Basic Catechism in Scripture: The Tenth Article of the Creed

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 I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

Why is the sacrament of baptism important for the remission (forgiveness) of sin?

New Believers must always be baptized in obedience to Jesus Christ, who said, "Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God:

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, "Truly, I tell you with certainty, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Baptism is the seal of faith in the New Testament
Act 2:40  Using many different expressions, Peter continued to testify and to plead with them, saying, "Be saved from this corrupt generation!"
Act 2:41  So those who welcomed his message were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to their number.

What is a sacrament?

A sacrament is any act which God initiates in our midst that brings us into communion with Himself.  It is an act in which the saving power of God's grace works in a mysterious way upon man.  The sacraments are also known as Mysteries.
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, "Truly, I tell you with certainty, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Don't be astonished that I told you, 'All of you must be born from above.'
Joh 3:8  The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Tit 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Tit 3:8  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

Act 2:38  Peter answered them, "Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.
Act 2:39  For this promise belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those who are distant, whom the Lord our God may call to himself."

Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

1Co 4:1  Think of us as servants of the Messiah and as servant managers entrusted with God's secrets. (Bad modern translation)
1Co 4:1  Let a man so consider us, as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. KJV


1Co 10:15  I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.
1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?


Jas 5:14  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call on the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Jas 5:15  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him.
Jas 5:16  Confess your transgressions to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of the righteous is very powerful

Mat 19:4  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
Mat 19:5  and He said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
Mat 19:6  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." ."

How many sacraments are there?
The sacraments are many and, in a sense, all of creation itself is a sacrament. Seven sacraments are especially important to us:  Holy baptism, Holy Chrismation, Holy Communion, Holy Confession, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony and Holy Unction.

Act 14:16  who in the generations having gone by permitted all the Gentiles to walk in their ways.
Act 14:17  And yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, giving to you rains from heaven and fruitbearing seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

Is Christ always present with us in the sacraments?

Yes, Christ is always present in the sacraments.

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism

I believe in God the Father almighty, 
Creator of heaven and earth. 
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, 
our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, 
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell; the third day 
He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits at 
the right hand of God the Father 
almighty, from thence He shall come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints, 
the forgiveness of sins, 
the resurrection of the body 
and life everlasting. Amen. 

 

Holy Baptism is a sacrament (or Mystery) which cleanses the believer from sin so he may become a Christian and an heir to eternal salvation, and be joined to Christ. 

Isa 1:16  "Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil.
Isa 1:17  Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow's case.
Isa 1:18  "Please come, and let's reason together," implores the LORD. "Even though your sins are like scarlet, they'll be white like snow. Though they're like crimson, they'll become like wool.
Isa 1:19  If you're willing and obedient, you'll eat the best that the land produces;
Isa 1:20  but if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword, because the LORD has spoken." 

Eze 16:9  Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 

The Great Commission
Mar 16:14  Afterwards He appeared to the eleven as they were reclining at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw Him after He had been raised.
Mar 16:15  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation.
Mar 16:16  He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that does not believe shall be condemned.

 

Act 2:38  Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39  "For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
Act 2:40  And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this crooked generation."
Act 2:41  Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added. 

Act 11:25  And Barnabas went forth to Tarsus to seek out Saul,
Act 11:26  and having found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for a whole year they assembled with the church and instructed many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Act 22:16  What are you waiting for now? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.' 

 

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives as the Messiah loved the church and gave himself for it,
Eph 5:26  so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word,
Eph 5:27  and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault. 

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also suffered once to atone for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit,
1Pe 3:19  by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
1Pe 3:20  who formerly disobeyed, when the longsuffering of God was waiting in the days of Noah, when the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water;
1Pe 3:21  which as an antitype, baptism now also saves us--(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
1Pe 3:22  who having gone into heaven, is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being subjected to Him.

Protestant and Roman Catholic Gnosticism:
The dogma of antinomianism has invaded much of Western Christianity, removing the discipline of confession and the rule of a moral life.  Antinomianism has not been specifically named by an Orthodox Council, but its errors are exposed in the dogma's of the Gnostics, which were condemned in that form by the Apostles and their successors.

antinomianism
ăn″tĭ-nō′mē-ə-nĭz″əm
noun

The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.
The belief that moral laws are relative in meaning and application as opposed to fixed or universal.

What is moral is universal, what is custom is bent by culture and sometimes includes immoral behavior.  Antinomians seek to make all behavior guided by culture alone. Why? Because culture can be manipulated toward evil and God's law cannot.

Saint Paul condemns the dogma of Antinomianism without naming it. (The name is a modern name meaning "without law.")

