A Congregation at Prayer ~ The Sacrament of Baptism, Parts I & II

CATECHESIS NOTES FOR THE WEEK—The Large Catechism Speaks on Holy Baptism– “Baptism is a very different thing from all other water, not by virtue of the natural substance but because here something nobler is added. God Himself stakes his honor, His power, and His might on it. Therefore it is not simply a natural water, but a divine, heavenly, holy, and blessed water—all by virtue of the Word, which is a heavenly, holy Word which no one can sufficiently extol, for it contains and conveys all the fullness of God … ‘He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.’ To put it most simply, the power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save…To be saved, we know, is nothing else than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil and to enter into the kingdom of Christ and live with him forever. Faith must have something to believe—something to which it may cling and upon which it may stand. Thus faith clings to the water and believes it to be Baptism in which there is sheer salvation and life, not through water, as we have sufficiently stated, but through its incorporation with God’s Word and ordinance and the joining of His name to it. When I believe this, what else is it but believing in God as the one who has implanted his Word in this external ordinance and offered it to us so that we may grasp the treasure it contains?” (Excerpts from the Large Catechism, Tappert Ed.)

A Congregation at Prayer – February 2-8, 2016 – Sacrament of Baptism, Parts I & II
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