# Question for Presbyterian church membership



## B.J. (Jan 31, 2008)

Suppose a Baptist wants to join a local Presbyterian church. This family is comprised of a couple of children who have been baptised and a couple which have not. Assuming the Head of Household does not want to submit to the doctrine of infant/household baptism what then is the status of the unbaptized children as far as the local body is concerned? Does the local body still consider them Covenant Children? Should the "Head" be considered as sinful by Presbyterians for refusing the "sign" for his children? Has anyone ran into this scenario before?


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## ChristopherPaul (Jan 31, 2008)

The unbaptized children are still set apart from the world, but the head of house is sinning by refusing the sign that signifies the reality. The Church will still treat the children as disciples by teaching them all that Jesus commanded.


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## Grymir (Jan 31, 2008)

You both are lucky to have a Presbyterian church that holds to standards. Mine wouldn't care, let alone saying someone was sinning ( we don't even get to hear the word hell anymore)


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## Pilgrim (Feb 1, 2008)

Grymir said:


> You both are lucky to have a Presbyterian church that holds to standards. Mine wouldn't care, let alone saying someone was sinning ( we don't even get to hear the word hell anymore)



My guess is that the WCF notwithstanding, the sessions of many churches probably wouldn't go so far as to say the man is sinning, or at least wouldn't say it to his face.


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## fredtgreco (Feb 1, 2008)

Pilgrim said:


> Grymir said:
> 
> 
> > You both are lucky to have a Presbyterian church that holds to standards. Mine wouldn't care, let alone saying someone was sinning ( we don't even get to hear the word hell anymore)
> ...



We would, and have. But I would also say that it is a greater sin for a man to keep his family from church membership and thus oversight than to join a church that disagrees on baptism.


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## Pilgrim (Feb 1, 2008)

fredtgreco said:


> Pilgrim said:
> 
> 
> > Grymir said:
> ...



I revised my post to state "many" instead of "most". My perspective was probably skewed by all of the posts on other sites lately about the broad evangelicalism of many in the PCA.


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