The “New Birth” from Various Protestant Perspectives
A comprehensive analysis of the Protestant understanding of the “new birth” is quite complex. This is largely due to the continuous fragmentation within Protestantism, which stems from its principle of free interpretation of Scripture, resulting in divisions that have grown vast and exponential. Consequently, what some Protestants see as pure and true doctrine, others regard as heresy.
Nevertheless, at the risk of oversimplifying, I will attempt to summarize Protestant views on the new birth by outlining the main lines of thought:
Lutheranism: The New Birth Occurs in Baptism
The initial Protestant doctrine, later opposed by Calvinist-leaning Protestantism and even more radically by the Anabaptist movement, teaches that the new birth occurs in baptism. Recognized as a sacrament where water serves as the material element united with the divine Word, baptism is understood as a work of God that brings about true regeneration in the believer, cleansing their sins and granting them adoption as a child of God through faith.
From this perspective, baptism is necessary for salvation, and there is often an emphasis on the need to baptize infants, making them participants in the covenant of grace.
During the Protestant Reformation, its leading figure, Martin Luther, strongly opposed any alternative understanding of the sacrament. In his Large Catechism, he referred to those who claimed that baptism was merely a symbol of the new birth as “sects”:
“Therefore, it is of the greatest importance that we value Baptism as excellent, glorious, and exalted, for which we contend and fight chiefly, because the world is now full of sects who exclaim that Baptism is merely an external thing, which nevertheless, it is not. […]
I can confidently state that Baptism is no mere human trifle, but instituted by God Himself; moreover, He has strictly commanded us to be baptized or we cannot be saved. […] This we know from the words of Christ: ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,’ but he that believeth not shall be damned. Accordingly, the work, benefits, fruits, and purpose of Baptism are to make us saved. […]
As for those who presume to know everything better than everyone else, these new spirits argue that only faith saves and that works and all external things contribute nothing to this. We respond: Certainly, faith brings salvation, as we shall still hear. […] But these blind guides refuse to see that faith must have something to believe, something on which it can depend and rest. So, faith clings to Baptism and believes it to be pure salvation and life, not through the water as such, but because it is connected with the divine Word and command and because God’s name is embedded in it. When I believe this, do I not believe in God, who has given and implanted His Word in Baptism and presents this external thing to us, so we might grasp the treasure therein? […]
They are so foolish as to separate faith from the object to which faith is attached, even if that object is external. It must necessarily be external, so that it can be grasped with the senses and thereby enter the heart, just as the entire Gospel is an external and oral proclamation. In short, God wants to work and act in us through such external means that He has instituted.”
Among the notable Protestant confessions of faith that retained this view are:
Augsburg Confession (1530)
The Augsburg Confession is a seminal document in the history of Lutheranism, drafted in 1530 by Philip Melanchthon, a close associate of Martin Luther. It was presented at the Diet of Augsburg, held in the Holy Roman Empire, before Emperor Charles V. This confession marked the first formal exposition of Lutheran principles and remains a foundational text for many Protestant churches worldwide. It is still adhered to by numerous Lutheran congregations and is included in the Book of Concord, a collection of key Lutheran doctrinal texts.
In Article II, the Augsburg Confession addresses original sin, emphasizing that human beings, due to the fall of Adam, are born in a state of sin and cannot attain salvation unless they are spiritually reborn through baptism:
“Also they teach that since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to nature are conceived and born in sin, that is, all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mother’s womb and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God. Moreover, this innate disease and original sin is truly sin and condemns to the eternal wrath of God all those who are not born again through Baptism and the Holy Ghost.”.
This passage underscores the Lutheran belief that original sin profoundly affects every person, making baptism essential for spiritual regeneration and salvation. Through this sacrament, a person is cleansed of sin and brought into a new, grace-filled life.
Article IX further reinforces the importance of baptism by affirming its necessity and condemning the rejection of infant baptism, a stance held by Anabaptists:
“Of Baptism they teach that it is necessary and that grace is offered through it, and that children should be baptized, who are thereby committed to God and become acceptable to Him. They condemn the Anabaptists, who reject the baptism of children, and say that children are saved without Baptism.”
This article emphasizes that baptism is not merely a symbolic act but a vital means of grace instituted by God. The practice of baptizing infants is seen as an extension of the covenant of grace, ensuring that even the youngest members of the community are brought into the fold of God’s promise. By rejecting Anabaptist views, the Augsburg Confession asserts that baptism should be universally administered, regardless of age, as a necessary step for salvation.
The Scots Confession (1560)
The Scots Confession is a statement of faith written in 1560 by six proponents of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, becoming the first standard of the Protestant church in that country. It originated when, in August 1560, the Scottish Parliament agreed to reform the nation’s religion. To allow them to determine what the Reformed Faith should be, Parliament tasked John Knox and five others—John Winram, John Spottiswoode, John Willock, John Douglas, and John Row—with drafting a Confession of Faith. It was enacted into law in 1567 and remained the Confession of the Church of Scotland until it was replaced by the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1648.
Regarding baptism, this confession of faith also condemns those who deny that it truly brings about the regeneration of the believer and reduce the sacraments to a merely symbolic character:
“We acknowledge and confess that now, in the time of the Gospel, we have two chief Sacraments only, instituted by the Lord Jesus, and commanded to be used by all those that will be reputed members of his body, to wit, Baptism and the Supper or Table of the Lord Jesus, called the Communion of His Body and His Blood.
