The Sacrament of Baptism - Research Paper Example

The Sacrament of Baptism Introduction The basis of the whole Christian life is the Holy Baptism; it is the gateway to life in the spirit. Moreover, it is the door that gives access to the other sacraments. According to the New Testament, baptism is to wash and cleanse with water. Matthew 28:19 describes the Christian baptism and qualifies the addition of “in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit” to the process. Through baptism Christians are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; they become members of Christ, are incorporated into the church and made shares in her mission. Furthermore, Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration by way of water in the word. It is also defined as the sacrament of supernatural rebirth. Moreover, it gives us a new life. The sacrament of baptism is the first of the seven sacraments not only in time but in priority. This is because other sacraments depend on it (catholicism.about.com). The sacrament of Baptism is necessary to Christians as Christ Himself ordered His disciples to preach the Gospel to all nations and baptize those the accept the message of the Gospel. (John 3:1-21), during His encounter with Nicodemus, He made it clear that for salvation baptism was necessary: "Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Furthermore, for Catholics take baptism as a mark of a Christian as it brings Christians into a new life in Christ. The biblical root of the sacrament of baptism The biblical root of the sacrament of baptism is evident as many events in Israel’s salvation history direct to the saving grace found in the waters of baptism e.g. Israel Crossing the Red Sea, the great Flood and the Israel crossing the River Jordan into the promised land. In the Gospel, at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, he was baptized by John in the River Jordan. In and during this event, Jesus, the sinless One, identified himself with sinful humanity whom he came to set free from the slavery and power of sins. Jesus filled the waters with his divine presence by stepping into River Jordan just as he does when the water is blesses during the sacrament of baptism. Furthermore, before Jesus returned to His Father, He issued the Great commission: to preach in his name, make disciples and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:16-20). Types of sacrament of baptism Churches recognize that apart from the baptism of water there is also baptism of desire. This is baptism employs both to those who, die early in time before being baptized while as they wished to be baptized, and those who through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who still seek God with an open and genuine heart, and moved by grace, make an effort in their actions to do His will as they know it through the guiding principle of conscience (Constitution on the Church, Second Vatican Council). Similar to baptism of desire, baptism of blood refers to the martyrdom of those believers who were killed for the faith before they had an opportunity to be baptized. This was widely known to occur in church during the early centuries, but also, later on in missionary lands. Consequently, the baptism of blood has the same effects as the baptism of water. The principal symbols of Baptism The main symbols of the sacrament of baptism portray the meaning of this sacrament. These symbols include; water, oil, white garment and candle. Water is symbolic as it can both destroy and save life. In the sacrament of baptism, pouring of the blessed water is the outward obviously seen sign of the interior transformation being brought about in the soul (Jensen, 69). In the Old Testament, oil was used to anoint kings and queens to symbolize the coming of God’s Spirit to enable them to be godly leaders of God’s people. Similarly, the anointing of a candidate at Baptism with sacred chrism, blesses by the bishop, symbolizes an interior anointing in the soul. Another symbol, white garment and candle, in ancient churches adults prior to entering the waters of baptism, removed all their clothes to symbolize; they were leaving behind the old way of life, and that they were shedding sinful ways (Jensen, 70). After they emerged from the baptismal waters, they were covered with a white garment to symbolize they were clothing themselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Afterwards, reception of a Baptismal candle lit from the Easter candle, means that the freshly baptized has been enlightened by Christ and is now called to live as a child of the light. The Form of the Sacrament of Baptism There are two essential of rite of baptism; the pouring of water over the head of an individual to be baptized and the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Additionally, this rite has been stretched by the church to include roles of both parents and godparents. The Minister of the Sacrament of Baptism Baptism requires just water and words, therefore, any baptized person can baptize another unlike other sacraments e.g. sacrament of marriage. Further, when the life of a person is in danger even a non- baptized person can baptized, provided that the person performing the baptism follows the form of baptism and intends by the baptism to do what the church does, that is; bring the person being baptized into the fullness of the church. Consequently, later the priest may carry out conditional baptism (Moon, 321). Infant Baptism In the Catholic Church today, baptism is most commonly administered to infants. Although, some other Christians strongly object to infant baptism, believing that baptism requires agreement on the part of the individual being baptized. However, Anglicans, the Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, and other mainline Protestants also practice infant baptism, and there is evidence that it was practiced from churches in the earlier days (Jensen, 12). Delaying baptism up to when a child can understand the sacrament may put the child’s salvation in danger, should he die un-baptized, since baptism removes both the guilt and punishment due to original Sin. Consequently, the church also teaches that infant baptism may be held back to a later