Baptismal regeneration is the name given to doctrines which maintain that salvation is intimately linked to the act of baptism, without necessarily holding that salvation is impossible apart from it. Baptismal regeneration is held by the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, among others, such as certain Anglicans. Etymologically, the term means "being born again" (regeneration, or rebirth) "through baptism" (baptismal). Etymology concerns the origins and root meanings of words, but these "continually change their meaning, ... sometimes moving out of any recognisable contact with their origin ... It is nowadays generally agreed that current usage determines meaning." While for Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof, "regeneration" and "new birth" are synonymous, Herbert Lockyer treats the two terms as different in meaning in one publication, but in another states that baptism signifies regeneration.
The term is associated by some with , where Jesus tells Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, that "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God ... unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God".
Churches originating out of the Stone–Campbell Restoration Movement, mainly the nondenominational Churches of Christ, are also commonly believed to hold to this doctrine, though they dispute this to be the case. One author from the Churches of Christ describes the relationship between faith and baptism this way, "Faith is the reason why a person is a child of God; baptism is the time at which one is incorporated into Christ and so becomes a child of God" (italics are in the source).
History
Early Church One of the earliest of the Church Fathers to enunciate clearly and unambiguously the doctrine of baptismal regeneration ("the idea that salvation happens at and by water baptism duly administered") was Cyprian (c. 200 – 258): "While he attributed all the saving energy to the grace of God, he considered the 'laver of saving water' the instrument of God that makes a person 'born again,' receiving a new life and putting off the self-centred life that he had previously lived. The 'water of new birth' animated him to new life by the Spirit of holiness working in his spirit through it."
Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp are silent on the issue, however the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, Theophilus, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian, among others connected following Christ in baptism with salvation. Baptismal regeneration was also affirmed by Origen and Augustine of Hippo.
Later, according to Augustine, Pelagius denied that infant baptism forgives sins. Caelestius, who was a disciple of Pelagius, denied the necessity of infant baptism for an infant's salvation, as infants were not yet sinners.
Some have argued that the Jovinianists and Paulicians did not believe in baptismal regeneration. The Messalians believed that Baptism was only optional.
Gavin Ortlund has argued that regenerative language used by some early Church Fathers does not necessarily imply a causative relationship involving the act of baptism itself, stating: "the sign and the thing signified often stand in one for the other". He cites Cyril of Jerusalem as seeing Cornelius being saved at the moment of faith, yet connecting baptism as regenerative for him, without being causative. However Ortlund's arguments were disputed by Trent Horn, who argued that Ortlund's view of attitudes among the early fathers is a minority view among even Protestant scholars.
Medieval Thomas Aquinas believed in the necessity of baptism.
Petr Chelčický held that baptism by itself could not save, but was a part of the larger process of salvation, which included instruction, confirmation, and discipleship. Renerius Saccho, writing against the Waldensians, stated that the Waldensians believed that the "ablution which is given to infants profits nothing".
Reformation Among the Protestant Reformers, baptismal regeneration was denied by Huldrych Zwingli, but was affirmed by Martin Luther. All Anabaptist writers deny baptismal regeneration for infants on the grounds that they are unable to sin or repent; has Peter commanding baptism, alongside a reference to repentance, "for the forgiveness of your sins" ("And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"). Most Anabaptists, however, do believe in baptismal regeneration for a truly repentant sinner who is old enough to understand what sin is, and who requests baptism for himself.
Major denominations
Roman Catholicism
Section 1215 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "This sacrament [baptism] is also called 'the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,' for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one 'can enter the kingdom of God.' ()
Quoting the Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity, Christopher J. Walsh comments that the Second Vatican Council reaffirms the traditional understanding of Christian initiation as a unity and a process: "It is not something achieved with a trickle of water one Sunday afternoon, but a progressive entry into a commitment and a relationship [...] Becoming a Christian is a conversion a growing adherence to Christ in faith and sacrament over an extended period of time" (see also Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1229–31).