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  Certainly not! We died to sin--How shall we live any longer in it?
Rom 6:3  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection;
Rom 6:6  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin may be done away with, that we should no longer serve sin.
Rom 6:7  For he who has died has been justified from sin.
Rom 6:8  But if we died with Christ, we believe that we also shall live together with Him,
Rom 6:9  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies. Death is no longer master over Him.
Rom 6:10  For what death He died, He died to sin once for all; but what life He lives, He lives to God.
Rom 6:11  Likewise you also, consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 6:12  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts,
Rom 6:13  nor present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 

This is the real challenge to the new Christian to begin the practice of a discipline life.  The praxis of the Orthodox Church is specifically for this purpose to create a life of sanctity, open to continual repentance, prayer and confession.  It is a lived experience not a theory or philosophy.

Tit 3:4  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5  not by works of righteousness which we did, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Tit 3:6  whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Tit 3:7  that having been justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

Is Baptism necessary to salvation?
Just as Naaman would not be healed of his leprosy until he obeyed and washed in the Jordan River, neither will we be cleansed of our sin until we obey and are washed in baptism, thereby gaining entrance into the Kingdom of God.

2Ki 5:10  Elisha sent a messenger out to him, who told him, "Go bathe in the Jordan River seven times. Your flesh will be restored for you. Now stay clean!"
2Ki 5:11  But Naaman flew into a rage and left, telling himself, "Look! I thought 'He's surely going to come out to me, stand still, call out in the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the infection, and cure the leprosy!'
2Ki 5:12  Aren't the Abana and Pharpar rivers in Damascus better than all of the water in Israel? Couldn't I just bathe in them and become clean?" So he turned away and left, filled with anger.
2Ki 5:13  But then his servants approached him and spoke with him. They said, "My father, had the prophet only asked of you something great, you would have done it, wouldn't you? Yet he told you, 'Bathe, and be clean...!'
2Ki 5:14  So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan River seven times, just as the man of God had said, and his flesh rejuvenated like the flesh of a newborn child. And he was clean.

Isa 1:19  If you're willing and obedient, you'll eat the best that the land produces;
Isa 1:20  but if you refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword, because the LORD has spoken."
Mar 16:14  Afterwards He appeared to the eleven as they were reclining at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw Him after He had been raised.
Mar 16:15  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation.
Mar 16:16  He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that does not believe shall be condemned.

Act 22:16  What are you waiting for now? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.'

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, "Truly, I tell you with certainty, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

What is essential to the administration of baptism?
Immersion in water (covering completely with water) three times, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is essential in baptism.  In extreme circumstances the Church recognizes baptism with lesser amounts of water, or other conditions . . . baptism by blood, for instance. This means that when water baptism is absolutely impossible and death occurs to a believing Christian, I John 1:7 may be invoked, "The blood of Jesus Christ, His (God's Son, purifies us from all sin."


Act 8:36  Now as they were going down the road, they came upon some water. And the eunuch said, "Behold, here is water: what prevents me from being baptized?"
Act 8:38  And he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, both Phillip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Act 8:39  Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip, and the eunuch did not see him any longer; and he went on his way rejoicing.

Rom 6:3  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection;

1Pe 3:17  For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is the will of God, than for doing evil.
1Pe 3:18  For Christ also suffered once to atone for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit,
1Pe 3:19  by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
1Pe 3:20  who formerly disobeyed, when the longsuffering of God was waiting in the days of Noah, when the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water;
1Pe 3:21  which as an antitype, baptism now also saves us--(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
1Pe 3:22  who having gone into heaven, is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being subjected to Him.

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
Mat 28:19  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20  teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Eph 1:7  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Eph 1:8  which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and insight,
Eph 1:9  having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
Eph 1:10  for an administration of the fullness of the times, He might bring together all things in Christ, those in heaven and those on the earth--In Him.

The Preeminence of Christ
Col 1:15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,
Col 1:16  because by Him all things were created, those in the heavens and those on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Col 1:17  And He is before all things, and in Him all things are held together.
Col 1:18  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence,
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
Col 1:20  and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Col 1:21  And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
Col 1:22  in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach before Him--
Col 1:23  if indeed you continue in the faith, having been founded and firm and not drifting away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was proclaimed to all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Rev 1:4  John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the seven-fold Spirit who is before His throne,
Rev 1:5  and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and who washed us from our sins in His own blood,
Rev 1:6  and He made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Who may baptize?
The priest (presbyter) is usually the one who baptizes, and in an emergency any Orthodox Christian may baptize. We Orthodox do not judge the baptism of non-orthodox, only as concerns entrance into the Orthodox Church. Many people who were baptized in heterodox denominations and sects were baptized in faith and confirmed in Truth by chrismation, by confession and anointing in oil.

Mat 28:18  Then Jesus came up and told them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Mat 28:19  Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20  teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age."

 
1Ti 5:17  Let the elders having ruled well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
1Ti 5:18  For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox threshing grain," and, "The worker is worthy of his wages."

