The sermon by Eric Bechler, based on Chapter 10, Paragraph 3 of the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, discusses the concept of effectual calling, focusing on elect individuals who cannot be outwardly called, such as infants dying in infancy and others incapable of receiving the gospel. It emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in regenerating and saving the elect, regardless of their ability to respond outwardly to the ministry of the word. The sermon also contextualizes the historical and emotional significance of infant mortality during the time the confession was written. It explores various theological perspectives on the salvation of infants, referencing biblical verses and theological commentary, ultimately urging trust in God's mercy, justice, and sovereignty.

Our reading this morning from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 comes again from Chapter 10 of the sexual calling. Today we look at paragraph 3. Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit who worketh when and where and how he pleases. So also are the elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word. This morning we continue our discussion of effectual calling.

Our focus is on elect persons who are unable to be outwardly called, including specifically those dying as infants. I want to break this into two parts, first, dealing with election in general, and second, dealing with infants and any others who cannot be outwardly called. So before this, let's ask ourselves, why is this paragraph in the confession? And since it is dealing with the elect, why is it in chapter 10 and not as a part of chapter 3? In chapter 3 of God's decree, we covered pretty thoroughly God's foreordaining, predestination, and election.

We spent seven weeks going over that. Well, as we think of these things, there are a couple of things here that we can consider. In chapters 10 through 18, we are looking at the Holy Spirit's work in the application of our redemption. In our paragraph today, there is a focus on those who are elect but are incapable of being outwardly called. They are regenerated and saved through the work of the Holy Spirit, who worketh when and where and how He pleases.

The emphasis on the Holy Spirit's work under these conditions help us understand why this topic is placed in chapter 10. Last week our paragraph emphasized that God performs a monergistic work in us to bring us to salvation. We are passive. It's only God and by His free grace alone that we are saved. The other thought on this paragraph and why it is in the confession, especially from a historical purpose or perspective, is that many babies died back at the time when this was written.

It makes this a very emotional issue and very personal issue for many people. So let's start with a short review of election. There are many, many verses throughout the Bible describing the elect, the chosen, those predestinated, those effectually called. Here are a few verses to consider. Romans 8.30, moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called.

In whom he called, them he also justified. In whom He justified, them He also glorified. Colossians 3.12, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering. And this is 2 Peter 1.10. Wherefore, the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.

For if you do these things, you shall never fail. So we see even just from these three verses scripture clearly indicates there are a group of people, not all people, but a group that are singled out by God. They will be, as it says, holy and beloved. In the Romans passage it tells us that those called the elect he will justify and glorify, meaning they will be saved. R.C.

Sproul comments on this, but what is often assumed is that if God grants grace to some, then you must grant that same measure of grace to all if he is fair and just. Here we must stop for a moment and ask, why should this be so? Why does granting grace to some require the granting of grace to all? Again we recall that in this process, no one receives injustice at the hand of God. The elect get grace they do not deserve.

While the reprobate get the justice they do deserve. If God decides to pardon one guilty person, that does not mean that those he does not pardon somehow become any less guilty." Here are a couple of conclusions that we had from chapter three. One, God predestinates those to life before the foundations of the world. And two, circumstances don't determine what he ordains. What God foresaw in the future does not dictate or influence what he will do.

God freely by himself without any conditions predetermines all that happens. God knows all that will come to pass and God ordains all that will happen. He is sovereign over all that was, is, and will be. He's completely sovereign. He's perfectly sovereign.

He does this at his good pleasure, and he does this for his glory. So basically, the elect are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit who worketh when and where and how he pleases. When we look at the Gospel of John, we read some of these already. John 3, 3, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. In John 3, 5, Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

In John 3 5, Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. In John 3, 6, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit. In John 3, 8, the wind bloweth where it listeth, and now heareth the sound thereof. But canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit." So when we look back at our paragraph today, our focus is on a subset of the elect, those who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word.

This subset includes infants who, dying in infancy, never grow up to hear the word preached or to hear the gospel, the outward call. This subset also includes those who are infirm or handicapped or in any other condition that causes them to be incapable or unable to hear the outward call. As with any of the elect, this group is also regenerated and saved by Christ through the Holy Spirit. There is only one way. Only one.

Hopefully this makes sense. When we look at the doctrine of election, we're not segregating or partitioning that group. If you are of the elect, at any age, and in any condition, you will be saved by the work of the Holy Spirit. All who the Father has chosen given to Christ will be saved. We read this directly from Christ's own words as recorded in the Gospel of John in John 6 37, all that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

We also can look at John 17 too, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. So let's now touch on the emotional side of this topic. Newborns are precious. They're really super sweet and very innocent looking. Doesn't mean that they're not without sin, but they're really precious.

