Is baptism just a symbol?

 I was having a conversation with a non Catholic person who commented back to me under a YouTube short video. The video was asking the question; can I know I am saved? I am not here to criticize what they said or what they believe, but they are clearly once saved always saved thinkers. 

Once saved always saved can mean a little bit different things to different people who believe it, but generally is the idea that since Jesus died for our sins once and for all on the cross, then we are saved at one time in our life when we say that we believe and accept Christ as our Lord and savior. Also they believe this happens regardless of the sins they will commit after they believe. 

Like I said I am not here to criticise what other Christians believe. All who believe in Christ and are doing their best to live out a life in Him, whether Catholic or not are on the same team. We are indeed bound together in faith according to our baptism, and our faith in Christ. Certainly we are all called to The True Church, since that is where Christ wants us to be, but we are all on different levels of the journey.

In this post, I hope to show you that what is taught to us by The Church Christ founded, which is The Catholic Church is so much more substantial, limitless and biblical. I just don't think we should put limits on God's power and what He has done for us through His Church, especially when His Word shows us otherwise. 

Under the video in question I responded with what I personally believe as a Catholic. My goal is always to make people think and ask themselves important questions. I am not looking for an argument just a conversation. But YouTube puts limits on the conversations that can be had in the comment sections of videos. So I decided to just make it a blog post instead. God willing those who want and need this information will indeed find it. 

I responded with this...

We are saved at our baptism, we are being saved through The Church and her Sacraments given to us by Christ and we yet hope to be saved at the end of our lives.

After I posted this I knew that I would get a response. I didn't say anything not found in the bible or anything radical, just what I believe as a Catholic without saying that I am Catholic. The bible does in fact talk about salvation in the past tense, the present tense and the future tense. It is there for anyone who is open to study and see for themselves. Awhile back I wrote an article for this very subject; Salvation Bible Study. It is posted to my other blog that I had before my Catholic Answers one and I have not moved it over yet. But please take your time and take a study! 

So we got on the subject of baptism which was made the topic for the discussion. Again for those who really want to get down to it and study the bible, I have an article for baptism as well. It is called Understanding Baptism. 

I truly believe that if you prayerfully and faithfully take the time to study the scriptures you will see what I am saying to you. And It is not me saying it, it is what The Catholic Church teaches us through Christ who established her. Why do I truly believe that? Because that is what happened to me. That is why I created the studies so that you could have the Scripture passages and information needed to make an informed decision about what you believe. 

Using the person that I was having a conversation with as an example the discussion with before YouTube cut it off, took us to what the Once Saved thinkers believe about baptism. That is is just a symbol and does nothing. They say it is an outward sign of faith only and nothing more. Not only is this view not biblical, it puts human limits on God and what He has done for us. I feel it is a very limited and man made way of thinking. 

And obviously the main problem this person had with what I said was the use of Sacraments in Salvation such as baptism. 

They said...

"baptism is symbolically showing salvation. It is not the cause of salvation"

My response to this initially was this; I am not gonna say anything against what you believe. I just think the scriptures are clear that baptism is not just a symbol but also does something to us, something real and substantial. Just like it says in Romans 6:3-4. That baptism allows us to die to our sin and live in newness of life in Christ, making us more like Christ. 

- For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (1 Peter 3:18-22 NJKV)

Baptism is not just another bath that improves our outward appearance but something that saves our life, just like Noah and his family were really and substantially saved through water. So too baptism physically saves us. 

Jesus is clear...

- Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8 NKJV)

Unfortunately this particular response was not received since YouTube would not allow it and kept deleting it from the conversation. 

Instead they got a much more simpler response which is what inspired this blog post. 

I tried to explain that saying that baptism is a symbol only is putting human limitations on God's power, especially when the bible says otherwise. As Christians we know that there is no limit to God's power and what He has done for us through Christ and His Church. 

Again I am not saying anything against what this person and other of the same mindset believe. I just know and believe what Christ tells us through His word and His Church that baptism is much more than a symbol, than an outward appearance, or a mere symbol of faith. Yes it is a symbol but it is also a sacrament! A Sacrament is the physical reality of a spiritual good, at least that is my definition. 

I will let the Church speak for itself on what a Sacrament is; The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). In other words, a sacrament is a sacred and visible sign that is instituted by Jesus to give us grace, an undeserved gift from God. (See also CCC 1084)

Therefore baptism saves us, and is not just the removal of dirt from our outward appearance, but something that saves our very life, as it says in 1 Peter 3 quoted above. Noah and his family were not symbolically saved by water but actually saved by water, when they built the ark out of obedience to God that is what Peter is trying to convey in the chapter. 

Something I want to point out here as well; Catholics and non catholic Christians seem to often argue for this and not that, when in fact it is often this and that. We agree on so much, the Catholic Church just provides us with a much fuller understanding of what we already believe and can agree with on the basic level. 

Another topic wrapped up in this one is faith alone, which is something the once saved thinkers tend to also believe in. Which the person I was talking to made sure to mention by telling me that we put limits on God's power when we don't believe in faith alone. I won't go into too much here about that, but faith alone is not found in scripture. In fact it says the opposite; "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24 NKJV)

Does that mean we are saved by our works alone? No, absolutely not! And the Catholic Church has never and will never teach that, because it is not biblical, nor is it apart of our Tradition. 

We are saved by Grace through faith, and obedience to Christ! 

Anyway there is not much more I want to say here because this is a blog post and not a book. For more information there are so many articles on this blog and my others for you to learn from the Bible and live a more Christ centered life. Please go back to the two articles I mentioned here so you can get right to studying your bible on these very important topics. 

God bless!