THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Isaiah 1, 18
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
Isaiah 44, 3
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse
you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new
heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you
to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel 36, 25-27
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the LORD
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
2 Corinthians 6, 11
According to Catholic theology, original sin is the general state of sinfulness in which all human beings are born. We inherit the absence of sanctity and perfect charity as descendants of Adam and Eve. This sin is not something we commit but rather a sin contracted by all human beings through natural propagation. Original sin is regarded as a natural state of deprivation of the original holiness and justice present in Adam and Eve. It is important to note that original sin is not a personal fault of any of Adam’s descendants but rather a condition of our human nature.
All of Adam’s descendants are conceived and born in a state of original sin (Psalm 51:7). St. Paul explains that sin entered the world through one man’s actions, and death spread to all people because all people have sinned (Romans 5:12). However, he also teaches that just as one man’s wrongdoing led to condemnation for all people, one man’s righteous act leads to acquittal and life for all people (Romans 5:18). Physical death is a reminder of our spiritual death. While physical death remains a temporal punishment for our sins against God, Christ’s passion and death on the cross restored humanity to spiritual life with God. As a result, eternal damnation or separation from God is no longer an inevitable destiny for all human beings.
Original sin, therefore, refers to being deprived of supernatural grace. When Adam fell from the supernatural life with God, he entered into a defective state. Adam was destined to possess the supernatural life, but he lost it, and his lower natural condition is what we now call the state of original sin. This state is characterized by the deprivation of the original sanctity and justice in which Adam was initially created by God in His goodness. Since the fall, all biological descendants of Adam have been inclined, as natural members of Adam’s organic body, to evil. This inclination includes the concupiscence of the eyes, the concupiscence of the flesh, and the pride of life.
Human beings have a tendency to desire to be like God, but often without God, before God, and in a way that goes against God’s will. When people act this way, it may result in mortal sins that deprive their souls of sanctity and justice before God due to the original fall from grace. This means that original sin is classified as a sin only in an analogical sense: it is a sin that is “contracted” and not “committed” – it is a state of being and not an act. Only personal sins carry the weight of personal fault and guilt due to the natural inclination to sin as a member of fallen humanity.
God restored sanctifying or justifying grace to all humanity through the redemption of humankind by Christ’s merits. This merciful act of God allowed man to retrieve the supernatural state above nature, which God had destined him for. The grace of redemption erases the sin of Adam, but the moral and physical consequences of original sin remain after baptism. Dom Bruno Webb describes original sin as a disease that has infected the original cell of the human body and may permeate every organ and cell of the body. The original sin we contract is like a poison that has passed into every member of the human race. Therefore, the sin of Adam belongs to each member of the human race as a common heritage.
In Romans 5:19, Paul states that “many” (polloi) were made sinners. He does not contradict himself by omitting the word “all” (pantes) since he means to say that all people are subjected to original sin, but not everyone rejects God. He does not intend to say in the distributive sense that every individual who has ever existed has sinned without exception. Infants and mentally disabled individuals cannot sin in a subjective or morally responsible way, as the act of sin requires full knowledge and complete consent on the part of the subject. However, given the right circumstances, they may sin since they collectively fall short of God’s glory by their lower nature as part of humanity.
Infants and young children who haven’t yet attained the age of moral reasoning suffer and die, even though they haven’t committed any personal sins in their short lives. However, since all human beings are guilty of Adam’s sin by association, the Sacrament of Baptism is required for all of us, including infants and young children. Baptismal water washes away original sin, restoring the soul to the original state of holiness and justice. Although the moral ill-effects of this stain of sin remain, we all must receive the Sacrament of Baptism, including infants and young children.
Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge, which led to their spiritual death (Genesis 2:17). As a result, their spiritual deprivation was passed down to all their biological descendants, except for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was conceived immaculately (Gen 3:15; Lk 1:28, 42). This means that we are all inclined to sin and eventually do sin because of the moral ill-effects of original sin. The Old Testament also tells us that all humanity is afflicted by the stain of original sin, including infants and young children, by natural propagation. Job 14:1, 4 states, “A man born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?”
David acknowledges his sins in Psalm 51, saying, “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” He admits that he was not born in a state of innocence and had sinned at some point in his life. Jesus also teaches us that our personal sins come from the heart (Mt 15:18-20). We inherit the sin of Adam from the moment of conception and, therefore, need to be baptized as infants to be saved from our sinfulness.
Because of Adam’s sin, death entered the world. This highlights our natural tendency to sin and dependence on God’s grace to restore our friendship with Him. Adam’s sin resulted in both spiritual and physical death, and we are all affected by it due to our association. We are all under the same condemnation as Adam and Eve. Paul states that “by one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners,” indicating that original sin is part of our human condition. The underlying premise is that only God in human form could atone for our sins through the eternal sacrifice of Himself. Through this sacrifice, God has reopened the gates of heaven, and access to the Tree of Life is now available to us because of the Tree of the Cross. Death came through one man, Adam, but through one man, the new Adam, renewed life with God is available (1 Cor 15:21).
All of humanity was spiritually dead as a result of sin. We lived in a state of disorderly passions of the flesh. However, Christ sacrificed Himself to expiate sin, appease the Father, and earn the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit. These graces and gifts are meant to heal and restore us to friendship with God (Eph 2:1-3). When we are baptized, we are given the initial grace of forgiveness and justice earned by our Lord and Savior. Through the sacrament of initiation, we actually die with Christ. This allows us to be raised to a new life, just like Him, through the operation of the Holy Spirit (Rom 6:4). Through our baptism, we are no longer subjected to suffering and death in a meaningless way. Instead, by joining our suffering and death with that of Christ, we can use what were once considered to be the physical punishments for original sin as a means of salvation. Our baptism also allows us to die with Christ and be raised with him on the last day (Col 2:12). It’s important to note that baptism is not just a symbolic ritual but a sacrament that signifies a genuine spiritual transformation in the physical world.
