Luther and Luther on Baptism In baptism therefore
Luther and
Luther on Baptism: “In baptism, therefore, every Christian has enough to do to firmly believe what baptism promises and brings – victory over death and the devil, the forgiveness of sins, God’s grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with his gifts” (1529 Large Catechism, IV, 41 -42). “Ah, dear Christian, let us not value or treat this unspeakable gift so half-heartedly. For baptism is our only comfort and the doorway to all of God’s possessions and to the communion of saints. To this end may God help us” (Baptismal Booklet, 1529).
The “honorable sacrament of Holy Baptism” is to be “well-known and rightly honored” by Christians “as their greatest treasure on earth” (Sermon on Holy Baptism, January 6, 1535).
Earlier teaching on Baptism 1. Commanded by Christ 2. Total purification of the soul from all sin 3. Unable to forgive sins committed after baptism
The Second Plank Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace…It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as “the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace” (Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1446).
Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520) Satan, though he could not quench the power of baptism in little children, nevertheless succeeded in quenching it in all adults, so that now there are scarcely any who call to mind their own baptism, and still fewer who glory in it; so many other ways have been discovered for remitting sins and getting into heaven…. Hence, when men have fallen into sin, they despair of the “first plank, ” which is the ship, as if it had gone under, and begin to put all their trust and faith in the second plank, which is penance. This has given rise to endless burdens of vows, religious orders, works, satisfactions, pilgrimages, indulgences, and monastic sects…
Christ’s institution and promise: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28: 19). “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16: 16).
You will likewise see how perilous, indeed, how false it is to suppose that penance is “the second plank after shipwreck, ” and how pernicious an error it is to believe that the power of baptism is broken, and the ship is dashed to pieces because of sin. The ship remains one, solid, and invincible; it will never be broken up into separate “planks. ” In it are all those who are brought to the harbor of salvation, for it is the truth of God giving us its promise in the sacraments. Of course, it often happens that many rashly leap overboard into the sea and perish; these are those who abandon faith in the promise and plunge into sin. But the ship itself remains intact and holds its course unimpaired. If any one is able to somehow by grace to return to the ship, it is not on any plank, but in the solid ship itself that he is borne to life. Such a person is the one who returns through faith to the abiding and enduring promise of God.
Luther’s Large Catechism (1529) We were imagining that our Baptism is something past, which we can no longer use after we have fallen again into sin. The reason for this is that Baptism is regarded as only based on the outward act once performed and completed. This arose from the fact that St. Jerome wrote that “repentance is the second plank by which we must swim forth and cross over the water after the ship is broken” …By this teaching Baptism’s use has been abolished so that it can no longer profit us. Therefore, Jerome’s statement is not correct, or at any rate is not rightly understood. For the ship of Baptism never breaks, because (as we have said) it is God’s ordinance and not our work (1 Pet 3: 20 -22).
But it does happen, indeed, that we slip and fall out of the ship. Yet if anyone falls out, let him see to it that he swims up and clings to the ship until he comes into it again and lives in it, as he had done before. From an earlier section: “Baptism, both in its power and meaning, includes also the third Sacrament, which has been called repentance. It is really nothing other than Baptism…. Therefore, if you live in repentance, you walk in Baptism…Our Baptism abides forever. Even though someone should fall from Baptism and sin, still we always have access to it…. Repentance, therefore, is nothing other than a return and approach to Baptism” (LC IV, 74 -79).
The Anabaptists • Began in the 1520 s and spread by lay preachers • Rejection of infant baptism, insistence on re-baptism for adults after they declared their faith publicly (“Anabaptist” means “baptize again”) • Rejected any civil authority, refused to take oaths or serve in the military
Luther’s Response • Not primarily directed toward individual theologians since Anabaptism was spread by lay preachers who travelled throughout the Empire. • Concerning Rebaptism (1528) • Addressed chiefly in the Small and Large Catechisms and in his sermons
1. Baptism actually does something Baptism not only signifies, but rather is, “a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth of the Holy Spirit” (SC IV, 3). “It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this…” (SC IV, 2). St. Paul writes “He saved us through the washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying” (Titus 3: 5 -8).
We are actually “buried with [Christ] through Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom 6: 4).
2. Because it is God who does it. • Christ’s institution and promise (Matt 28; Mk 16). It is not made up or invented by men, but instituted by God. • “What God institutes and commands cannot be an empty thing. It must be a most precious thing, even though it looked like it had less value than a straw” (LC IV, 8). • “To be baptized in God’s name is to be baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore, although it is performed by human hands, it is still truly God’s own work” (LC IV, 10).
“It is not mere ordinary water, but water comprehended in God’s Word and command sanctified by them (Eph 5: 26 -27). So it is nothing other than a divine water. Not that the water in itself is nobler than other water, but that God’s Word and command are added to it…[So] how dare you interfere with God’s order? How dare you tear away the most precious treasure with which God has connected and enclosed Baptism, and that He will not allow to be separated? For the kernel in the water is God’s Word or command God’s name. His name is a treasure greater and nobler than heaven and earth” (LC IV, 14 -16).
3. Faith receives this Word of promise Word + Water + Command = Certainty “That is, faith alone makes the person worthy to receive profitably the saving, divine water. Since these blessings are presented here and promised through the words in and with the water, they cannot be received in any other way than by believing them with the heart (Rom 10: 9). Without faith it profits nothing, even though Baptism is in itself a divine overwhelming treasure. Therefore, this single phrase, “Whoever believes, ” does so much. It excludes and repels all the works that we can do, when we suppose that we gain and merit salvation by our works. For it is determined that whatever is not faith does nothing or receives nothing” (Heb 11: 6).
For infants too? YES! • Christ commands Baptism for “all nations, ” and we are told the apostles baptized entire households with no exclusions. • “faith does not make Baptism, but receives it. ” • God is perfectly capable of giving faith to infants (see St. John the Baptist in his mother’s womb).
“We must think this way about Baptism and make it profitable for ourselves. So when our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say, “Nevertheless, I am baptized. And if I am baptized, it is promised to me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body” (LC IV, 44). “For this reason let everyone value his Baptism as a daily dress (Gal 3: 27) in which he is to walk constantly. Then he may ever be found in the faith and its fruit, so that he may suppress the old man and grow up in the new. For if we would be Christians, we must do the work by which we are Christians. But if anyone falls away from the Christian life, let him again come into it. For just as Christ, the Mercy Seat (Rom 3: 25), does not draw back from us or forbid us to come to Him again, even though we do sin, so all His treasure and gifts also remain. Therefore, if we have received the forgiveness of sin once in Baptism, it will remain every day, as long as we live (LC IV, 84 -86).
- Slides: 22