Against this background the more detailed doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church can be summed up in the following statements from that catechism: While in Jesus himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation, and no one should refuse to be baptized,"If anyone says that baptism is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, canon 5 on baptism). the effects of sacramental baptism are brought about also by "baptism of blood" (dying for the sake of the faith) and "baptism of desire", whether explicit, as in the case of catechumens,Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1259 or implicit, as in the case of anyone who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, As regards children who die without baptism, the Church entrusts them to the mercy of God. In Roman Catholic teaching, baptism, like all the sacraments, presupposes faith and by words and objects also nourishes, strengthens, and expresses it. Baptism is the sacrament of faith (cf. Mark 16:16). But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1257-60,1261,1123,1153
The early church fathers offered differing explanations for the salvation of the thief who was crucified with Jesus, and who was not reported to have undergone water baptism. Cyprian of Carthage theorized that the thief was baptized in his own blood as a martyr, an opinion shared by Jerome, while Augustine said that "the thief received the baptism of substitution ... through the faith and conversion of the heart, taking into account that circumstances made it impossible for him to celebrate the sacrament".
Augustine's explanation of this episode corresponds to the Roman Catholic Church teaching of the existence of baptism by desire for those who would partake of the Sacrament if they could and experience a perfect desire to do all that pertains to salvation, but are prevented from receiving baptism by circumstances beyond their control, while Cyprian's corresponds to the same Church's teaching on baptism of blood for martyrs.
Eastern Orthodoxy
The following claims are made on websites associated with Orthodox Churches: Orthodoxy (and it is only fair to add, also the Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholics) has always held to baptismal regeneration. In other words, that spiritual life begins with baptism. The Bible's "sacramental theology" states that there is [a need for the taint of sin to be removed] since "...through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men." (Romans 5:12) For this reason, "...there are none righteous, not even one" (i.e. not infants). (Romans 3:10) How are these young ones saved from the sin they have received from Adam's race? They are saved through the regenerative power of baptism and the faith of the Church (i.e. the Christian faithful) [here Titus 3:5; Acts 2:38; John 3:5 & 1 Peter 3:20, 21 are quoted] Baptism is not just a symbolic testimony of what God has done in the heart of an adult believer, but is in itself a dynamic means of actually effecting the power of the Gospel (the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) in a life (Romans 6:4). Christian baptism is the means whereby we encounter and identify with Jesus Christ Himself Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Oriental Orthodoxy If infants can receive the blessings of laying of hands by the Lord, they can also receive baptismal grace of regeneration. The theology behind this is that grace precedes faith (Eph. 2: 8) and prevenial grace is a reality. The initiative is from God always. If God takes the first step in dying for us, He also takes the first step in saving through the free gift of regeneration without the precondition of faith. The Syrian Orthodox Church in North America
Lutheranism
Martin Luther elaborated the regeneration and the saving power in Baptism:
Lutheranism affirms baptismal regeneration, believing that baptism is a means of grace, instead of human works, through which God creates and strengthens faith.WELS Topical Q&A: Calvinism, stating that "as Lutheran Christians we believe that Scripture teaches that the sacrament of baptism works and strengthens faith, not because it has magical powers, but because God attaches his promise of forgiveness to it. The following verses stress this truth: John 3:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 16:22; Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 5:25-27; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:18-22. So Scripture teaches that Baptism doesn't just remind me that my sins are forgiven. It actually offers and gives the forgiveness of sins."
Lutherans believe that the Bible shows how Christians are connected through baptism with Christ and the new life Christ's work gives us. The Bible's author uses the picture of cleansing to show how baptism applies Jesus Christ's saving work to receivers. Lutherans believe that the Bible depicts the connection between faith, baptism and being clothed with Christ. The result of the connection is that Christians are children of God with all the rights, privileges and blessings that go with that status. Lutherans state that in his letter to Titus, Paul introduces the work of the Holy Spirit, again linking baptism, new life, and the blessings Jesus has won. Lutheran scholars concluded that in the Scripture: