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Only Jesus Christ: the way, the truth, the life!
Catholicism Overseer
Baptismal Regeneration!

Let’s start with a statement we can both agree with.

Jesus Christ (the truth Jn 14:6) said: you cannot enter the kingdom unless you are born again!

Jn 3:5

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Now we agree a man must be born again to enter the kingdom of God and to be in Christ the one mediator and in communion with God and His saints!

How do we become born again?

2 pet 1: 11

For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Born again by Water AND the spirit!
Baptismal regeneration in Jesus Christ!

Jn 3:22

After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

Not with the baptism of John for repentance only but as John describes the new birth by baptism (water) and (the spirit) (and fire) the Christian sacrament of baptismal regeneration!

This is the new birth, we are born again, born from above, supernatural birth, we are in Christ a new creation by water and the spirit!

You CANNOT deny Jn 3:5 and being born again means baptismal Regeneration in Jesus Christ!
A new creation in Christ!

Prophecy ez 36:25-27 God baptizes us by water and the spirit!
Baptismal regeneration by water and the spirit.
John the Baptist prepared the way by baptism of repentance. Matt 3:8 Jn 1
John the Baptist declared Christ would baptize (water) and with the spirit. Jn 1:33
The waters of purification Jn 2 prefigured baptismal regeneration
Baptismal regeneration by water and the spirit Jn 3:5
Jesus makes disciples by baptism in Jn 4:1
Faith and baptism required for eternal salvation. Mk 16:16 Matt 28:19 acts 8:36-38

Context of Jn 1-4 is baptismal regeneration in Christ Jesus!

To be born again means baptismal regeneration in Jesus Christ!

“Faith alone” is not found in scripture!!!

The five Protestant sola‘s do not include being born again or baptismal regeneration!

Effects of baptismal regeneration:

Faith, hope, and charity are gifts of God that we receive with the grace of baptismal regeneration. (Fire) Matt 3:11 Love of God. Ez 36:25-27
Rom 5:5

Ez 36:25-27 washed in baptism, with a new heart and the Spirit
Jn 3:5 born again in baptism
Mk 16:16 faith & baptist
Acts 2:38 repentance & baptism
Acts 8:36-38 faith & baptism
Acts 22:16 baptism washes away sin
Rom 6:3 died with Christ
Col 2:12 risen with Christ
1 cor 12:13 baptized into the church
Gal 3:27 by baptism put on Christ
2 Tim 1:10 eph 2:1 and 5 brought to life
2 cor 5:17 new creation
Eph 1:13 sealed by the Holy Spirit
Eph 4:5 one faith, one baptism
Eph 5:26 faith and baptism
Titus 3:5 baptismal regeneration
1 pet 1:2 washed in Christ’s blood
1 pet 2:9 the kingdom of light
1 pet 3:20-21 baptism saves us!

“Faith alone” accomplishes nothing!
1 cor 13:2 even all faith (alone) without charity avails NOTHING!!!


The Christian sacrament* of baptismal regeneration is required for the new covenant and salvation!

*this promise acts 2:38-39 is a sacred oath from God ez 36:25-27 and a sacred oath is a sacrament!

Initiation!!!

Faith & Baptism is the initiation of the new and eternal covenant!

You cannot enter on you’re own or by “faith alone”!

You cannot receive Christ or grace by “faith alone”!

“Accept Christ as you’re personal lord and savior” is fundamentalist tradition not found scripture!

Jn 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

2 pet 1: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Baptismal regeneration a new creation in Christ! 2 Cor 5:17

A sacrament is an oath! A sacred promise from God! Ez 36:25-27
Acts 2:38-39 (this promise)

No baptism no grace!

A sacrament is an outward sign for all men including infants And a gift from God to help us see what he does inwardly and invisibly by his grace!

As grace Washes our souls in the merits of Jesus blood from original and personal sin, so the outward action of washing is visible!

without the outward action the inward action cannot take place!

Jn 3:5 Titus 3:5 water and washing
acts 22:16 wash away your sin!

Jn 3:5 Born again BY water and the spirit! Not by “faith alone”!

They did not go to Jerusalem and preach “accept Christ as you’re personal Lord and savior “

They went to the river (water) and they baptized! Jn 3:22

A covenant requires an outward sign of the inward action of grace!

Ez 36:25 I will sprinkle you with clean water and you shall be made white as snow.

Acts 22:16 washing away your sins.

Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

1 pet 3:21 baptism saves you.

You cannot enter on you’re own or by faith alone!

2 pet 1: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Baptism!

God breathed life into Adam, gen 2:7 and we received this life from our fathers!

