INTRODUCTION

"This is my beloved Son; with Him I am well pleased." These were real, natural, human words. And this dove, in the form of which the Holy Spirit was seen, was real and natural. Nevertheless, it was the Holy Spirit. All this was done in honor and praise of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism; for this is not a human institution but something sublime and holy. Eminent personages are involved in it: the Father, who bestows and who speaks here; the Son, who receives and is baptized; the Holy Spirit, who hovers above and reveals Himself in the form of a dove. And the celestial choir of all the angels is present; these skip and dance for joy over this act. Furthermore, the entire heaven stands ajar. If Baptism were a human act and institution, such scenes would not be enacted here. (V. 22, p. 173)

Unless faith is present or is conferred in baptism, baptism will profit us nothing; indeed, it will become a hindrance to us, not only at the moment when it is received, but throughout the rest of our lives. Unbelief accuses God's promises of being a lie, and this is the greatest of all sins. If we set ourselves to this exercise of faith, we shall at once perceive how difficult it is to believe this promise of God. For our human weakness, conscious of its sins, finds nothing more difficult to believe than that it is saved or will be saved; and yet, unless it does believe this, it cannot be saved, because it does not believe or trust God that promises salvation.

This message should have been impressed upon the people untiringly, and this promise should have been dinned into their ears without ceasing. Their baptism should have been called to their minds again and again, and their faith constantly awakened and nourished. For just as the truth of this divine promise, once pronounced over us, continues until death, so our faith in it ought never to cease, but to be nourished and strengthened until death by the continual remembrance of this promise made to us in baptism. Therefore, when we rise from our sins or repent, we are merely returning to the power and the faith of baptism from which we fell, and finding our way back to the promise then made to us, which we deserted when we sinned. For the trust of the promise once made remains steadfast, always ready to receive us back with open arms when we return.

The children of Israel, whenever they returned to repentance, remembered above all their exodus from Egypt, and remembering turned back to God who had brought them out. Moses impressed this memory and this protection upon them many times, and David afterwards did the same. How much more ought we to remember our exodus from Egypt, and by this remembrance turn back to him who led us through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5), remembrance of which is commended to us for this very reason!

Thus you see how rich a Christian is, that is, one who has been baptized! Even if he would, he could not lose his salvation, however much he sinned, unless he refused to believe. For no sin can condemn him save unbelief alone. All other sins, so long as the faith in God's promise made in baptism returns or remains, are immediately blotted out through that same faith, or rather through the truth of God, because he cannot deny himself if you confess him and faithfully cling to him in his promise. But as for contrition, confession of sins, and satisfaction, along with all those carefully devised exercises: if you rely on them and neglect this truth of God, they will suddenly fail you and leave you more wretched than before. For whatever is done without faith in God's truth is vanity of vanities and vexation of spirit (Eccles. 1:2, 14). (Vol. 36, pp. 58-60)

On John 3:25: The evangelist says that a dispute arose about purifying, that is, about Baptism. He uses the term "purifying" in order to correct the error prevalent at the time, the error which questioned that Baptism purified. This question, how and where one is purified, dates back to the beginning of the world; and until the end of the world people will find it a problem. Reason seeks its own way to salvation, while the coarse, dissolute, and wicked people do not care about salvation at all. But distressed hearts, worried about the hereafter, about forgiveness of sin, about an escape from death, and about the assurance of eternal life, are concerned about purifying. (V. 22, p. 424)

BAPTISM IS:

A Convertor of Sin and Death to its Own Purposes

Baptism makes all sufferings, and especially death, profitable and helpful, so that they simply have to serve baptism in the doing of its work, that is, in the slaying of sin. It cannot be otherwise. For he who would fulfill the work and purpose of his baptism and be rid of sin, must die. Sin, however, does not like to die, and for this reason it makes death so bitter and so horrible. Such is the grace and power of God that sin, which has brought death, is driven out again by its very own work, namely, by death itself. (V. 35, p. 39)

The Greatest Comfort

There is no greater comfort on earth than baptism. For it is through baptism that we come under the judgment of grace and mercy, which does not condemn our sins but drives them out by many trials. There is a fine sentence of St. Augustine which says, "Sin is altogether forgiven in baptism; not in such a manner that it is no longer present, but in such a manner that it is not imputed." (V. 35, p. 34)

Spiritually Active Until Death-Yes, it Hastens Us toward Death

The significance of baptism is a blessed dying unto sin and a resurrection in the grace of God, so that the old man, conceived and born in sin, is there drowned, and a new man, born in grace, comes forth and rises… Therefore this whole life is nothing else than a spiritual baptism which does not cease till death, and he who is baptized is condemned to die. It is as if the priest, when he baptizes, were to say, "Lo, you are sinful flesh. Therefore I drown you in God's name and in his name condemn you to death, so that with you all your sins may die and be destroyed." Wherefore St. Paul, in Romans 6:4, says, "We were buried with Christ in baptism into death." The sooner a person dies after baptism, the sooner is his baptism complete. For sin never ceases entirely while the body lives, which is so wholly conceived in sin that sin is its very nature, as the prophet says (Ps. 51:5), "Behold I was conceived in sin, and in iniquity did my mother bear me." There is no help for the sinful nature unless it dies and is destroyed with all its sin. Therefore the life of a Christian, from baptism to the grave, is nothing else than the beginning of a blessed death. For at the Last Day God will make him altogether new. (V. 35, p. 30)

Destroyer of All Externals and Restorer of the Image of God in Us

Of course, we are well aware that Baptism is natural water. But after the Holy Spirit is added to it, we have more than mere water. It becomes a veritable bath of rejuvenation, a living bath which washes and purges man of sin and death, which cleanses him of all sin.

