Faith and baptism according to the Scriptures. Infant Baptism. Baptism by immersion.

“Some declare that being born of water and the spirit means baptism in water…. Water is a symbol of THE WORD OF GOD” (1).

    To support himself, the author of this pamphlet quotes the first letter of Peter: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of imperishable, through the word of God that lives and abides forever (1 Pet 1, 23), and Paul to the Ephesians: Christ loved the church, and gave himself for her, to sanctify her, having cleansed her with the washing of water by the word. (Eph 5, 25-26).

     For evangelicals, Baptism is nothing more than an external sign of an internal conversion. It is nothing more than a testimony. It does nothing in the soul. Baptism for them is not as important in salvation as we will see. What is necessary is to believe in Jesus, accept him as a “personal savior,” and with this they are “saved.”If one is never baptized it is not so important.

     In the pamphlets distributed by evangelicals we read: “The moment you fully trust in Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord, at that very moment you are saved forever.“(Fellowship Tract League)

     in the brochure Treasures of heaven written by Mel Gerrard, it says, “Did you receive Jesus into your heart by faith?If so, you are born again!“.

     In another work by RA Torrey and distributed by “The Evangelical Baptist Church” we read: “No one can be saved unless he is born again by the Spirit of God. We are born again by the Holy Spirit of God through his word“.

     Here we see that being “saved” consists of nothing more than believing, trusting in Jesus. It is being born of the Spirit through the Word of God. The Catholic Church says that salvation is a gift from God; but it involves more than just believing. Trust is extremely important but it is not everything. According to the Bible there is something more.

     While the brothers say “The moment you trust… you are saved.”The Bible says otherwise: He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mk 16, 16). The Bible adds “he was baptized.”It does not say he who believes will be saved and born again AND NOTHING ELSE.Nor does it say that “being born again” is only being born of the Spirit. The word of God says that being born again (another possible translation is “born from above”) is of water and the Spirit. For both.

Born from above

     Evangelicals cite John 3:3 to say that one must be “born again” to be saved (see, for example, the article “Born Again” by C. H. Spurgeon, The Good Seed 2 1995, p. 25): Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.. The word Jesus uses is anōthen which can mean “again” as Nicodemus understood it. How can a man be born old? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born? (v. 4). But anōthen has another meaning too: “from above”, and this is what Jesus meant: Unless one is born from above he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is “born from above?”It is being baptized and having the Holy Spirit descend “from above.”In John 1:32 Jesus was baptized and the Spirit descended from above: I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove.The entire context of John 3 deals with baptism. That’s why Jesus clarified it: Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a person is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (Jn 3, 5). To confirm with his actions what he had just said, Jesus began to baptize so that we would understand this need: After this, Jesus came with his disciples to the land of Judea, and was there with them, and baptized (Jn 3, 22). Sometimes, as a nascent Church, he delegated to his disciples to do it (4, 2) in his place so that people would not think that he was doing it in imitation of John (See 3, 23 and 4, 1). That is why the meaning that Jesus immediately uses for anōthen in Jn 3, 31: The one above (anōthen), it is above all… He who comes from heaven is above all. Being born again then is not “accepting Jesus as my personal Savior” (2) but to be baptized when the Holy Spirit descends from above.

     We see both things: water and Spirit also in Titus 3, 5: He saved us, not because of works of righteousness that we had done, but because of his mercy, by the washing (baptism in Greek) of regeneration and by renewal in the Holy Spirit.

     So salvation is more than “just believing.”(In fact, according to James 2, 19 demons also believe, but they are not saved). The Scriptures show us that, within God’s plan for our salvation, baptism enters: Let us draw near with a sincere heart, in full certainty of faith, having our hearts purified from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb 10, 22).

