Westminster Confession on Baptism
Infants included, as a covenant sign
Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized.
THE POSITION
WCF 28.4 includes the infants of one or both believing parents alongside professing adults, and the Assembly's proofs run through the covenant sign rather than through any account of infant faith - Genesis 17 with Colossians 2:11-12 and Acts 2:38-39. WCF 28.5 rules out the regenerationist reading in both directions: no one is barred from salvation for want of baptism, and not everyone baptised is regenerated.
7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
7 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
The confessional standard of English-speaking Presbyterianism, completed by the Westminster Assembly in 1646 and adopted with its Scripture proofs. This entry rests on the 1646 text from the manuscript of Cornelius Burges as edited by S. W. Carruthers (1937) for chapters 1-24, and on the 1647 text for chapters 25-33; the Assembly's own proof texts attached to each paragraph supply every reference below.
Cite this page
"Westminster Confession on Baptism", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/westminster/baptism (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/westminster/baptism).