These Sacraments, as well of the Old as of the New Testament, were instituted by God, not only to make a visible difference betwixt his people and those that were without the Covenant, but also to exercise the faith of his children, and by participation of these sacraments to seal in their hearts the assurance of his promise, and of that most blessed conjunction, union, and society which the elect have with their head, Christ Jesus. And thus we utterly condemn the vanity of those who affirm that sacraments are nothing else but naked and bare signs. No, we assuredly believe that by Baptism we are ingrafted into Christ Jesus, to be made partakers of his justice, by the which our sins are covered and remitted.”
Calvinism and Anabaptism: The New Birth Does Not Occur in Baptism
Exposed to the free interpretation of the Bible, Protestant doctrine did not develop uniformly, even among the reformers themselves, which also affected their understanding of the sacraments. Unlike Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli reduced the sacraments to mere covenants among believers. John Calvin retained the traditional scholastic definition and agreed with Luther in recommending their use, but he separated the visible elements of the sacraments from the grace that only the elect could enjoy. From his perspective, baptism did not confer spiritual graces; rather, it was a symbol that was not effective in relation to its meaning.
It is within this context that other Protestant confessions of faith emerged. Below, I mention some of the most important:
Westminster Confession (1646)
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a theological and doctrinal summary of the Calvinist Protestant creed, promulgated in 1646. It encapsulates the doctrine of the Reformed Protestant churches that emerged from the Calvinist movement in Britain, with historical roots in the teachings of the Protestant reformer John Calvin during the 16th century in Geneva, Switzerland.
It was initially crafted for the Church of England, but it also remains a subordinate doctrinal standard for the Church of Scotland and has influenced Presbyterian churches worldwide. The Westminster Confession continues to this day as the authoritative statement of faith for the majority of Presbyterian churches.
Although it identifies baptism as a sacrament, it understands it only as a symbol or sign of the new birth:
“Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church, but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life. Which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in His Church until the end of the world.”
It accepts as valid baptism by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling, as long as it is performed in the name of the Holy Trinity and water is used as the material element:
“The outward element to be used in this sacrament is water, wherewith the party is to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by a minister of the Gospel, lawfully called thereunto.
Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary; but baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person.”
It also accepts infant baptism and rejects re-baptizing a person more than once, a practice followed by the Anabaptists:
“Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one, or both, believing parents, are to be baptized.
Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this ordinance, yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it, as that no person can be regenerated or saved without it; or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated.
… The sacrament of Baptism is but once to be administered to any person.”
Following the Westminster Confession, other derivative Protestant confessions of faith remained in the same vein, such as the Savoy Declaration of 1658.
London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
Many Protestants, including Baptists who were not satisfied with the Westminster Confession and the Savoy Declaration, drafted their own confession of faith in 1677, later modifying it to produce the 1689 version, which is still used by many congregations around the world today.
In this confession of faith, a more clearly transformative evolution of the Protestant understanding of baptism can be observed. Baptism is no longer even recognized as a sacrament but is reduced to the category of an ordinance. From this perspective, the believer is not regenerated (born again) in baptism, nor does it confer the remission of sins; rather, it is merely a sign of the new birth. It adopts the Anabaptist rejection of infant baptism and the forms of baptism by pouring and sprinkling, recognizing only baptism by immersion as valid:
“Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with Him, in His death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into Him; of remission of sins; and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
Those who do actually profess repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.
The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, wherein the party is to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Immersion of the person in water is necessary for the due administration of this ordinance.”
The Path to Extreme Calvinism
In this way, Protestant doctrine on the sacraments and baptism gradually shifted, leading to positions that, in some cases, became irreconcilable. The first element in understanding this evolution is, perhaps, the doctrine of the reformer Martin Luther on salvation by faith alone. When taken to its ultimate consequences, this belief has led to contradictory conclusions.
The issue arises because if, as Luther thought, only fiduciary faith is necessary for salvation, it made sense for other Protestants to conclude that the sacraments were not truly essential and should be reduced to mere pedagogical symbols. For this reason, they assume that when Jesus told Nicodemus that one must be born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven, He could not have been referring to baptism, but rather was speaking only of believing in Him. Therefore, in answering this question, instead of seeking the response in the immediate context, they looked to other biblical texts such as: “For if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9), or “He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life.” (John 3:36; 6:47). These texts do not speak of being born again but rather of faith as necessary for salvation.
The syllogism follows this reasoning: if being born again is necessary for salvation, and Jesus speaks of salvation through faith in Him, then it is at the moment of faith that one is born again. From this perspective, the new birth and faith occur simultaneously. At the moment a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are regenerated (born again). When they receive Christ by faith, they also receive the gift of eternal life.
However, there was another fundamental aspect of Lutheran and Calvinist doctrine that led some Protestants to reject even this position: the concept of total depravity. This doctrine teaches that, due to original sin, human free will has been utterly destroyed, leaving man spiritually dead and thus incapable of believing in Christ. In this view, God, in a sovereign act, brings spiritual life to the spiritually dead, which they identify as the new birth. In this act, the sinner is entirely passive; God actively works in their heart, changing their nature and enabling them to perceive the things of the Spirit. The new birth produces faith, not the other way around.
This is where Calvinism arrives at one of its most controversial points: double predestination, wherein God, by an absolute and antecedent decree, has destined some to be saved, and He regenerates them by granting them the new birth, while predestining the rest to eternal condemnation.
From this perspective, Jesus Christ died only for the elect, and He desires that only they be saved. Meanwhile, the rest, no matter how much they seek God or live religiously, will never be able to be born again, nor is there anything they can do to achieve it. If someone has faith, it is because they have been regenerated by God’s grace. If they do not have faith, they can only wait and hope that God regenerates them, if they are among the predestined; only from that moment on will they have faith.
