN A SMALL, OLD, PRINTED BOOK.](/en/stories/mm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book/part-3/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY THESE IMPRISONED FRIENDS, AS WE HAVE FOUND THEM IN A SMALL, OLD, PRINTED BOOK.](/en/stories/mm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book/part-5/) --- Page: https://history.truechristian.church/en/stories/mm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book/part-4/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+Two+Letters+Written+By+These+Imprisoned+Friends%2C+As+We+Have+Found+Them+In+A+Small%2C+Old%2C+Printed+Book.+%C2%B7+Page+4+of+7&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0ATwo+Letters+Written+By+These+Imprisoned+Friends%2C+As+We+Have+Found+Them+In+A+Small%2C+Old%2C+Printed+Book.+%C2%B7+Page+4+of+7%0A%0APage%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fen%2Fstories%2Fmm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book%2Fpart-4%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-two-letters-written-by-these-imprisoned-friends-as-we-have-found-them-in-a-small-old-printed-book--b00035-o000000%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+16th+century+%28source+section%29%0A%0A%23%23+Correction+or+addition%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Sources+and+evidence%0APlease+include+book%2Fpage+references%2C+archive+links%2C+or+first-hand+documentation.%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Image+credit+%28if+applicable%29%0ACreator%2C+source%2C+and+permission+or+public-domain+basis.%0A%0A%0A%0ASubmitted+for+review%3B+this+issue+does+not+publish+changes+automatically.)