Baptism, the Prayer Book and the Articles

Therefore the key to discovering what Anglicans have always believed about Baptism and what the Articles mean when they talk about Baptism is the Baptismal Office in the Common Prayer Book. And what does the Prayer Book Baptismal Office say about Baptism?

None can enter into the Kingdom of God, except he be regenerate and born anew of Water and of the Holy Ghost; I beseech you to call upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of his bounteous mercy he will grant to this Child (or Person) that which by nature he cannot have; that he may be baptized with Water and the Holy Ghost, and received into Christ's holy Church, and be made a living member of the same.

Through Baptism we are born anew of water and the Holy Ghost and we receive that which by nature we cannot have, that is, grace and eternal life. In Baptism we are received into Christ's Church and made members of Christ supernaturally by grace.

We call upon thee for this Child (or this thy Servant), that he, coming to thy holy Baptism, may receive remission of sin, by spiritual regeneration.

Baptism is not only a symbol - it actually confers the remission of sin and causes spiritual regeneration, the communication of the new life of grace, the New Life of Christ. A new nature in the Life of God is created in us. Baptism washes away original and actual sin and makes us a new creature in Christ.

So give now unto us who ask; let us who seek, find; open the gate unto us who knock; that this Child (or this thy Servant) may enjoy the everlasting benediction of thy heavenly washing, and may come to the eternal kingdom which thou hast promised by Christ our Lord. Amen.

Baptism gives to the one who receives it the eternal blessing of a heavenly washing away of sins, which is given so in turn we may enter Christ's eternal kingdom.

Give thy Holy Spirit to this Child (or this thy Servant), That he may be born again, And be made an heir of everlasting salvation; Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, Now and forever. Amen.

In the action of Baptism itself, the recipient is born again and made an heir of everlasting salvation. That unique sacramental grace has not been received before Baptism. God is asked to give the grace of salvation and new birth to the one about to be baptised. Baptism is the Sign of Regeneration: it causes and effects what it symbolises.

Ye have prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ would vouchsafe to receive him, to release him from sin, to sanctify him with the Holy Ghost, to give him the kingdom of heaven, and everlasting life.

The prayers offered for the one to be baptised ask God for all of the graces of Baptism which will be supplied by the sacramental action - God adopts us as His children, sets us free from sin, sanctifies us with the Holy Ghost and gives us eternal life in the kingdom of heaven through the act of Baptism.

O MERCIFUL God, grant that like as Christ died and rose again, so this Child (this thy Servant) may die to sin and rise to newness of life. Amen.
Grant that all sinful affections may die in him, and that all things belonging to the Spirit may live and grow in him. Amen.
Grant that he may have power and strength to have victory, and to triumph, against the devil, the world, and the flesh. Amen.
Grant that whosoever is here dedicated to thee by our office and ministry, may also be endued with heavenly virtues, and everlastingly rewarded, through thy mercy, O blessed Lord God, who dost live, and govern all things, world without end. Amen.

The next prayer petitions God for all of the benefits and graces of Baptism about to be received, graces which have not yet been infused in the soul through the action of Baptism. Baptism unites us to the death and resurrection of Our Lord and gives us a new life; it eradicates the power of original sin and imparts the life of the Spirit; it grants us supernatural power to conquer actual sin, the world, flesh and devil; it infuses us with divine virtues given by God.

Regard, we beseech thee, the supplications of thy congregation; sanctify this Water to the mystical washing away of sin; and grant that this Child (this thy Servant), now to be baptized therein, may receive the fulness of thy grace, and ever remain in the number of thy faithful children; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and evermore. Amen.

Baptism is the 'mystical washing away of sin,' it objectively causes sin to be removed from the soul. Baptism imparts to the recipient the fulness of grace and the divine sonship, adoption as God's child through the Holy Ghost. We become the children of God in Baptism.

SEEING now, dearly beloved brethren, that this Child (or this Person) is regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ's Church, let us give thanks unto Almighty God for these benefits; and with one accord make our prayers unto him, that this Child (or this Person) may lead the rest of his life according to this beginning.

Immediately after the Baptism itself, the priest declares that Baptism has caused the candidate to become regenerate - that is, to be recreated to the new life of grace by God's power. A supernatural grace of divine life has been infused in the very act of Baptism. Made a member of the Church, the recipient then receives the intercession of the Church that he may persevere unto salvation according to this beginning of the life of grace in the soul. The implication is such that the person could potentially not lead the rest of his life in correspondence to the grace of his Baptism, that is, he can forfeit the grace he has received by mortal sin.

WE yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this Child (or this thy Servant) with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own Child, and to incorporate him into thy holy Church. And humbly we beseech thee to grant, that he, being dead unto sin, may live unto righteousness, and being buried with Christ in his death, may also be partaker of his resurrection; so that finally, with the residue of thy holy Church, he may be an inheritor of thine everlasting kingdom; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The final prayer of the Baptismal Office rehearses what happens to the soul in Baptism. The recipient is regenerated with the Holy Ghost, adopted as God's child by grace, incorporated into the Body of Christ. He is 'dead unto sin,' freed from all sins and united to Christ's saving passion and resurrection. The Church prays that the Baptism may bear fruit in the recipient's bodily resurrection in the Last Day at the Final Judgement and that it may lead the candidate to eternal life in the kingdom of God.