date if there is no well founded hope that the child will be brought up in the church e.g. Catholic faith. Adult Baptism An adult can be baptized after proper instruction in the Faith, since; adult baptism normally occurs today as part of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) and is immediately followed by Confirmation and Communion. A person can only be baptized once as a Christian that is; when converting to Catholicism, however, if the person is already baptized in another church and wants to join catholic then he cannot be re-baptized. Importance of the sacrament of baptism Baptism is not only the first of the seven sacraments; it is also the basic sacrament. Unless a person is baptized, none of the other six sacraments can be received. For instance; only a baptized person can undergo the sacrament of confirmation and communion. Also, only a baptized person can obtain absolution in the Sacrament of Confession. Furthermore, only a baptized person can have the Sacrament of Matrimony (Ryrie, 488). Lastly, only a baptized man can be validly ordained a priest. Baptism first gives a person the supernatural life, whereas the other sacraments provide for the restoration, or healing, or growth, or communication of the supernatural life. As we know, the particular time we are conceived in our mother’s womb, we receive the principle of the natural life of our body, named the soul. When we are baptized, our soul receives its principle of the supernatural life. The foundation of supernatural existence is conferred by the Sacrament of Baptism (Ryrie, 489). Finally, Baptism clearly shows what the Catholic Church understands by the sacraments. They actually give cause if you will, the grace which they signify. There need be no deliberate contribution from a newborn child. The sacrament itself confers grace from God just because the infant is baptized (Witczak, 69). Effects of the Sacrament of Baptism Baptism has six principal effects, which are all supernatural graces: The removal of the guilt of both original sin and personal sin. The original sin refers to the sin imparted to all mankind by the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden while personal sin entails the sins that we have committed ourselves. The first and most practical effect of Baptism is to remove the guilt of original sin and restore the corresponding title to heavenly glory. That is, all the guilt of all the sin a person may have on his soul is taken away (Hardon at el, 5). A baptized child, who has not reached the age of reason, if it dies, has an immediate title to the beatific vision. After the age of reason, a baptized person is freed not only from original sin but all the sins committed, and all the punishment due to even a lifetime of personal sins. However, the penalties of original sin are not removed by Baptism. The sacrament of baptism is the introducing of grace in the form of sanctifying grace; the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; and the three theological virtues. Baptism not only gives supernatural life to the soul but it also gives supernatural powers, joys and instincts which are commonly known as gifts, virtues and fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of Baptism incorporates a person into the Church founded by Christ. Baptism makes one become a part of the Church, this is the Mystical Body of Christ on earth. In order to belong to the church especially the Catholic Church Baptism is the door to receive such graces. Baptism makes one become part of Christ. By undergoing the sacrament of baptism individuals are now acknowledged as part of Christ as they can go ahead to undertake other sacraments such as confirmation. Indelible character is another effect of sacrament of baptism. This sacrament gives irremovable, permanent seal or character. Baptism gives a likeness to Christ, especially to Christ the priest. The seal, therefore, remains throughout our lives on earth and into the endless riches of eternity. Moreover, baptismal character grafts a person into Christ the Vine so as that all the baptized share in a unique way in the graces of Christ’s humanity. Furthermore, the baptismal character is permanent as it is timeless; it is indelible since nothing can remove it, not even loss of life (Hardon at el, 6). Thereby, a baptized person always remains a Christian, because, the baptismal seal confers with Christ a permanent relationship. Conclusion The sacrament of Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift to man .It is seen as a gift, anointing, grace and enlightenment, bath of rebirth, garment of immortality, seal, and most precious gift. This sacrament is the basis of the whole Christian life; it is the gateway to life in the spirit. Its effects are greater than the other six sacraments as it acts as a gateway to all the other. It significance is magnified as Jesus issued His disciples the Great commission: to preach in his name, make disciples and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:16-20) References Delgatto, Laurie, Mary Shrader, and Therese Brown,. Catechetical Sessions on Liturgy And the Sacraments. Religion: Saint Mary's Press, 2004. Print. Hardon, S.J., Rev. John A. “The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.” The Catholic Faith 4, no. 4 (2011): 5-11. Geddes, Gordon , and Jane Griffiths. Christian Belief and Practice: The Roman Catholic Tradition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Heinemann, 2002. 64-70 Print. Jensen, Robin Margaret. Living water: images, symbols, and settings of early Christian baptism. Leiden: Brill, 2011. Print. Ryrie, Charles. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Religion: Moody Publishers, 1999. 488 Print. Moon, Tony G. "J.H. King’s ‘Expansive’ Theology of Pentecostal Spirit Baptism Authors: Journal of Pentecostal Theologyl." Journal of Pentecostal Theology 16.2 (2012): 320- 343. Print. The Bible. "The Sacrament of Baptism - Roman Catholic Baptism - The Sacrament of Baptism in the Roman Catholic Church." Catholicism - About Catholicism and the Catholic Church. N.p. n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. . Witczak, Michael G. The Sacrament of Baptism By. New York: Lutugical press, 2011. Print. Read More