Scripture this evening you'll find in two places. First we'll read from Romans 6. We've looked here in the past several weeks, but it also has a lot to speak to us concerning the matter we're looking at tonight of baptism. So we'll read Romans 6, the first 11 verses, and then we'll turn to Titus chapter 3, the first eight verses. Let's hear God's word. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more. Death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once. But in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We turn then to Paul's letter to Titus, chapter 3, the first eight verses. He reminds us here of the washing of regeneration, is the picture of baptism, the washing away of our sins through the Holy Spirit. put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will, that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable, unto men. So ends our reading this evening from God's holy, inspired, infallible word. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to Lord's Day 26 this evening. And as I pondered how to approach this topic, the consideration of the sacrament of baptism, I reflected back that in 2018, I believe it was, I was able to preach this same Lord's Day here for you, and we reflected on the chapter of Colossians 2 as it relates to an understanding of baptism based upon that text. Tonight, however, I want to take a more topical approach to this question of baptism And rather than considering a specific text, I want to try to unpack some of the things about baptism that I think are not often mentioned or can be confined to a single text from the scripture. And part of this is because many, or perhaps most of us, Our only familiarity with baptism is when we see it administered, and typically, to children, covenant children, children of believers, confessing members, who have brought their children to be baptized. And so we, I think, would find it hard to explain to someone else outside of our circles or in the workplace of what we understand baptism to mean. What's its significance? What's its profit? We, of course, could probably adequately explain how that baptism is a faithful covenant promise of God to his covenant people. But baptism is indeed that, but much more than that. The comfort contained in this sacrament for the whole church, I believe, when I look at myself at least, is often overlooked and perhaps not understood. And so we don't profit from this sacrament as we Seek to profit from the Lord's Supper, for example. And it seems as if there is a degree of value between these two that differs in our understanding. So we have a week of preparation that prepares our hearts for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It's very personal. It's very individual. As you receive the broken bread, you are reminded through this sacrament of the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you drink the wine, you are reminded that he shed his blood for your sins. But when we come to baptism, it seems as if we don't have that same kind of significance and importance and profit attached to it in our understanding or in our own spiritual assurance. And so I believe we do many times injustice to this sacrament of baptism. There are two Lord's Days that our fathers in writing the Heidelberg Catechism have written regarding baptism. There are three for the Lord's Supper. Tonight we deal with the first. Last week we considered the general idea of what sacraments are with signs and seals and how by faith they are to be participated in. But as we turn to the sacrament of baptism, what we see is that Lord's Day 26 is a general explanation of this sacrament. Lord's Day 27 following deals specifically with an issue regarding baptism about who is to be baptized, in particular why we baptize infants against the error of the Anabaptists. And then if you look at Lord's Day 28, you have the Holy Supper, which is in the first Lord's Day, an exposition or explanation of basically what is the Lord's Supper, and then two more of 29 and 30 that really contradict errors and explain that the bread does not change into the body of Jesus, and also that we are to examine ourselves in participating in this sacrament of the Lord's Supper. But what you will notice, if you look carefully at the beginning of both of these sections, in questions 69 and 75, their intention is the same. 69, which deals with baptism, says, how art thou admonished and assured by holy baptism. Then we have the same wording in 75. How art thou admonished and assured in the Lord's Supper. So our fathers understood that both of these sacraments were given by God to his church in very simple terms of water and wine and bread to communicate visibly what the gospel and the word of God communicates audibly that we are to be admonished and assured about. And so this means we ought indeed to take seriously, perhaps more seriously, the sacrament of baptism, not simply for the confidence we have that God is a faithful covenant-keeping God, but that He is assuring us in baptism personally something for ourselves as well each time baptism is administered in the congregation. And the Belgian Confession is arranged in a similar way. There was an article before the one we read tonight that was about the sacraments in general, pointing to the blood of Christ and the promises. And they say, the sacraments are assuring and confirming in us the salvation which He imparts to us. And then in the article we read tonight, Article 34, we were reminded once again that the blood of Jesus Christ, it begins with that idea has now taken place once for all. So there's no more need for shedding of blood through circumcision, all the males being circumcised, or the blood of bulls and calves that were sacrificed on the days of atonement and Passover. Rather now, this one sacrifice of the blood of Christ is sufficient, and it's all been pointing to Him from the very beginning. And so now in the New Testament, rather than a bloody sacrament of circumcision, we have this non-bloody sacrament of baptism, which is the introduction into the church, which is