Certain disputations of right to sacraments, and the true nature of visible Christianity defending…

Among all these senses, it is the first in which we here take the word [Godly] so that it is only Christian Godliness that we mean, which is a sincere believing in God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, even with true intellectual Assent, and hearty Consent: from which heart-Godliness, there follows that sincere Obedience to the will of God (to first and second Table) which is the proper fruit of it: and Repentance after disobedience known. It is therefore such a Godliness as is proper to them that have the promise of Justification and Salvation that we mean, comprehending Repentance towards God, and ⟨p. 251⟩Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Of the contrary to this only is the Question.

4. By (Notoriously) ungodly, we mean such as do evidently manifest their ungodly hearts, 1. either by verbal professing it; 2. or by their rebellious ungodly lives, that they leave to those that converse with them, no just & reasonable ground to judge them in probability to be Godly, but are certainly known by those that live about them, yea, by the Church (if they are members of any particular Church,) who have an ordinary competent ability to discern, to be ungodly persons, that is, not to believe in God as aforesaid, but to be indeed contemners of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as all are that are not Godly, though not all in a like degree. They that are notoriously known to be thus ungodly, or unholy, or unbelievers, are those here intended.

5. By (Baptized) Parents, we mean only such as have had the external sign joined to a Profession of the Christian faith, and Dedication to God; and so have covenanted ore tenus with God by themselves, or parents: and not those that have been sincerely Dedicated to him, and so have God re-engaged unto them: For it is a contradiction for to call such at the time of such Devotedness [notoriously ungodly:] and to say that they fall from it, is contrary to the judgement of those whom we now deal with, and therefore not to be expected. Some do so define Baptism, as to make it essentially to be Gods actual sealing and exhibiting, of an actual pardon to the person baptized. But we take it not thus: We speak only of those that have so formlay performed and received the externals of that Ordinance, as that the Church doth justly take them for her baptized Members, though yet they were not truly united to Christ, nor was God ever actually reconciled to them, as his People.