How does rejecting the future tense lead to infant baptism?

How does rejecting that the Church was future from the time of Matthew 16 lead some to baptize infants?

In the sermon preached April 27, 2014, found here ( SERMON ) we were elaborating on the fact that Jesus said, He WILL build His church. Not he will continue to build, or he had already built, but  WILL BUILD -- Future tense.

In connection, I mentioned that entire denominations are built upon the theology and practices that come from rejecting the future tense of this phrase. I also asked two questions, each I hope to deal with in two separate blog entries for your consideration.

Question number 1: Do you baptize infants?

We don’t baptize our infants at CBC, but those who do practice infant or Paedo-Baptism have a logical consistency, flawed though I find it, stemming from the fact that they consider the church to have begun early in the Old Testament.

Most will say the church began in Abraham, while others will say Adam or Israel. The New Testament Church, in their theological perspective is the True or Spiritual Israel. We are nothing more than a continuation of what God had already done. We have replaced the ethnic body of Israel. We are the “Israel” of the New Testament and they are the “Church” of the Old Testament.

I’d like to summarize their position as best as I can in as short a time as I can. My understanding of this comes from various readings, and discussions with scholars and pastors on both sides, and so you must forgive a lack of specific references in this blog. This is not meant to be scholarly, only informative.

Here is the logic:

1. The church began in Abraham. We are only a continuation of what God has done since the Patriarchs through the nation of Israel. We are the True/Spiritual Israel.

2. The sign of the covenant since Abraham was given to infants, days after their birth, because they were born into the “covenant family.” Specifically, it was only given to males, in that the sign of the covenant was circumcision on the eighth day.

3. The New Testament is clear, neither circumcision, nor lack of circumcision is of any importance, only circumcision of the heart matters, that is, faith in Christ.

4. Furthermore, the New Testament is clear that we are neither Male nor female, etc. And so the sign of being in the covenant family can be given to both males and females.

5. In the New Testament the sign of belonging in and even the means of entering into the “covenant” or “covenant family” is no longer circumcision, but baptism.

6. Since I am the new Israel, my children are born into the Spiritual Covenant Family and so like those in Abraham’s line who have come before, I need to give them the sign of the covenant from infancy.

7. Therefore, I baptize infants.

The problem with this is Jesus said, I WILL build my church. The Church is not a continuation from the Old Testament, but a new entity within the plan of God. One doesn’t enter the covenant family by birth, but by new birth, by grace through faith in Christ. So we are to give the sign of the covenant to those who have become a part of the covenant family when they come to Christ through faith in the finished work of the cross.

The paedo-baptist have a certain logic that is consistent, but it doesn’t hold up to the Scriptures.