Michael Haykin, a Reformed Baptist historian, was recently asked for recommended reading on baptism and on the Lord’s Supper.
First, on baptism:
Well, first of all David Kingdon, Children of Abraham: A Reformed Baptist View of Baptism, The Covenant, and Children (Haywards Heath, Sussex: Carey Publications, 1973). It is out of print, but it is the best twentieth-century study of baptism from a Reformed and Baptist perspective.
Paul K. Jewett, Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1978) is a similar study and also well worth reading. . . .
There are older works, by authors like Alexander Carson, that are worthwhile, but these two are the best from the past century.
Then, for historical discussions of early Christian baptism I would recommend two small books: Hendrick F. Stander and Johannes P. Louw, Baptism in the Early Church (Leeds: Reformation Today Trust, 2004) is a gem and F.M. Buhler, Baptism: Three Aspects (Dundas, Ontario: Joshua Press, 2004) is a much-overlooked piece that helpfully deals with the archaeological evidence pertaining to early Christian baptismal practice.
And on the Lord’s Supper:
Keith Mathison, Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper (P&R Publishing, 2002): the best study of Calvin’s vital thought on this ordinance.
Anne Dutton, Thoughts on the Lord’s Supper, Relating to the Nature, Subjects, and Right Partaking of This Solemn Ordinance (London: J. Hart, 1748): a classic Baptist reflection.
And two contemporary studies—each small, but both powerful:
Ernest Kevan, The Lord’s Supper (Welwyn, Hertfordshire: Evangelical Press, 1966).
Robert Letham, The Lord’s Supper: Eternal Word in Broken Bread (P&R Publishing, 2001).