Therefore Christ says to Nicodemus here: "The time has now come for your circumcision, the Law, and Moses to be terminated. Hitherto you have waited for Me, of whom the prophets and Moses foretold that you should listen to Me. Now that I have come, listen to Me! Forget about yourselves and your good works, about circumcision, sacrifices, and other worship in the temple. Come to Me and be baptized with water and the Holy Spirit, a Baptism that will give you a new birth and transform you into new persons, that will cause a regeneration or a renewal of your being. For the Holy Spirit works faith in us, and through this faith we regain the image of God which we lost in Paradise. If we are baptized and believe that Christ died for us, we will increase from day to day in faith as well as in the fruits and good works of the Holy Spirit. Whoever would be saved, let him accept My message; for now is the time for My proclamation, and henceforth Moses must hold his peace."

Once he has become a new person, the new man stops discriminating among types of clothes or kinds of food and drink. The Christian says: "If you do not choose to wear a cowl, then put on a coat; and if you do not have a gray coat, then wear a red one. It is immaterial how you dress, and it also does not matter whether you are male or female. For none of this will grant you the new birth. No, this comes only when I believe that Christ died for me. This I know, by the power of the Holy Spirit, from the divine Word, and also from Baptism. Why do I need a cowl besides?" (V. 22, pp. 283-86)

A Virtuous Fire

John proclaimed that they should repent and prepare themselves for the real Baptism of Christ, which vouchsafed them forgiveness of sin; "for I," John wishes to say, "do not bestow forgiveness of sin on anyone." "I baptize with water, I do not confer the Holy Spirit. Thus I do not forgive sin. But the aim and end of my preaching is to lead men to repentance and to prepare them for the advent of the Lord, who is to bestow the forgiveness of sin on them." John's Baptism directed men to the future forgiveness of sin, which was very close at hand. In John's Baptism forgiveness is promised; in Christ's Baptism it is given. Thus John's Baptism is no longer valid now.

Christ, of course, accepts John's Baptism of water, but He adds the fire. That is, He imparts the Holy Spirit, who kindles His virtues in us. And thus our Baptism in Christ, in which He gives us remission of sin, baptizing us with the Holy Spirit and with forgiveness, remains and continues to be effective. We receive the forgiveness from the Lamb, who bears the sin of the world. But on account of the old Adam we are also baptized for repentance. We must constantly repent; we must constantly mortify our flesh. That is, we must continually mend our evil ways and be cleansed and at the same time always hope for that forgiveness of sin which we now have. (V. 22, pp. 175-79)

It is not plain water but has God's Word in it and with it; and this transforms such water into a soul bath and into a bath of rejuvenation. Furthermore, we must maintain that a Baptism is a proper and valid Baptism even if the person baptized is unbelieving and ungodly. For is it conceivable that God would be faithless because of my faithlessness? (Rom. 3:3). Those impious knaves surely don't know themselves whether the people whom they rebaptize really believe. We do know that our little children believe; for regarding them we have a trustworthy declaration of Christ: "Let the children come to Me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:14). They cannot adduce such a statement for those whom they rebaptize. Furthermore, they have no more inside information than we have about the heart; they cannot peer into anyone's heart either.

Thus Baptism, too, remains valid and correct, even if it could be proved that a child or an adult did not believe when baptized. For Baptism is not our work; and whether I believe or disbelieve, it remains good and valid in itself. However, this is also true: If I believe, it benefits me; on the other hand, if I do not believe, Baptism will not redound to my good in all eternity. Furthermore, we are to know that God is actively at work in Baptism without regard to my work or yours. (V. 22, pp. 173-77)

God's Façade of Communication

And in Baptism, of course, our eyes and hearts should always be directed to the manifest appearance in the Jordan, where the voice of the Father is heard from heaven, the flesh of the Son is seen, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove. Thus also in our Baptism. And what is primary in the Lord's Supper is the means by which Christ gives me His body. Thus it is actually God, not the minister, who nourishes and feeds us. In Baptism the voice of the Trinity is heard, and the words of Baptism must not be understood or received in any other way. Therefore this adoration is necessary, if not with a bending of the body, at least with spiritual reverence… Under the papacy, just as among the people of Israel, the true knowledge of the Word and of godliness has been neglected, and we have devoted ourselves only to the observance of ceremonies both when the text of the Gospel is read and when the sacraments are celebrated and administered. (V. 8, p. 145)

An Enlightenment

I am not the patriarch Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. But observe what I do. I take an infant, and by baptizing it I redeem it from death, the devil, and sins, and translate it from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. This a pastor of the church does, and in an emergency any Christian does so. (V. 8, p. 182)

A Vehicle which Brings Us to God

When I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, it is just as if I were saying: "I am snatching you from the hands of the devil and bringing you to God, and I am doing this truly and in fact." (V. 5, p. 141)

Blasphemed by Many

We who know that baptism is a God-given thing, instituted and commanded by God himself, look not at its abuse by godless persons, but simply at God's ordinance. We find baptism in itself to be a holy, blessed, glorious, and heavenly thing, to be held in honor with fear and trembling, just as it is reasonable and right to hold any other ordinance and command of God. It is not the fault of baptism that many people abuse it. It would be as wrong to call the gospel a vain babbling because there are many who abuse it. Since then, as far as I have been able to see and hear, the Anabaptists have no argument but high-sounding words of sacrilege, everyone ought to shun and avoid them as messengers of none other than the devil, sent out into the world to blaspheme the Word and ordinance of God so that people might not believe therein and be saved. For they are the birds who eat the seed sown by the wayside (Matt. 13:4).

