Susan,<br><br>I'm not sure that I qualify for any of the three groups. I believe that our children are different from those born of unbelieving parents, if for no other reason a believer's infant may apostatize from the faith as it grow in years; whereas those born outside the covenant community are pagan from the outset. This means, of course, that the children of believing parents are more culpable from the outset when compared to those not separated unto God by a believing parent. Moreover, with respect to elect infants dying in infancy, I believe that the believer has much greater hope for his child than a pagan parent would. <br><br>I do not presume that God regenerates the infants of believing parents either in the womb or at the font. Nor do I presume that Christ did not die for them. I presume that God delights in converting the infants of believing parents in his time. Where we probably differ is that I treat my child from the outset as one whom Christ died for. An infant of a believing parent will need to repent of his sins and place his trust in Christ alone for his justification before God. In the like manner, I as one with a credible profession of faith must persevere until the end, lest I become a castaway. We might say that both the young offspring of believing parents and professing believers have their respective marching orders as baptized disciples of Christ. In a word, I suppose we differ in that I treat my little ones as Christians, who definitely stand in the need of prayer and nurturing in the Lord. They need to be converted to Christ, but I can say based upon the evidence that “Jesus died for your sins,” just as I say it to my wife. The evidence I have for my wife’s Christianity is based upon her faith and practice, whereas the only evidence I have that my two year old is a Christian is that she was born into my household, which is more than I can say for a child born of unbelieving parents. I'll leave you with this last thought; which is, I invite my little ones to pray, whereas I would never invite my neighbor across the street to pray. In other words, only those I may treat as Christians will I invite to pray on my behalf.<br><br>In His Grace,<br><br>Ron<br>
