Question for Christians?

Question

The Catholic teaches that baptism removes original sin which stains all souls since the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. Is their any scriptural evidence of this?

I've always believed that water baptism was ones public displays of ones choosing to follow Christ...am I wrong?

Answer 1

The Holy Bible teaches it as a ritual to show the world that you belong to Christ (are saved, believe Jesus is the way to heaven, have been forgiven & accepted Christ, however you want to say it). Salvation has already taken place in your life by confession of sins & believing Christ's blood sacrifice has paid your sin debt. Jesus, God's Son, gave us His own example of baptism as a referrence. See Matthew 3:13-17. Before He started His earthly ministry, He sought out John the Baptist to baptize Him. It established His identity as a baptized follower of God. He did it as a signal to us that He desired to please God, and as an example for us to do the same. It establishes our identity to all the world as a baptized follower of Jesus. When Jesus did it, God spoke from Heaven sayiny, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." I'm not sure where the Catholics get their misinformation but I depend on the Holy Scriptures for instruction.

Answer 2

I don't recall learning that being baptized as a baby was to cleanse us from original sin, but that it was the baptism into the Church, and that until the child is old enough to make his own decision, he is covered by the authority and faith of the parents and the church. You are not wrong, it's just that the Catholic way of doing things is confusing. In a protestant church it would be the same thing as Dedication, when the parents dedicate their baby to the Lord. The Catholics don't feel that there is a need to be baptized a second time if it was already done at infancy. I left the Catholic church after I became born-again and read the Gospels and the Book of Acts.

Answer 3

I believe baptism is an important act of obedience that does not save us. Consider Jesus himself was baptised. And he wasn't a sinner that needed sins washed away. It's unfortunate that there is confusion in this area an evidence that there has been a lack of teaching on this subject. Consider this there is more than one baptism. There was John the baptists baptism. The Christian baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I consider baptism to be an outward sing along the same lines of circumcision was to the Jews of the old covenant. This was an act of the flesh which we learned could not save us.(Thank God). Consider the thief on the cross beside Jesus who was told today you will be with me in paradise. he obviously wouldn't have time to get baptised. Yet Jesus offered him personal assurance. Also having faith in God is too important to ignore. I do still believe this is an important act of obediance but nt something for babies as they really ahven't developed a capacity to choose to follow Jesus.

Answer 4

The teaching of the Catholic Church comes directly from scripture. The most explicit place that I know off the top of my head is 1Pet 3:18-22. Look it up, it says point blank that baptism saves us, but we shouldn't concentrate on that aspect of things to the exclusion of what else is included:

Belief in Christ (John 3:16, Acts 16:31)
Repentance (Acts 2:38, 2Pet 3:9)
Baptism (John 3:5, 2Cor 3:6)
Works (Romans 2:6, James 2:24)

I could go on but I think I have made my point. I hope this helps you answer your question.

Answer 5

You are right. There is not Scriptural evidence of baptism removing original sin. Baptism is a public display of faith for the grown believer or a covenant between God and believing parents for infant baptism.

Answer 6

I personally believe that baptism is necessary in conversion. The Book of Acts has too many examples of baptism for it to be a "public show". We are told in the scriptures that baptism washes away sin. The scriptrures do not lie in my opinion. Have a great evening and a wondeerful Saturday!
Thanks,
Eds

Answer 7

It's interesting...when a baby is sick you ask him if you can go to the doctor with him/her?
When Jesus was with His disciples He taught them what to do...the Bible says somewhere that "he and his house/family were baptized" or something like that.

We live in a world where there is a war between good and evil, LIGHT and dark...the baptism fills the child with the Holy Spirit, it gives the child what he needs, spiritually speaking...it's not easy to understand some things when you were taught something else.
Let's not forget about the fact that we must fight with the angels of dark that lived, once, near God, and they do everything they can to destroy us. That baptism is needed, in my opinion.
I am in the Orthodox Church, and I would like to be a real Christian...it's not easy, but it's possible.

Have a great day!

Answer 8

No. Only through Jesus Christ can our sin debt be removed. Yes, Baptism is a sign, of relating to Jesus, coming out of the grave and being washed, of obediance to God.
Here is a commentary----
Noah's salvation in the ark upon the water, which carried him above the floods, set forth the salvation of all true believers. That temporal salvation by the ark was a type of the eternal salvation of believers by baptism of the Holy Spirit. To prevent mistakes, the apostle declares what he means by saving baptism; not the outward ceremony of washing with water, which, in itself, does no more than put away the filth of the flesh, but that baptism, of which

the baptismal water formed the sign. Not the outward ordinance, but when a man, by the regeneration of the Spirit, was enabled to repent and profess faith, and purpose a new life, uprightly, and as in the presence of God. Let us beware that we rest not upon outward forms. Let us learn to look on the ordinances of God spiritually, and to inquire after the spiritual effect and working of them on our consciences. We would willingly have all religion reduced to outward things. But many who were

baptized, and constantly attended the ordinances, have remained without Christ, died in their sins, and are now past recovery. Rest not then till thou art cleansed by the Spirit of Christ and the blood of Christ. His resurrection from the dead is that whereby we are assured of purifying and peace

Answer 9

Well the Catholics do have some different beliefs! For most when we are baptized it is an outward display that we have chosen to follow Christ. I think Catholics were really into this in the early church because a lot of babies died and it was thought that babies were born of sin even if the parents were married.So that is why they have chosen to do this sprinkling on the babies while they are very young.I haven't found scriptural evidence for this.

Answer 10

There is much confusion about baptism in the various Christian denominations. However, this is not a result of the Bible presenting a confusing message on baptism. The Bible is abundantly clear of what baptism is, who it is for, and what it accomplishes. In the Bible, only believers who had placed their faith in Christ were baptized - as a public testimony of their faith and identification with Him (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4). Water baptism by immersion is a step of obedience after faith in Christ. It is a proclamation of faith in Christ, a statement of submission to Him, and an identification with His death, burial, and resurrection.



With this in view, infant baptism is not a Biblical practice. An infant cannot place his or her faith in Christ. An infant cannot make a conscious decision to obey Christ. An infant cannot understand what water baptism symbolizes. The Bible does not record any infants being baptized. Infant baptism is the origin of the sprinkling and pouring methods of baptism - as it is unwise and unsafe to immerse an infant under water. Even the method of infant baptism fails to agree with the Bible. How does pouring or sprinkling illustrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?



Many Christians who practice infant baptism do so because they understand infant baptism as the new covenant equivalent of circumcision. In this view, just as circumcision joined a Hebrew to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, so baptism joined a person to the New Covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ. This view is unbiblical. The New Testament nowhere describes baptism as the New Covenant replacement for Old Covenant circumcision. The New Testament nowhere describes baptism as a sign of the New Covenant. It is faith in Jesus Christ that enables a person to enjoy to blessings of the New Covenant (1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 9:15).



Baptism does not save a person. It does not matter if you were baptized by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling - if you have not first trusted in Christ for salvation, baptism (no matter the method) is meaningless and useless. Water baptism by immersion is a step of obedience to be done after salvation as a public profession of faith in Christ and identification with Him. Infant baptism does not fit the Biblical definition of baptism or the Biblical method of baptism. If Christian parents wish to dedicate their child to Christ, then a baby dedication service is entirely appropriate. However, even if infants are dedicated to the Lord, when they grow up they will still have to make a personal decision to believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

Recommended Resource: Baptism: The Believer's First Obedience by Larry Dyer.