Transcendant of Faith and Perched on the Command, Promise and Will of God

Our baptism, thus, is a strong and sure foundation, affirming that God has made a covenant with all the world to be a God of the heathen in all the world, as the gospel says. Also, that Christ has commanded the gospel to be preached in all the world, as also the prophets have declared in many ways. As a sign of this covenant he has instituted baptism, commanded and enjoined upon all heathen, as Matt. 28:19 declares: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,"etc. In the same way he had made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants to be their God, and made circumcision a sign of this covenant. Here, namely, that we are baptized; not because we are certain of our faith but because it is the command and will of God. For even if I were never certain any more of faith, I still am certain of the command of God, that God has bidden to baptize, for this he has made known throughout the world. In this I cannot err, for God's command cannot deceive. But of my faith he has never said anything to anyone, nor issued an order or command concerning it.

True, one should add faith to baptism. But we are not to base baptism on faith. There is quite a difference between having faith, on the one hand, and depending on one's faith and making baptism depend on faith, on the other. Whoever allows himself to be baptized on the strength of his faith, is not only uncertain, but also an idolator who denies Christ. For he trusts in and builds on something of his own, namely, on a gift which he has from God, and not on God's Word alone. So another may build on and trust in his strength, wealth, power, wisdom, holiness, which also are gifts given him by God. But a baptism on the Word and command of God even when faith is not present is still a correct and certain baptism if it takes place as God commanded. Granted, it is not of benefit to the baptized one who is without faith, because of his lack of faith, but the baptism is not thereby incorrect, uncertain, or of no meaning…

Baptism is a work of God, not invented by man but commanded by God and witnessed to by the gospel. There are people who can witness to the fact that you have been baptized, and no one can contradict or prove the opposite. You are reckoned among Christians, admitted to the sacrament, and to the use of all Christian privileges. This would not be the case if you had not been baptized and all were not sure of it. So all of this is clear proof of your baptism. For all the world knows and sees that everyone is baptized as a child. Whoever refuses to believe all this refuses to believe God himself, since God says, Two witnesses are to be believed (Deut. 19:15; Matt. 18:16). Such witnesses he does not punish, though he never leaves false witness unpunished or inviolate.

Herewith I have sufficiently proved that no one ought to have doubts as to his baptism, as if he did not know that he is baptized. He sins against God who will not believe it. For he is much more certain of his baptism through the witness of Christians, than if he himself had witnessed it. For the devil could easily have made him uncertain so that he imagined he had been dreaming or had an hallucination instead of being properly baptized. So he would have to fall back finally on the testimony of Christians to be at peace. This kind of testimony the devil cannot confuse or make dubious.

The schismatics base their faith on this verse, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). This they interpret to mean that no man should be baptized before he believes. I must say that they are guilty of great presumption. For if they follow this principle they cannot venture to baptize before they are certain that the one to be baptized believes. How and when can they ever know that for certain? Have they now become gods so that they can discern the hearts of men and know whether or not they believe? If they are not certain if they believe, why then do they baptize, since they contend so strenuously that faith must precede baptism? Are they not contradicting themselves when they baptize without being certain if faith is there or not? For whoever bases baptism on faith and baptizes on chance and not on certainty that faith is present does nothing better than he who baptizes him who has no faith. For unbelief and uncertain belief are one and the same thing, and both are contrary to the verse, "Whoever believes," which speaks of a sure faith which they who are to be baptized should have.

You say, "I know that he confesses that he believes, etc." Dear sir, confession is neither here nor there. The text does not say, "He who confesses," but "He who believes." To have his confession is not to know his faith. With all your reasoning you cannot do justice to this verse unless you also know he has faith, since all men are liars and God alone knows the heart. So whoever bases baptism on the faith of the one to be baptized can never baptize anyone. So whoever bases baptism on the faith of the one to be baptized can never baptize anyone.

I say the same thing about the baptized one who receives or grounds his baptism on his faith. For he is not sure of his own faith. I would compare the man who lets himself be rebaptized with the man who broods and has scruples because perhaps he did not believe as a child. So when on the next day the devil comes, his heart is filled with scruples and he says, Ah, now for the first time I feel I have the right faith, yesterday I don't think I truly believed. So I need to be baptized a third time, the second baptism not being of any avail. You think the devil can't do such things? You had better get to know him better. He can do worse than that, dear friend. He can go on and cast doubt on the third, and the fourth and so on incessantly (as he indeed has in mind to do), just as he has done with me and many in the matter of confession. We never seemed able to confess sufficiently certain sins, and incessantly and restlessly sought one absolution after the other, one father confessor after the other. Just because we sought to rely on our confession, as those to be baptized now want to rely on their faith. What is the end result? Baptizing without end would result. All this is nonsense. Neither the baptizer nor the baptized can base baptism on a certain faith. This verse of Scripture is far more a judgment on them than on us. And these are the people who don't want to trust the men who are witnesses of their baptism, but now as men are ready to trust themselves that they are baptized as if they were not men, or as if they were more certain of their faith than the witness of Christendom.