     Peter did not say, “Convert…accept Jesus…nothing more and you will be saved” but: Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). In this text we see that with believing and baptizing comes the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit. Talking to many evangelicals, they told me that baptism is nothing more than an external sign of their conversion to Christ, that baptism does nothing inside a man. Baptism does not save, according to evangelicals, but in the Bible we read: Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves us, not by removing the filth of the flesh (other Bibles: “physical stain” either “cleanse the body” or “body dirt“) but in the aspiration of a good conscience towards God… (1 Pet 3, 21). In Baptism we are born again and renewed by the Holy Spirit.

     “The Westminster Confession formulated in 1646 has become the doctrinal norm of the Presbyterian churches. Although baptism by immersion is accepted, the most used form is by sprinkling…baptism It has nothing to do with regeneration, rather it means union with Christ and his “body”, that is, the visible Church.” Father, Les Thompson, Roman and Non-Roman Christianity, Pub. El Faro, Mexico, 1988, p.76. That baptism does not regenerate?you just have to read Tit 3, 5: the washing of regeneration… Is it true that baptism does nothing in the soul and is only an external testimony? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins calling on his name (Acts 22, 16).

     With these texts we see the truth of the teaching of the Catholic Church. Baptism is more than just an order (“an ordinance” some Protestants say). It is a sacrament that washes away sins. (3).Paul puts baptism on the same list with “Lord” and “faith” (Eph 4:5). This indicates its importance!John the Baptist says that the baptism of Jesus is with Spirit and fire (Mt 3, 11). Why “fire”?This indicates that the baptism of Jesus not only bathes the exterior of the person, but also purifies the interior, just as fire also cooks the interior of things and not only the exterior.

     We can now answer Mr. De Haan’s claim quoted above that the water mentioned in John 3:5 is only a symbol of the Word of God and not real water. When Paul speaks of washing of water by the word (Eph 5:25-26), he is talking about the Trinitarian formula that must accompany baptism: in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). Simply putting someone in water without these words is not baptism. It is merely getting wet, nothing more. Regarding Peter’s text of being reborn by the Word (1 Pet 1, 23), reading the context we see that it is about having believed in the preaching of the Word of God that remains forever in such a way that the person confesses Jesus Christ and is baptized in his name. His faith, plus baptism, makes him reborn. In Mt 3:11 baptism with FIRE is added because baptism purifies internally.

     Look what you lose by not being baptized: Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?For we were buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead… even so we too might walk in newness of life. (Ro 6, 3-4. See Col 2, 12). It is sad that evangelicals rebaptize Catholics who convert to their church. Christ died and was buried only once and baptism is participating in his death. That is why it is not repeated, because there is one faith, one baptism (Eph 4, 5).

     It is true that the evildoer forgiven by Jesus was not baptized. But how could he have done it in his situation?

     All of you, when you were baptized into Christ, put on Christ (Gal 3, 26 version Latin America). All of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Reina-Valera). In other words, it is not only accepting Jesus as my personal savior that unites me to Him, but also being baptized. And there are not two baptisms because Eph 4:5 says that there is “one baptism.”Baptizing with water and with the Spirit goes together.

     I tell you brother that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord but that does not mean I am born again. I was born again because of what Christ, our Life and Salvation, did through the Holy Spirit when I was baptized. It is very important to accept Christ as Savior and Lord, but it is not what Jesus Christ said to Nicodemus.

     Baptism is so important that there is only one says Eph 4, 5. (That is why it is unbiblical to be rebaptized when one leaves Catholicism and is baptized again) (4).

Maybe you ask me, why do they baptize children?Please continue reading.

And the children?

    “We do not baptize babies, but we encourage parents to dedicate their children to the Lord in a public worship service” (p. 21). Assemblies of God, Who we are and what we believe, Gospel Publishing House (revised edition 1985).

     Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, in which I will make a new covenant… I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts;and I will be their God, and they will be my people… they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord;because I will forgive their faults (Jer 31, 31-34).

