The Anglican Understanding of Baptism

Anglicans understand Baptism in covenantal terms, and this is an understanding of baptism which is both hinted at in Scripture when it speaks of baptism being an incorporation into, or putting on of Christ (1 Cor. 12:23; Gal. 3: 27) and also by the Reformers as they grappled with the Biblical understanding of baptism in the mid-1500s. Martin Bucer, the Strassburg Reformer, who also advised the reformed Churches in Hesse and England, was particularly strong in his advocacy of the covenantal understanding of baptism, accompanied by catechesis, and confirmation as the path to full church member. He picked up on where the Acts of the Apostles hints at household baptism, with the whole family being incorporated into Christ through Baptism once the head of the household had accepted Christ. Certainly, to anyone with a knowledge of Old Testament faith and practice this covenantal incorporation into Christ would have made perfect sense. Like most of the 'old line' Churches, Anglicans tend to presume the infant baptism of the children of Christians, though provision has been made since 1662 for the Baptism of Adults. It appeared then as the Church was aware of the neglect of the baptism of infants by some during the Cromwellian Republic, and also of its obligation to preach the Gospel to the heathen in Britain's colonies, and so specific provision was made.

So what happens in Baptism?

The catechism takes two at the subject. At the opening of the catechism it states the following:

QUESTION. What is your Name?

    Answer. N. or M.

    Question. Who gave you this Name?    Answer. My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

    Question. What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you?

    Answer. They did promise and vow three things in my name. First, that I should renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Secondly, that I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith. And thirdly, that I should keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.

    Question. Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe, and to do, as they have promised for thee?

    Answer. Yes verily: and by God's help so I will. And I heartily thank our heavenly Father, that he hath called me to this state of salvation, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. And I pray unto God to give me his grace, that I may continue in the same unto my life's end.

The unspoken assumption here is that a covenant is established. Vows are made, and benefits promised with the child being incorporated into the family of the Church. Later on in the catechism it returns to the topic of baptism, and speaks in the following terms:

Question. What is the outward visible sign or form in Baptism?

    Answer. Water: wherein the person is baptized In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

    Question. What is the inward and spiritual grace?

    Answer. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness: for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of grace.

    Question. What is required of persons to be baptized?

    Answer. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin: and Faith, whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament.

    Question. Why then are Infants baptized, when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them?

    Answer. Because they promise them both by their Sureties: which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform.

Again the covenant character of Baptism is affirmed and to this is added a further clear indication that baptism is a sign and a promise. It is a sign that those who are baptized are born again of water and the Holy Spirit into Christ, and having been thus born again, should they continue in the practice of religion and come to faith themselves they will indeed come to eternal salvation in Jesus Christ. Baptism is not magic, but it is an incorporation into Christ, the Church, and the process of salvation as it is outlined in the New Testament. As Archbishop Michael Ramsey (1904-88) commented when asked

"Are you saved, brother?"

He replied, "I believe I am participating in the process that will lead to my salvation in Jesus Christ?"

Christians are both saved and being saved. We are saved through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, but there is also a sense in which we are being saved through grace and the Holy Spirit making the holiness of Christ manifest in our lives.

If you would like to know more about baptism in the Anglican tradition, please contact us.