So I contend that if they want to do justice to this passage, "Whoever believes," according to their understanding, they must condemn rebaptism much more earnestly than the first baptism. Neither the baptizer nor the baptized can maintain his position, for both are uncertain of their faith, or at least are in constant peril and anxiety. For it happens, indeed it is so in this matter of faith, that often he who claims to believe does not at all believe; and on the other hand, he who doesn't think he believes, but is in despair, has the greatest faith. So this verse, "Whoever believes," does not compel us to determine who has faith or not. Rather, it makes it a matter of every man's conscience to realize that if he is to be saved he must believe and not pretend that it is sufficient for a Christian to be baptized. For the verse does not say, "Whoever knows that he believes, or, if you know that anyone believes," but it says, "Whoever believes." Who has it, has it. One must believe, but we neither should nor can know it for certain.

Since our baptizing has been thus from the beginning of Christianity and the custom has been to baptize children, and since no one can prove with good reasons that they do not have faith, we should not make changes and build on such weak arguments. For if we are going to change or do away with customs that are traditional, it is necessary to prove convincingly that these are contrary to the Word of God. Otherwise (as Christ says), "For he that is not against us is for us" (Mark 9:40). We have indeed overthrown monasteries, mass-priests, and clerical celibacy, but only by showing the clear and certain scriptural arguments against them. Had we not done this, we should truly have let them stand as they previously existed. (V. 40, p. 239-40)

An Aid to Faith-Not Subordinate to It

There is great comfort and a mighty aid to faith in the knowledge that one has been baptized, not by man, but by the Triune God himself, through a man acting among us in His name. (V. 36, p. 63)

Best Typified by Immersion

It is therefore indeed correct to say that baptism is a washing away of sins, but the expression is too mild and weak to bring out the full significance of baptism, which is rather a symbol of death and resurrection. For this reason I would have those who are to be baptized completely immersed in the water, as the word says and as the mystery indicates. Not because I deem this necessary, but because it would be well to give to a thing so perfect and complete a sign that is also complete and perfect. And this is doubtless the way in which it was instituted by Christ. The sinner does not so much need to be washed as he needs to die, in order to be wholly renewed and made another creature, and to be conformed to the death and resurrection of Christ, with whom he dies and rises again through baptism.

The Sum Total of Our Christian Life

You will understand, therefore, that whatever we do in this life which mortifies the flesh or quickens the spirit has to do with our baptism. The sooner we depart this life, the more speedily we fulfil our baptism; and the more cruelly we suffer, the more successfully do we conform to our baptism. Hence the church was at its best at the time when martyrs were being put to death every day and accounted as sheep for the slaughter (Ps. 44:22; Rom. 8:36) for then the power of baptism reigned supreme in the church, whereas today we have lost sight of this power amid the multitude of works and doctrines of men. For our whole life should be baptism, since we have been set free from all else and given over to baptism alone, that is, to death and resurrection. (V. 36, pp. 68-70)

INFANT BAPTISM

Of his baptism as a child he would say, I thank God and am happy that I was baptized as a child, for thus I have done what God commanded. Whether I have believed or not, I have followed the command of God and been baptized and my baptism was correct and certain. God grant that whether my faith today be certain or uncertain, or I think that I believe and am certain, nothing is lacking in baptism. Always something is lacking in faith. However long our life, always there is enough to learn in regard to faith. It can happen that faith fails, so that it is said, "See, he had faith but has it no more." But one cannot say about baptism, "See, baptism was there but is no longer present."… If baptism is not right, that is, without value or help to children, then I would be guilty of no greater sin than the Word of God had been spoken and his sign given in vain. I would not be responsible for the loss of any soul, but only of an ineffectual use of the Word and sign of God. But this God would easily forgive me, since it was done in ignorance and more than that out of fear. I did not invent it. It came to me by tradition and I was persuaded by no word of Scripture that it was wrong.

Besides, no heresy endures to the end, but always, as St. Peter says, soon comes to light and is revealed as disgraceful. So St. Paul mentions Jannes and Jambres and their like (IITim. 3:8f.), whose folly is finally plain to all. Were child baptism now wrong God would certainly not have permitted it to continue so long, nor let it come so universally and thoroughly established in all Christendom, but it would sometime have gone down in disgrace… This miracle of God is an indication that child baptism must be right. He has not so upheld the papacy, which also is an innovation and has never been accepted by all Christians of the world as has child baptism, the Bible, faith, or the Lord's Prayer, etc. (V. 40, pp. 252-254)

Matt. 19:14: "The kingdom of heaven belongs to children.

Infants are aided by the faith of others, namely, those who bring them for baptism. For the Word of God is powerful enough, when uttered, to change even a godless heart, which is no less unresponsive and helpless than any infant. So through the prayer of the believing church which presents it, a prayer to which all things are possible (Mark 9:23), the infant is changed, cleansed, and renewed by inpoured faith. Nor should I doubt that even a godless adult could be changed, in any of the sacraments, if the same church prayed for and presented him, as we read of the paralytic in the Gospel, who was healed through the faith of others (Mark 2:3-12). What obstacles cannot be removed by the faith of the church and the prayer of faith? (V. 36, p. 73)

"He who believeth and is baptized shall be saved," and to the fact that children cannot believe on their own account, that does not disturb me at all. For how will these "prophets" prove that children do not believe? Perhaps by the fact that children do not speak and express their faith. Fine! On that basis (we have to ask) how many hours of the day even we are Christians, in view of the fact that we sleep and do other things? Can't God in the same way keep faith in small children during the whole time of their infancy, as if it were a continuous sleep?

