261. Is Baptism necessary for salvation?
(Comp
261) Baptism is necessary for salvation for all those to whom the Gospel has
been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.
“In
brief”
(CCC
1277) Baptism is birth
into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord's will, it is
necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC
1257) The Lord himself
affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation (Cf. Jn 3:5). He also commands
his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them (Cf. Mt
28:19-20; cf. Council of Trent (1547) DS 1618; LG 14; AG 5). Baptism is
necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and
who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament (Cf. Mk 16:16). The
Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into
eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has
received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of
water and the Spirit." God has bound
salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his
sacraments.
On
reflection
(CCC 1129)
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation (Cf. Council of
Trent (1547): DS 1604). "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy
Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and
transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The
fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful
partakers in the divine nature (Cf. 2 Pet 1:4) by uniting them in a living
union with the only Son, the Savior.
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