Question 72

Is then the external baptism with water, the washing away of sin itself?

Not at all (1 Pet. 3;21), for the blood of Jesus Christ only (1 John 1;7), and the Holy Ghost, cleanse us from all sin (1 Cor. 6;11).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

1 Peter 3:21
21And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 John 1:7
7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 5:6
6This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth.

1 Corinthians 6:11
11And 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.

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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