     The brothers say that you have to be an adult (or at least have the use of reason) to be baptized. They use the example of Jesus, who was an adult when he was baptized by John. BUT JOHN’S BAPTISM IS NOT THAT OF CHRISTIANS.The baptism that Jesus received was not because he repented. Nor was it to receive the Holy Spirit, he had always had it. John the Baptist teaches us the difference between the two baptisms: I have truly baptized you with water;but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mc 1,8. See also Acts 11, 16 and 19, 3-5). John did not baptize in name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit.Jesus was baptized to manifest his authority: And then, as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven saying: You are my beloved Son;in you I am pleased (Mk 1, 10-11). John’s baptism was the Jewish baptism that was only an external rite that did not purify internally. Every good Jew, like Jesus, did it.

     It is clear that if one thinks that baptism is only an outward sign of conversion and nothing more, it is reasonable to only baptize adults who have accepted Christ. Is it true that baptism is nothing more than this?We saw that it is not. In the list of Ephesians 4:5, baptism appears together with “one Lord” and “one faith.”It’s very important!Is it correct to follow the model of Jesus’ baptism as the norm?Neither.

     The Church recognizes the importance of baptizing adults. The rite is called Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.It is a process of study, reflection and prayer with the Bible, for at least a year. It is also clear that, from the beginning, Christians baptized babies as we will see later.

The reasons for baptizing children

     John 3:5 says that to enter the Kingdom of God you must be born of water. It does not say that this rule is only for adults. Then the child has the right to enter the kingdom because theirs is the kingdom (Lk 18, 16). According to Psalm 51, 5-7 (and Rom 3, 10 and 23) we are all sinners from the beginning of our existence: Behold, I was formed in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. We are sinners, by nature children of wrath (Eph 2, 3). Because death entered through one man… in Adam all die… in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor 15, 21-22). And how is this done?: by faith and by baptism.

     For two thousand years, from the time of Abraham until the coming of Christ, God showed his people that he wanted children to belong to the Old Covenant with Him: And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your descendants after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant… you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. (Gen 17, 7,9-10). In the OT, the sign of entering into the covenant with God was circumcision: EVERY male among you will be circumcised (Gen 17, 10). It was made eight days after birth (See Isaac in Gen 21, 4 and Paul in Phil 3,5).

     With Christ the sign changed to baptism. The New Covenant is now a circumcision of Christ;buried with him in baptism: In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sinful body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ;buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead (Col 2, 11-12).

     As we saw, we approached Jesus through baptism (Gal 3:27) and Christ ordered that the children participate: Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;for of such is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 19, 14).

     Jewish children were part of the Old Covenant through circumcision: And God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: Behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your descendants (Gen 9, 8-9). Therefore now Jehovah says…Blow the trumpet in Zion, proclaim a fast, call an assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the meeting, gather the elders, gather the children and those who suck… (Joel 2, 12-16). Could it be that the New Covenant, which is not only for the Jews but for all nations, is more limited than the Old?God’s family includes everyone. The promise is for your children too (Acts 2, 39).

     Then the king ordered to gather with him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with the priests and prophets and with all the people, from the smallest to the largest;And as they heard him, he read all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, that they would follow the LORD, and keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, with all their heart and with all their soul, and that they would fulfill the words of the covenant that were written in that book. AND all the people confirmed the pact (2 Kings 23, 1-3). It says that ALL the people confirmed the pact. Among the people they were “from the smallest” (in this society, not only because of their age the child was “small” but because of the place they occupied in it). Surely the parents had to confirm the pact on their behalf.

     Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, in which I will make a new covenant….I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts;and I will be their God, and they will be my people…. they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord;because I will forgive their faults (Jer 31, 31-34).

     The Bible says: Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Rom 4:3), and the sign of faith of the adult Jew was circumcision in the likeness of Abraham (Rom 4:11-12). And yet, God commanded the boys to be circumcised so that they would become part of God’s family (Lev 12:3 and Ex 12:48).