Christ breathed on the apostles our spiritual fathers, we receive the new covenant life of God’s grace from them thru faith & baptism! Jn 20:21-23 Mk 16:16 acts 8:36-38 eph 2

Born again! Born from above!

'The Father has set his seal' on Christ (John 6:27) and also seals us in him (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:23, 4:30). Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism,

Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life." 87 The faithful Christian who I has "kept the seal" until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith," 88 with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God - the consummation of faith - and in the hope of resurrection.

St. Paul tells the faithful at Ephesus that they have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” This is in terms of an indelible character imprinted on the soul in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. It is not as if this invisible mark is simply decorative. Rather, through it, we are enabled to participate in Christ’s mission and in his offices of priest, prophet, and king. Eph 1:13

Sealed by God eph 1:13 sealed by God (ez 36:25-27) in the ark of salvation by baptism just as Noah was sealed by God in the ark of the flood gen 7:16

1 Pet 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us!
(Ark of Noah a type of the church, member of Christ and his church and salvation by baptism!)
(Outside the ark of Noah none were saved, outside the church (the ark of salvation) none are saved!)

Sealed in the ark, sealed in the church the ark of salvation by God thru baptism!

Christ instituted the holy church for the salvation of all men, (repent and believe the gospel, with the institution of the sacraments to convey grace to sanctify souls! Matt 28:19
 
Proper intention of valid baptism:

The initiation into the new covenant of grace unto the salvation of the soul, nicene creed, “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins”.

Brought to life. Jn 14:6 eph 2:1 quickened.

Believers baptism is not valid and not found in scripture.
Adult only baptism is not found in scripture.

Proper form of valid baptism:

Valid Christian baptism requires flowing water over the forehead three times.

With the words:

I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit! Matt 28:19

Immersion, pouring, or sprinkling 3 time with pure water are the valid matter of baptism.

Ez 36:25 I will sprinkle you with clean water and you shall be made white as snow.
 
Vows of baptism

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born and suffered for us. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. I renounce the devil; all his works and all his pomps. Christ Jesus! With Thee I am united, to Thee alone I cling, Thee only will I follow, for Thee I desire to live and die. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
 
Baptism vs faith alone

Prophecy

“Baptism” / “Faith alone”

Ez 36:25-27 Nothing in scripture

Scripture

“Baptism “ / “Faith alone”
Matt 28:19 nothing found
Mk 16:16 “
Jn 3:5 “
Acts 2:38-39 “
Acts 8:36-38 “
Acts 22:16 “
Rom 6:3 “
Eph 4:5 “
Col 2:12 “
1 cor 12:13 “
Gal 3:27 “
2 Tim 1:10 “
eph 2:1 and 5 “
2 cor 5:17 “
Eph 1:13 “
Eph 5:26 “
Titus 3:5 “
1 pet 1:2 “
1 pet 2:9 “
1 pet 3:20-21 “
2 pet 1:11 “

Not “faith alone”

1 cor 13:2 even all faith (alone) without charity avails NOTHING.

Phil 1:29 not called to “faith alone”
But also to suffer for the sake of Christ.

James 2:24 justified by work and not by “faith alone”.

James 2:20 Faith without works is dead.

“Faith alone” accomplishes nothing.
“Faith alone” not found in scripture.

Three things are eternal; faith, hope, and charity. 1 cor 13:13

Not “faith alone”.

Jesus Christ is Our salvation:

Truth / doctrine Jn 14:6
Sacrifice / sacraments Jn 1:16-17 Jn 1:29
Christ is in His person is our salvation Lk 2:30

How can it be “faith alone” Christ is not only a doctrine or set of beliefs but He is our Passover sacrifice and He is our salvation, His person, Lk 2:30 I have seen my Salvation!
We must have union with Christ by faith and baptism.

Thanks and you’re insights are appreciated
 
Jn3 is not speaking of Christian baptism at all. :nono :nono
How do you know? Or what is the authority you base you’re assertion on? What was the teaching of the early church fathers? The witnesses of Christ acts 1:8

Context of Jn 3:5 “born again”

John1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; (John prepared the way by baptism)

John 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. (Old covenant prefiguring of baptism, purification from sin)(His disciples believed because the ever Virgin mother of God interceded Jn 2:11)

John3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (Baptism)

(Key verse! Actions speak louder than words: verse 22)

John 3:22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.(Baptism / water)

John 4:1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.

Born again means Baptismal regeneration!


JUSTIN MARTYR​

“As many as are persuaded and believe that what we [Christians] teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly . . . are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, ‘Except you be born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:3]” (First Apology 61 [A.D. 151]).