You say, aren't the examples of extrinsic faith weak? I reply that there is nothing stronger. These "prophets", or all the devils, should show one weak example of extrinsic faith! You quote the passage where Samuel prays for Saul (I Sam. 15:35), but this has nothing to do with it. Samuel grieved for Saul, he did not pray for him; or if he prayed for him, he did not pray in faith, that is, he did not believe he would obtain that for which he was praying but placed the outcome of his prayer in doubt and left it to the arbitrariness of God. It was the same when David prayed for his little son, or when may other people pray for many other things. If he had been certain he would receive, he surely would have, because the promise of Christ in Matthew 21:22 stands fast, "Whatever you may ask for, believe that you will receive it and you shall receive it." And in Matthew 18:19, "If two on earth," etc. This fact cannot be shaken: it is impossible that that for which one prays will not happen if one believes that it will happen.

Otherwise the whole doctrine of faith would waver, and personal faith, which is based on Christ's promise, would be of no value. Indeed the faith in which my neighbor intercedes on my behalf belongs to me personally but is really also someone else's faith, so far as my neighbor is concerned; nevertheless it is necessary that that for which the neighbor intercedes in faith should happen in him on whose behalf the neighbor makes the intercession. All the examples from the gospel pertain to this. For Christ has never rejected a single man who was brought to him through someone else's faith, but accepted all (Mark 2:3 ff.). What more should I say? The testimonies and examples of the whole Scripture are on the side of extrinsic faith, that is, on the side of personal faith, which attains faith and whatever is desired for someone else. (V. 36, pp. 367-70)

Indeed, I am willing to make a substantial wager that the devil, through the activity of the factious spirits and the Anabaptists, has all this in mind so that he might put an end to infant baptism, and would want only adults to be baptized. His ideas are surely these: "If I could do away with infant baptism, then I could probably deal with the adults in such a way that they would delay and postpone baptism until they had had their fling or until the hour of death. In addition to encouraging such postponement, I would discreetly keep them from going to church so that they would neither learn about Christ and baptism nor value them in any way. So I would hold up before the great masses in the world powerful examples like the Turks, Persians, Tartars, Jews, and heathens so that finally people would become indifferent and say: Why bother with baptism? Why become Christians? I, too, want to belong to the majority. Do you think that God will condemn the entire world for the sake of three or four Christians? Why should I live among those few despised beggars and miserable persons?"

St. Augustine writes concerning himself that his mother and other good friends delayed his baptism and did not want him to be baptized in his youth so that he might not thereafter fall into sin; they wanted to wait until he had left his youthful years behind and might adhere to his baptism more securely. The result of this good intention was that the longer St. Augustine waited the further away from both baptism and the gospel he came to be, until he fell prey to the Manichaian heresy and made a mockery of both Christ and his baptism up to his thirtieth year. It was only with extreme difficulty that he returned from heresy to Christ. His mother shed many a bitter tear over this matter and in this way had to atone for the good intention and devotion by which she had aided in delaying her son's baptism.

RETAINING BAPTISM VIA:

Penance

The sacrament of penance thus renews and points out again the sacrament of baptism. (V. 35, p. 38)

Humility

We must humbly admit, "I know full well that I cannot do a single thing that is pure. But I am baptized, and through my baptism God, who cannot lie, has bound himself in a covenant with me. He will not count my sin against me, but will slay it and blot it out." He will not count sin against us if only we keep striving against it with many trials, tasks, and sufferings, and at last slay it at death. To them who do this not, God will not forgive their sins. For they do not live according to their baptism and covenant, and they hinder the work of God and of their baptism which has been begun. (V. 35, p.36-37)

Watchfulness

One must be on one's guard against the Anabaptists and the schismatic spirits, who speak sneeringly of Baptism and aver that it is mere water and of benefit to no one. They gaze at this sacred act as a cow stares at a new door. For they behold a poor preacher standing there, or, in an emergency, a woman who baptizes. They take offense at this and say: "Well, what can Baptism accomplish?" They also claim that whoever does not believe is not baptized. Thus they slander and blaspheme the most venerable Sacrament, and that merely because they do not see farther than a horse or a cow; they see only the water. The thing they take note of is that the persons, the preacher or the midwives, are lowly people who dip water with their hands and sprinkle it over the infant. A sow or a cow can see that much. They are befuddled. Consequently, they blaspheme about Baptism. (V. 22, pp. 173-5)

Repetition

Occasionally also it should be explained to the people in preaching on the sacrament that baptism does not only mean that God wills to receive children when they are small, but throughout life. Therefore, baptism is not a sign only to children, but also to the older people it is an incitement and exhortation to repentance. For the water in baptism signifies penitence, contrition, and sorrow. So baptism should awaken the faith that those who repent of their sins are cleansed and forgiven. This kind of faith is a complete baptism. (V. 40, p. 288)

Discipline

For we have allowed the people to go their own merry way without amending and changing their lives. We do not admonish, do not urge, do not persevere, even as our office demands. Rather, we snore and sleep as securely as they do, and do not reflect on the matter any more than this: Whoever comes to the Lord's Table will come; whoever does not come, let him stay away. Thus we deal with both kinds of Christians, although better things should be expected of us. We know that the abominable Satan and prince of this world does not take a vacation but roams about day and night with his angels and assails both us and the people, detains, hinders, and makes us lazy and sluggish for every kind of worship. Where he is unable to suppress them completely, he tries at least to weaken baptism, the sacrament, the gospel, and all divine order. Since we are familiar with these tactics we should remember that we are the angels and watchmen of our Lord Christ who should daily guard the people against such angels of the devil.