     Paul understood the passage through the Red Sea as a prefiguration of Baptism: For I do not want you, brothers, to be unaware that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all crossed the sea;and all in Moses were baptized in the cloud and in the sea...(1 Cor 10, 1-2). Was it only adults who passed through the Red Sea?

     Baptism is being born again into the family of God (Eph 2:6-19) and the parents make the decision to bring the child to this family. When a child is born into a family, he does not first make an arrangement with his parents. Do we have to wait to be conscious to be true children of our parents?The Apostles followed the same idea. Peter says on the day of Pentecost: Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins;and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because for you is the promise, and for your children (Acts 2:38-39).

     The child has the right to be clothed by Christ (Gal 3:27) and participate in his death (Rom 6:3-4). That is why the Church baptized children from the beginning, following the Apostles in that. Paul said: the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife in the husband;otherwise your children would be unclean, while now they are holy (1 Cor 7, 14). The evangelical argument that a baby cannot be a Christian because it does not have a personal relationship with Christ lacks reflection. We consider the parallel relationship between the child and its mother. This is clearly a personal relationship that the baby has with her although she cannot conceptualize who her relatives are. His parents care for him, love him, support him even before the baby can reciprocate. The baby definitely has a relationship with them: They are his parents!The same thing happens in your relationship with God. It’s YOUR son.

The entire family baptized

     In the NT we see that the entire family was baptized: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your house (Acts 16, 31). Notice that the master of the house makes the decision for everyone, that is, Paul tells him “believe” not “believe” (the whole family): He was baptized with all his people (Acts 16, 33). This phrase would have to refer to his children because being a jailer, a humble position in society, it was almost impossible for him to have servants. If he didn’t have children he would say “he and his wife were baptized.”

     Paul baptized all Stephanas’ household (1 Cor 1, 16), and in Acts we read that: the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the speech. Then Peter answered: Can anyone prevent water, that these should be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he ordered them to be baptized… (Acts 10:44-48). This “all” would also include the babies in the house and the children carried by their parents and not left alone (See v. 24).

     Look at Acts 18:8 where we find Crispus, a rich man who probably had a large family and many servants: And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house;And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

     In Acts we see the same idea: Send men to Joppa and bring Simon, who is surnamed Peter; he will speak words to you by which you AND YOUR WHOLE HOUSEHOLD will be saved. (11:14. See 10:44 and 48).

For the sick

     Sin is a disease of the soul, it is a discomfort in my relationship with God and also a slavery: Jesus answered them: Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. (Jn 8, 34). And Jesus came for the sinners he describes as sick: When Jesus heard this, he said to them: Those who are healthy do not need a doctor, but those who are sick (Mk 2, 17). Children are born with a fallen human nature stained by original sin. Because of Adam’s rebellion, this nature is “sick” and needs the healing of Jesus through the washing by baptism (1 Pet 3:21). What parent whose child is sick would say, “You’re a child and you can’t decide for yourself, so I’m not going to take you to the hospital until you’re older and can decide if you want to go”?The child could die!

     Do you remember that when we are baptized we put on Christ?Don’t parents worry that their child has food, medicine and all kinds of care?Is the child asked beforehand if he wants to get dressed before putting clothes on him? Of course not.

     Baptizing children demonstrates that union with God is His initiative rather than man’s, because a child knows nothing. Salvation history shows us that God always takes the initiative in dealing with us: when we were weak… being enemies, we were reconciled to God, through the death of his Son (Rom 5, 6 and 10).”We were his enemy” and God acted through Jesus Christ without asking our opinion or expecting us to respond. Without them recognizing Jesus: The parents brought their children to him so he could touch them. (Lk 18, 15).(According to the Greek, they were babies). The total gratuitousness of salvation is particularly manifested in the infant Baptism.

     Jesus never ordered to baptize only adults: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you (Mt 28, 19-20). The word order is interesting. Jesus says “baptize” BEFORE “teach.”While some evangelicals say that a person must be taught to believe before being baptized – that is why a child cannot be baptized because he or she cannot learn – Catholic parents baptize them and commit to teaching them afterwards. The faith required for baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. Parents and godparents promise to accompany the child in his or her growth in faith and maturation in his or her relationship with Jesus Christ. If some do not keep their promise, it is another problem.

