What Baptism Does for the Soul

Fr. Scott Haynes
1 day ago
4 min read

Fr. Scott Haynes

1. The Biblical Foundation: Rebirth, Cleansing, and Adoption

Sacred Scripture describes Baptism not as a symbol but as an event that truly transforms the soul. Saint Paul speaks of Baptism as a death and resurrection: “we are buried together with Him by baptism into death” so that we may “walk in newness of life.”¹ The old life, marked by the guilt of original sin, is put to death. A new life, joined to Christ, begins.

Saint Peter calls Baptism a “laver of regeneration.”² The Greek term palingenesia means a rebirth, a new beginning that comes from above. In this washing, sins are forgiven, the soul is made clean, and we receive the Holy Spirit.

Saint John gives the same message in simple and luminous words:

“Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”³

Baptism is therefore not external. It is an inward transformation that gives the soul a new identity as a child of God. Saint Paul even uses the language of adoption. Through Baptism we receive “the Spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba, Father.”⁴

In Scripture, then, three truths are inseparable: Baptism cleanses sin, gives the Holy Spirit, and makes us children of God.

2. What the Fathers Taught: A Real Interior Change

The early Fathers consistently affirmed that Baptism truly heals and elevates the soul.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine called Baptism the sacrament that removes the guilt of original sin and restores the soul to spiritual health. When the child or adult emerges from the waters, Augustine says the soul is “healed from the wound of sin” and “illumined by the light of Christ.”⁵ Something real has happened. Grace is not a decoration. It is a new life given to the soul.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

St. Cyril speaks of Baptism as a clothing with Christ. The newly baptized, he says, come forth “radiant, filled with the Holy Spirit, and transformed into a new creation.”⁶

St. Basil the Great

St. Basil teaches that in Baptism the Holy Spirit “impresses His seal upon the soul,” marking the baptized person as belonging to Christ.⁷

St. Ambrose

St. Ambrose explains Baptism as the moment when the power of Christ’s Passion is applied to the soul:

“From the waters of Baptism rises the new man, reborn and restored through the Cross of the Lord.”⁸

These Fathers all reaffirm the same vision: Baptism removes sin, gives divine life, and incorporates a person into Christ and His Body.

3. If Baptism Gives New Life, Why Do We Still Struggle with Sin?

Here we arrive at the central question. If Baptism forgives sins and gives grace, why does the baptized person still experience temptation, weakness, and interior conflict?

The Scriptures and Fathers both give a clear answer.

A. The Guilt of Sin Is Removed, but the Wound Remains

Baptism removes the guilt of original sin entirely. Nothing of that guilt remains. The soul stands clean before God.

However, the wound caused by original sin, which the Fathers call concupiscence, remains.

Concupiscence is not itself a sin. It is a weakness, a disorder, a tendency toward self-seeking. Saint Paul describes this interior conflict when he says:

“The flesh lusts against the spirit.”⁹

Before Baptism, sin reigns. After Baptism, sin’s rule is broken, but our nature still bears the scar of Adam’s fall.

St. Augustine explained it this way:

“Concupiscence is left for our struggle, not for our downfall. It is a weakness, not a guilt.”¹⁰

This distinction is critical.

B. Why God Permits Concupiscence

The Fathers consistently say that concupiscence remains for spiritual warfare. Without this struggle, virtues would not be tested. Love would not deepen. Humility would not grow.

St. Gregory the Great writes that temptation “strengthens the soul” and teaches it to rely on God.¹¹ Baptism removes every barrier to salvation, yet God allows the spiritual battle to remain so that the baptized will grow in grace.

4. Grace and Moral Weakness: How They Differ

1. Concupiscence

• An inclination to sin

• A remnant of fallen nature

• Not a sin unless freely consented to

• A disorder that Baptism does not erase

• A condition meant to lead us toward humility, vigilance, and prayer

2. Grace

• A supernatural life infused into the soul

• The power to love, choose the good, and resist temptation

• A participation in God’s own life

• Strengthened by the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession

• The living presence of the Holy Spirit making us capable of holiness

St. Augustine puts it beautifully:

“Grace makes us lovers of God. Concupiscence makes us weak. But God’s grace strengthens the weak, so that they may love.”¹²

Grace is not the absence of struggle. It is the presence of God that enables us to persevere through the struggle.

5. The Baptized Person Lives in a New Condition

The Fathers describe the baptized person in three ways:

He is a new creation: sin no longer defines him.
He is a child of God: adopted and filled with the Holy Spirit.
He is a soldier of Christ: engaged in battle, strengthened by grace.

Concupiscence seeks to pull the soul downward. Grace lifts the soul upward. The Christian life unfolds in this tension, but the victory belongs to Christ.

This is why St. Paul tells the baptized:

“Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”¹³

The battle is real. The resources are divine. Baptism gives the soul the power not only to fight but to win.

6. In Summary

Baptism

• removes all sin

• infuses sanctifying grace

• gives the Holy Spirit

• incorporates the soul into Christ

• makes us children of God

• plants within the soul the seeds of every virtue

• opens the gates of Heaven

Concupiscence

• remains after Baptism• is

not sin

• is a moral weakness, a remnant of the Fall

• becomes the arena in which grace grows stronger

Grace

• transforms and elevates the soul

• heals our wounds gradually

• gives strength to resist temptation

• makes holiness possible

• allows us to imitate Christ

Baptism begins the Christian life. Grace sustains it. The struggle with sin develops it. And the final victory belongs to those who remain in Christ.

