October 21, 2006
The Necessity of Baptism
A few months ago we received a question about the necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism. Is Baptism a supernatural event that directly impacts one’s eternal destiny, as the Catholic Church teaches? Or is it merely an optional, external, symbolic expression of faith in Jesus, faith which by itself is sufficient for salvation, as some other Christians believe.
First, I think it’s important to point out that the New Testament teaches that in Christian Baptism something supernatural really happens to a person; it’s not just a symbolic event. A clear distinction is made between the baptism of John the Baptist, which—even though it was “from heaven” (cf. Mt 21:25, Mk 11:30)—was only “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3, cf. Acts 19:4), and the Baptism of the one who will come after him: “I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I will come… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Lk 3:16; cf. Mk 1:4, Jn 1:33). Jesus will later describe this as being “born again… of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:3,5). From the moment when Jesus allows Himself to be baptized by John, that action becomes transformed from the inside out by His presence into a participation in His saving death and resurrection, and the beginning of a new life in Him. The Preface of the Mass for John the Baptist says: “He baptized Christ, the giver of baptism, in waters made holy by the one who was baptized.”
Jesus refers to his own impending passion and death as a kind of “baptism,” (Mk 10:38-39, Lk 12:50). That’s why Saint Paul, in both his Letter to the Romans (6:4) and to the Colossians (2:12), says that by Baptism we are inserted into the very death of Jesus and somehow mysteriously buried with Him, so that rising with Him, “we too may live a new life.” Baptism also unites us to Christ and incorporates us into His Body, the Church: “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” (Gal 3:27); “for we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body,” (1Cor 12:13). One of the most amazing assertions of the New Testament, though, is that we are actually saved by Baptism. In his Letter to Titus, Saint Paul says: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5). Saint Peter in his First Letter reiterates this truth: “this water [referring to the water through which Noah and his family were saved] symbolizes baptism that saves you also… by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” (1Pet 3:21). Near the end of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus Himself says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” There are numerous references to Baptism as the ordinary form of Christian initiation throughout the Acts of the Apostles.
If these effects of Baptism aren’t enough to convince us of its necessity for salvation, there is the explicit command of the Lord at the end of the Gospel of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Mt 28:19); and His warning that “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again of water and the Spirit,” (Jn 3:5).
Some people point to the fact that, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul states: “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1Cor 1:17), as proof that baptism is not necessary for salvation. But close attention to the context of that passage reveals that some of the Corinthians had broken into factions based upon the fact of who baptized them, instead of focusing on their unity in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (Eph 4:4). Saint Paul clearly wanted to separate himself from such causes of division. Instead, he makes the interesting comparison of process of Christian initiation to the planting of a seed: “I planted the seed [the seed of faith, planted by preaching the Gospel], Apollos watered it [through Baptism], but God made it grow” (1Cor 3:6).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a beautiful section entitled, “The Necessity of Baptism,” which can be found at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3M.HTM. This section contains one of my favorite quotes from the whole book: “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.” Because Baptism is the sure means the Lord has given us to receive the grace of salvation, it is necessary for anyone who is aware of this fact. The Church, however, has always recognized that there are other means by which the grace of salvation might be received: the “Baptism of Blood” of unbaptized martyrs, and the “Baptism of Desire” of those who die with the unfulfilled longing to be baptized. The Catechism also quotes a hope-filled passage from the Second Vatican Council: “Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.”
Fr. Herald J. Brock, CFR
Convento San Serafin, Comayagua, Honduras
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