     Methodists baptize children by immersion, or by pouring or sprinkling water. Presbyterians do not consider baptism necessary for salvation, however they urge the baptism of infants.

     I end with a letter from parents to their baptized child: (5)

“Dear son:

Today we wanted to baptize you in Christ Jesus, immerse you in the death and resurrection of the God in whom we believe. In this letter, which you can read later, we want to explain why.

     It is not to impose an option on you that we wanted to baptize you, but to open before you a path of freedom that, tomorrow, you will be able to freely choose again and take.

     We wanted to give you the best we had. We believe that this small seed of faith, sown today in the garden of your heart, will germinate, in the light of day and in the darkness of night, in the most secret of your life.

     We immerse you today in the ocean of love of Jesus Christ to give you new strength, greater than us and greater than you. She will be the courage of your fights, the lucidity of your options, the light of your steps. It will be your hope and your joy, to defeat the forces of evil.

     We wanted to baptize you in Christ, so that you become a free man who stands tall, in the midst of this sometimes somewhat crazy world. And above all, so that you become a brother who builds, with God, the future of our land….

     Just like Mary when she offered her Son Jesus in the Temple, we also wanted to lead you to the threshold of the House of God….

      For it is Jesus, and he alone, your Savior and your Lord, who will trace a path of peace and freedom for you tomorrow. Above your anguish and your miseries, he will open his Father’s House to you and, in your death, he will make his eternity spring forth.”

What does the Early Church say?

In the catacombs

     In the ancient catacombs of Rome where the first Christian martyrs were buried, we read the inscriptions on the graves of deceased children. One of them says, “Here Arquilla rests, recently baptized;He was one year and five months old when he died on February 23“.

Among other epitaphs found we find the following:

  • “149. Born with the name of Pascasius Severus on Easter Thursday, the day before the nones of April… who lived six years, received grace on the 11th of the calends of May and He laid his baptismal albs in the tomb on the octave of Easter.
  • “151. Veneriosa is placed here, newly baptized, who lived six years, died on the 8th of the Ides of August.
  • “152. To Domisio innocent, newly baptized, who lived three years, thirty days.”

Do we have to be baptized by immersion?

     We have seen that the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist is not the model for us, but the brothers point to it to justify that ours has to be by immersion. Some say it must be in a river.

      Protestant theologian James W. Dale wrote a five-volume work investigating the use of the word baptism (Greek) in the Bible and in the early Church and concluded that the meaning of the word indicates that one does not have to be baptized by immersion.

     From the beginning, baptism by immersion has only been an option. The first Christians also baptized by sprinkling, as the Didache when he mentions that the followers of Christ baptized not only by immersion but by sprinkling the head: Concerning baptism, baptize in this way: Having said all these things beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit in living water. If you do not have living water, baptize with other water;If you cannot do it with cold water, do it with hot. If you do not have one or the other, pour water three times on the head in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Didache, AD 60 – 90 7:1-3) (6).

     There was a time when Presbyterians baptized by sprinkling water, as did the founder of the Baptists, Roger Williams. He baptized himself in 1639 because, according to him, he could not find anyone with the authority to baptize.

     Acts 2:41 says that more than 3,000 people were baptized in Jerusalem, where there is no river and water was scarce. It would be illegal to immerse 3,000,000 people in the public well from which drinking water was taken. Is it logical to conclude that they were baptized by immersion?

     We talk about the jailer who was baptized in the night (Acts 16:33). It is hard to believe that they would have walked to the river to be baptized because it was dangerous to go out after sunset. There were no police or street lights.