Notes

Romans 6:4.
Titus 3:5.
John 3:5.
Romans 8:15.
Augustine, Sermon 227.
Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 3.
Basil, On the Holy Spirit, 12.
Ambrose, On the Mysteries, 7.
Galatians 5:17.
Augustine, Contra Julianum, 6.
Gregory the Great, Moralia, 31.
Augustine, De Natura et Gratia, 35.
Galatians 5:16.

Fr. Scott Haynes

1. The Biblical Foundation: Rebirth, Cleansing, and Adoption

Saint Peter calls Baptism a “laver of regeneration.”² The Greek term palingenesia means a rebirth, a new beginning that comes from above. In this washing, sins are forgiven, the soul is made clean, and we receive the Holy Spirit.

Saint John gives the same message in simple and luminous words:

Baptism is therefore not external. It is an inward transformation that gives the soul a new identity as a child of God. Saint Paul even uses the language of adoption. Through Baptism we receive “the Spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba, Father.”⁴

In Scripture, then, three truths are inseparable: Baptism cleanses sin, gives the Holy Spirit, and makes us children of God.

2. What the Fathers Taught: A Real Interior Change

The early Fathers consistently affirmed that Baptism truly heals and elevates the soul.

St. Augustine

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

St. Cyril speaks of Baptism as a clothing with Christ. The newly baptized, he says, come forth “radiant, filled with the Holy Spirit, and transformed into a new creation.”⁶

St. Basil the Great

St. Basil teaches that in Baptism the Holy Spirit “impresses His seal upon the soul,” marking the baptized person as belonging to Christ.⁷

St. Ambrose

St. Ambrose explains Baptism as the moment when the power of Christ’s Passion is applied to the soul:

These Fathers all reaffirm the same vision: Baptism removes sin, gives divine life, and incorporates a person into Christ and His Body.

3. If Baptism Gives New Life, Why Do We Still Struggle with Sin?

Here we arrive at the central question. If Baptism forgives sins and gives grace, why does the baptized person still experience temptation, weakness, and interior conflict?

The Scriptures and Fathers both give a clear answer.

A. The Guilt of Sin Is Removed, but the Wound Remains

Baptism removes the guilt of original sin entirely. Nothing of that guilt remains. The soul stands clean before God.

However, the wound caused by original sin, which the Fathers call concupiscence, remains.

Concupiscence is not itself a sin. It is a weakness, a disorder, a tendency toward self-seeking. Saint Paul describes this interior conflict when he says:

Before Baptism, sin reigns. After Baptism, sin’s rule is broken, but our nature still bears the scar of Adam’s fall.

St. Augustine explained it this way:

This distinction is critical.

B. Why God Permits Concupiscence

The Fathers consistently say that concupiscence remains for spiritual warfare. Without this struggle, virtues would not be tested. Love would not deepen. Humility would not grow.

St. Gregory the Great writes that temptation “strengthens the soul” and teaches it to rely on God.¹¹ Baptism removes every barrier to salvation, yet God allows the spiritual battle to remain so that the baptized will grow in grace.

4. Grace and Moral Weakness: How They Differ

1. Concupiscence

• An inclination to sin

• A remnant of fallen nature

• Not a sin unless freely consented to

• A disorder that Baptism does not erase

• A condition meant to lead us toward humility, vigilance, and prayer

2. Grace

• A supernatural life infused into the soul

• The power to love, choose the good, and resist temptation

• A participation in God’s own life

• Strengthened by the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession

• The living presence of the Holy Spirit making us capable of holiness

St. Augustine puts it beautifully:

Grace is not the absence of struggle. It is the presence of God that enables us to persevere through the struggle.

5. The Baptized Person Lives in a New Condition

The Fathers describe the baptized person in three ways:

He is a new creation: sin no longer defines him.

He is a child of God: adopted and filled with the Holy Spirit.

He is a soldier of Christ: engaged in battle, strengthened by grace.

Concupiscence seeks to pull the soul downward. Grace lifts the soul upward. The Christian life unfolds in this tension, but the victory belongs to Christ.

This is why St. Paul tells the baptized:

The battle is real. The resources are divine. Baptism gives the soul the power not only to fight but to win.

6. In Summary

Baptism

• removes all sin

• infuses sanctifying grace

• gives the Holy Spirit

• incorporates the soul into Christ

• makes us children of God

• plants within the soul the seeds of every virtue

• opens the gates of Heaven

Concupiscence

• remains after Baptism• is

not sin

• is a moral weakness, a remnant of the Fall

• becomes the arena in which grace grows stronger

Grace

• transforms and elevates the soul

• heals our wounds gradually

• gives strength to resist temptation

• makes holiness possible

• allows us to imitate Christ

Baptism begins the Christian life. Grace sustains it. The struggle with sin develops it. And the final victory belongs to those who remain in Christ.

Notes

Romans 6:4.

Titus 3:5.

John 3:5.

Romans 8:15.

Augustine, Sermon 227.

Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 3.