TERTULLIAN​

“Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life. . . . [But] a viper of the [Gnostic] Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism—which is quite in accordance with nature, for vipers and.asps . . . themselves generally do live in arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes after the example of our [Great] Fish, Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water. So that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes—by taking them away from the water!” (Baptism 1 [A.D. 203]).
“Without baptism, salvation is attainable by none” (ibid., 12).
“We have, indeed, a second [baptismal] font which is one with the former [water baptism]: namely, that of blood, of which the Lord says: ‘I am to be baptized with a baptism’ [Luke 12:50], when he had already been baptized. He had come through water and blood, as John wrote [1 John 5:6], so that he might be baptized with water and glorified with blood. . . . This is the baptism which replaces that of the fountain, when it has not been received, and restores it when it has been lost” (ibid., 16).
 
Those are the only forms found in Scripture.


This is nowhere found in Scripture.
Matt 28:19

Infant Baptism is biblical!

Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Promise is to you’re children! Vs 39

This promise made in ez 36
A promise from God is a sacred oath, and a sacred oath is a sacrament!

Ez 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Jn 3:5 born again by water and the spirit.

Acts 16:15 entire household baptized! Does not say adults only or except infants!

Ez 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness.

(It does not say adults only or except infants!)
(Scripture does not say anywhere “do not baptized infants”)

Baptism is the Christian initiation sacrament of the new covenant for all men. Matt 28:19 Jn 1:29 Jn 3:16

1 Corinthians 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (It does not say except infants!) (but it does say “all”)!

Lk 1:10-11 all people including infants

Thee faith is required for adult baptism.
Mk 16:16 acts 8:36-38

If it’s not possible (as in the case of infants) it’s not required.

But the promise of the parents to raise and educate the child in the faith is required, then the child is confirmed in thee faith at the age of reason.

Repentance is required for adult baptism. Acts 2:38

If there is no personal sin to repent of (as in the case of infants) then it’s not required.

For two thousand years the church founded by Christ on Peter and the apostles has always baptized infants!

Acts 1:8
Witness of Augustine!

It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that INFANT is brought to baptism; and it is through this one Spirit that the infant so presented is reborn. For it is not written, "Unless a man be born again by the will of his parents" or "by the faith of those presenting him or ministering to him," but, "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit." The water, therefore, manifesting exteriorly the sacrament of grace, and the Spirit effecting interiorly the benefit of grace, both regenerate in one Christ that man who was generated in Adam (Letters 98:2 [A.D. 408]).

“The sacrament of baptism is most assuredly the sacrament of regeneration” (ibid., 2:27:43).

“Baptism washes away all, absolutely all, our sins, whether of deed, word, or thought, whether sins original or added, whether knowingly or unknowingly contracted” (Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 3:3:5 [A.D. 420]).

“This is the meaning of the great sacrament of baptism, which is celebrated among us: all who attain to this grace die thereby to sin—as he himself [Jesus] is said to have died to sin because he died in the flesh (that is, ‘in the likeness of sin’)—and they are thereby alive by being reborn in the baptismal font, just as he rose again from the sepulcher. This is the case no matter what the age of the body. For whether it be a newborn infant or a decrepit old man—since no one should be barred from baptism—just so, there is no one who does not die to sin in baptism. Infants die to original sin only; adults, to all those sins which they have added, through their evil living, to the burden they brought with them at birth” (Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love 13[41] [A.D. 421]).
 
The early church fathers were wrong.
Nicodemus was THE teacher of ISRAEL.
Christian baptism did not exist.
Jesus instructed him from the book of numbers, about the water of separation which covered sin,Num19
Soon after Jesus quotes from Numbers again about the serpent of brass being lifted up on a pole, look and live.Num.14.
You did not even know these verses existed did you.
Ezk
36:25-27 looked forward to the new covenant.
It is by the word of God that I have authority....not the bogus ECF who were already going into apostasy.
They left us with the corrupt RC church,its false altar boy sodomizing priesthood, and Popes who fathered illegitimate children.
 
The early church fathers were wrong.
Nicodemus was THE teacher of ISRAEL.
Christian baptism did not exist.
Jesus instructed him from the book of numbers, about the water of separation which covered sin,Num19
Soon after Jesus quotes from Numbers again about the serpent of brass being lifted up on a pole, look and live.Num.14.
You did not even know these verses existed did you.
Ezk
36:25-27 looked forward to the new covenant.
It is by the word of God that I have authority....not the bogus ECF who were already going into apostasy.
They left us with the corrupt RC church,its false altar boy sodomizing priesthood, and Popes who fathered illegitimate children.
The apostles and their successors are men capable of sin and not impeccable, but the holy church founded by Christ never teaches these things but the opposite unto salvation so the church cannot be blamed.
 