Act 4:7  And they brought them forward and began to inquire, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"
Act 4:8  Then Peter, having been filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
Act 4:9  If we today are being judged for a good work to a weak man, by what means he has been made well,
Act 4:10  let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands here before you whole.
Act 4:11  This is the 'stone which was rejected by you, the ones building, which became the chief cornerstone.'
Act 4:12  Nor is there salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven which has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Why are children baptized?
In view of the grace given in baptism which allows us to enter the Kingdom, we are obligated to help children to enter the Kingdom, even baptizing whole households as the apostles did.  The faith of the believing parent or parents supports the child until he or she is able to mature into their own faith. 

 

Let the Children Come to Me
Mat 19:13  Then little children were brought to Him, that He might put His hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them.
Mat 19:14  But Jesus said, "Allow the little children to come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Mat 19:15  And having put His hands on them, He departed from there.

 
Act 2:36  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Act 2:37  Now having heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brothers, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38  Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39  "For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Act 10:47  Surely no one can forbid water, can he, that these should not be baptized who received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"
Act 10:48  And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay for some days.

 
Act 11:13  And he related to us how he had seen the angel in his house, standing and saying to him, 'Send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter,
Act 11:14  'who will speak words to you by which you and all your household shall be saved.'
Act 11:15  "And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as also on us in the beginning.
Act 11:16  And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
Act 11:17  "If then God has given to them the same gift as He gave to us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?"
Act 11:18  And hearing these things, they remained silent, and they glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted even to the Gentiles repentance unto life."

Act 16:13  And on the Sabbath day we went outside the city beside a river, where prayer was customarily made; and having sat down we spoke to the women who assembled together there.
Act 16:14  And a certain woman named Lydia, a dealer of purple cloth of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.
Act 16:15  And when she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us.
The Philippian Jailer Converted
Act 16:25  Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Act 16:26  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and all the bonds were loosed.
Act 16:27  And becoming awake, the prison keeper, seeing the doors of the prison open, drawing a sword, he was about to kill himself, supposing the prisoners to have escaped.
Act 16:28  But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."
Act 16:29  And asking for a light he rushed in, and he came trembling, and fell before Paul and Silas,
Act 16:30  and he brought them forth outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Act 16:31  And they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
Act 16:32  And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all those in his house.
Act 16:33  And taking them along in that same hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he and all his family were baptized.

Act 18:8  And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, were believing and were being baptized. 

1Co 1:16  Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 

1Co 7:14  For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

Pro 22:6  Train a child in the way appropriate for him, and when he becomes older, he will not turn from it. 

Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Eph 6:2  "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with a promise:
Eph 6:3  "that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth."
Eph 6:4  And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. 

Why are godparents (sponsors) given in baptism?
Godparents are given in order to insure that the child is taught the Orthodox faith if the parents should fail to do so, or become unable to give proper instruction due to serioius illness or death.  Sponsors are given for adult converts to provide encouragement spiritual guidance and fellowship. 

1Co 4:14  I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I admonish you.
1Co 4:15  For though you might have ten thousand guides in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1Co 4:16  Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.

Gal 4:1  Now I say, for as much time as the heir is a minor, he does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,
Gal 4:2  but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 

Why did Paul say he was sent, "not to baptize but to preach the Gospel" 

1Co 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of its power. 

Many of the Corinthian Christians had become proud and boastful toward one another, dividing according to who had baptized them.  Some in their pride and boastfulness, were even claiming to follow only Christ.  Paul makes an exaggerated statement in verse 17, in order to shift their attention from who baptized them to why they were baptized - Christ's death for their sins.  Paul later reaffirms the proper place of baptism to the Corinthians.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same opinion.
1Co 1:11  For it was shown to me concerning you, my brothers, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12  Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."
1Co 1:13  Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
1Co 1:15  lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.
1Co 1:16  Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
1Co 1:18  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19  For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will annul."
1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, God was well pleased, through the foolishness of our preaching, to save those that believe.
1Co 1:22  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
1Co 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness,
1Co 1:24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit all of us—Jews and Greeks, slaves and free—were baptized into one body and were all privileged to drink from one Spirit.
1Co 12:14  For the body does not consist of only one part, but of many.
1Co 12:15  If the foot says, "Since I'm not a hand, I'm not part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it?
1Co 12:16  And if the ear says, "Since I'm not an eye, I'm not part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it?
1Co 12:17  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
1Co 12:18  But now God has arranged the parts, every one of them, in the body according to his plan. 

Luk 18:9  Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised the others:
Luk 18:10  Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
Luk 18:12  I fast twice a week, I tithe on all things, as many as I acquire.'
Luk 18:13  And the tax collector, standing far away, would not so much as lift his eyes towards heaven, but beat on his chest, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
Luk 18:14  I say to you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

(Under Construction - six more sacraments will be added)