PROPOSITION: Is Christian Baptism
sacramental and regenerational or is it merely a symbol?
FACT: The vast majority of
Christians (i.e. Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans,
Lutherans, Methodists, etc.) believe that Baptism is
regenerational -- that is to say, that the Sacrament itself
transforms the person by "water and the Word," (cf. Eph
5:26) thus adopting that person into the Body of Christ and
making that person a participant in the very same Sonship which
Christ Himself enjoys with the Father (cf. Romans 8:15-17,
Galatians 4:6-7).
FACT: From earliest times,
literally every Church Father and Christian bishop, as well as
every orthodox Christian scholar until the Protestant
reformation, understood Baptism as regenerational. This included
Martin Luther and most of the Protestant reformers who followed
him.
FACT: Yet, despite this, there are
several Christian groups which deny that Baptism is
regenerational, holding instead that it is merely an outward sign
or symbol of one's inner faith in Christ. In this, they maintain
that it is one's personal acceptance of Christ that matters; and
that Baptism is no more than a ceremony in which one publicly
proclaims and displays one's faith. Indeed, these same Christian
groups believe that the doctrine of Baptismal regeneration is a
corruption of what the Apostles preached, reducing the
significance of this supposedly "symbolic ceremony" to
the level of "magic" or "superstition." In
this, they hold that only personal faith in Christ is of any
importance and that "sprinkling water on someone's
head" does absolutely nothing in and of itself.
Yet, can this position be correct?
Well, to see, let's turn to the Scriptures themselves.
First of all, it must be said that
there are many verses of Scripture which give the proponents of
"symbolic Baptism" a great deal of trouble. These
include:
1 Peter 3:21-22 – "This
prefigured Baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of
dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for a clear conscious,
through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ …"
Acts 2:38 – "Peter said to
them, 'Repent and be Baptized, every one of you, in the Name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' "
Mark 16:16 – "Whoever
believes and is Baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe
will be condemned."
So, aside from one's personal
faith, the act of Baptism itself appears to be very important
indeed. Those who hold that Baptism is merely symbolic cannot
ignore this if they wish to take Scripture seriously.
Yet, let's look at this issue from
another angle. For example, as we've already seen in Acts 2:38,
Baptism is clearly associated with the forgiveness of sins:
"Repent and be Baptized,
every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit."
Now, this being the case, one
cannot avoid seeing a connection between Baptism and Jesus'
healing miracles -- miracles which He almost always associated
with the forgiveness of sins. For example, in Mark 2:3-12 we
read:
"They came bringing him a
paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus
because of the crowd, they opened the roof above him. After
they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the
paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to
the paralytic 'Child, your sins are forgiven.' Now some of
the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, 'Why does
this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone
can forgive sins?' Jesus immediately knew in His mind what
they were thinking to themselves, so He said, 'Why are you
thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say
to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven" or to
say "Rise, pick up your mat and walk?" But that you
may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on
earth' -- He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, rise, pick
up your mat, and go home.' He rose, picked up his mat at
once, and went away in the sight of everyone."
So, from this, we can clearly see
that the Scriptures draw a connection between Jesus' miracles and
the forgiveness of sins. So, why do I bring this up? :-) Because
it forces us to ask a very significant question:
QUESTION: What was the source of
Jesus' miracles? Did the Lord's miracles emanate from Jesus
Himself, being direct acts of His Divine, creative authority, or
were they produced merely by the individual's personal faith in
Jesus? Was it the individual's faith, and only the individual's
faith, which brought about the miracle (i.e. a mystical,
"psychosomatic" response)? Or was it something more?
And, indeed, the answer to this
question is all-important to one's view of Baptism. If Jesus'
miracles came about through His own power bestowed upon an
individual, then Baptismal regeneration is certainly possible.
Yet, if it was merely the person's faith in Jesus which cured
them, then Baptism as a symbol makes perfect sense.
And, indeed, at first glance this
seems to be the case. After all, how many times did Jesus say to
those He cured "Thy faith has healed thee" or "Thy
faith has made thee whole" ?
Therefore, can we not say that
these miracles, like Baptism itself, are merely the product of
the person's faith?
No. :-) No, we cannot. Because, if
we turn to Mark 5:25-34, we see that it was not merely the
person's faith, but also power emanating from Jesus which brought
about these miracles.
"There was a woman
afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered
greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that
she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had
heard about Jesus and came up behind Him in the crowd and
touched His cloak. She said, 'If I but touch His clothes, I
shall be cured.' Immediately, her flow of blood dried up. She
felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that POWER HAD GONE OUT FROM HIM,
turned and asked, ' Who has touched my clothes?' …The
woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear
and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told Him the
whole truth. He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has saved
you.' "
Ah! So, it was not merely this
woman's faith. Rather, it was the woman's faith in combination
with a very real power bestowed by Jesus. Thus, how can we say
that Baptism is any different???
For example, would the proponents
of "symbolic Baptism" suggest that the Lord's power to
heal was somehow "magical" or
"superstitious"? I doubt they would. :-) Yet, that is
exactly what they say in regard to Baptismal regeneration.
Yet, didn't Jesus commission His
disciples to Baptize in His name (Matt 28:19)? Just as he
commissioned them to heal and cast out demons in His name, right?
:-)
So, then, if Jesus' miracles (and
those of His disciples) were acts of regeneration, so is His
Sacrament of Baptism. Indeed, it cannot be otherwise, UNLESS
(a) One wishes to say that
Jesus possessed no personal power to heal or perform
miracles, but that these miracles were merely
"psychosomatic" responses from those who believed
in Him, OR...
(b) Despite Mark 2:1-12, etc.,
Jesus' healing miracles had no connection to the forgiveness
of sins (and, thus, Jesus made people physically whole while
leaving them spiritually alienated from the Father – a
ridiculous proposition).
Yet, if one takes either of these
positions, one must also be willing to ignore the Scriptures
(viz. Mark 2:1-12 & Mark 5:30).
As for the orthodox Christian
understanding of Baptism (that of Baptismal regeneration), we
recognize that Christ still touches people through the ministry
of His Church. In this, we recognize that two things are
necessary for salvation:
(1) Christ's free offer of
salvation, and ...
(2) Our willing acceptance of
this free offer of salvation.
If this were not the case (i.e. if
#2 above was not necessary), then everyone who ever existed would
have been automatically saved when Jesus died on the Cross (1 Tim
2:4). And it is in the realm of #2 which our faith comes in.
Yet, #1 is also an intimate
reality for those of us who understand the Traditional doctrine
of Baptismal regeneration. In this, Christ does not merely offer
us salvation through a promise made 2000 years ago. Rather, He
offers it to us in personal intimacy through the Sacrament of His
Church. And, through this Sacrament, He touches us directly, just
as He directly touched the paralytic and the woman with the
hemorrhage. And, thus, in Baptism, we have
(1) Christ's healing power,
through the ministry of His Body (the Church), touching us
and making us whole, and …
(2) Our faith in Christ moving
us to accept this healing power.
And this is how Christ takes us
unto Himself.
So, according to the Scriptures,
Baptism is regenerational, sacramental, and intrinsic to one's
acceptance of Christ. For, as the Lord says, it cannot be
otherwise:
"Amen, amen, I say to
you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born
of water and the Spirit." – John 3:5
