The document discusses the sacrament of baptism in Christianity. It covers that baptism is the door to entering the church and receiving other sacraments. While most Christians baptize infants, some only support believer's baptism of those who can understand the sacrament. Baptism symbolizes death, resurrection and cleansing from sin by water and the Holy Trinity. It marks the baptized as belonging to Christ.

1. The First Sacrament

2. 1. The Sacrament of Baptism
2. The purpose of Baptism
3. Infant Baptism vs. "Believer's Baptism“
4. The Minister of the Sacrament of Baptism
5. The Effects of the Sacrament of Baptism
6. What does the word “Baptism” mean?
7. What does Baptism symbolize?
8. What is the “Seal of Baptism”?
9. What is the importance of the seal?

3.  The Sacrament of Baptism has the first rank among the
Seven Holy Sacraments, as it is the door by which the
believer enters the church and has the right to partake in
the rest of the Sacraments
 Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of
Jesus Christ.
 baptism is also called christening
 The term "baptism" has also been used to refer to any
ceremony, trial, or experience by which a person is
initiated, purified, or given a name

4.  The Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Baptism
by being baptized by John the Baptist in the River
Jordan.
 The usual form of baptism among the earliest
Christians was for the candidate to be immersed, either
totally (submerged completely under the water) or
partially (standing or kneeling in water while water was
poured on him or her).
 Other common forms of baptism now in use include
pouring water three times on the forehead; a method
called affusion.

5.  Martyrdom was identified early in Church history as
"baptism by blood", enabling martyrs who had not been
baptized by water to be saved.
 Later, the Catholic Church identified a ”baptism of
desire”, by which those preparing for baptism who die
before actually receiving the sacrament are considered
saved.
 Most Christians baptize infants; many others hold that
only believer's baptism is true baptism. Some insist on
submersion or at least partial immersion of the person who
is baptized, others consider that any form of washing by
water, as long as the water flows on the head, is sufficient.

6.  Water Baptism identifies the believer with
the Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 Water Baptism identifies the believer with Christ in His
death, burial and resurrection.
 Water Baptism is an act of obedience for the believer. It
should be preceded by repentance, which simply means
“change.” It is turning from our sin and selfishness to serve
the Lord. It means placing our pride, our past and all of our
possessions before the Lord. It is giving the control of our
lives over to Him.

7.  Water Baptism is a public testimony - the
outward confession of an inward experience. In
baptism, we stand before witnesses confessing our
identification with the Lord.
 Water Baptism is a picture representing
profound spiritual truth:
Death
Resurrection
Cleansing

8.  Catholic, Orthodox,Presbyterian, Methodist,
and Lutheran churches
 inducting the newborn into the community of
faith
 the community's commitment to raise him or her
to be a faithful Christian
 In the Middle Ages, it was widely believed that it
washes away original sin, thereby ensuring
salvation if the child died.

9.  Infant baptism is rejected by Baptists (which is how
they got their name) and most evangelical Christians
 Taking baptism in the Bible as a model, and reasoning
from the Protestant emphasis on justification by faith
alone.
 baptism can only be meaningful and effective if
undertaken by someone old enough to understand
and assent to the sacrament
 usually done by full immersion in water

10.  Since the form of baptism requires just the
water and the words, the sacrament does not
require a priest; any baptized person can
baptize another.
 A Bishop
 A Minister
 A deacon

11.  In fact, when the life of a person is in
danger, even a non-baptized person—
including someone who does not himself
believe in Christ—can baptize, provided
that the person performing the baptism
follows the form of baptism and intends, by
the baptism, to do what the Church does—
in other words, to bring the person being
baptized into the fullness of the Church.

12.  The removal of the guilt of both Original Sin (the sin
imparted to all mankind by the Fall of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden) and personal sin (the sins that we have
committed ourselves).
 The remission of all punishment that we owe because of
sin, both temporal (in this world and in Purgatory) and
eternal (the punishment that we would suffer in hell).
 The infusion of grace in the form of sanctifying grace (the
life of God within us); the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; and
the three theological virtues.

13.  Becoming a part of Christ.
 Becoming a part of the Church, which is the
Mystical Body of Christ on earth.
 Enabling participation in the sacraments, the
priesthood of all believers, and the growth in
grace.

14.  To plunge
 To immerse
 To go under

15.  Going under water symbolizes our burial into
the death of Christ
 It also symbolize our rising up into the new
life with Christ
 Our union with Christ in this life and the next

16.  Eternal mark on a person’s soul
 This mark makes a person belong to Christ
 It CAN’T be erased forever
 It enables a person to do God’s will on this
Earth

17.  It is a sign of our faith
 We are called to keep this sign of faith alive
and strong

18. T
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19.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism
 http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/f/whatisbap
tism.htm
 http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/practices/baptis
m.htm
 http://www.slideshare.net/pcuadra/the-sacrament-of-
baptism
 http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/p/Sac_B
aptism.htm