According to the Roman church, those who wish to follow Christ are born anew, or regenerated, through what it calls “the sacrament of baptism” performed by the Church. The official Catechism of the Catholic Church sums it up in this way:

1262: The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.

And of course, a number of protestant denominations also teach baptismal regeneration, in particular, the Lutherans and the non-denominational “churches of Christ” movement that arose in the 1800s.

So what does the apostle Peter say about this?

First of all, he surely affirms the importance of baptism. On the day of Pentecost he urged those who heard him,

Repent! And each one of you be baptized based upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
— Acts 2:38

And at the beginning of his first letter, he makes it clear we can receive the new birth only because Christ died and rose again for us:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has caused us to be born again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead.
— 1 Peter 1:3

This is why we are to be baptized “based upon the name of Jesus Christ.”

When it comes to regeneration, however, he makes no mention of baptism. Rather, according to Peter, we are regenerated through the preaching of the word of God:

Having been born again by the sowing, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.
— 1 Peter 1:23

Through this preaching, we received the faith to believe in Christ, as Paul tells us:

So then, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
— Romans 10:17

And it is through this faith that we are born anew, that is, regenerated, with the divine life so that we become the children of God:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
— John 1:12-13

In brief, according to Peter, it is not any supposed “sacrament” administered by the Church that makes us God’s children, but the faith in Christ that comes through hearing the word of God.

Sent to our mailing list on
—  7 August 2025 —