An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism · Martin Luther
WHY BAPTISM HAS POWER TO CONFER SUCH BENEFITS.
IT IS NOT THE WATER, INDEED, THAT PRODUCES THESE EFFECTS. Water alone cannot wash away sins. Yet the water of baptism is necessary, because Christ has commanded its use, and has connected the promise of salvation with it. BUT THE WORD OF GOD WHICH ACCOMPANIES AND IS CONNECTED WITH THE WATER. It is the Word of God, with its command and promise, that makes baptism a sacrament, and gives it power to confer such great benefits. [John 6:63] AND OUR FAITH WHICH RELIES ON THE WORD OF GOD CONNECTED WITH THE WATER.[13] The baptism is a real baptism and offers these great benefits, whether we believe or not. But the benefits become ours, only when we believe the promises of God. [Mark 16:16] IT IS A GRACIOUS WATER OF LIFE, because the Word and promise of God, which are connected with it, give it power to bestow life and salvation on all who believe. AND A "WASHING OF REGENERATION" in the Holy Ghost, because it is the means through which the Holy Ghost causes us to be "born again," as God's children. QUESTIONS.--1. What does God do for us through baptism? 2. What may every baptized person say? 3. What benefits does baptism confer? 4. Who has acquired these benefits for you, and how? 5. Why do they become yours through baptism? 6. What has faith to do with the reception of these benefits? 7. How do we know that baptism confers all these benefits on all who believe? 8. What is to be said about those who are baptized but do not believe? 9. What is to be said about the permanence of baptism? 10. Why has baptism power to confer such great benefits? 11. Why is it a "gracious water of life," and a "washing of regeneration"?
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