How art thou admonished and assured by holy baptism, that the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross is of real advantage to thee?
Thus: That Christ appointed this external washing with water,1 adding thereto this promise,2 that I am as certainly washed by his blood and Spirit from all the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins,3 as I am washed externally with water, by which the filthiness of the body is commonly washed away.
What is it to be washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ?
It is to receive of God the remission of sins, freely, for the sake of Christ's blood, which he shed for us by his sacrifice upon the cross;4 and also to be renewed by the Holy Ghost, and sanctified to be members of Christ, that so we may more and more die unto sin, and lead holy and unblamable lives.5