Lord's Day 27

72. Q. Does the outward washing with water itself wash away sins?
A. No, only Jesus Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.

73. Q. Why then does the Holy Spirit call baptism the washing of rebirth and the washing away of sins?
A. God has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that the blood and Spirit of Christ wash away our sins just as water washes away dirt from our bodies. But more important, He wants to assure us, by this divine pledge and sing, that the washing away of our sins spiritually is as real as physical washing with water.

*74. Q. Should infants, too, be baptized?
A. Yes. Infants as well as adults in God's covenant and are His people/ They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ's blood and the Holy spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants shroud be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament with baptism.

"We do not believe that there is anything magical about the water we apply to the child. The water does not wash away original sin or save the child. We do not presume that this child is regenerate, nor do we believe that every child who is baptized will automatically go to heaven. We baptize infants not out of superstition or tradition or because we like our babies. We baptize infants because they are covenant children and should receive the sign of the covenant."

The Good News We Almost Forgot, Kevin DeYoung, Moody Publishers, 2010, pp. 130-131.

* As a baptist, I respectfully disagree with Ursinus and Kevin DeYoung on infant baptism. The following is from the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith:

1. Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him, in his death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into him; of remission of sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.  ( Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2;12; Galatians 3:27; Mark 1:4; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:4 )

2. Those who do actually profess repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience to, our Lord Jesus Christ, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.  ( Mark 16:16; Acts 8:36, 37; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12; Acts 18:8 )

3. The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, wherein the party is to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. ( Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 8:38 )

4. Immersion, or dipping of the person in water, is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance. ( Matthew 3:16; John 3:23 )