Baptismal regeneration
Serious error
The teaching that the act of baptism itself conveys the new birth, so that those rightly baptized are by that act regenerated and cleansed from sin.
Also called: regenerated in baptism, regenerated by baptism, born again in baptism
What it means
In the sense used on this site, baptismal regeneration teaches that God ordinarily gives the new birth through the water rite itself: that a person baptized in the right way is, by that act, born again, joined to Christ, and forgiven. It is the teaching of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and in different forms, of Lutheran, Anglo-Catholic, and some restorationist churches. Its holders point to texts such as "repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins" and "the washing of regeneration".
The historic Reformed and Baptist confessions agree that baptism is a sign and seal (or a sign) of union with Christ, and that God really works through it as He wills. But they deny that grace and salvation are so tied to it "as that no person can be regenerated or saved without it, or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated" (WCF 28.5). Regeneration is the sovereign work of the Spirit, received through faith.
The site distinguishes this teaching from paedobaptism. Presbyterians baptize infants as a sign of the covenant, not because baptism makes them regenerate.
What Scripture says
Peter calls for repentance and baptism for forgiveness, a text holders cite, where repentance and faith come first.
God saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, not by works we have done.
Abraham was counted righteous before circumcision; the sign sealed a righteousness he already had by faith.
The Spirit fell on Cornelius's household before they were baptized.
Christ sent Paul not to baptize but to preach the gospel, separating baptism from the power of salvation.
Salvation is by grace through faith, the gift of God, not of works.
What is wrong with it
Scripture ties salvation to faith in Christ, and the Spirit's new birth to His own free work. Abraham was justified before he received the sign; Cornelius's household received the Spirit before they were baptized; the thief on the cross was promised paradise without it. Simon the sorcerer was baptized yet remained "in the gall of bitterness" (Acts 8:13, 23). Texts that join baptism and forgiveness speak of the sign and the thing signified together, as Scripture often does, without making the water the cause.
How it undermines the truth
It undermines justification by faith alone, by making a rite performed on a person the instrument of new life, and the sovereignty of the Spirit, who "blows where He wishes". It blurs the difference between a sign and what it signifies, which is the same confusion that lies behind transubstantiation.
How it can harm a church
People may rest on their baptism rather than on Christ, assuming they are safe though they show no repentance or faith. Preaching then tends to call the baptized to remember what they already have, rather than to repent and believe. And believers who were never baptized, or were baptized in another church, can be left in needless fear for themselves or others.
This page describes a teaching, not the faith of any person who holds it.
Where it comes up
Confessions: WCF 28.5; WCF 28.6; WCF 27.3; LBCF 1689 28.1
On this site: Baptism
Related terms
PaedobaptismA view held among orthodox Christians
The teaching that baptism, the sign of the covenant of grace, is to be given both to those who profess faith and to the infant children of believers.
CredobaptismA view held among orthodox Christians
The teaching that baptism is for those who personally profess repentance and faith in Christ, normally by immersion.
SacramentTerm
A holy sign and seal instituted by Christ, in which visible elements represent and confirm to believers the promises of the gospel; Protestants recognize two, baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Means of graceHistoric orthodoxy
The ordinary ways God has appointed to give and strengthen faith in His people, chiefly the Word, the sacraments, and prayer.