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<\/a>There is also a third testimony, as the Apostle teaches us:\u00a0 That water does not cleanse without the Spirit is shown by the\u00a0witness of John and by the very form of the administration of the sacrament. (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 4, 18<\/a>)<\/p>\n Therefore read that the three witnesses in\u00a0baptism, the water, the blood, and the\u00a0Spirit, [1 John 5:7]<\/span>\u00a0are one, for if you take away one of these, the Sacrament of Baptism does not exist. For what is water without the\u00a0cross\u00a0of\u00a0Christ? A common element, without any sacramental effect. Nor, again, is there the Sacrament of Regeneration without water:\u00a0 You died to the world, and rose again to God. And as though buried to the world in that element, being dead to\u00a0sin, you rose again to\u00a0eternal life. Believe, therefore, that these waters are not void of power. (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 4, 21<\/a>)<\/p>\n Our own sins\u00a0are remitted through\u00a0baptism. (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 6, 32<\/a>)<\/p>\n After this white robes were given to you as a sign that you were putting off the covering of\u00a0sins, and putting on the chaste veil of innocence, of which the\u00a0prophet\u00a0said:\u00a0 No offenses pollute the baptized, . . . (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 7, 41<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n Matthew says:\u00a0 ***<\/p>\n \u201cPlease Hit \u2018Subscribe\u2019\u201d!<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>If you have received benefit from this or any of my other 4,800+ articles, please follow my blog by signing up (with your email address) on the sidebar to the right (you may have to scroll down a bit), above where there is an icon bar, \u201cSign Me Up!\u201d: to receive notice when I post a new blog article. This is the equivalent of subscribing to a\u00a0YouTube<\/em>\u00a0channel.\u00a0My blog was rated #1<\/a>\u00a0for Christian sites by leading AI tool, ChatGPT: endorsed by influential Protestant blogger Adrian Warnock. Please also consider following me on Twitter \/ X and purchasing\u00a0one or more of my 55 books<\/a>.\u00a0All of this helps me get more exposure, and (however little!) more income for my full-time apologetics work. Thanks so much and happy reading!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Why do you\u00a0baptize\u00a0if\u00a0sins cannot be remitted by man? . . . baptism\u00a0is certainly the remission of all\u00a0sins, . . . (Concerning Repentance<\/em>, Book I, ch. 8, 36<\/a>)<\/p>\n We are renewed by means of the laver of baptism, whereby we are born again, as\u00a0Paul\u00a0says himself:\u00a0 . . . called to baptism, that they may put away the guilt . . . (Concerning Repentance<\/em>, Book II, ch. 4, 26<\/a>)<\/p>\n But the\u00a0apostles, having this\u00a0baptism\u00a0according to the direction of\u00a0Christ, taught repentance, promised forgiveness, and remitted guilt, as David taught when he said:\u00a0 We are buried in the element of water that we may rise again renewed by the Spirit. For in the water is the representation of death, in the Spirit\u00a0is the pledge of life, that the body of\u00a0sin\u00a0may die through the water, which encloses the body as it were in a kind of tomb, that we, by the power of the\u00a0Spirit, may be renewed from the death of\u00a0sin, being born again in\u00a0God.\u00a0(On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, Book I, ch. 6, 76<\/a>)<\/p>\n And well in the beginning of creation is there set forth the figure of\u00a0baptism\u00a0whereby the creature had to be purified. (On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, Book II, Introduction, 1<\/a>)<\/p>\n So, then, the Father sanctifies, the Son also sanctifies, and the\u00a0Holy Spirit\u00a0sanctifies; but the sanctification is one, for\u00a0baptism\u00a0is one, and the\u00a0grace of the sacrament is one.\u00a0(On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, Book III,\u00a0ch. 4, 28<\/a>)<\/p>\n Who is he who is born of the\u00a0Spirit, and is made Spirit, but he who is renewed in the\u00a0Spirit of his mind? [Ephesians 4:23]<\/span>\u00a0This certainly is he who is regenerated by water and the\u00a0Holy Spirit, since we receive the hope of\u00a0eternal\u00a0life through the laver of regeneration and renewing of the\u00a0Holy Spirit. [Titus 3:5]<\/span>\u00a0And elsewhere the Apostle Peter says:\u00a0 And it is not doubtful that\u00a0sin\u00a0is forgiven by means of\u00a0baptism, . . . (On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, Book III, ch. 18, 138<\/a>)<\/p>\n In the sacrament of baptism the whole outer man perishes . . . And this is the\u00a0baptism\u00a0whereby\u00a0sins are forgiven, . . . Let the water receive us, which is wont to regenerate. (Concerning Virginity<\/em>, Book III, ch. 7, 34<\/a>)<\/p>\n . . . the baptism\u00a0which Christ has granted us to redeem our\u00a0sins. (On the Giving Up of the Basilicas<\/em>, 37<\/a>)<\/p>\n And so, when He came, being born of a Virgin, He sent forth His\u00a0grace, that\u00a0sin\u00a0might be forgiven in\u00a0baptism in order to make us more grateful to Himself. (Letter 41, 6<\/a>)<\/p>\n Indeed all faults and sins\u00a0are washed away; so that if anyone have polluted his body with very many whom he has bound to himself by no law of marriage, all the\u00a0sins are forgiven him . . . (Letter 63, 63<\/a>)<\/p>\n * Or you may believe my work is worthy to support for the purpose of apologetics and evangelism in general. If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. I\u2019m always in need of more funds: especially\u00a0monthly<\/em>\u00a0support. \u201cThe laborer is worthy of his wages\u201d (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV). 