So let's look quickly, what's the scope here of dying infants that we're talking about? On a website giving infant mortality rates in our current day, they range from about 103 per thousand in Afghanistan down to about 1 and 1 half per thousand in Slovenia. It's not so much. In England, in the 1800s, this number was about 330 per thousand, so about 30% of all live births. That's three times what it occurs in Afghanistan today and about 60 times what's happening today in the United States.

Found another website that estimated the mortality of infants and very young children in England in the 1600s to be between 30% and 50%. At 50%, that would be 500 per 1, 000 live births, half, half of all births. That's a lot of babies. That's a lot of babies dying. And that's just crushing emotionally.

I don't know how you handle that. And in some cases, it can be worse. An example, John Owen the Puritan, he had 11 children. 10 of them died, either as infants or as young, very young children. That's a lot.

How do you deal with that? You turn to God for comfort and for strength, as we do in any struggle or trial. Every parent wants their children to be saved. Every parent wants their children to go to heaven. But do all infants go to heaven?

As I survey the commentaries, there's been a lot of opinions on this, and we'll touch briefly on each of a few of them that I found. Some say all infants dying in infancy are saved. Some say all infants from Christians that die in infancy go to heaven. Some say only the elect infants, and some say none because they cannot make a profession. If we first look at the position of all infants, the dying infants here saved, how do we handle the examples in the Old Testament where God himself commands Israel to kill the men, the women, the children, and infants as we find in 1 Samuel 15.3.

Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to the destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put them to death, men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys. And we read similar accords in Deuteronomy 2.34, 3.6, and 2016 through 18. Furthermore, how do we handle Romans 9, 11 through 13? Though they were not yet born and had done nothing, either good or bad, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

Would God have saved Esau if he had died in infancy, knowing that he hated him, even in the womb? It seems from scripture we can infer that there are some infants dying in infancy that are not saved. However, We cannot know for sure. Again, scripture here is not clear. In the next condition, we look at the canons of Dort and in general reform tradition state that believers ought not doubt the election and salvation of their children whom God calls out of this life and infancy.

Some base this position on covenant relationship of the children of believers. Others point to David's comment regarding Bathsheba's child after he died in 2 Samuel 12, 23, where he says, I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. And then Jesus's reaction towards the Jewish children coming to him in Matthew 19, 13 through 15, suffer the little children and forbid them not to come unto me for of such is the kingdom of heaven. This is more encouraging, but again, Scripture is not perfectly clear here. Both the Westminster and the London Baptist Confessions state, as we read this morning, that only the elect infants will be saved.

This really is the only position that can be fully supported by scripture and clearly. R.C. Sproul comments, They, the authors of the Confession, did not teach that all infants are necessarily saved. Rather they taught that only an undetermined number of elect invents are saved. Obviously an elect infant is going to be saved and any saved infant is elect, but the divines did not speculate on which infants those would be.

The final option that we that I brought up is that all infants who die in infancy are not saved. They base this on Romans 10, 9 through 10. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Their conclusion from this is that since you cannot confess with your mouth, you're not saved.

This, however, is not a proper understanding of Scripture. You're not saved by any work that you do or anything that you say, any words that you speak. Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 tell us, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. A public confession or profession is not the means of salvation.

It is only an evidence of salvation. So where does this leave us? What do you say to someone who's just lost a baby? They want comforting. They're in severe grief.

They want assurance that their baby is in heaven and that it is well with them. We can only say that it is in God's hands, our sovereign God's hands. There is no one more compassionate than God. There's no one more righteous than God. There's no one more just than God.

We must trust to God's mercy and we must trust God to do all things to his greatest glory. In Genesis 18, 25, Abraham asks the Lord, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Yes, he will do right, And He'll do right every time and in every circumstance. How did Job react to His great loss? He stayed focused on God's sovereignty.

We read from Job 1.21, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We should praise God for his good and undeserved blessings. We should praise God that our loss is for our good and that he still has our best interest at heart, even though that can be very difficult to see and even harder to understand. As I was reading articles to prepare for this, I found an article by Matt Perman on the DesiringGod.org website.

He was describing a funeral text for George Mueller's wife, Mary. I'll read this to you, and I hope that I'm so focused on the goodness of God during any trials that I have to face. This was George Mueller's funeral text when his wife, Mary, died from rheumatic fever in 1860. His three points were, the Lord was good and did good in giving her to me. The Lord was good and did good in so long leaving her to me.

The Lord was good and did good in taking her from me." He did not start from Mary and move to God's goodness. He started with the unshakable confidence in the goodness of God through Jesus Christ. And he interpreted his life and his loss in view of that goodness. That's the bottom line. The bottom line is the goodness of God.

That is the hope for us all, and that is our only hope. Amen.