What conditions do you accept at baptism?

Answer 1

In the Catholic Church, the new Christian or, if an infant, the parents and godparents make the following Baptismal Promises:

• Do you reject Satan? I do.
• And all his works? I do.
• And all his empty promises? I do.
• Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? I do.
• Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? I do.
• Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? I do.
• God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.

Answer" Peter said: "...REPENT, and be baptized..." (Acts 2:38). Repentance comes first, and is the "condition" one accepts (or SHOULD be accepting) before baptism. I stress "should be," because few denominations explain themselves biblically in this area. The result is that repentance gets skipped... and people are baptized unaware of the truth about it. Repentance is changing one's ways. Turning around and going the other direction. It's being "sorry" for "doing wrong." The Bible speaks of "two kinds of sorrow." "For GODLY SORROW worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the SORROW OF THE WORLD worketh death." (II Cor.7:10) The question of baptism's "conditions," then, necessitates that it is "GODLY SORROW" that is needed for "repentance." Repentance to "salvation." That's what we're all looking for - salvation.... being SAVED FROM DEATH! As most Christians should know, the wages of sin is DEATH. So, KNOWING WHAT SIN IS is key to understanding what it is that we need to "repent of." Jesus, it is said, came to SAVE SINNERS. The Bible says: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW." (I John 3:4) That's the Bible's definition of sin. But, what law? In the Bible are laws, statutes, ordinances... all kinds of major and minor laws and rules. Paul wrote: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but BY THE LAW: for I had not known LUST, except the law had said, THOU SHALT NOT COVET." (Rom.7:7) What law says, "thou shalt not covet?" Of course, it's the transgression of the Ten Commandments that defines "sin." THAT'S what one needs to "repent" of before baptism. That's the "condition." Few religions are overly concerned about teaching the Ten Commandments... yet, the transgression of them leads directly to the death from which they want saved. A person has to become aware of what God wants from His children - OBEDIENCE. God hasn't changed in five millennia. He has always demanded our obedience. God's promises to Abraham happened: "Because that Abraham OBEYED MY VOICE, and kept My charge, My Commandments, My statutes, and My laws." (Gen.26:5) God told the Israelites fresh out of Egypt: "Now therefore, if ye will OBEY MY VOICE indeed..." (Ex.19:5). Three days later, God's VOICE uttered the Ten Commandments in their very ears. (Ex.20) And of His church, Jesus says: "...the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name... and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice... other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and THEY SHALL ALL HEAR MY VOICE; and there shall be one fold..." (John 10:3-16). "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish..." (verses 27-28). The condition for baptism is "being sorry for having broken the Commandments of God" (SINNING)... and... coming up (resurrecting) out of the "watery grave" of baptism a "new person in Christ," endeavoring to no longer live "under" the law... but, to live "within" the law. "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, and the FAITH OF JESUS." (Rev.14:12)

Answer 2

Baptism is symbolic of belief in the Christian faith. Infant baptism is involuntary and can not objectively involve any conditions, but an adult baptism, entered into voluntarily, would involve acceptance of Jesus as saviour and an obligation to follow the teachings and practices of the church for as long as one remains a Christian.