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Luther's Sermon on Infant Baptism - Page 10

© Dr. Martin Luther, Th.D., Reformer, sinner and child of God

ears, without reason and with faith. And faith is nearer in proportion as reason is less, and he is stronger who brings them than the will of adults who come of themselves.

43. These inventive spirits stumble mostly because in adults there is reason, which acts as if it believed the Word it hears. This then they call faith. Again they see that in children there is as yet no reason; for they act as if they did not believe. But they do not observe that faith in God's Word is quite a different and deeper thing than what reason does with the Word of God. For it is the work of God alone above all reason, to which the child is just as near as the adult, yes, much nearer, and from which the adult is just as far as the child, yea, much farther.

44. But this that is contrived by reason is a human work. I think, if any baptism is certain, the baptism of children is most certain, because of the Word of Christ, where he commands to bring them, whereas the adults come of themselves. In adults there may be deception because of the reason that is manifest; but in children there can be no deception, because of their hidden reason in whom Christ works his blessing even as he has bidden them to be brought to himself. It is a glorious word and not to be treated lightly that he commands us to bring the children to him and rebukes those who forbid it.

45. But hereby we do not mean to weaken or destroy the office of preaching. For God indeed does not cause his Word to be preached for the sake of the rational hearing since no fruit results from that; but for the sake of the spiritual hearing which as I have said children also have as well and even better than adults; for they also hear the Word. For what else is baptism but the Gospel to which they are brought? However they hear it only once but they hear it more effectively because Christ, who has commanded to bring them receives them. For adults have the advantage that they frequently hear and can think of it again. Yet even in the case of adults it is a fact that the spiritual hearing is not effected by many sermons. But it may occur once during one sermon and then he has enough for ever. What he hears afterwards he hears either to improve the first hearing or to destroy it again.

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