assurance that in the blood of Christ there is favor and forgiveness with God. And this is a personal note as well. The Belgic Confession concludes as well that We should profit from it throughout the whole course of our life. And we can see this throughout the scriptures. Paul is demonstrating this in the passages we have read together and also in Colossians 2. Now, there are some who emphasize in baptism, for example, wrong things. They teach that in baptism, with the act itself, somehow there is communicated grace infused with this sacrament, so that somehow the sins are automatically forgiven through this outward ceremony, and faith really has no part in this sacrament. Or there are those who are teaching that within the covenant community having received this sacrament we're all children of God to the extent that we don't even speak about regeneration and the need for a new birth. Now these errors we know are unbiblical and those churches who hold to these errors don't end well as we see often in history. But those errors I'm not going to address particularly tonight. I think we have a more balanced view or we have come to one in our own church regarding children and the significance of baptism for them. But my concern this evening is with our own understanding and our own profit from witnessing and as a congregation participating in this sacrament even as it's administered within the church, whether to adults or to children. And so I want to look at that with you as we look together at Lord's Day 26, the sacrament of baptism, or we could say the prophet of baptism. I want to read question and answer 69 to 71. 69. How art thou admonished and assured by holy baptism that the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross is of real advantage to thee? Answer, thus, that Christ appointed this external washing with water, adding thereto his 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. Question 70. What is it to be washed with the blood and spirit of Christ? Answer. It is to receive of God the remission of sins freely for the sake of Christ's blood, which he shed for us by his sacrifice upon the cross, and also to be renewed by the Holy Ghost and sanctified to be members of Christ, that so we may more and more die unto sin and lead holy and unblameable lives. Question 71, whereas Christ promised us that he will certainly wash us by his blood and spirit as we are washed with the water of baptism. Answer, 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. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. but he that believeth not shall be damned. This promise is also repeated where the scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins. I want to remind you again what Paul said to the Colossians in chapter two. I'll read verses 10 to 12. And you are complete in him which is the head of all principality and power. in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands and putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who raised him from the dead. Well, we're going to look at the prophet or the sacrament of baptism with two thoughts. First, the personal nature of baptism, and then the profound meaning. I suspect it's needless, dear friends, to point out that our catechism is a very personal confession. It is one that brings us into the confession itself. What do you believe? And then the answer is given as if we ourselves are to be giving the answer that the catechism is stating. And this becomes apparent again in our own Lord's Day by asking this question. How do we profit? How are we assured and admonished in this sacrament of the assurance of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ on our souls? This question is of utmost importance to us as we consider the sacraments that God has given us. How are thou admonished and assured by holy baptism of this one sacrifice of Christ? And so I ask you, and we begin this message, do you know this assurance? Are you sensing the admonishment from this confession and from the scriptures itself that we are to hold great value to this sacrament? And can you give the same answer that we found in this Lord's Day? Can you personally say in response to the question that as certainly as you have been washed by this water of baptism, so certainly we have been washed by the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross. That by His blood and His Spirit all my pollution and all my sin have been washed away. Can you say that with confidence and assurance? Assuming here that most all of you have received a personal sign of baptism, you've had your name mentioned alongside of the name of the triune God, has the reality of what has taken place Acknowledged by you, I am born again. This is the personal nature of the sacrament. Not only having received some kind of outward sign, but the inward reality which is worked by the Holy Spirit. Yes, by faith we come to embrace this truth in the hearing of the gospel. But have we understood what is spoken through this sacrament to us personally. For everyone who is baptized, there is a real promise of certainty that is given to us. So certain and sure is the promise that the blood of Jesus Christ is effectual, is powerful, is sufficient for every last one here. every last person who hears this message and any message of the gospel. It is an assurance that the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover every one of our sins. And so if we consider this question from the perspective of one who confesses faith in Christ, one who up to this point in the catechism has confessed to believe all what is stated in the Apostles' Creed, I believe this and I believe that, we are tonight admonished and assured that as we have been baptized into Christ, so surely we are washed in his blood and by his spirit from all our sins, as well as the pollution of those sins. This ought to be of immense comfort to us. And yet here is often where the confusion comes. Some of you might ask, Well, I only know that I received baptism as a baby. My parents told me that. I just know it happened because I have a certificate