Faithful Servants

Therefore I am writing this treatise with diligence, complete earnestness, and in a brotherly spirit, as a plea both to myself and to all pastors and preachers that they, together with me, would diligently look after the people whom God has purchased as his possession through the blood of his Son and has called and brought to baptism and into his kingdom. He has entrusted them to us and will demand a strict accounting from us, as we well know. For if we, who have the office and the mandate, are sluggish and lazy in carrying them out, we will have to wait a long time before the people admonish themselves of their own accord and come to the Lord's Table, since they hardly come even when we are most persistent in our pleas. (V. 38, pp. 97-100)

HINDRANCES TO BAPTISM'S EFFICACY

Indolence

When someone comes forth out of baptism, he is truly pure, without sin, and wholly guiltless. Still, there are many who do not properly understand this. They think that sin is no longer present, and so they become remiss and negligent in the killing of their sinful nature, even as some do when they have gone to confession…The blessed sacrament of baptism helps you because in it God allies himself with you and becomes one with you in a gracious covenant of comfort. (V. 35, p. 32, 33)

Exalting Worthiness

The hearing of gladness (Ps. 51:8) is in Baptism, when it is said: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19); "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). The hearing of gladness is in the Lord's Supper, when it is said, "This is My body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). The hearing of gladness is in confession, or, to call it by its more proper name, in absolution and the use of the keys: "Have faith. Your sins are forgiven you through the death of Christ." Though we urge the people to the Sacraments and to absolution, still we do not teach anything about the worthiness of our work or that it avails by the mere performance of the work." I enjoy saying this in many words so that you might know that the forgiveness of sins become actual not through works but through hearing. (V. 12, p. 369, 371)

Stupid Smugness

As Paul says (Rom. 8:13) that by the Spirit we "put to death the deeds of the body." What happens to us is that most of us live in such smugness as though we were all spirit and nothing of the flesh were left at all. Therefore we must learn that the flesh still remains and that the task of the Spirit is to war against the flesh, lest the flesh accomplish that for which it lusts.

Therefore the Christian is not formally righteous, he is not righteous according to substance or quality—I use these words for instruction's sake. He is righteous according to his relation to something; namely, only in respect to divine grace and the free forgiveness of sins, which comes to those who acknowledge their sin and believe that God is gracious and forgiving for Christ's sake, who was delivered for our sins (Rom. 4:25) and is believed by us. After we have attained this righteousness by faith, then we need the bath or washing of which the psalm speaks. Sin does not condemn any more, but it still remains to vex us. (V. 12, p. 329)

Questioning

So Eve fell when she took counsel with herself about God's commandment. She permitted herself to be persuaded to reflect on it, and then she was already lost. (V. 12, p. 287)

Reason

God is faithful, no matter how absurd what He says in His Word may appear to our reason. (V. 12, p. 288)

Externals

John 4:2: "Although Jesus Himself did not baptize, but only His disciples." Why did Jesus not baptize? The Jews might have closed an eye and tolerated Jesus' preaching; but that He should introduce an innovation and baptize—that seemed too much for them. Today many princes act the same way. They have the doctrine of Communion in both kinds proclaimed as Scriptural; at the same time they do not lift a finger to abolish vigils and Masses for the dead. So the Jews might have been persuaded to be indulgent toward Christ's preaching; but that He should change and abolish something which they themselves had established—that was insufferable. We ourselves abolished nothing; we merely brought to light again what has been dimmed and obscured. We polished the lamps so that the true meaning of Baptism, of Holy Communion, of the Office of the Keys, and of absolution could be recognized again. But the pope does not want things changed; he wants us to remain in the cowl and to read Mass. Thus the Pharisees could tolerate Jesus' preaching; but it irritated them that He baptized, that He attracted disciples to His Person, and that John the Baptist declared: "He must increase." (John 3:30)

Why does the evangelist say that Christ did not baptize: And why did St. Paul not baptize? (I Cor. 1:17). Does this imply that Baptism means little or nothing after all? Indeed not! Baptism is something very important, although it is a new measure. Here we find an intimation that people are inclined to pay more heed to externals than to doctrine. That is the way Baptism, Holy Communion, and absolution were lost. The world wants to have the Gospel preached, that is, the message that the Jews tortured Christ. But Christ instituted the Sacrament of Baptism that we might observe both the water and the Word in it. If we surrender the Word, Baptism is nothing but water, and Holy Communion is nothing but bread; for the Word is the real core of the Sacraments. Neither the saintliness of St. Peter nor the elements constitute a Sacrament, but solely the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." When the Word is joined to the elements, then a Sacrament comes into being: then Baptism becomes a "washing of regeneration" (Titus 3:5). If the Word is not present, bread remains bread, and water is water. However, when the Word is added: "This is My body; the cup is My blood. This do in remembrance of Me," then it is a Sacrament. When you go to confession, do not focus your thoughts on your confession and contrition but on the words spoken by the pastor: "I announce the forgiveness of sins to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Therefore it is John's purpose to exalt the Word and to lessen the regard for the holy form of externals. (V. 22, pp. 515-16)

Feelings

The fact that everyone feels and hears the wind is, of course, only a physical matter subject to our five senses; and yet we do not know just what the wind is, whence it comes, or where it goes. Then why do we not readily give honor to our God and believe His words when He tells us that we are born anew through Baptism and that, although we are still sinners, we enter into eternal life by way of the grave and are saved? Why do we not believe this even though we cannot perceive and comprehend it with our reason and do not feel anything but the water and the sound of the Holy Spirit, that is, His Word? With the help of this physical and clear illustration the Lord taught Nicodemus to believe even where he fails to grasp, for he cannot even understand the sense of hearing. Here we must learn from our own experience and from the observation of all creatures to believe God and His Word and to give way even when we do not understand. (V. 22, pp. 294-96)

