Saturday, February 18, 2006

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St Augustine's Teaching on Baptismal Regeneration


St Ambrose Baptizing St Augustine

It has been alleged in the comments that St Augustine thought of regeneration in two ways: sacramental and actual. This is not the case. He had no such bifurcated view of regeneration as the quotes below suggest:
"But the sacrament of baptism is undoubtedly the sacrament of regenation: Wherefore, as the man who has never lived cannot die, and he who has never died cannot rise again, so he who has never been born cannot be born again. From which the conclusion arises, that no one who has not been born could possibly have been born again in his father. Born again, however, a man must be, after he has been born; because, 'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God' Even an infant, therefore, must be imbued with the sacrament of regeneration, lest without it his would be an unhappy exit out of this life; and this baptism is not administered except for the remission of sins. And so much does Christ show us in this very passage; for when asked, How could such things be? He reminded His questioner of what Moses did when he lifted up the serpent. Inasmuch, then, as infants are by the sacrament of baptism conformed to the death of Christ, it must be admitted that they are also freed from the serpent's poisonous bite, unless we willfully wander from the rule of the Christian faith. This bite, however, they did not receive in their own actual life, but in him on whom the wound was primarily inflicted."
(On Forgiveness of Sin, and Baptism, 43:27)
To continue our previous conversation on the loss of salvation, here again St Augustine teaches, "they are also freed from the serpent's poisonous bite, unless we willfully wander from the rule of the Christian faith." Sorry, I had to throw that in.
"Moreover, from the time when He said, 'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven;' and again, 'He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it; ' no one becomes a member of Christ except it be either by baptism in Christ, or death for Christ."
(On the Soul and its Origin, 1:10:9)
We see that St Augustine does indeed allow for "baptism of blood," i.e. martyrdom for Christ prior to baptism as in the case of catechumen martyr.
"One generation and another generation; the generation by which we are made the faithful, and are born again by baptism; the generation by which we shall rise again from the dead, and shall live with the Angels for ever."
(Psalms, 135:11)
Unless someone is willing to grant baptismal regeneration, he can not honestly say that he holds to an Augustinian soteriology. How can a Calvinist say he is an "Augustinian" (e.g. RC Sproul) when he denies the most basic Augustinian teaching about regeneration?
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