     Forcing baptism by immersion makes us think of some difficult places like the North Pole where everything is frozen, and of paralyzed people who cannot get out of bed. If baptism is so important, as Jesus says (Mk 16, 16), why make it so difficult?Not all the brothers who insist that this be by immersion, using the baptism of Jesus in the river as a model, are consistent in their belief because they baptize their converts in pools and swimming pools where the water does not flow like in a river. If we have to be absolutely faithful to this model we would have to wait until we are 30 years old, be baptized in the Jordan River, not in the name of the Trinity, and dress like Jesus and John (who would be the model for the pastor who baptizes).

     The brothers quote Acts 8:39 from Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch: They both descended into the water… he baptized him. When they came up from the water… But “descending into the water” and “rising out of the water” do not necessarily imply immersion. total.It could imply that they were knee-deep, or waist-deep, in water, and that Philip (or in the case of Jesus’ baptism, John) poured water on his head. Then, They came up from the water. Baptism by immersion is a good symbol of “dying with Christ” but for practical reasons the Church does not require it universally.

What Did the Early Church Say?

1) Born again by water and Spirit

How to interpret Jn 3, 5:

     Many brothers say that baptism is only a symbol. They deny that Jesus spoke of baptism in Jn 3:5. “Water,” they say, is the word of God. If we look at what the early Christians said regarding this verse, they all agree that it refers to baptism. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND any Father of the Church who says that Jn 3:5 refers to something else.

  • Justin Martyr: First Apology, 61.
  • Irenaeus: Fragment, 34.
  • Tertullian: About Baptism, 12:1.
  • Clementine Recognitions, (221 AD), 6:9.
  • Cyprian: Letters, 71 (72):1.
  • Seventh Council of Carthage (256 AD).
  • Cyril of Jerusalem (350): Catechetical Readings, 3:4.

2) On the existence of Original Sin

  • Hermas, The Shepherd, 9:16:2.
  • Theophilus of Antioch (181): To Autolycus, 2:25.
  • Irenaeus (180-190): Against heresies, 3:23:2 and 5:16:3.
  • Tertullian (199): of the soul, 3:2 and Against Marcion,5:9:5.
  • Origins: Comments on Romans, 5:9 and Homilies on Jeremiah, 8:1.

3) Baptism saves and regenerates

  • Hermas, The Shepherd, 4:3:1-2 and 9:16:2-4.(III, 7): the waters of baptism save us.(IV, 3): We go down into the water for our sins.
  • Epistle of Barnabas (70), 11:1-10.
  • Justin Martyr (between 148-155), Apology, 61:14-17.(I, 61): “We obtain in the water the forgiveness of our sins. We are regenerated. The washing is called illumination” (PHOTISMOS in Greek).(66): Baptizing is being washed for the remission of sins.
  • Theophilus (181), To Autolycus, 12:16.
  • Tertullian (200-206): Baptism, 1:1, 5:6 and 7:2.
  • Clement of Alexandria (200), The Pedagogue, 1:6:26:1,
  • Origins (245): Homilies on Numbers, 7:2.Comments on Romans, 5:9.
  • Cyprian (246): To Donato, 4.
  • Aphraates (336-345): Treaties, 6:14:4.
  • Cyril of Jerusalem (350): Catechetical Readings, 3:10:12.

     The current doctrine of the Church says that while it is normatively necessary to be a Catholic to be saved, it is possible in some circumstances for people who have not been fully initiated into the Catholic Church to be saved, these by baptism of desire or baptism of blood (remember that neither is a sacramental baptism). The early Church said the same thing:

  • Ignatius (107): Letter to the Philadelphians, 3:3-4:1.
  • Justin Martyr (151): First Apology, 46.
  • Theophilus of Antioch (180): To Autolycus.
  • Irenaeus (189): Against Heresies, 3:24:1
  • Tertullian (203): About Baptism, 16:1.
  • Clement of Alexandria (209): Stromata, 1:5.
  • Origins (248): Against Celsus, 4:7 and Homilies on Joshua, 3:5.
  • Cyprian (249-255): Cards, 61 (4):4 and 51 (55):24 and On the Unity of the Catholic Church, 6. Cards 72 (73):21-22.
  • lactantium (307): Divine Institutes, 4:30:11-13.
  • Cyril of Jerusalem (350): Catechist Readings, 3:10.

