The Grace of Baptism

In Jesus’ final words before his Ascension, Jesus commands his disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Baptism is essential to making disciples, but is baptism simply a sign that someone is already a disciple, or does baptism actually make someone a disciple? In other words, is baptism an outward sign of something that has already taken place in the believer, or does baptism actually bring about what it symbolizes? What does baptism actually do?

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-------------------------------- Theme Song --------------------------------
Song: Make a Way
Artist: Connor Flanagan
Album: Skyscrapers

[lukebrown]

John 3^5 is clear. Water and the spirit. Even Billy Graham had trouble with this as I saw yesterday.

[jcf_]

Keep it up, Sean! My wife and I really enjoyed watching your wife’s conversion story. We were both raised Baptists (although I was never baptized which is its own long story). I began seeking baptism late last year and in the process of joining our baptist church to go about doing that I learned that there were people who believed something contrary to the southern Baptist church in relation to baptism. I began researching and committed the fatal (although the complete opposite of that in this case haha) error of saying “well I am going to start reading about the early Christians and see what they believed.” To make a long story short, we are both headed into RCIA this fall and are so overjoyed at everything we have found so far in the catholic faith. I am beyond excited to be baptized and brought into the church this coming Easter. The catholic faith just feels “full” in every way and we could not be happier. Our first child is going to be born within the next month as well so we are excited for everything this means for our family.

[brianhussey]

Hi my friend. I’d loved to chat with you. Just joined the church may 8 this year. Was a Methodist pastor for 15 years. And my last name is Hussey! Finishing a masters in apologetics and will transfer to Steubenville.

[denisepaul-phillips]

I ask because the church I went to when my kid were born dedicated my babies with water blessing. Then later as a family we were baptized, but that church called it an outward symbol. ?? My children are now adults.

[MAN-ppqg]

For those who object to this classification of the function of baptism, what is the Catholic response to the the thief on the cross who died after Jesus did and who had no chance for baptism of any kind, sprinkled or immersion, yet Jesus said would be with Him in paradise (Luke 23v43), and, why did Peter say that the Holy Spirit had come upon and by extension sealed and saved (Ephesians 1v13-14) Cornelius and other Gentiles there explicitly and undeniably before he was baptized (Acts 10v44-48). Specifically in verse 47 of the RSVCE, Peter says "Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" Peter says they have already received the Holy Spirit to the same degree that He himself already had, yet they had not yet been baptized. Those who oppose this view will often bring up these two examples relevant to the topic by saying if baptism is the means by which grace is conferred and salvation is this achieved, how do you square that with these two examples of someone who was clearly saved without or before baptism had occured?

[denisepaul-phillips]

Does one need to be baptized by a Catholic priest for the Holy Spirit to work through baptism.

[RafaelCosta-fytb]

Im not sure you can say it is an "outward sign" because the very act of the baptism confers the grace...

[markp]

In response to one of your responses about the thief on the cross not being able to be baptized he was baptized in blood there are three baptisms one in water one by desire in one in blood when he accepted Christ his crucifixion became a martyrdom which according to the Catholic Church means immediate entrance into heaven

[markp]

You forgot to mention baptism washes away venial sins and most important baptism washes away the stain of death from Adam and Eve we cannot confess that off we inherited it that's why it must be removed through the baptismal Waters

[markp]

I can answer one of your comments fully the one that says man and show you all the scriptures but it would take up a lot of room so I'm going to touch on it he mentions about those receiving the Holy Spirit according to the scriptures before they were baptized yes this is true some do not receive baptism when they are young or a baby but yet they got saved through Christ and the Holy Spirit so the next step is to complete their salvation through baptism the Bible says washing away of sins by water yes you can get saved first and then baptize later usually happens to Protestants because they don't believe the scripture that says ye must be born ye must be born you must be born of the water and the spirit so God is telling you water is first being born of the spirit is second and faith without works is dead you need all three Protestants don't understand this because they inherited the spirit of protest

[markp]

If you look in the douay version Bible it mentions baptism does three different things also I'm old school I had the nuns in Long habits teach us we never use the word symbol that's Protestant the pagans used it they put symbols on their clothing to cover their children symbols are dead like the religion paganism is dead no word symbol have I found in my d o u a y version in the footnotes or in the text why because symbols and the word symbol is dead nothing in the Bible is dead I don't use that word unless I'm talking about the pagans but we were brought up old school and the nuns would bring their Bible out even at recess time after we had an hour of Bible in school and we would listen to them they taught us the truth sadly liberalism modernism and humanism has entered the Catholic Church there is a limbo the nuns taught us that the priests taught us that and a man that was a Protestant showed me a King James Bible and he said it refers to this scripture limbo and I read it and it sure did