of baptism. Are you saying tonight that this is what baptism means for me personally? If you're thinking these questions in your mind, if you're wrestling through these issues in your heart. Then our catechism and we can say God himself wants you to stop. Being tossed to and fro. He wants you to come to rest with assurance upon the foundation of his promise. not your thoughts, your experience. He wants you to be assured tonight, admonished of this truth, that the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross relates personally to you. And you can say that with a measure of certainty as well, just simply from the fact that you have been born into a family. That deemed it important and their responsibility to bring you to this place to receive this covenant sign and seal as well. You haven't chosen perhaps to grow up. under the means of grace. But God determined this was the place where you were to be baptized. This was the family into which you were born. And this is the gospel which you would be hearing from week to week to week. And now will you shy away from and deny and denounce the very thing God originated and promised to you. that you are admonished and assured in baptism that the one sacrifice of Christ is available, is here for you. Brockle says, and I quote him now because I suppose if I said this myself, some would question what is being said. So I'll hide behind him a moment. We must strive to be exercised by this sacrament too. And it will greatly strengthen you to see that you have been baptized already as an infant. Do not yield to unbelief by being tossed to and fro, continually asking yourself, am I regenerated? Am I already a believer? And is baptism indeed a seal to me? How this will injure you and rob you of the efficacy of baptism. You indeed are conscious of sins, even the sins of your heart. They are a bitter grief and a heavy burden to you. You know indeed that your heart yearns for and desires reconciliation with God. For the blood of Christ unto reconciliation and to be continually in the presence of God and to live in his fear. You know that for this reason you make Christ your choice time and again and receive him and surrender yourself to him. so that he may work all things in you by his spirit. It is also your objective not to sin, but rather to live a life pleasing to the Lord. You know that it is truthfully so. This is now an evidence of grace. And thus also, baptism is to you a seal of the covenant. Therefore, apply this to yourself and rejoice. The focus here is not on faith, first of all. It's not on the person making a confession. It's not on even the things that Bronco has mentioned as one experiences in their heart by the Holy Spirit who makes one alive. But the focus is on the promises of the gospel that point to the reality that Jesus, through his blood, has paid a price to rescue you from sin. In other words, what we hear in the sacrament, both through the word and through the visible witness, is that the word of the gospel you can trust. That means baptism isn't a mere formality to be lightly looked on or just come together to witness the joy of the parents who have brought their children. But it's a sign, children, that you and I, as we have received this sign, it is a sign we carry with us wherever we will go as long as we live. And this ought to be of great comfort to you. As you go to school, as you get older and go to college or university, as you enter the workforce, you are taking with you this sign and seal of God and his promise. And when you find yourself in temptation, he has promised, I'm with you. When you find yourself involved in sin. He has promised, I will be your father. Come to me for forgiveness. When you find yourself in suffering and in need, he is saying to you, come to me. I am the comforter through the spirit of Christ. What a comfort it is, what a profit it is to rightly know and understand our baptism. Is this your view of baptism? Or do you see perhaps that Somehow baptism is a strike against you. That every time you commit sin, every time you fall into temptation, fight with a brother or sister, or you take something that doesn't belong to you, or look on a site on the internet you shouldn't, that you're running away from what baptism on your forehead is telling you to do, to turn, to flee to Christ whose blood is sufficient. The Father in heaven is saying, come to me. That's what baptism is signifying to us. And just as we cannot sit under the proclamation of the gospel and remain unmoved or The same, it's true for this sacrament of baptism. You and I don't carry this sign and seal upon us neutrally in this world. We either are living for Christ or we are living in contradiction to this sign upon our foreheads. We're living for ourselves. And God is coming to us again tonight to remind us of this truth. And with His finger, as it were, in baptism, He is saying to us, what you see visibly in this sacrament, what I'm saying to you, my promise is faithful. It is true. It is worthy to be accepted by all. And He underlines that truth of that promise. Whoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast out. He underlines it, as it were, in this sacrament. We saw or heard this morning that the Apostle Paul in writing this letter, as it were, signed it with his own hand. We could say that in baptism God is signing with water upon each one's forehead. This promise is faithful. I will be your God. I will be your Father. Our baptism cannot be erased. His promise is faithful. It has eternal consequences. And the promise of God is that He will be gracious and merciful to each and every one who comes to Him in the appointed way. The way of repentance, the way of faith in His Son, as our catechism points out, in the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross. there is forgiveness. Whoever you might be, whatever you have done, and baptism reminds us of this truth. And so do you stumble, dear friend, at the promise of God, not only in the gospel, but in this simple sacrament of baptism that points us to this Wonderful truth, just as surely as