The Sacrament of Baptism

Baptism - What is it?

In Catholic theology, baptism is a necessary sacrament to achieve salvation. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states,

CCC 1257

"The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments."

The Bible often uses water as a sign of cleansing, such as the flood purifying the earth of the unrighteous (Genesis 8; 2 Peter 2:5). Many Protestant scholars have made claims that baptism is meant to be an outward profession of faith and that it has no regenerative properties. In the following segments I will show how baptism cleanses us of our sins, enters one into the Body of Christ, makes one a new creature, and a son or daughter of Christ.

Baptism as Regenerative

CCC 1215

"This sacrament is also called 'the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,' for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one 'can enter the kingdom of God.'"

Baptism is called regenerative because it, "brings about the birth of water and the Spirit". Or as St. Thomas Aquinas states,

Summa Theologica, I, Q. 43, Art. 7

"The visible mission was directed to Christ at the time of His baptism by the figure of a dove, a fruitful animal, to show forth in Christ the authority of the giver of grace by spiritual regeneration; hence the Father's voice spoke, 'This is My beloved Son' (Matt. 3:17), that others might be regenerated to the likeness of the only Begotten."

Further, this view can be seen all throughout the Bible. First, let's look at a prophecy from Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 36:24-28

24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.
25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
28 You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Ezekiel appears to be prophesying the New Covenant. I have left the verse numbers in for clarity, so let's look at some of the things mentioned:

1. Water cleanses from sin (v. 25)
2. Spiritual rebirth (v. 26)
3. Gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 27)
4. Entrance into God's people (v. 28)

Now we can look to the New Testament and see if water Baptism also corresponds with these.

1. Water cleanses from sin (Acts 22:16)
2. Spiritual rebirth (John 3:5)
3. Gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)
4. Entrance into God's people (Acts 2:41)

It's very clear baptism is not just a sign, but rather a gift given out of grace and love by God for us that we may be made anew and cleansed of our sins.

Baptism in the Early Church

The Fathers of the Church all recognized the importance of baptism. Justin Martyr said that, "Without baptism, salvation is attainable by none" in his work titled Baptism. Further, the Fathers recognized the concept of being "born again" (John 3:5) as a reference to baptism. For example the 3rd century Church Father Hippolytus stated,

Homilies 11:26 [A.D. 217]

“Perhaps someone will ask, ‘What does it conduce unto piety to be baptized?’ In the first place, that you may do what has seemed good to God; in the next place, being born again by water unto God so that you change your first birth, which was from concupiscence, and are able to attain salvation, which would otherwise be impossible. For thus the [prophet] has sworn to us: ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you are born again with living water, into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ Therefore, fly to the water, for this alone can extinguish the fire. He who will not come to the water still carries around with him the spirit of insanity for the sake of which he will not come to the living water for his own salvation”

The earliest mention of saving baptism in the early Church is found in the Shepherd of Hermas:

The Shepherd 4:3:1–2 [A.D. 80]

“‘I have heard, sir,’ said I [to the Shepherd], ‘from some teacher, that there is no other repentance except that which took place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of our former sins.’ He said to me, ‘You have heard rightly, for so it is’”

In chapter 7 of the Didache, a first century catechism, it gives the actual early Church procedure for a baptism:

Didache, Ch. 7

"And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 in living water. But if you have not living water, baptize into other water; and if you can not in cold, in warm. But if you have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whatever others can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before."

Lastly, as Pauls says,

Romans 6:3-6

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin."

Paul makes it clear. Baptism is like a spiritual death that lets us walk in newness of life, united with Christ, and sets us free from sin.

Infant Baptism

Many Protestants reject the view of baptizing infants because they claim a child can't make a public profession of faith. But as we have already shown, baptism is far more than profession of faith. It brings us into the Church and cleanses us from sin, such benefits are crucial especially for infants if they are to be saved. As the Catechism states,

CCC 1250

"Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called. The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth."

Second, baptism is compared to circumcision by Paul in Colossians when he says,

Colossians 2:11-12

"In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead."

Both baptism and circumcision were part of the New and Old Covenant respectively as ways to join one to God. It would make sense that because children could be circumcised (Genesis 17:10; Luke 2:21) in the Old Covenant, then children could be baptized in the New Covenant.

Acts 16:31-34 and 1 Corinthians 1:16 both also state that whole households were baptized. This makes even more sense concerning Christ's call in Mark 10:13-16 to let all children come to him. If baptism truly does what Scripture says it does, everybody should be baptized.

Conclusion

Baptism points the soul to God, allowing one to worship and serve him with their life. Through it we are regenerated, cleansed of our sin, and are joined to the body of Christ. And as Pope Leo I states,

Letters 15:10[11] [A.D. 445]

“And because of the transgression of the first man, the whole stock of the human race was tainted; no one can be set free from the state of the old Adam save through Christ’s sacrament of baptism, in which there are no distinctions between the reborn, as the apostle [Paul] says, ‘For as many of you as were baptized in Christ did put on Christ; there is neither Jew nor Greek . . . ‘ [Gal. 3–28]”