1 December 2021 was my 20th anniversary as a\u00a0full-time Catholic apologist<\/a>, and February 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of my blog.<\/p>\n PayPal donations<\/a>\u00a0are the easiest: just send to my email address: apologistdave@gmail.com. Here\u2019s also a\u00a0second page to get to PayPal<\/a>. You\u2019ll see the term \u201cCatholic Used Book Service\u201d, which is my old side-business. To learn about the different methods of contributing (including\u00a0Zelle<\/a>), see my page:\u00a0About Catholic Apologist Dave Armstrong \/ Donation Information<\/a>.\u00a0Thanks a million<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from the bottom of my heart!For all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all\u00a0baptized\u00a0to\u00a0Moses\u00a0in the cloud and in the sea.<\/q> [1 Corinthians 10:1-2]<\/span>\u00a0And further,\u00a0Moses\u00a0himself says in his song:\u00a0
You sent Your Spirit, and the sea covered them.<\/q> [Exodus 15:10]<\/span>\u00a0You observe that even then\u00a0holy\u00a0baptism\u00a0was prefigured in that passage of the Hebrews, wherein the\u00a0Egyptian\u00a0perished, the Hebrew escaped. For what else are we daily taught in this sacrament but that guilt is swallowed up and\u00a0error\u00a0done away, but that\u00a0virtue and innocence remain unharmed? (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 3, 12<\/a>)<\/p>\n
For except a man be born again of water and of the\u00a0Spirit, he cannot enter into the\u00a0kingdom of God.<\/q> [John 3:5]<\/span>\u00a0Now, even the catechumen believes in the cross of the\u00a0Lord Jesus, wherewith he too is signed; but unless he be\u00a0baptized\u00a0in the Name of the\u00a0Father, and of the\u00a0Son, and of the\u00a0Holy Spirit, he cannot receive remission of\u00a0sins\u00a0nor gain the gift of spiritual\u00a0grace. (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 4, 20<\/a>)<\/p>\n
You shall sprinkle me with\u00a0hyssop\u00a0and I shall be cleansed, You shall wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow.<\/q>\u00a0For he who is\u00a0baptized\u00a0is seen to be purified both according to the Law and according to the\u00a0Gospel: according to the Law, because\u00a0Moses\u00a0sprinkled the blood of the lamb with a bunch of\u00a0hyssop; [Exodus 12:22]<\/span>\u00a0according to the\u00a0Gospel, because Christ\u2019s garments were white as snow, when in the\u00a0Gospel\u00a0He showed forth the\u00a0glory\u00a0of His Resurrection. He, then, whose guilt is remitted is made whiter than snow. So that God said by Isaiah:\u00a0
Though your\u00a0sins\u00a0be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow.<\/q> [Isaiah 1:18] (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 7, 34<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n
She was found with child of the\u00a0Holy Spirit.<\/q> [Matthew 1:18]<\/span>\u00a0If, then, the\u00a0Holy Spirit\u00a0coming down upon the Virgin wrought the conception, and effected the work of generation, surely we must not\u00a0doubt but that, coming down upon the Font, or upon those who receive Baptism, He effects the reality of the new birth. (On the Mysteries<\/em>, ch. 9, 59<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n
For we are buried with Him through\u00a0baptism\u00a0into death, that, like as Christ rose from the dead through the\u00a0glory\u00a0of the\u00a0Father, so we, too, should walk in newness of life.<\/q> [Romans 6:4]<\/span>\u00a0And in another place:\u00a0
Be renewed in the spirit of your\u00a0mind, and put on the new man which is created after God.<\/q> [Ephesians 4:23]<\/span>\u00a0And elsewhere again:\u00a0
Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle,<\/q>\u00a0because the eagle after death is born again from its ashes, as we being dead in\u00a0sin\u00a0are through the Sacrament of Baptism born again to\u00a0God, and created anew. (Concerning Repentance<\/em>, Book II, ch. 2, 8<\/a>)<\/p>\n
Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose\u00a0sins\u00a0are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed\u00a0sin.<\/q>\u00a0He calls each blessed, both him whose\u00a0sins\u00a0are remitted by the font, and him whose\u00a0sin is covered by good works. (Concerning Repentance<\/em>, Book II, ch. 5, 35<\/a>)<\/p>\n
You shall be\u00a0baptized\u00a0with the\u00a0Holy Spirit.<\/q> [Acts 11:16]<\/span>\u00a0For who is he that is\u00a0baptized\u00a0with the\u00a0Holy Spirit\u00a0but he who is born again through water and the\u00a0Holy Spirit? Therefore the Lord said of the\u00a0Holy Spirit, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again by water and the\u00a0Spirit, he cannot enter into the\u00a0kingdom of God. And therefore He declared that we are born of Him in the latter case, through Whom He said that we were born in the former. This is the sentence of the Lord; I rest on what is written, not on argument. \u00a0(On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, Book III, ch. 10, 64<\/a>)<\/p>\n
Our old man is crucified,<\/q> [Romans 6:6]<\/span> the Apostle exclaims . . . (On the Duties of the Clergy<\/em>, Book III,\u00a0ch. 18, 107<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\nPractical Matters<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0 I run the most comprehensive \u201cone-stop\u201d Catholic apologetics site:\u00a0rated #1<\/a>\u00a0for Christian sites by leading AI tool, ChatGPT \u2014 endorsed by popular Protestant blogger Adrian Warnock. Perhaps some of my 4,800+ free online articles or\u00a0fifty-five books<\/a>\u00a0have helped you (by God\u2019s grace) to decide to\u00a0become Catholic<\/a>\u00a0or to\u00a0return to the Church<\/a>, or better understand some doctrines and\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0we believe them<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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