The author of Catholic Belief writes: " In Baptism all infants, without any disposition on their part being required, are cleansed from the stain of original sin, taken into God's favor, made members of Christ's mystical body, and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. They are thus regenerated; that is, in our Savior's own words ' born again of water and the Holy Ghost' (St. John 3:55Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)). As they have contracted the stain of original sin without their knowledge and personal co-operation, so they are freed from sin without their knowledge.... But though Baptism suffices to save a child in the state of infancy, yet as soon as it comes to the age of reason, the Baptism which it received will not by itself suffice for its salvation; the child must, besides believe and profess the principal Articles of Faith, must hope in God, and must love Him with his whole heart " (pp. 58, 59).
There is no mistaking what Romanists teach as to Baptism. They found this dogma on a misconception of the Scripture just quoted in the extract given. That the " water " in John 3:55Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) cannot be the literal water of baptism is proved under two heads. Firstly, there was no such thing as Christian baptism when our Lord uttered these words. There was John's baptism unto repentance, but Christian baptism is " unto the death of Christ ", and in view of His resurrection, and that could not be till our Lord had died and risen again. (See Rom. 6:1-51What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (Romans 6:1‑5) in proof of this statement). Secondly, Scripture itself explains what is meant by the word "water". We read: "Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water BY THE WORD" (Eph. 5:25, 2625Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:25‑26)).
It is very good to have the explanation given by Scripture itself. This is confirmed by the following Scriptures. The Apostle John writes of being "born of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:55Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)). The Apostle Peter writes, too, of the new birth, but using the simile of "seed" and not of "water". We read: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth forever " (1 Peter 1:2323Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:23)).
The Apostle James, also, writes of the new birth: "Of His own will begat He us with THE WORD OF TRUTH, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures " (James 1:1818Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)).
Now if "water" is literal water in one passage, "seed" should be literal seed also. But of this the Romanists make no claim. Why? But when all three Scriptures speak of the new birth, and two out of the three attribute new birth to the power of the Holy Spirit by the agency of the word of God, we are assured that " water " stands for the word of God, especially when we have the support of Eph. 5:2626That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:26), which puts " the washing of water " and the " word " together, saying " washing of water BY THE WORD ".
How sad is this extract from the Catholic Author. He takes away with one hand what he professes to give with the other. The baptized infant is made, according to them a child of God, but when it grows up he is not a child of God unless professing the principal Articles of Faith, such as transubstantiation, the mass, purgatory, confessional, supremacy of the Pope, etc., etc. The extract just given is sad enough reading for it does not say a word about believing on Christ. The Apostle Paul did not say to the Philippian jailor that he should believe the principal Articles of Faith, but " Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED " (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)).
The Apostle Peter, whose word should, above all others be believed by Roman Catholics, wrote: "Redeemed... with the precious blood of CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot " (1 Peter 1:1919But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:19)). A great many rites are added to this simple act of baptism, making the whole affair ridiculous, such as muttering prayers over the child to exorcise the devil, putting salt in its mouth, making the sign of the cross on forehead, eye, breast, shoulder and ear, the anointing of the child with the oil of catechumens on the breast that it may receive the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the head, signifying that the child is engrafted into Christ, etc., etc. Where do they get Scripture for all this superstitious mummery? Not a line of Scripture is there for these observances.
The writer once saw a baptism carried out in a little country church in a continental village. The priest actually opened and spit into the infant's mouth to bestow the Holy Ghost upon it, as he claimed.
The author of Catholic Belief writes: " Confirmation is a sacrament instituted by our Lord, by which the faithful, who have already been made children of God by Baptism, receive the Holy Ghost by the prayer, unction (or anointing with holy oil, called Chrism), and the laying on of the hands of a Bishop, the successor of the Apostles. It is thus they are enriched with gifts, graces and virtues, especially with the virtue of fortitude, and made perfect Christians and valiant soldiers of Jesus Christ, to stand through life in the warfare against the world, the flesh and the devil " (p. 98).
Confirmation, as claimed by the Church of Rome, is a rite, which has no counterpart in the Scriptures. There is not a line in the whole Word of God to support the idea of the one to be confirmed receiving the Holy Spirit with the chrism, nor of the Bishop slapping the one to be confirmed on the cheek, signifying that as a soldier of the cross he must be prepared to endure hardness, nor of the Bishop kissing him, signifying the impartation of " the peace that passeth all understanding ".
And what has been the result in the lives of these baptized and confirmed adherents of the Romish Church? We have often seen them emerging from their chapels in Ireland and other places, and have been struck with the oppressed look on their faces, as if their religion was not a happy one. We have marked the furtive look that characterized them, the poverty that marked them; and inside their chapels the tawdry images, the tinsel, the confessional boxes, were far removed from the Spirit of our Lord. In many an Irish small town you can find poverty alongside priests' handsome houses, and dominating chapels in the midst of dirt and squalor. The worshippers in the chapels fill the public houses, and exhibit no trace of being valiant soldiers of Jesus Christ, fighting the world, the flesh and the devil. Such is Rome. An empty shell without a kernel. It reminds us of our Lord's scathing charge against the Pharisees: " Ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanliness " (Matt. 23:2727Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. (Matthew 23:27)).