water washes away your dirt on your body, so certain and sure the blood of Christ, which He spilled on the cross, will wash away every sin. And it is true that it is only by faith that we can enjoy this reality. And this fruit assures us as the people of God that our salvation is secure because Christ has shed his blood. And this faithful promise then, if we apprehend it by faith and appropriate it, becomes ours with great comfort. There's profound meaning in this sacrament. And we're going to look at that in our second thought. So dear friends, are we making use, personally, with a promise that has been given to us in baptism? That God has come individually alongside of your name. He gives his name. Children, Are you using baptism rightly as you grow up? Do you understand how significant this is? How important it is? Yes, you're set apart, you belong to the church, but it means so much more. It means you can go to God personally and plead upon his promise. Believe it to be true. That's what he's saying in baptism. that just as water washes away the filth of our bodies, so the blood of Jesus washes away sin. And so for us to understand the meaning of baptism, we need to look something at the meaning of the word baptize itself. And one of the first things we encounter with this idea of being baptized is water. Why do we use water for baptism? Well, we could say God said that's what was to be done. He ordained this. We read in the answer to the first question, Christ appointed this external washing with water. So he appointed it, he ordained it, he commanded it to be done this way. And we could say it's also his sovereign choice. But more than this, we need to understand why. It's a fitting picture. It's a simple picture. All the children here, to the oldest member and oldest attendee, can understand. We wash our bodies. The other day I was helping my son. I was getting dirty as he's modeling his house. Cut myself, bleeding. Wipe it on your pants and move on. But when you get home, You don't sit down to eat. You wash. You clean up. We wash our bodies outwardly. And what baptism is pointing us to, that to be a living member of the church, we need to be washed also inwardly, inside. We're dirty. We're filthy. We need cleansing. We need cleansing by the blood of Christ like the water cleanses our body. The blood of Christ and by the Spirit cleanses us from all pollution and all sin. And in baptism, God is making his point to those also who are weak in faith, who could hardly believe this would be true or should be true for them. I have sinned so much. I never really believed that baptism was for me. I never really believed God could be my father. I never really believed. If we are weak or don't have faith, the significance of baptism is, this is what God says, come to me. And in coming to me through the only appointed means of my son, And His offering on the cross is their forgiveness and cleansing. God is saying this water that you see in baptism is pointing you when you see it to the blood that we don't see but is sure that cleanses you from all your sin. God the Father is saying this water is pointing to my son's blood that makes you acceptable in my presence so you can come at any time and stand in my presence free. And I impute to sinners. Everyone who comes in the name of my son. Receives by faith. and the work of the Spirit, yes, but it comes to understand this glorious truth that the blood of Jesus Christ alone, not what I can do or what I have done, but what His blood on the cross has accomplished. That's what God wants to, as our catechism says, admonish us and assure us of in this sacrament. And what a fitting sign then that God has given to us water. Because when the Holy Spirit begins working in our hearts by His grace, this truth, and our spiritual eyes are open, we begin to see, just as we see our body at times as being very dirty, we begin to be convinced of its truth, even as children, When they're taught by their parents into this knowledge, I'm dirty. I'm sinful. I have a bad heart. I need a clean heart. We are polluted. We are vile. And we learn that continually coming forth from me is dirt and mire and sin. But baptism tells us. continually coming from God is blood. Once for all, whoever comes and who comes again and again, there's forgiveness. And it's the same Spirit that has given us this sacrament who comes through the preaching of the glorious promise of the gospel. that whoever comes to Christ, that whoever flees to him for pardon is received, is welcomed at the Father's feet. I think of the words of Jesus as he, having risen from the dead, had to rebuke his followers who doubted his resurrection. He said, oh, fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written concerning Christ. And in some ways, I think what God is doing in the sacrament of baptism is saying again and again, here it is simple water. It's my son's blood. Oh, fools and slow of heart. Why so hard to accept this high? Why so hard to believe this? He comes so low to us to say to us what He is saying in baptism. That the sign of the water and the cleansing is a representation of this glorious truth that Jesus' blood cleanses from all sin. And if we have fled to Him by faith, if we as sinners have come to Him and heard through the gospel there is forgiveness with Him, there is cleansing with Him in His blood, He wants us to be assured of that reality as we even look at this sacrament of baptism. We read in Revelation 1, 5, and the greeting comes from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, to him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And this washing that we understand by baptism isn't just one part of us like I washed my hands before I ate, but it signifies if we are washed in Jesus' blood, we are completely washed. The justice of God in Jesus' blood is completely satisfied. Christ, you see, descended into the depths of God's wrath. He drank the very dregs of the wrath of God against sin to the very bottom. He tasted death. He tasted hell. And when we think of baptism, we think of being submerged under, if you