(Second Part: Of Man’s Redemption—Questions 12-85)
69. How is it signified and sealed unto thee in Holy Baptism, that thou has part in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross?
- Thus: that Christ has appointed this outward washing with water, and has joined therewith this promise, that I am washed with His blood and Spirit from the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins, as certainly, as I am washed outwardly with water, whereby commonly the filthiness of the body is taken away.
70. What is it to be washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ?
- It is to have the forgiveness of sins from God, through grace, for the sake of Christ’s blood, which He shed for us in His sacrifice on the cross; and also, to be renewed by the Holy Ghost, and sanctified to be members of Christ, that so we may more and more die unto sin, and lead holy and unblamable lives.
71. Where has Christ promised that we are as certainly washed with His blood and Spirit as with the water of Baptism?
- In the institution of Baptism, which runs thus: Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. This promise is also repeated where the Scripture calls Baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins.
