What Does Baptism Accomplish?

After going back and retracing my studies on the question of baptismal efficacy, I can confidently say that there are both objective and subjective elements involved. Here is what I found:

I. On the objective side, baptism is the means by which a person becomes a Christian. This seems incontrovertible since it serves as the rite of initiation whereby a person is united to Christ and enters the discipleship process. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (1 Cor. 12:13). “Go, therefore, and disciple the nations [by] baptizing them and [by] teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you” (Mat. 28:19).

But this is no small thing. Already we are dealing with a radical, life-changing experience that takes place every time a person is baptized. In this sense, we can say that baptism is effectual in the same way that a wedding ceremony is effectual: it always accomplishes what it's designed to accomplish.

When a man and his fiancé show up on their wedding day, they always come in as two single individuals. But by the time they leave they are united together in the holy estate of marriage. By virtue of the wedding ceremony, their identities have been changed in real and significant ways. Each of them now has a new set of concrete relationships—not just with one another but with countless other people as well. Together they have new privileges and new responsibilities. Today, they can do things that were morally unacceptable just the day before.

While marriage is not a sacrament, it gives us a good picture of how baptism works: Baptism is a divine ceremony, a God-ordained ritual act that changes the objective status and identity of the person who is baptized. Like the newlywed, he has now been grafted into a new set of relationships and circumstances, the difference being that he now has access to all the privileges and responsibilities of the Covenant of Grace. Thus, the most important point to see here is that, like the wedding ceremony, the baptismal rite always does exactly what it's designed to do, and there is no exception to the rule.

II. But that’s not all that happens in baptism, there is also a subjective side to consider. If we wish to take the Bible seriously, we must affirm that in baptism there is a sovereign communication of salvific blessings to the person baptized. Among these are regeneration (Tit. 3:5), the washing away of sins (Acts 22:16), and the giving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). And though this is where a lot of people stumble, we have to be very firm about what the Bible actually teaches. Therefore, regardless of whatever previous theological commitments one may have, the most important thing about “doing theology” is that he remains faithful to the Word of God. His job is to follow Scripture no matter where he thinks it might lead. As I've tried to do that, here are three propositions I feel bound to affirm:

• First, it is unmistakably clear that the saving benefits of Jesus Christ are, in fact, delivered to us in Holy Baptism.

This is something that is so clearly stated that we should avoid every temptation and resist every inclination to undermine the force of the biblical language. For example, when the Jews asked Peter what they should do about their participation in the murder of Christ, he commanded them: Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, specifically, “for the forgiveness of your sins.” Then, in the very same breath, he told them: "And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Truly, if all we had was this one passage, the teaching would be clear and secure. But we have many other passages that speak in similar terms. When Ananias was preparing to baptize Paul, he said: "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). Later, Paul himself went on to describe the act of baptism as the "washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Tit. 3:5).

These passages should be left just the way they are, rather than explained away. In the latter one, the term "washing" is λουτροῦ and literally means "laver"—referring to the vessel in which ceremonial washings take place. Thus, when Paul uses this word he is saying that the baptismal font is the "laver of regeneration" or the place where new life in Christ is received.

• Second, it is unmistakably clear that a man can receive these salvific blessings before he is actually baptized.

Naturally, this proposition might throw some people for a loop. And yet, that's exactly what the Bible teaches. This, too, must be accepted and accounted for in whatever theological system we are seeking to build from the Word of God. Just as we should take the previous passages at face value, so we should take these at face value as well.

As Cornelius was listening to the preaching of the Word by Peter, the Bible says he received the gift of the Holy Spirit right then and there (Acts 10:43, 44). Then, in response to that event, Peter asked: “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (v. 47).

Here we see that the Holy Spirit was given to Cornelius, not in his baptism but prior to it. According to the text, he received the Spirit through the preaching of the Word alone! This is something that many people experience. That's why Peter could later say: You were born again "through the word of God” (1 Pet. 1:23). And that's why Paul could say to the Galatians: "This only would I learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Gal. 3:2).

Now, as we gather the biblical data and put these two propositions together, it raises an important question: Does this mean that when Cornelius was baptized his baptism was nothing more than a "symbol" of what he already experienced? Or, as a friend of mine recently put it: If a person has already been regenerated, and his sins have been washed away, and he has received the gift of the Holy Spirit, what exactly is there left for him to receive in his baptism?

To this question, I think we can say: Much in every way! In fact, I think we can even say that a man like Cornelius still receives these (and other) salvific blessings in and through his baptism.

