Baptism and the Distinction of the Covenants

Baptism and the Distinction of the Covenants is the only surviving work from Thomas Patient, a signatory of the First London Baptist Confession of Faith (1644) and pastor in Dublin, Ireland. In this work, Patient refutes paedobaptism by arguing for a distinction between the covenant of circumcision and the covenant of life given to Abraham. Patient argues that the fundamental error of paedobaptists is in conflating these two covenants and maintaining a fleshly distinction in the covenant of life. The covenant of life is not made with the fleshly seed of believers, as coming out of their loins, but with all the spiritually elect in Christ who have repented of their sins and believed in the gospel.