A Church Reforming to Reach the Lost for Christ

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia

Lord's Day 26 ’ 
Q & A 69

Q. How does baptism remind you and assure you that Christ's one sacrifice on the cross is for you personally?

A. In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing^1 and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul's impurity, in other words, all my sins.^2

^1 Acts 2:38

^2 Matt. 3:11; Rom. 6:3-10; 1 Pet. 3:21

Q & A 70

Q. What does it mean to be washed with Christ's blood and Spirit?

A. To be washed with Christ's blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because of Christ's blood poured out for me in his sacrifice on the cross.^1 To be washed with Christ's Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed me and set me apart to be a member of Christ so that more and more I become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life.^2

^1 Zech. 13:1; Eph. 1:7-8; Heb. 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:5

^2 Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5-8; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 6:11; Col. 2:11-12

Q & A 71

Q. Where does Christ promise that we are washed with his blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism?

A. In the institution of baptism where he says: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."^1 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."^2* This promise is repeated when Scripture calls baptism the washing of rebirth^3 and the washing away of sins.^4

^1 Matt. 28:19

^2 Mark 16:16

^3 Tit. 3:5

^4 Acts 22:16 *Earlier and better manuscripts of Mark 16 omit the words "Whoever believes and is baptized . . . condemned."

Lord's Day 27 ’ 
Q & A 72

Q. Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?

A. No, only Jesus Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.^1

^1 Matt. 3:11; 1 Pet. 3:21; 1 John 1:7

Q & A 73

Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins?

A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies.^1 But more important, he wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sign, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water.^2

^1 1 Cor. 6:11; Rev. 1:5; 7:14

^2 Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27

Q & A 74

Q. Should infants, too, be baptized?

A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God's covenant and are his people.^1 They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith.^2 Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers.^3 This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision,^4 which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism.^5

^1 Gen. 17:7; Matt. 19:14

^2 Isa. 44:1-3; Acts 2:38-39; 16:31

^3 Acts 10:47; 1 Cor. 7:14

^4 Gen. 17:9-14

^5 Col. 2:11-13

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Reformed churches identify with the protestant reformation – a movement in the 1500-1600s – which saw churches strive to ground their faith and life completely in God's word, as opposed to church...
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The Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA) includes over fifty congregations across Australia established since 1951 in just about every state and territory..