Question 71

Where has Christ promised us that he will certainly wash us by his blood and Spirit, as we are washed with the water of baptism?

In the institution of baptism, which is thus expressed: “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28;19): “he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16;16). This promise is also repeated, where the scripture calls baptism “the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3;5), and “the washing away of sins” (Acts 22;16).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

Matthew 28:19
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Mark 16:16
16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Titus 3:5
5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 22:16
16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

Source and edition

Heidelberg Catechism. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879

Public Domain (historic text); CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription). Source transcription.

Transcription licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.

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