4) Baptize the children

  • Irenaeus (180): Against heresies, 2:22:4.
  • Hippolytus (215): Apostolic Tradition, 21:16.
  • Origins (244): Homilies on Leviticus, 8:3 and Comments on Romans, 5:9.
  • Cyprian (251): Letter to Fido, 64:2 and 64:5.
  • Council of Carthage: Condemns postponing baptism.
  • Origins: Comments on Romans, 5:9, The Church received from the Apostles the tradition of baptizing children.

5) How to baptize

The early Church allowed three ways of baptism: immersion, sprinkling and pouring water.

  • Didache (7): “Baptize in this way: In the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit in running water. If you don’t have running water, pour water on your head three times“.
  • Hippolytus (215): Apostolic Tradition, 21.
  • Origins (250): Commentary on Romans, 5:8-9.
  • Cornelius I (251): Letter to Fabius of Antioch, 6:43.
  • Cyprian (254): Letter to a certain Great 69 (76):12 and Letter to Jubiano 73:18.

Author: Daniel Gagnon, Redeem

Notes

  1. Religion or Christ, MR DE HANN, Las Américas, Puebla, Mexico, third edition, 1990, p.42. This book contradicts itself on the topic of religion. First he makes us understand that “religion” is evil (as the title expresses), and that every time the word religion is mentioned in the Bible it is associated with works that are evil as well (p. 5). He then talks about Abel’s “pure religion” being good (p. 28). Are all religions bad then?Then he returns to the topic of religion as something bad: “What do you have today, RELIGION OR CHRIST? Can you say, I KNOW I AM SAVED? If not, then forget your religious desires…” (p. 36). What happened to Abel’s pure religion then!
  2. We do not find these words in John 3:3-5!
  3. The famous Protestant biblical scholar AT Robertson admitted that Acts 2:38 may mean regeneration for the remission of sins. See Word Pictures in the New Testament, Tenn, Broadman Press, 1932, 3:391-92 cited in The King’s Highway, p.165 by Ken Guindon, (former Baptist pastor now Catholic). Also see The Interpretation of Acts of the Apostles for him Lutheran RCH Lenski (Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), p.909
  4. I know a former Baptist pastor who was baptized four times!
  5. Cited inGuide to the Difficulties of the Catholic Faith, PIERRE DESCOUVEMONT, Edit. DDB, Spain, 1992, p.546. It is interesting to know that some evangelicals do things that are not in the Bible, such as e.j: the “altar call” and “the sinner’s prayer that saves forever.”We do not find this prayer in the Word of God.
  6. “No. 13 Year 1311 AD THE BAPTISM.At the Council of Ravenna, the true Baptism of immersion was replaced by that of Infusion or Ablution“.Small Compilation of Elementary Bible Studies.A manual made by the Light of the World Church for evangelical workers.

     The Trinitarian formula for baptizing “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” that Didache mentioned (writing from the time of the Apostle John) clearly demonstrates that The Light of the World IS NOT THE RESTORATION OF THE EARLY CHURCH because they baptize only in the name of Jesus. What brother Aaron received is assumed by revelation.(Although we have proof that there was no such revelation. See the book When the Light Goes Dark). Some Pentecostals baptize only “in the name of the Lord” because they say that “father, son, holy spirit” are only titles and not names. Compare John (16, 23-24) with Mt 6, 9 (and Lk 11, 2). Jesus invites us to pray in his name but currently he teaches the Lord’s Prayer. So if we pray the way Jesus taught us we are not just praying “in His name.”

from the book Not everyone who says Lord Lord
Paulinas, 2nd ed., Mexico © Daniel Gagnon Internet version: Carlos Alberto Jardón