Devilish Blindness

Even if you do not believe that Jesus Christ died for you, what does it matter? The words which I hear are still true and are not changed into lie and deceit by my unbelief. Likewise, when you are baptized, you are validly and truly baptized regardless of your belief or unbelief. Or if you receive the absolution from a preacher or a Christian brother, you may rest assured that your sins are remitted even though it was Judas or someone else who absolved you; for absolution is, for all that, God's Word and a divine office. Such doctrine bears frequent repetition in the face of the allegation of knaves and schismatic spirits that Baptism and the Gospel become valid only through man's acceptance and belief. And the devil always plagues us by blinding us to a proper differentiation between the work of God and the work of man. The Anabaptists aver that Baptism is proper and valid only if the baptized person believes. But remember that the Gospel and Baptism would be correct and true even if no person gave them credence; for both of these are not my work but God's. (V. 22, pp. 173-180)

Sight

"But I do not see the thing itself," you will say. I reply: If you believe, you have it. If you do not want to believe, you will have nothing. For the promise says: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). The Sacrament of the Altar, Baptism, and the Word in the sermon are at hand. But you have as much as you believe. If you believe, you already have power over and possession of all things. "But I would like to see these things," you will say. You will not see them; but, as I have stated, the things we possess in the Word are surer and firmer than what we possess in fact, for those things can be taken away and will finally be snatched away by death. Therefore they are unsure. But when I believe, it is impossible for me to perish from hunger. If all things are not at hand as abundantly and profusely as they are for the greedy and the rich, nevertheless not a single one of the things that are necessary for physical life will be lacking, provided that first of all the name of God is hallowed.

But if you do not believe, you have nothing. Through faith and the promise, however, you already possess the kingdom of God. The communion of saints is completely certain and firm for you, not otherwise than if you were already in heaven. For even the Children of Israel did not obtain these promises without faith. Jacob gives them the land. But how? He does not give the thing. Nevertheless, he does give it. He does not give it tangibly or visibly, as $100 or $1,000 dollars are given into one's hands. No, he gives it in the promise, as Abraham, Isaac, Israel, and Joseph received it. But, as I have often stated, they held it with greater certainty in the promise than they did when they held it in actual fact and lived in it visibly when the condition of the Law was added.

Accordingly, we must take pains to set a high value on the promise of the Word, to extol it in every way we can. Let us also pray earnestly that our faith be increased and strengthened by God. For if we do not believe, we shall receive nothing, just as the unbelieving Israelites did not enter the Promised Land but were laid low and slain in the desert, with the exception of only two, Joshua and Caleb. (V. 8, pp. 184-85)

Human Wisdom in Exegesis

(On I Tim 2:6; Titus 1:2; Rom 16:26; Eph. 3:5) Christ has two functions: mediation, or redemption, and a testimony about the forgiveness of sins and mediation. This, too, our Enthusiasts do not understand. The one is an act; the other, the use of the act. I have written against the Enthusiast Carlsdadt in a book to answer his charge: "You new papists, you make new mistakes. You teach that there is remission of sins in Baptism, in the Gospel. But Scripture says something else. The only thing we know about the forgiveness of sins is that it occurs on the cross, not in Baptism." That is where he misleads the naïve. Note well this passage and others like it. They distinguish between redemption as an actual act and redemption as it is preached. Had Christ been crucified a hundred thousand times and had nothing been said about it, what profit would the act of His being brought to the cross have brought? But when I come to this, I must draw this act into history and publish it for all the world. Also, if anyone had seen this, he would not have thought that the work of redemption was taking place there. The work is fulfilled on the cross, but no one knows of the redemption except the Father and the Son. Therefore to the act also the use of the act must be added, that it may be declared through the Word and that one may hold it by faith and, thus believing, may be saved. Paul's intent, then, is this: to the work of redemption belongs the Word of preaching, which does nothing else but impress the work of redemption...They say: "Christ completed the redemption with a single work." Yes, but He distributes it, applies it, and tells it by testimony. There is a testimony in Baptism. We are baptized into Christ. His Word is present. I am baptized into Christ the Crucified. In Baptism, therefore, there is a use of redemption—an application of its use…

As He said: "Take this." This word "Take"—this word offers me Christ crucified. Satan makes the following ridiculous remark: "They don't want the remission in Word and sacrament. They establish it in their speculations." They say that neither water nor bread saves us, but Christ crucified. But it profits nothing unless we receive in the Word that which in Baptism, in the Sacrament of the Altar, and in the Gospel brings this Christ to me. And wherever the Word of the Gospel is, there is the remission of sins. Therefore, Christ redeemed us once with a single work, but He did not pass out redemption with a single means. He gave it out through the medium of washing in Baptism, through the medium of eating in the Sacrament of the Altar, through the media of comforting the brethren, of reading in the Book, that the fruit of His passion might be spread everywhere…

Wherever the Word of God is, then, there is the forgiveness of sins. After all, the Word is nothing else than the declaration of the forgiveness of sins. This is the conclusion which the Enthusiasts have to draw against us: "They have Baptism, the Eucharist, and confession; they comfort—but all this is without the Word." But we say: "The Word is our Baptism, etc. The Word has announced the whole thing to me." (V. 28, pp.267-69)

Uncertainty

Finally I claim that if some one had not been baptized, but did not know it and firmly believed that he had been rightly baptized, that faith would be sufficient for him. For before God he has what he believes. All things (Christ says) are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). To rebaptize such a one would be to imperil his faith. How much less, then, should we rebaptize those who are sure they have been baptized! God grant that they believed, but it makes no difference if they did not. The Anabaptists cannot be sure their baptism is a right one, since they base their rebaptizing on a faith of which they cannot be sure. Hence they play a gambling game with those they rebaptize. To be uncertain and dubious in godly things is to sin and tempt God. Whoever teaches deceit for uncertainty in place of sure truth lies in the same way as he who speaks openly against the truth. For he speaks that of which he is himself not sure and yet wants it to be taken as truth. But whoever would base baptism on the commandment and ordinance of God would soon realize that rebaptism is neither necessary nor useful. The first baptism sufficiently meets the requirement of God.