St. Paul is referring to the Sacrament of Baptism when he says that we are “washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor 6:11). Through baptism with water and the Spirit, we are restored to the original state of justice and holiness that our primordial father had forfeited for all his progeny. This means that the entrance to heaven is accessible to us. The washing or cleansing of baptism gives rise to our sanctification and justification. By being baptized in Christ, we can “put on Christ,” who is not just a symbol but a living person who dwells in our souls. This allows us to be righteous as he is righteous and pure as he is pure, through the working of the Holy Spirit and His many gifts of grace in our lives (Gal 3:27; 1 Jn 3:3, 7). Through baptism, we are reborn from above and become children of God.
Baptism is a sacrament that personally applies the salvation that Christ has earned for the whole world to us. St. Paul wrote that we are saved by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which was poured on us through Jesus Christ so that we could be justified by grace and become heirs of eternal life. Baptism is salvation because it regenerates our souls and purifies us from the stain of sin. The Holy Spirit justifies us with His infused grace, which produces an interior renewal that we need to be saved. Through this transformation, we become adopted children of God who partake in the divine image. Baptism marks a new life with God and begins a new life in Christ. By receiving this sacrament, we can supernaturally merit eternal life by our deeds of grace and charity. Our righteous deeds are now necessary for the gift of salvation to be complete in and through Christ’s redeeming merits.
Baptism has a two-fold effect. First, it forgives sins, and second, it regenerates us. Justification and sanctification are interconnected. Our relationship with God is restored, and our position before Him has also improved. In the New Testament, we read that through baptism, “our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience” (Heb 10:22). To have a clean conscience, we must sincerely repent and be spiritually renewed. The Holy Spirit’s gifts help transform our inner selves. Forgiveness cleanses and heals us from within. Without the Holy Spirit’s assistance, we cannot cast off our old selves and put on the new. Baptism is not just about the external components of our salvation but about our inner lives. It is the “circumcision” of the heart, the sacrament of the New Covenant (Col 2:11-12).
Hence, to benefit from the initial grace of justification and forgiveness, we must try to renew ourselves from within daily. Repentance is not enough; we must also strongly desire personal growth and holiness and strive for divine perfection. It is not enough to simply convert to Christianity and put our faith in Christ’s sacrifice. Instead, we must persevere in grace and continue on the path of righteousness now that our Lord and Savior has opened the gates of heaven for us to pass through. Baptism is necessary for our salvation because it is through this sacrament that we receive the graces we need for our interior transformation. It is not a symbolic ritual demonstrating our faith in Christ and securing our salvation. Instead, baptism marks the beginning of a lifelong process of justification, made possible by the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
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EARLY SACRED TRADITION
“He stood in need of baptism, or of the descent of the Spirit like a dove; even as He submitted to
be born and to be crucified, not because He needed such things, but because of the human race,
which from Adam had fallen under the power of death and the guile of the serpent, and each one
of which had committed personal transgression. For God, wishing both angels and men, who were
endowed with freewill, and at their own disposal, to do whatever He had strengthened each to do,
made them so, that if they chose the things acceptable to Himself, He would keep them free from
death and from punishment; but that if they did evil, He would punish each as He sees fit.”
St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 88:4
(A.D. 155)
“Every soul, then, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born
again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean all the while that it remains without this
regeneration; and because unclean, it is actively sinful, and suffuses even the
flesh (by reason of their conjunction) with its own shame.”
Tertullian, On the Soul, 40
(A.D. 208)
“Baptism is given for the remission of sins; and according to the usage of the
Church, Baptism is given even to infants. And indeed, if there were nothing in
infants which required a remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to
forgiveness, the grace of baptism would seem superfluous.”
Origen, Homily on Leviticus, 8:3
(post A.D. 244)
“If, in the case of the worst sinners and of those who formerly sinned much
against God, when afterward they believe, the remission of their sins is granted
and no one is held back from Baptism and grace, how much more, then, should
an infant not be held back, who, having but recently been born, has done no sin,
except that, born of the flesh according to Adam. He has contracted the
contagion of that old death from his first being born. For this very reason does
he approach more easily to receive the remission of sins: because the sins forgiven
him are not his own but those of another [from Adam].”
St. Cyprian, Epistle to Fidus, 68[64]:5
(c. A.D. 250)
“Adam sinned and earned all sorrows;–likewise the world after His example, all
guilt.–And instead of considering how it should be restored,–considered how its
fall should be pleasant for it.–Glory to Him Who came and restored it!”
St. Ephraem, Hymns on the Epiphany, 10:1
(A.D. 350)
“‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God.’ No one is expected: not the infant, not the one prevented
by necessity.”
St. Ambrose, Abraham, 2,11:79
(A.D. 387)
“This grace, however, of Christ, without which neither infants nor adults can be
saved, is not rendered for any merits, but is given gratis, on account of which it
is also called grace. ‘Being justified,’ says the apostle, ‘freely through His blood.’
Whence they, who are not liberated through grace, either because they are not
yet able to hear, or because they are unwilling to obey; or again because they did
not receive, at the time when they were unable on account of youth to hear, that
bath of regeneration, which they might have received and through which they
might have been saved, are indeed justly condemned; because they are no
without sin, either that which they have derived from their birth, or that which
they have added from their own misconduct. ‘For all have sinned’–whether in
Adam or in themselves–“and come short of the glory of God.’
”St. Augustine, On Nature and Grace, 4
(A.D. 415)
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved:
but he that believeth not shall he condemned.
Mark 16, 16
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