will. Jesus was submerged under the punishment of sin. And when we think of the blood of Christ, When one comes to Jesus by faith, they are, as it were, submerged in, immersed in, baptized with the blood of Jesus. When Jesus was at the Last Supper with his disciples, and he was breaking the bread, and he said to them, One of you is going to betray me. And they asked, who is that? And he said, it's him whom I will give the sop when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped in the sop, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon. The idea there of the bread being dipped in is the same kind of idea that baptism has. So when Jesus dipped that bread into the wine, it took on the wine itself. When we are baptized into Christ, when we believe into Christ savingly, all that is His becomes ours. And all of our sin becomes His. And that is why we say that salvation is all of grace. It's all of Christ. Because either He has done the whole work or he has done none at all. But whether we are sprinkled or plunged beneath the water, it makes little difference. They're pointing to the same reality. And we know that because of another example that Jesus himself demonstrated. You remember in those last hours as well, when Jesus was talking to his disciples, they were getting ready for the last meal and no one but Jesus washed their feet. Jesus took off his clothes, took a towel and a basin of water, and washed their feet. You remember what Peter said when he understood the meaning of this? He said, no, no, not my feet only, but my whole body. And Jesus says, no, I've washed your feet. It's as if I've washed the whole of you. When we receive even sprinkling of this water in baptism and we have the blood of Christ by faith, we have it all. We have the whole Christ. So when we are baptizing children and the sacrament of baptism is administered in our midst, We need to understand that everyone who is in Christ has been immersed and reminded of this glorious truth. We are immersed in the blood of Christ. We have forgiveness of our sins and of our pollution of our sins. And that's why I read Romans six. Paul says in verses three and four, don't you know that as many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. You remember that chapter six in Romans, Paul is addressing a problem. The grace of God, some were abusing it. Those who thought we could go on and sin that grace being so marvelous will also cover us. And Paul says, God forbid. And then he reminds them of their baptism. Why? Does he mean that those who have been baptized never sin again? No, not at all. He teaches that in the next chapter in Romans 7. But in chapter six, what Paul has in mind here is the truth that if we have been baptized into Christ. The father sees us in him. We have been covered with his blood. He sees us as being dead with Christ. We have died with Christ. Every time baptism is administered, this negative side, if you will, of baptism is set before us. When we are in Christ, we have died unto sin, because Christ died for our sin. But we are risen again to a new life. We are raised with Christ, so now we are to live unto Him We are to look to him for daily strength and overcoming of sin. And so in baptism, we were reminded that God sees us as having been immersed in Christ. We are surrounded with his blood. We stand in the blood of Christ complete. And so Paul is saying that one who comes to faith in Christ, it's as if we are so intimately connected to the work of Christ, we have died with him. and we've risen with him. And so Paul carries on in Colossians to say, we are now ascended with him. We sit in heavenly places in Christ. And this is all connected to the idea and the teaching of our baptism. Are we who are in Christ by faith living a life that demonstrates and understanding of our baptism. Paul goes on to the Romans and says, likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead in deed and to sin, but alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Don't yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness, but yield yourself to God as those who are alive from the dead. and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. What is he saying? If you go out into this week and you're faced with temptation, you're faced with sin and lust, remember your baptism. If you are in Christ by faith, and though you even have little assurance, you may flee to him for power to overcome through his blood. If you are dead with Christ, you do not have to obey that lust. It is dead. You are to fight against it, to put it to death by clinging to Christ. He promised His power. And should we stumble, should we fall and succumb to sin, we would be prone to be discouraged and not know what to do. But baptism again gives us the answer. You know how we end in our catechism, in our baptism form, it says, then Even though we through weakness fall into sin, we must not therefore despair of God's mercy nor continue in sin, since baptism is a seal, an undoubted testimony that we have an eternal covenant of grace with God. And so, dear friends, baptism is ultimately concerned about Christ. Our answer in the catechism is pointing out the reality. It's directing our thoughts to the one sacrifice of Christ. When we go into this week and we face challenge, we face temptation, trials. Let's not lose sight of this work of Christ, to which baptism points us, and be assured and admonished that God will, for the sake of Christ his Son, receive us graciously. Amen. Let us pray. Merciful and gracious God, help us to see the prophet and be assured of the reality of what baptism points us to. Lord, we are needy people, in needing of thy grace, thy spirit, not only to make alive, but also, again and again, to point us to this gospel truth, revealed to us in baptism, that the blood of Jesus, sacrificed himself upon the cross is sufficient for all our needs. And so go with us this week that we by faith would look to him the first time or by renewal again and again and draw profit from our baptism. So bless us, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.