Holy Baptism
When a person comes to our country, he can make a living, send his children to school and be very successful. But he is not one of us until he is naturalized, takes the oath of allegiance and becomes a citizen. Then he has responsibilities and a claim on our country. It is much the same in a Christian civilization. Some people are surrounded by the Christian atmosphere and standards and enjoy benefits which are fruits of Christian social ideals – hospitals, charitable institutions, educational systems, etc. But they are not citizens of the Kingdom of God. They have never been naturalized by Baptism and are not one of us. When they are baptized, they take on spiritual responsibilities and have a claim on the favor of God.
Baptism with water was common with many peoples, including the Jews. When John the Baptist preached his message of repentance, everyone understood that water was being used as a symbol of ceremonial purification. The New Testament is very clear about the primary necessity of Baptism for all Christian people. Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” He told the apostles, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” The stories clearly indicate it was a consistent requirement of the early church. The first disciples would have been astonished to hear anyone claiming to be a Christian without first being baptized.
God made man in His own image, capable of living a God-like life. Somewhere, somehow, man made a false choice and failed God’s high purpose for mankind. A moral and spiritual taint got into the bloodline. In Theology, we call it the Fall of Man and the inheritance of Original Sin. Simply stated, we are naturally born into this world with certain inherited tendencies that, if followed, fail God’s purpose.
Man owes God the best he can give. When he fails, he can never make it up because he cannot give more than his best which he already owes. Only God, the source of perfection can remedy the situation. However, since man is a free agent, the correction needs to come of his choice. The Incarnation provides the answer. God became fully human in the person of Jesus and made the right choice. Men and women receive the medicine of perfection by identifying themselves with Christ. They get a fresh start. The method of cure prescribed by our Lord is the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. This is what theology means by redemption.
Baptism is a covenant which simply means a solemn agreement. We pledge certain things and God promises certain benefits. We pledge repentance, faith, and obedience. Repentance is more than remorse. It involves an act of the will that is determined to do better next time. Remorse is a morbid memory. Repentance is an effort to avoid causes for future remorse.
Faith is not the same as belief. Faith is an attitude of life. When St. Paul said that “a man is justified by faith,” he meant personal confidence in the Person of Christ. Faith means trust in God, loyalty to Christ, and reliance upon the Holy Ghost. Faith determines our Christian intention.
Obedience is the outcome of faith. It represents a desire and purpose to practice what we profess. By pledging obedience we accept those standards of Christian living, recognizing that God knows better than we do how our lives ought to be lived.
Baptism is a Sacrament that is not repeated, because it conveys an indelible “character;” although conditional baptism is available where questions exist. There are no levels of citizenship in the Kingdom of God. We may be poor members, but we still belong to God’s Kingdom. God promised three special benefits – forgiveness, regeneration, and grace. Forgiveness is often coupled with Baptism. “Be baptized . . . for the forgiveness of sins.” “Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.” We must remember that this refers to the forgiving of sins, not the ignoring of them.
We must remember to differentiate between bad manners and bad morals. We cannot list every offense as a sin. There is a great difference between divine law and human ordinances. Divine law represents permanent principles of conduct, while human ordinances may be only rules of temporary convenience for society. There is often no correlation between human ordinances and divine law. You will probably not be prosecuted for malicious gossip, poisonous insinuations, subtle half-truths and arbitrary selfishness. But they are violations of Christian decency and clearly offensive to God.
Regeneration means new birth and like any birth is a gift from God. It should not be confused with conversion. Being twice-born is not the same as being converted. Conversion is a change in a person’s approach to life. Regeneration is a gift of God. They may meet in any life, but arrive from opposite directions and one cannot replace the other. Regeneration in Holy Baptism is a birth into sonship. Conversion is the awakening to that sonship. Regeneration is the act of God. Conversion is the response of man. Regeneration is the bestowal of life. Conversion is the conscious assimilation of that life. Conversion may precede or follow regeneration. In St. Paul’s case, his baptism followed his conversion. In most cases, the conversion follows baptism.
Grace is another free gift of God that we have neither earned nor deserved. If God waited until we were worthy, no one would ever receive grace. St. Paul said, “By grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” It is an enabling spiritual power infused into human life by the Holy Spirit. A piece of steel in contact with a magnet acquires a mysterious power without any apparent change in material makeup. In Baptism a human soul is brought into contact with God and acquires a new power that was not there before. We may call it grace and it is renewed by repeated contacts such as Confirmation and Holy Communion. Baptism is more than a sign; it is an instrument. We are not baptized in order to show that we are Christians. It is through His Sacrament of Holy Baptism that we become Christians by union with Christ.
Sacraments are concerned with matter and form. The matter in Baptism is water. Spiritual things always have to do with quality rather than quantity. Therefore, the amount of water required for a baptism is not part of our Sacrament. Immersion (submergence), affusion (pouring), or aspersion (sprinkling) are all in harmony with the intent of the Sacrament.
The form in Baptism refers to the words of administration. Based on Jesus words, we baptize “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” To preserve the purity of the Gospel, the Church declared that Christian Baptism must be performed with water and with the words of administration. Baptism is required by Jesus explicitly. We must admit that Christ had a distinct purpose in mind. We should not play lightly with his intent.
We should always remember that Christ gave the Sacraments to the Church, and it is the Church which administers them. Our Lord’s command to baptize was to the Apostles originally. Thus, Baptism was first administered by the Apostles and later by the Bishops of the Church. As the Church continued to grow and expand, reserving this to the bishops caused an unacceptable delay in affording people the benefit of regeneration. Consequently, the authority to baptize was delegated to the priests. The personal worthiness of the minister has nothing whatever to do with his capacity to allow the Church to act through him.
Infant baptism was not an issue until the time of the Reformation. If spiritual regeneration is inherent in the Sacrament, there is little reason why infants should not receive it. Fifteen centuries of practice supplies a solid precedent. Because an infant is incapable of complying with the requirements of repentance, faith, and obedience, adult sponsors are required to insure they learn and follow their obligation when maturity is achieved. To insure the sponsorship is supplied, three god-parents are required – two of the gender of the child and one of the opposite. We must remember, Baptism is the primary Sacrament of the Christian faith and not to be taken lightly.