A Discussion About Extraordinary Grace, Wherein the Grace of Baptism Can Be Given Without Baptism Itself. Part II.

Part I

From Peter Lombard, The Sentences. Book IV. Distinction IV. Chapter 4.6-8.[1]

We often find contention against the position which has been presented. Some extremists claim that Scripture only promises salvation to those who are baptized and that there is no indication that one can receive what baptism offers outside of the sacrament of baptism.[2] They are, to be sure, looking at the letter of the law, forgetting that “the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2Corinthians 3:6b RSV). “The Spirit bestows life, the letter destroys it. Thus the letter cannot function at the same time as the Spirit, just as what gives life cannot coexist with what destroys life.”[3] It is the Spirit, the same Spirit which makes the sacraments effective, which gives life, and the Spirit goes where it wills (cf. John 3:8). This is not, of course, to say baptism is ineffective, nor to say we can ignore baptism when we are given the chance to be baptized; rather it is for us to understand what baptism is, and what makes it effective, so as to understand that the Spirit can and will also work for the salvation of those who have not been able to be baptized and yet opened themselves up to the grace of the Spirit. Thus, we find Peter Lombard taking up the common objections to his position and demonstrates why they are in error.

6. SOME WORDS THAT SEEM TO CONTRADICT THE ABOVE. But it seems to contradict the above that the Lord says: Unless a man is reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.[4] If this is generally true, then what has been said above appears not to be true.

Lombard points to the central Scriptural text used to reject salvation of anyone who has not been baptized. Jesus tells us that we must be born again and this is done through baptism, that is, through the water which has become a vehicle of the Spirit’s grace. Thus, those who seem to suggest other means of salvation seem to go against what Jesus has said. Other authorities are often brought up to reinforce this view, such as particular quotes from the works of St Cyprian and St Augustine, all of which demonstrate the universal call to baptism. These texts, of course, appear to be valid until we find the authors do not exclude the ability of the Spirit to grant grace to those who have not received the sacrament due to no fault of their own, showing then they are used as proof texts taken out of the greater context of the writings they are drawn from. Thus, the response to such citations, when provided, is the same kind of response one can give to the Scriptural text:

7. DETERMINATION. But the Lord’s words are to be understood of those who can be baptized, but contemptuously fail to do so. Or they are to be understood in this sense: Unless a man is reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, that is, by that regeneration which is done by water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not be saved. However, the regeneration is not brought about only through baptism, but also through penance and blood.

It is one thing to not be baptized, it is another thing to have contempt for baptism. Those who do not receive baptism out of contempt for the sacrament suffer the consequences of their action: they have closed themselves off to grace. But to have contempt for baptism requires an understanding of what baptism is and then to dismiss it; those who do not comprehend baptism, for whatever reason, are still capable of receiving the grace of baptism, based upon what we have already said before: that is, if they have opened themselves up to the grace which has been granted to them according to the level of knowledge they possess, they can receive the grace of baptism. If they have done so, and are then given the opportunity for baptism, after, of course, being property catechized, they are expected to be baptized – those who do not are those who really have not had a proper conversion of heart. We must be careful here: what is sufficient knowledge is difficult to know, and it might differ from person to person. The best way to understand what contempt for the sacrament entails is to say it is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, contempt against the Holy Spirit and its offer of grace. Jesus tells us that the Spirit “will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8b RSV). Baptism requires us to be convinced of our sin; those who do not feel any sorrow at all for their sins cannot repent and receive grace; of course, a little sorrow goes a long way, and so full contrition, which is rare in this world, is not necessary for the grace, though it will necessary before one attains heaven (hence, purgatory).

–ON THE LETTER OF THE HEBREWS. Hence, an authority says that the Apostle said “in the plural” foundations of baptisms “because there is baptism in water, in blood, in penance.”[5] He does not say this in the sense that the sacrament of baptism should be done otherwise than in water, but that its power, that is, sanctification, is given not only through water, but also through blood or penance.

The Epistle to the Hebrews must not be read to suggest one can receive multiple baptisms in one’s life. There is, contrary to the Donatists, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5 RSV). Therefore, the way to understand the text is to see that it provides different ways to attain the grace of baptism, which according to Lombard are three: sacramental baptism (the ordinary means of that grace), blood (martyrdom), and penance (conversion of heart where one opens themselves up to the grace of the Spirit and has not been able to receive the sacramental baptism). Repentance is the key to baptism; without faith, without conversion, implicit (as with infants) or explicit (with adults), there is no way for the Spirit to work with us and cleanse us of our sins, no way for us to made perfect. But as St John Chrysostom says, once we start with but a little, with a general awakening to our sin, our full conversion to righteousness is made possible:

For as he who enters the door, is within; so he who reckons up his own evils will also certainly come to get them cured. But should he say, I am a sinner, without reckoning them up specifically, and saying, This and this sin have I committed, he will never leave off, confessing indeed continually, but never caring in earnest for amendment. For should he have laid down a beginning, all the rest will unquestionably follow too, if only in one point he have shown a beginning: for in every case the beginning and the preliminaries are difficult. This then let us lay as a foundation, and all will be smooth and easy.[6]

Lombard next shows us an example where the grace of baptism is granted to one who has not been baptized:

8. And reason itself proves the same point. For if baptism suffices for children who are incapable of believing, much more does faith suffice for adults who are willing, but unable to be baptized. – IN THE BOOK ON THE ONE BAPTISM. Hence Augustine: “You ask what is greater, whether faith or water? I have no doubt that I would answer faith. And so, if that which is lesser is able to sanctify, how not that which is greater, that is, faith, of which Christ said: Whoever believes in me, even if he is dead, shall live?”[7]

Lombard here is specifically dealing with those who believe in Christ, but, for whatever good reason, were not baptized before they died. Such faith leads to salvation – the one having it did not contend against baptism, but waited for it, to receive it at the proper time. It could be they died in the midst of catechesis, or it could be they attained faith at their death bed; in either case, such faith leads to salvation. Those, however, who contend that they have faith in Christ and therefore do not have to be baptized are, of course, showing their lack of faith in Christ: the one who loves Christ will do as Christ commands, according to their ability to follow that command. Since baptism is commanded by Christ, if one can be baptized, one will be baptized. If implicit faith, which is accorded to children because of the faith of their parents, can bring them into the new covenant through baptism, then explicit faith certainly can bring one into the new covenant as well.