Home » Mind & Soul » Lutheranism » Luther and Baptism - Page 4

Luther and Baptism - Page 4

© Dr. Martin Luther, Th.D., Reformer, sinner and child of God

Response: Yes.

Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost, one holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and after death an eternal life?

Response: Yes.

The Christening:

Then he shall anoint the child on the breast and between the shoulders with holy oil, and say:

And I anoint thee with the oil of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

And he shall ask:

Wilt thou be baptized?

Response: Yes.

The Baptism:

Then he shall take the child and dip him in the font and say:

And I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

The the sponsors shall hold the little child in the font and the priest shall make the sign a cross with oil on the crown of his head and say:

The almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath regenerated thee through water and the Holy Ghost and hath forgiven thee all thy sin, anoint thee with the salutary oil to eternal life. Amen.

Peace be with thee.

Response: And with thy spirit.

And while the sponsors continue to hold the child in the font, the priest shall put on him the christening hood and say:

Receive the white, holy, and spotless robe which thou shalt bring before the judgment seat of Christ so as to receive eternal life. Peace be with thee.

Then he shall be lifted from the font and the priest shall put a candle in his hand:

Receive this burning torch and preserve thy baptism blameless, so that when the Lord cometh to the wedding thou mayest go to meet him to enter with the saints into the heavenly mansion and receive eternal life. Amen.

Martin Luther to All Christian Readers

Grace and Peace in Christ our Lord

As I daily see and hear the carelessness and disrespect-- not to say frivolity- with which the high, holy, and comforting sacrament of baptism is being administered to little children (which I feel i is partly because those present cannot understand a word of what is said and done), I have come to the conclusion that it would not only be profitable, but also is necessary to administer this sacrament in the German language. And I have, therefore, begun to do in German what was heretofore done in Latin, namely, to baptize in German, in order that the sponsors and others present may be stirred to greater faith and more earnest devotion, and that the priest who administer the baptism should show greater concern for the good of the hearers.

The copyright of the article Luther and Baptism - Page 4 in Lutheranism is owned by Dr. Martin Luther, Th.D., Reformer, sinner and child of God. Permission to republish Luther and Baptism - Page 4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.