Lord’s Day 26Questions 69–71
Reformed Church in America English, 1879
About this text
Text public domain · U.S.
1879 Reformed Church in America Q&A text with inline proof references. Source: Wikisource scan transcription.
This English edition was published in the United States in 1879, before the current U.S. public-domain cutoff. Rights evidence. Verified 2026-07-14.
How art thou admonished and assured, by holy baptism, that the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross is of real advantage to thee?
Thus, that Christ appointed this external washing with water (Matt. 28;19), adding thereunto this promise, that I am as certainly washed by his blood and Spirit, from all the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins, as I am washed externally with water, by which the filthiness of the body is commonly washed away (Acts 22;16).
What is it to be washed with the blood and the spirit of Christ?
It is to receive of God the remission of sins, freely, for the sake of Christ’s blood, which is shed for us by his sacrifice upon the cross (1 John 1;7); and also to be renewed by the Holy Ghost, and sanctified to be members of Christ, so that we may more and more die unto sin, and lead holy and unblamable lives (1 Cor. 6;11).
Where has Christ promised us that he will certainly wash us by his blood and Spirit, as we are washed with the water of baptism?
In the institution of baptism, which is thus expressed: “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28;19): “he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16;16). This promise is also repeated, where the scripture calls baptism “the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3;5), and “the washing away of sins” (Acts 22;16).