Overview

This section (Q94–95) defines the first sacrament, Baptism — its sign and what it signifies and seals — and identifies its proper subjects: professing believers and the infant children of believers, the warrant for covenant infant baptism in Reformed and Presbyterian churches.

The Questions & Answers

Q94. What is baptism? A. Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“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.” (Matt. 28:19, ESV)

“…we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that… we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4, ESV)

Further proofs: Gal. 3:27; Titus 3:5; Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38; 22:16.

Q95. To whom is baptism to be administered? A. Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:39, ESV)

“In him also you were circumcised… having been buried with him in baptism.” (Col. 2:11–12, ESV)

Further proofs: Gen. 17:7, 9–11; Acts 16:14–15, 33; 1 Cor. 7:14; Luke 18:15–16; Mark 16:15–16.

Exposition: Q94 packs the meaning of baptism into one sentence. The sign is “the washing with water in the name” of the Trinity; what it “signify[ies] and seal[s]” is fourfold — our ingrafting into Christ (union with Him), our partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace (forgiveness, regeneration, etc.), and our engagement to be the Lord’s (consecration to Him). Q95 sets out two classes of proper subjects. Adults from outside the church are baptized upon profession of faith. But the infants of church members are also to be baptized — the covenantal principle. Because there is one covenant of grace (WCF 7), and God placed its sign on believers’ children under the old administration (circumcision, Gen. 17), and the promise remains “for you and for your children” (Acts 2:39), the children of believers receive the covenant sign and are marked as belonging to the visible church.

Connections

• WLC Q165–167 — what baptism is; to whom it is administered; how our baptism is to be improved by us all our life long.
• WCF 28 (Of Baptism) — the full doctrine, including mode, the proper subjects, and that grace is not tied to the moment of administration.
• Loci: Baptism; covenant theology and the continuity of the covenant sign; the means of grace.

Pastoral & Practical Significance

Baptism preaches the gospel in water: union with the crucified and risen Christ, cleansing from sin, and consecration to a new life as the Lord’s. For every believer it is a standing seal of God’s covenant promise — something to “improve” all life long (WLC 167): when you doubt, you can look back not on the strength of your own resolve but on the God who marked you as His own and pledged His grace to you. The catechism’s teaching on infant baptism (Q95) is a profound comfort to Reformed parents: God claims their little ones within His covenant before they can do anything to deserve it, picturing grace exactly as it is — His initiative toward those who are passive recipients. This does not presume the child is automatically regenerate; rather, it calls parents and church to raise covenant children in the faith, praying for the saving grace the sign signifies, and it grounds the child’s whole upbringing in God’s covenant claim. Whether you were baptized as a believing adult or a covenant infant, the call is the same: improve your baptism — remember daily that you have been marked for Christ, and live out your “engagement to be the Lord’s.”

For Memory & Reflection

• Memorize Q94 especially; anchor verse: Romans 6:4. Note the three things baptism seals: ingrafting into Christ, the benefits of the covenant, and our engagement to be the Lord’s.
• Do I “improve my baptism” — looking to it as a sealed promise of my union with Christ and living accordingly?
• Baptism is our “engagement to be the Lord’s.” How does remembering that shape the way I live today?