Baptismal Regeneration and the Westminster Confession of Faith
by
D. Patrick Ramsey
Introduction
What does baptism do? Unfortunately, a common answer will not be found among the different branches of Christianity. At one end of the spectrum are those who make much of baptism in that it is a converting ordinance. At the other end are those who claim that baptism is a mere sign of our salvation and profession of faith.
In a stimulating essay, the late evangelical Patristic and Reformation scholar, David F. Wright asserted that the Westminster Confession of Faith, which according to Benjamin Warfield holds the preeminence among the Reformed Confessions,[1] teaches that baptism conveys converting grace.[2] Thus, for Wright, there is at least a strand, indeed a significant strand, of Reformed thought at one end of the spectrum, holding to baptismal regeneration.
