Without wishing to be crude: whenever a Jewish male urinated or had an erection, he was visibly reminded by his circumcised condition that he belonged to God, and must put off the sins of the flesh. This Sign of circumcision was a not a testimony to the congregation that he was a Believer, but a testimony to himself that he was a *Belonger*. It was also a Sign to his wife that he was "an Israelite indeed", and that their offspring would be holy to the LORD. Likewise every Christian male must "know how to possess his vessel /skeuos/ in sanctification and honour" (1 Thessalonians 4:4). /Skeuos/ is a general utility word which can mean anything; a "thing-a-me". Remember pop singer Chuck Berry's "Ding-a-ling"? Some translations put "wife"; but "phallus" is the accurate translation in context. You don't keep your wife in sanctification and honour; she does that. And no wife would want to be called a /skeuos/!
Neither Circumcision nor Baptism brings the recipient of the Sign into the family of God. The Sign is a seal or acknowledgment that the person so sealed IS ALREADY a member of the Household of Faith. One should not confuse the Sign with the Thing Signified; they are separate concepts. Abraham believed God and his faith was counted for righteousness (Genesis 15:6, etc). Because of his status as a justified-by-faith believer, he obeyed God and circumcised himself. And because his children were born into the Covenant Family, they were circumcised the 8th day, as a token or a seal to them that they WERE ALREADY members of the Household of faithful Abraham.
Because of the parents' faith (compare faithful Abraham) the young are also deemed righteous (unless and until they grow up and renounce it). The Scripture that teaches this would be 1 Corinthians 7:14, where the child of even only one believing parent is declared "holy" /hagios/. That corresponds with the Hebrew /qadhosh/, "holy". "...holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). YHWH is "/qadhosh qadhosh qadhosh/" (Isaiah 6:3).
Holiness is more than Justification; it is Sanctification. /Sanctus/ is the Latin word for /hagios/ and /qadhosh/. You can't have Sanctification without having Justification. When we are saved, we are justified by faith. As we live the life of faith, we become sanctified more and more. Justification is the *Finished Work* of Christ, who shed his blood on the cross for all of our sins, "original" and "actual", once and for all. Sanctification is the *Ongoing Work* of the Holy Spirit, "who himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16), and produces His fruit in us (Galatians 5:22-23). We ARE the children of God; not one day maybe might become the children of God; and so are OUR children, because they ARE our children.
Another example is the Passover. Under sentence of death was the firstborn CHILD of every household, from Pharoah right down to the lowest slave. The children's salvation depended on the action taken by their believing parents. To save their firstborn, the PARENTS of each household had to take, sacrifice, roast and eat a lamb. To demonstrate to the destroying angel that they had done so, they smeared the blood over the lintel and sideposts of their doors. Yet the Lamb was precisely the equivalent of the HOUSEHOLD, not of the firstborn child only (Exodus 12:3-4). So Christ's Death is for ALL the family. At the annual memorial celebration of the Passover, the CHILDREN of the family have a key role, because it was the firstborn CHILD that was specifically saved from death thereby. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). The holiness of the sacrificial lamb without blemish was reckoned to the child, and its sacrificial death the penalty for its sins. There is our Justification: Christ died for our sins. There is our Sanctification: Christ's Holiness is imputed to our account.
The question is, how are we to bring children to Jesus?
(1) By praying for them before conception, during gestation, and after birth. St Helena, the mother of St Augustine, prayed for him every day until he became a Christian in middle life (see /The Confessions of St Augustine/). As Hannah said to Eli, "For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him" (1 Samuel 1:27).
(2) By bringing them with us to church for Dedication/Infant Baptism according to denominational custom.
(3) By bringing them to church with us for divine worship Sunday by Sunday.
(4) By teaching them the Scriptures as soon as they are capable of understanding.
(5) By encouraging them to accept Christ for themselves, and confirm that decision for Christ before the Pastor/Bishop at Adult Baptism/Confirmation.
(6) By encouraging them to be regular participants at the Lord's Table.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
BEN CRICK