Q69: How does holy baptism signify and seal to you that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross benefits you?

In this way:

Christ instituted this outward washing1

and with it gave the promise that,

as surely as water washes away

the dirt from the body,

so certainly his blood and Spirit

wash away the impurity of my soul,

that is, all my sins.2

Q70: What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit?

To be washed with Christ’s blood means

to receive forgiveness of sins from God, through grace, because of Christ’s blood, poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross.1

To be washed with his Spirit means

to be renewed by the Holy Spirit and sanctified to be members of Christ, so that more and more we become dead to sin and lead a holy and blameless life.2

Q71: Where has Christ promised that he will wash us with his blood and Spirit as surely as we are washed with the water of baptism?

In the institution of baptism, where he says:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mk 16:16).

This promise is repeated where Scripture calls baptism

the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins

(Titus 3:5; Acts 22:16).