The Book of Confessions, in Question 94 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, says, “The sacrament of baptism is a washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which is a sign and seal that we are joined to Christ, that we receive the benefits of the covenant of grace, and that we are engaged to be the Lord’s.” Also, in Chapter 21 of the Scots Confession, we read: “We assuredly believe that by baptism we are engrafted into Christ Jesus, to be made partakers of his righteousness, by which our sins are covered and remitted.” This highlights what we mentioned about the Sacraments in another article: what the sacraments signify, they also accomplish.

St. Peter writes: “God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this [the waters of the flood] prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 3:20-21). 

“Baptism now saves you”

“Baptism now saves you.” Is it like magic? Do we think applying a bit of water removes sin? No. It says, “Not as a removal of dirt from the body,” so it’s not magic water. It says, “Baptism saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Christ does the saving through His sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit applies Christ’s work to us. The Spirit makes the Sacraments effective. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life: the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63).” We baptize because Christ commanded it. When we baptize in Christ’s name, we believe Christ is doing the baptizing. John the Baptist said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. The greater baptism of the Holy Spirit is signified, sealed, and applied by water baptism.

Can you immerse a dining couch?

The word “baptize” comes from the Greek word βαπτίζω (baptizo), meaning “to wash.” It doesn’t always mean “to immerse.” For instance, in Mark 7:3-4, it describes the ritual washing (by sprinkling) of plates, cups, utensils, tables, and dining couches. The Jewish people weren’t immersing these items but used a ritual cleansing involving dipping a branch of hyssop in water and sprinkling it on the table and items. This is called a “baptism” of these items, meaning a ritual washing. In Scripture, “baptism” can refer to immersion, sprinkling, or pouring (like the outpouring of the Holy Spirit: the “baptism of the Spirit”). We recognize all three modes of baptism (sprinkling, pouring, immersion) as valid. However, since the gift of the Holy Spirit is often described in terms of sprinkling or pouring, and because water baptism signifies the baptism of the Holy Spirit, most Christians, including Reformed Churches, see sprinkling or pouring as the usual modes of baptism.

Immersion not necessary

The Westminster Confession (Book of Confessions 6.156) puts it this way: “Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary, but baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person.”

Part of the definition of a Sacrament is that it is a “holy ordinance instituted by Christ,” and baptism was indeed instituted by Christ, in Matthew 28:16-20: “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”�

“You and your household”

In the book of Acts, the apostles baptized not only new believers but also their entire households: “The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and everyone in his house. That same night, he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his whole family were baptized immediately (Acts 16:29-33).”

In the New Testament, baptism is shown as a renewal of the covenant sign of circumcision. Similarly, the Lord’s Supper is presented as a renewal of the covenant meal of Passover.

St. Paul writes:

In Christ also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ, when you were buried with him in baptism. (Col. 2:11-12)

New Sign, Same Meaning

St. Paul teaches us that through baptism, we receive the same sign and seal of the covenant that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 17. Back then, this covenant sign was given to all infant boys in Abraham’s line at eight days old. However, Scripture now tells us that in Christ, there is no male or female (Galatians 3:28). So, the covenant sign and seal, which is now baptism, is now for both boys and girls. The outward sign has changed, but the inward meaning remains the same. Baptism, just as circumcision did, marks our entry into the covenant community and is the sign and seal of the covenant of grace.

Like Abraham, we are commanded to apply this sign to our children. Baptism is for believers and their children: God said to Abraham, “I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you (Genesis 17:7).”

Why does the font have eight sides?

In the early church, there was no debate about baptizing children of believers; they saw the connection to the covenant of grace. The only debate was whether to perform the sign on the eighth day (as in the Old Testament) or wait until the nearest Sunday. This is why many baptismal fonts are shaped like an octagon. They have eight sides to remind us of the eighth day. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, so the eighth day symbolizes the start of a new creation. Remember, Jesus rose on the first day of the week, which is also the eighth day.

So infant baptism is in continuity with the sign and seal of the covenant of grace that was commanded by God in the Hebrew scriptures and applied both to those coming into the covenant community as adults as well as to the infants who were born into that covenant community. Some may counter that infant baptism is “not fair,” since an infant has no say in the matter. But for those who believe in justification by faith, for those who believe “by grace are you saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8),” what better picture of grace could there be? God saves us by grace: it is not dependent on our effort. “It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy (Romans 9:16).”

It’s God’s work, not ours

The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “The Sacrament of baptism is but once to be administered to any person (WCF 30.7).” This addresses the issue of re-baptizing, which has arisen many times in church history. In the early church, some baptized by ministers who later abandoned the faith under Roman persecution questioned if their baptism was invalid. The church repeatedly affirmed that baptism is Christ’s work and relies on God’s grace, not on the worth of the person performing it. Therefore, re-baptism is unnecessary.

The effectiveness of baptism depends solely on God’s grace, the command and blessing of Christ, and the Holy Spirit’s regenerating work. Baptism is a Sacrament: it is God’s gracious work for us. It reflects what Christ has done for us, not what we do for Him. If baptism were just an “ordinance,” a rule to be followed based on our faithfulness, then re-baptism might be logical. But baptism is God’s action. We do not name ourselves; God names us and claims us as His own.

Re-baptism?

The concept of re-baptism re-emerged shortly after the Reformation. Groups like the Anabaptists (early Mennonites, Amish, etc.) appeared. “Anabaptist” means “re-baptizer.” They believed in re-baptizing individuals after they professed faith in Christ, and that only adults could make such a profession. Instead of focusing on justification by faith, Anabaptists emphasized “becoming a disciple of Jesus.” They highlighted the challenges of discipleship, saying only adults could choose this path. Both Protestants and Catholics rejected Anabaptist ideas. Notably, Anabaptists did not baptize by immersion. Early Baptists in England and the U.S., including Roger Williams, also did not use immersion. The practice became popular among Baptists after Richard Blunt learned it from Mennonites in the Netherlands and brought it to England. It was later included in the London Baptist Confession of 1644. Before this, many Baptists used sprinkling or pouring for baptisms.

Re-baptism is still practiced today. Some people believe that those baptized as infants or through sprinkling or pouring were not “truly baptized.” They often use the term “christening” negatively, distinguishing it from what they see as a “real” baptism. However, christening is just another word for baptism. In Jewish tradition, part of circumcision included naming the child, which carried over into Christian Baptism. Baptism was when an infant received their first name, often called their “Christian name.” This tradition is based on Isaiah 43:1: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” Christening, or receiving one’s Christian name, is a part of baptism.

Improving our baptism

There is an important aspect of baptism we haven’t discussed yet, and it’s rarely mentioned. The Confessions advise us to “improve our baptism”:

Q. 167. How is our baptism to be improved by us?

‘The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others; by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein;by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements; by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament; by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace; and by endeavoring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names to Christ; and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body (Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 167).”

“Improving our baptism” means claiming and celebrating our baptism. Whenever there is a baptism in worship, we need to take that opportunity to thank God for our own baptism, to reflect on its meaning, and to renew our commitment to Christ. As parents, we also need to talk to our children frequently about their baptism and how Christ claims them as his own, so that they may begin to live into their baptism even as we seek to do the same thing.