The early church fathers were wrong; this statement
Contradicts Christ and scripture.

Do you believe Isaiah the prophet Isa 53:1 who hath believed our report
To believe the prophet was to believe God cos they spoke by the authority and command of almighty God, to reject the prophet is to reject God, likewise the apostles have the authority of Christ, to believe or accept their teaching is to accept Christ, to reject them is to reject Christ. 2 Tim 2:12

The prophets and the apostles have authority not just what they wrote.

2 John 1:12
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

Lk 10:16
He who hears you hears me...

John 13:20
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Jn 16:13 HS leads apostles into all truth Matt 28:19 then they are to teach us

Acts 1:8 His witnesses

What authority does Christ have?
What power does Christ have?
What mission / ministry does Christ have?

Peter, the apostles and their successors have the same authority, power, and mission as Christ! Jn 20:21 as my father sent me, even so send I you!

We must be taught by Peter, the apostles, and their successors! Lk 10:16 Matt 28:19 Jn 21:17 Jn 16:13 acts 2:42

Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Lk 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Acts 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Matthew 18:17
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

It is a thing unthinkable! To refuse to hear the church is to refuse to hear Christ!
Christ and His church are one. Acts 9:4

Spiritual Fathers have care for our souls!

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Jn 21:17 feed my sheep:

Heb 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they care for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

1 Tim 1:2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you

1 John 2
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.

That makes Paul and John spiritual fathers, pastors of our souls!

1 John 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

We must be taught or instructed:
Lk 1:4
Matt 28:19
Jn 20:21
Acts 8:31
Colossians 2:7
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught by Christ thru His witnesses/ apostles and their successors.

Acts 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

Acts 18:25
This man was instructed in the way of the Lord;

ECF are His witnesses acts 1:8

Apostasy refers to a complete repudiation of Christ and His church.

What specific doctrines are you afraid of? Thanks
 
The apostles and their successors are men capable of sin and notr trying impeccable, but the holy church founded by Christ never teaches these things but the opposite unto salvation so the church cannot be blamed.
DonA
I appreciate your trying to work through these issues as most Catholics do not.
Later I will share some links to expand on your searching.
I think you are trying to defend what you have been taught, but I think more info will help you.
 
Being Born Again:
The term “born again” refers to a new beginning in the relationship between God and the person who is born again. (John 3:3, 7) God adopts those born again as his children. (Romans 8:15, 16; Galatians 4:5; 1 John 3:1) Similar to those who are legally adopted, they experience a change of status, becoming part of God’s family.(2 Corinthians 6:18).

Being born again prepares a person to rule with Christ in God’s Kingdom. This Kingdom rules from heaven, so the Bible describes the “new birth” as providing an inheritance that is “reserved in the heavens.” (1 Peter 1:3, 4) Those who are born again are given the conviction that they will “rule together as kings” with Christ.(2 Timothy 2:12; 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22)

When Jesus discussed the subject of how to be born again, he said that those born again would be “born from water and spirit.” (John 3:5) This expression refers to baptism in water followed by baptism with Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2:1-4.)

Jesus was the first person to be born again. He was baptized in the Jordan River, after which God anointed (or, baptized) him with Holy Spirit. Jesus was thus born again by Holy Spirit as a son of God with the hope of returning to life in heaven. (Mark 1:9-11) God fulfilled this hope by resurrecting Jesus as a spirit creature. (Acts 13:33).

Others who are born again are also baptized in water before they receive the Holy Spirit.(Acts 2:38, 41) They then have the sure hope of life in heaven, which God will fulfill in the resurrection.(1Corinthians 15:42-49)

There are misconceptions about being born again.
(1) that a person must be born again to gain salvation or to be a Christian.

The fact is however is that Christ’s sacrifice provides salvation not only for those who are born again as the ones who will rule with Christ in heaven but also for the earthly subjects of God's kingdom that the one's born again will rule over.(1 John 2:1, 2; Revelation 5:9, 10) That second group of Christians have the opportunity to live forever in Paradise on earth.(Psalm 37:29; Matthew 6:9, 10; Revelation 21:1-5)

(2)A person can choose to be born again.

The opportunity to have a relationship with God and gain salvation is open to all. ( 1 Timothy 2:3, 4; James 4:8) However, God chooses those who will be born again, or anointed with holy spirit. According to the Bible, being born again “depends, not on a person’s desire or on his effort, but on God.” (Romans 9:16) The expression “born again” can also be rendered “born from above,” confirming that the selection of those who are born again comes “from above,” or from God.(John 3:3) there's a footnote at John 3:3 concerning the phrase, born again, which says literally "should be generated from above." Greek: gennethei anothen
 
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