Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day, 26, question 69. How is it signified and sealed unto thee in holy baptism that thou hast part in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross? Thus, that Christ instituted this outward washing with water, and joined therewith this promise, that I am washed with his blood and spirit from the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins, as certainly as I am washed outwardly with water. whereby commonly the filthiness of the body is taken away. Question 70, what is it to be washed with the blood and spirit of Christ? It is to have the forgiveness of sins from God through grace for the sake of Christ's blood, which he shed for us in his sacrifice on the cross, and also to be renewed by the Holy Spirit and sanctified to be members of Christ that so we may more and more die unto sin and lead holy and unblameable lives. And then finally question 71, where has Christ promised that we are as certainly washed with his blood and spirit as with the water of baptism? In the institution of baptism which says, 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 scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins. Question 70 teaches us very clearly that being washed with the blood and spirit of Christ refers to the forgiveness of sins from God through grace for the sake of Christ's blood. In other words, what ultimately washes us is not the water. The outward washing with water is a sign, is a seal of the inward washing with the blood and spirit of Christ. And that is a point of tremendous significance We never want to think that the water of baptism is somehow magical. It is set apart by the word, it's used for a holy purpose, but the water is just water, and water is never going to take away sin all by itself. Now one of the reasons I emphasize how important this is, is that our parallel, our harmony to the Heidelberg Catechism for today comes from the guanabara confession of 1558. A group of Huguenots, by invitation, went to Brazil in order to have freedom to worship God there. When they got there, the governor changed his mind. 10 out of 15 went back to Europe. Five went into the jungle and lived on their own. Four were arrested. And one of these four, he was not a pastor, he was not a theologian, I believe he was just a knife grinder, but they were called upon to answer questions that were put to them, and so they wrote, he wrote, and the others signed a short confession of faith, answering the questions that had been put to them, and then three of the four were killed by drowning. So this is a martyr's confession, and on the subject of baptism, this is what this laboring man from France had to say in Brazil. Moreover, the mortification of our flesh is signified to us, and washing, represented by the water poured upon the child, which is a sign and seal of the blood of our Lord Jesus, who is the true cleansing. of our souls. I hope you caught that. The water, that washing is a sign and seal of the blood of our Lord Jesus. He is the true cleansing of our souls. That confession as to the meaning of baptism was then sealed with the author's blood. He confirmed it, if you will, by dying through drowning. That is a part of our precious faith as well. We love the sacrament of baptism. It's always such a joy to get to baptize anybody. But the water isn't magical. The water is a sign of what really washes and purifies and cleanses us, the blood of Christ.