Blasphemy

They are guilty also of blaspheming and denying the commandment and work of God. For while the first baptism is in accord with the commandment of God and justice is done to it by its very performance, they still insist it is wrong and only a dog's bath. What else are they saying but that God's command and work are wrong and amount to a dog's bath? This they say for no other reason than that they demand a certainty of faith in baptism though it is impossible to have this certain. This is to deny and blaspheme a sure command and work of God for an uncertain delusion.

Exaltation of Faith

Tell me which is the greater and the more important in the second baptism, the Word of God or faith? Is it not true that the Word of God is greater and more important than faith, since faith builds and is founded on the Word of God rather than God's Word on faith? Furthermore faith may waver and change, but God's Word remains forever (Isa. 40:6-9; I Pet. 1:24). Then too, tell me, if one of these two should be otherwise, which should it rather be: the immutable Word or the changeable faith? Would it not more reasonable be the faith that should be subject to change rather than the Word of God? It is fairer to assume that the Word of God would change faith, if a right one were lacking, than that faith would change the Word of God. So they must confess that in the first baptism it was not the Word of God that was defective, but faith, and that what is needed is another faith and not another Word. Why then do they not concern themselves rather with a change of faith and let the Word remain unaltered…If they were to act rightly according to their own peculiar logic they should be urging a rebelieving, not a rebaptizing. (V. 40, pp.259-61)

Arrogance

If, then, the holy sacrament of baptism is a matter so great, gracious, and full of comfort, we should diligently see to it that we ceaselessly, joyfully, and from the heart thank, praise, and honor God for it. For I fear that by our thanklessness we have deserved our blindness and become unworthy of recognizing such grace. The whole world was, and still is, full of baptism and the grace of God. But we have been led astray into our own anxious works and other false comforts. We have thought that we are not to trust God until we are righteous and have made satisfaction for our sin, as though we would buy God's grace from him or pay him for it. (V. 35, p. 42)

An Example from Life

If a thing is in itself correct you do not have to repeat it even though it was not correctly received. You correct what was wrong and do not have to do the entire thing over. Abuse does not change the nature of a substance, indeed it proves the substance. There can be no abuse unless the substance exists.

When ten years after baptism faith appears, what then is the need of a second baptism, if baptism was correctly administered in all respects? For now he believes, as baptism requires. For faith doesn't exist for the sake of baptism, but baptism for the sake of faith. When faith comes, baptism is complete. A second baptism is not necessary.

It is as if a girl married a man reluctantly and altogether without a wife's affection for the man. She is before God hardly to be considered his true wife. But after two years she gains affection for him. Would then a second engagement be required, a second wedding be celebrated, as if she had not previously been a wife, so that the earlier betrothal and wedding were in vain? Of course you would be considered a fool, if you believed that, especially since everything is in order now because she has come into her right and properly keep to the man she had not properly accepted.

So also if an adult falsely allows himself to be baptized but after a year comes to faith, do you mean, dear sir, that he should be rebaptized? He received the correct baptism incorrectly, I hear you say. His impropriety makes baptism improper. Should then human error and wickedness be stronger than God's good and invincible order? God made a covenant with the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai. Some did not receive that covenant rightly and in faith. If now these later came to faith, should the covenant, dear sir, therefore be considered invalid, and must God come again to each one on Mt. Sinai in order to renew the covenant? (V. 40, pp. 246-7)

Conclusion

If anyone has fallen into sin, he should all the more remember his baptism, how God has here made a covenant with him to forgive all his sins, if only he will fight against them even until death. Upon this truth, upon this alliance with God, a man must joyfully dare to rely. Then baptism again goes into force and operation. Then his heart again becomes peaceful and glad, not in his own works or "satisfaction," but in the mercy of God promised to him in baptism, a mercy which God will keep forever. This faith a person must hold so firmly that he would cling to it even though everything and all sins attacked him. For he who lets himself be forced away from this faith makes God a liar in his promise in the sacrament of baptism (V. 35, p. 37)

Baptism makes all sufferings, and especially death, profitable and helpful, so that they simply have to serve baptism in the doing of its work, that is, in the slaying of sin. It cannot be otherwise. For he who would fulfil the work and purpose of his baptism and be rid of sin, must die. Sin, however, does not like to die, and for this reason it makes death so bitter and so horrible. Such is the grace and power of God that sin, which has brought death, is driven out again by its very own work, namely, by death itself. (V. 35, p. 39)

Only the voice of the Bridegroom should resound in the Church, and there should be thanks and praises to this King… This is my body; Suffer the children to come unto me; your sins are forgiven. (V. 12, p. 300)

Question: How has your way of experiencing Christ helped you? How victorious are you? How strongly does peace reign in your heart and mind? Do your struggles often seem like they would swallow you up? Christ says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me; for My yoke is easy and my burden is light." When we simply believe and are willing to have our reason, will, and ways crucified, His yoke truly becomes "easy." In the meantime we remain our own worst enemies; and worse—the enemies of Christ.

Wanting to simply believe,

Tim
August 14, 1999