The Roman Catholic Catechism on...

Baptism and The Forgiveness of Sin

It is sad to know that nearly a billion people are in darkness under the heresies of Rome and her offspring (Orthodoxy and most of the so-called "Reformed" and "Protestant" churches). The following is an exchange between an unnamed (at their request) Roman Catholic apologist and Bible teacher Greg Miller, a Bible Believing Baptist.

Original E-mail Message:

"Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: “ Go into the world and preach the gospel to the whole of the creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:15-16)

"Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that “we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom 6:4)

"When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us nothing left to efface, neither original sin or offences committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them. Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil.

"In this battle our inclination towards evil, who could be brave and watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? If the Church has the power to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received by Jesus Christ. The Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the last moment of their lives.

"It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church: Penance has rightly been called by the holy Fathers “a laborious kind of baptism.” This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for those who have not yet been reborn."

END OF ORIGINAL E-MAIL

Our Response:

The verses referenced are Mark 16:15-16.  BUT, interestingly, part of verse 16 is left off in your quotation of it....the part that proves baptism has nothing to do with forgiveness.  The rest of what Mark wrote is, “but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

It does not say that "he that is not baptized shall be damned."  Revelation 22:18-19 has a stern warning for those who chop off parts of texts to prove a thing.

There is no such thing as sacraments...at least not in Scripture.  It is true that Christians are commanded to be baptized but this is no greater commandment than the others that follow such as "preach the gospel to every creature" and to "pray without ceasing", etc.  Manmade religion has elevated certain commands and invented special names like "sacraments".

If a person makes their "first profession of faith while receiving the holy baptism", then the profession saved them, not the baptism (Romans 10:9-13 kjv).  But I have yet to meet anyone who holds off any profession until they are standing in the water (or, in the case of most sacramentalists...being splashed, poured on, sprinkled).  Most of us profess Christ and THEN enter baptism in obedience, not for forgiveness.

Baptism does not cleanse us.  Titus 3:5 says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."  Paul also said in Ephesians 5:26 that the church was cleansed by the watering of the word.  He also wrote that we are "saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8 kjv) and that "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17 kjv)

The phrase "the grace of baptism" is a human, religious invention.  You won't find that in the Bible.

The writer says, “Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature.” Baptism doesn’t deliver us from ANYTHING. There isn’t a single passage of Scripture that even HINTS at baptism delivering us in any sense.

Peter says Baptism saving us is only in a FIGURATIVE sense for it is, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21 kjv) Or, as Paul said in Colossians 2:12 (kjv), “Buried with Him in baptism wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” (see also Romans 6:4 kjv)

The writer says, “If the Church has the power to forgive sins,….” STOP. We need not go further because the Church has NO power to forgive sins. In Mark 2:7 the scribes were correct in their understanding that no one can forgive sins but GOD. They were wrong only inasmuch as they did not recognize that Jesus IS God.

Proving that He is God, Jesus responds by saying (in 2:10), “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…. (verse 11) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”

Jesus CAN and did forgive sins. Not the Church.

How do we receive forgiveness?

1 John 1:9 (kjv) says that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Forgiveness comes by confession to Christ for only HE can forgive sins. A person won’t find baptism resulting in forgiveness of sins with a laser beam, Hubble’s telescope and the college of cardinals to help.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. “
Romans 10:9-11 kjv

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