Notice that in my statement above I said that in baptism there is a sovereign communication of salvific blessings to the person baptized. The word “sovereign” is important here because it not only means that God can communicate His blessings whenever, wherever, however, and upon whomsoever He pleases (that's certainly true); but even more simply it means that God is able to differentiate between what a man has, and what a man needs. On that basis, He blesses each person according to his individual need. Essentially, this translates into saying that the experience of the grace of God varies from person to person, and this brings us to the final proposition.

• Third, it is unmistakably clear that the same saving benefits can be given to, and received by, the very same person on more than one occasion.

Here, since we're talking specifically about regeneration, the washing away of sins, and the giving of the Holy Spirit, this last proposition should be established by three more points, one for each of the blessings in view.

• First, the Bible uses the term “regeneration” in both objective and subjective senses (compare Mat. 19:28 and Tit. 3:5). But even in its subjective sense, when it refers to the inward work of the Holy Spirit, regeneration is a continuum. This means it begins with the definitive transformation we call “conversion” and continues with the progressive transformation we call “renewal.”

In fact, it’s very possible that both of these dimensions appear side by side in Titus 3:5. It may be that the “washing of regeneration” and “renewing of the Holy Spirit” are two sides of the same coin. It's possible that there is an overlapping relationship between the two so that Paul is referring to one and the same thing from two different vantage points.

In either case, the term Paul uses for “renewing” in that passage is ἀνακαινώσεως, and he uses it elsewhere to describe the ongoing process of spiritual renovation in the life of the Christian. Note that it's to Christians that he says: Put off the old man, put on the new man, "and be renewed (ἀνανεοῦσθαι) in the spirit of your minds” (Eph. 4:22, 23). Likewise, it's to Christians that he says: "Be transformed by the renewing (ἀνακαινώσει) of your minds” (Rom. 12:2). This demonstrates that the work of regeneration, which indeed begins at the point of our conversion, continues on in the lifelong process of renewal or “progressive sanctification.”

But how does that relate to baptism? The answer is easy: Even if a person has already been regenerated (in the sense of conversion) by the preaching of the Word, he can still be regenerated (in the sense of renewal) by the sacrament of Holy Baptism. In this case, the person baptized receives "grace upon grace" even from the fullness of Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:16).

• Second, the same thing can be said about the washing away of sins—namely, that it is not a one-time occurrence, but a repeatable saving grace in the life of the believer.

Certainly, there is the initial washing that takes place at conversion, but Scripture also teaches that after conversion we have an ongoing need for spiritual cleansing. In fact, Jesus himself made this distinction when he told Peter that even after a man has received the (definitive) washing of his head, he is still in need of the (continual) washing of his feet (Jn. 13:6-11)!

To add to this, we might also note that if the washing away of our sins is but a one-time event, never to be repeated again, then Jesus would not have commanded his disciples to pray for the daily forgiveness of their sins in the Lord's Prayer (Mat. 6:12). Nor would the apostle John have spoken in the present tense when he declared: "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). In the next two verses, he adds: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (vv. 8-9)!

But again, how does that relate to baptism? The answer is the same as before: Even if a man has already been washed from his sins at the time of his conversion, he can still be washed again at the time of his baptism. Going back to what I said before, this is why Ananias, speaking to the newly but already converted Paul, could still say: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16)!

• Finally, what about the giving of the Holy Spirit? Is that also a repeatable grace? The answer is, Yes, and we can understand this in the same way as the others since we also see different aspects of this gift in the Bible.

At one time, we are "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). At another time, God might “give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). At another time still, like a Father giving good gifts to his children, Jesus says: "He gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Lk. 11:13). What this shows us is that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time occurrence in the life of the believer. It certainly happens at his conversion but it, too, is a repeatable blessing that he experiences again and again throughout the course of his life.

By this time, the position should be well-established in our minds. Just like we saw with other saving benefits, the gift of the Holy Spirit is also delivered to us in Holy Baptism—and not just to those who have not yet received Him. Rather we can say that He is given to every man who believes and is baptized, according to his individual need.

To say it differently: just because a person has received the Holy Spirit doesn't mean that there is now nothing left of the Holy Spirit for God to give him. Instead, we can say that God gives to such a man a new and fresh filling of the Spirit when He baptizes him into Christ. Truly then, there is nothing inconsistent with saying that such a man receives another filling, another cleansing, and another measure of regenerating grace for godly living!