As noted in a previous posting, God’s Word serves as His ultimate cleansing agent. This is further brought out in Titus 3:5 where it is stated that we are (being) saved by the “washing of regeneration.” To regenerate means to renew–to return the believer to the sinless spiritual state in which he is born. See Human Nature. In the Scriptural sense, regeneration and being “washed by the water by the Word” are synonymous.

If allowed to, God will cleanse the believer and keep him cleansed using His Holy Word as His cleansing agent. As are all things of a spiritual nature, this process is strictly voluntary on our part. The water/Word must be spiritually “consumed” on a continuous basis in order to keep ourselves free of sin. Having the Word/water continually flowing through our hearts enables us to recognize sin and error immediately and to reject them before they can take root in our hearts/minds. Our continuous study of  God’s Word enables Him to “graft” (root) His Words into our hearts (Jam. 1:21), making it possible to produce the fruits of righteousness (2 Cor. 9,10/Phil. 1:11) which are required for salvation. Having the engrafted Word abiding in us also enables us to recognize false prophets who preach the various perverted gospels (Gal. 1:6-9) that form the foundation of Catholicism/Protestantism. One such perversion involves the widely-accepted principle known as “Baptismal Regeneration.”

This theological teaching began to circulate throughout Catholicism near the end of the fourth century. Because those in power wanted the priesthood–NOT THE WORD OF GOD–to be the cleansing agent that would keep “false doctrines” away from their people, the church’s baptismal regeneration “truth” was concocted to replace Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 5:26 where we find the Apostle Paul saying that “He (Jesus) would sanctify and cleanse it (the church) with the washing of the water by the Word,” not by the priesthood’s reign over her. By exaggerating the importance of water in the “salvation” experience, the priesthood focused their parishioners’ attention on the physical substance, not on the Word of God which they refused to allow their parishioners to own or read on threat of punishment and even death. This practice, reinforced by the preaching of their sermons in Latin which no one understood, rendered the people totally ignorant of God’s Word, will and way. To emphasize the importance of water and water baptism, the church began calling Jesus by the name “Ichthys,” which means “the fish.” This was also the name by which a pagan fish god was known. Unbeknownst to the religious world, it is Ichthys that is symbolized by the fish seen hanging around necks and glued to the bodies of cars.

In that only priests were allowed to administer the baptismal ordinance, it was to them, not the Lord, that the people looked for truth, salvation, forgiveness, etc. With the introduction of the Baptismal Regeneration principle into church affairs, the role of the priesthood became even more important. In order to capture their Biblically ignorant victims totally, the priesthood declared that baptism was absolutely essential for salvation. So powerful did this belief become that an infant who died without being baptized was believed to be rejected by the Lord. The problem was eventually solved through infant “Christian” baptism by sprinkling–a “truth” that has absolutely no Scriptural basis.

In summary, true water baptism by emersion is a symbol of something that has already taken place. It is a sign/mark that one has been converted (not saved).  Just as Abraham’s circumcision was a symbol (confirmation) of his having previously been declared righteous due to his faith, baptism is a symbol of having one’s past sins forgiven, having reversed one’s life’s course–that one is headed along the Biblically defined path where eternal life awaits for those who remain on it until the end (Mat. 10:22). See Hope and Salvation. WATER BAPTISM DOES NOT SAVE THE SOUL. It serves as an important sign that one has received justification–removal of all PAST sins (Rom. 3:25). It does not guarantee future salvation. To be continued. L.J.