Having reviewed the explicitly clear and unmistakable doctrine of Baptism in the Prayer Book, we may now proceed to see how the pertinent Articles of Religion agree with the Liturgy... The Articles of Religion unambiguously teach baptismal regeneration and real tragedy of mortal sin...

Article IX: Of Original or Birth Sin: The Article affirms what Western Catholic theology has always stated in opposition to the heresy of Pelagianism, that man inherits from the fall of Adam a condition called original sin, a condition of death, mortality and separation from God caused by man's original transgression, a condition inherited by all human beings because of their spiritual and physical descent from Adam. Original sin does not destroy man's goodness or the Image of God in man, but distorts, wounds, injures and disfigures the divine image in us. We are 'very far gone for original righteousness' but not totally depraved. Those who believe and are baptised, the regenerate, are freed from original sin but still possess concupiscence, the inclination or desire for evil, which remains even after regeneration. Concupiscence is only overcome through sanctification and moral effort.

Article X: Of Free-Will: Man cannot because of original sin save himself or engender saving faith in himself through his own effort. He is brought to a saving communion with God and to the performance of good works pleasing to God only through the grace of Jesus Christ. God by His grace heals our free-will injured by sin and empowers us to have faith in God, to love God and to do what is pleasing to Him.

Article XI: Of the Justification of Man: We are justified before God only because of the merit of Our Lord Jesus Christ and not by our own works. We appropriate justification in Christ through Faith (see below).

Article XV: Of Christ alone without Sin: Christ alone is without any sin original or actual, but is the spotless Lamb of God. Our Lord has a perfect human nature like ours in every way, but without sin. We the rest 'although baptised and born again in Christ' still commit sins against God. The Article clearly identifies Baptism with being born again. The two realities are set side by side as the same action. To be baptised is to be be born again.

Article XVI: Of Sin after Baptism: This Article is a key presentation of the orthodox faith. First, it is possible to commit deadly, that is mortal, sin after Baptism, that is, sin that extinguishes the grace of God in the soul and causes spiritual death, the 'sin unto death' of I St John 5.16. We can, even after Baptism, sin against God in such a way that we separate ourselves from salvation and the grace of eternal life. Post-baptismal sin that kills grace is real. But sin after Baptism, even if deadly and mortal, can be forgiven. By repentance we can be forgiven and restored to baptismal grace. The Article says that when we are baptised 'we have received the Holy Ghost.' It also says 'we may depart from grace given,' we can reject the grace of our Baptism, which is the Holy Ghost. Through repentance after Baptism we can 'arise again and amend our lives.' It is possible to be restored to grace and to live a better life even after such deadly sin. The Article then condemns those who state that post-baptismal sin cannot be forgiven in those who truly repent. The teaching of the Article is clear that Baptism is the gift of the Holy Ghost, that one can commit mortal sin which severs communion with God after Baptism, and that one can be forgiven through repentance. One can indeed lose one's salvation, but can be reconciled to God through repentance.

Article XXV: Of the Sacraments: Sacraments are not only symbols, token and badges of Christian belief, but are witnesses, and most importantly, effectual signs of grace by which God works invisibly in us and enlivens, confirms and strengthens our faith in Him. The sacraments are not only symbols devoid of grace or power, but actually effect what they signify, what they sign. They are instruments that cause grace in us. In the sacraments God acts and works in us from the inside out and infuses His grace in us. The Article informs us that Our Lord instituted Baptism in the Gospel and that the visible sign of Baptism was directly instituted by God. The sacraments have an objective power apart from the faith of the recipient. The grace of the sacraments can be received worthily to a 'wholesome effect or operation' or can be received unworthily unto damnation. The grace does not depend on the recipient or his faith, but the subsequent effect or result of the grace does.

Article XXVI: Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers: Sacraments are valid because they are given by the commandment and institution of Christ and in His Name and authority, with His commission given to the ordained - the sinfulness or unworthiness of the ordained does not invalidate the sacraments. Sacraments have an objective character. The effect of Christ's institution and the grace of the sacraments depend on Christ's will for His Church. The sacraments are always valid for everyone wherever they are administered because their effect does not depend on the minister but upon the promise and power of Our Lord. The sacraments have an objective grace and power that does not depend upon the moral state of the celebrant.

Article XXVII: Of Baptism: Baptism itself is not simply or merely an outward sign or profession of faith on the part of those who believe in Christ. It is not only an outward symbol or ordinance which distinguishes Christians from unbelievers. It is not merely membership in an institutional church or a human society. It is the Sign of Regeneration and New-Birth, that is, it effects and causes the regeneration and new birth of the Christian soul. The sign is not empty or symbolic, but instrumental; it conveys grace as a channel, an instrument. The word 'sign' means the sacrament is one thing that conveys and communicates another, an effective or efficient sign of grace. The instrument grafts the recipient into the Body of Christ, the Mystical Body, the Church of which Jesus Christ is the Head and all the Baptised are the Members (BCP 290). In Baptism, God promises to forgive us all our sins and to adopt us as His children by the Holy Spirit - these realities are communicated by the sign of the sacrament, which signifies and seals them. Baptism is the Sacrament of Faith - through the prayer of the Church to God in the baptismal liturgy the theological virtue of Faith (I Corinthians 13) is increased and confirmed, ratified by the Faith of the Church, and grace unto eternal life is intensified. Baptism is the entry, the gate, into eternal life.