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St. Augustine
Enchiridion
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CHAPTER XIV - The Mysteries of Christ's Mediatorial Work (48-49) and Justification (50-55)


48. That one sin, however, committed in a setting of such great happiness, was itself so great
that by it, in one man, the whole human race was originally and, so to say, radically condemned.
It cannot be pardoned and washed away except through "the one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus,"
92 who alone could be born in such a way as not to need to be
reborn.

49. They were not reborn, those who were baptized by John's baptism, by which
Christ himself was baptized.
93 Rather, they were _prepared_ by the ministry of this forerunner,
who said, "Prepare a way for the Lord,"
94 for Him in whom alone they could be reborn.
For his baptism is not with water alone, as John's was, but with the Holy Spirit as well. Thus,
whoever believes in Christ is reborn by that same Spirit, of whom Christ also was born, needing
not to be reborn. This is the reason for the Voice of the Father spoken over him at his baptism,
"Today have I begotten thee,"
95 which pointed not to that particular day on which he was
baptized, but to that "day" of changeless eternity, in order to show us that this Man belonged to
the personal Unity of the Only Begotten. For a day that neither begins with the close of
yesterday nor ends with the beginning of tomorrow is indeed an eternal "today." Therefore, he
chose to be baptized in water by John, not thereby to wash away any sin of his own, but to
manifest his great humility. Indeed, baptism found nothing in him to wash away, just as death
found nothing to punish. Hence, it was in authentic justice, and not by violent power, that the
devil was overcome and conquered: for, as he had most unjustly slain Him who was in no way
deserving of death, he also did most justly lose those whom he had justly held in bondage as
punishment for their sins. Wherefore, He took upon himself both baptism and death, not out of
a piteous necessity but through his own free act of showing mercy - as part of a definite plan
whereby One might take away the sin of the world, just as one man had brought sin into the
world, that is, the whole human race.

50. There is a difference, however. The first man brought sin into the world, whereas this
One took away not only that one sin but also all the others which he found added to it. Hence,
the apostle says, "And the gift [of grace] is not like the effect of the one that sinned: for the
judgment on that one trespass was condemnation; but the gift of grace is for many offenses, and
brings justification."
96 Now it is clear that the one sin originally inherited, even if it were the
only one involved, makes men liable to condemnation. Yet grace justifies a man for many
offenses, both the sin which he originally inherited in common with all the others and also the
multitude of sins which he has committed on his own.

51. However, when he [the apostle] says, shortly after, "Therefore, as the offense of one man
led all men to condemnation, so also the righteousness of one man leads all men to the life of
justification,"
97 he indicates sufficiently that everyone born of Adam is subject to damnation,
and no one, unless reborn of Christ, is free from such a damnation.

52. And after this discussion of punishment through one man and grace through the Other, as
he deemed sufficient for that part of the epistle, the apostle passes on to speak of the great
mystery of holy baptism in the cross of Christ, and to do this so that we may understand nothing
other in the baptism of Christ than the likeness of the death of Christ. The death of Christ
crucified is nothing other than the likeness of the forgiveness of sins - so that in the very same
sense in which the death is real, so also is the forgiveness of our sins real, and in the same sense
in which his resurrection is real, so also in us is there authentic justification.
He asks: "What, then, shall we say? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?"
98 -
for he had previously said, "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
99 And
therefore he himself raised the question whether, because of the abundance of grace that follows
sin, one should then continue in sin. But he answers, "God forbid!" and adds, "How shall we,
who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
100 Then, to show that we are dead to sin, "Do
you not know that all we who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?"
101
If, therefore, the fact that we are baptized into the death of Christ shows that we are dead to sin,
then certainly infants who are baptized in Christ die to sin, since they are baptized into his own
death. For there is no exception in the saying, "All we who are baptized into Christ Jesus are
baptized into his death." And the effect of this is to show that we are dead to sin. Yet what sin
do infants die to in being reborn except that which they inherit in being born? What follows in
the epistle also pertains to this: "Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death; that,
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
the newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be
also united with him in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is
crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we are dead with Christ, we believe that we
shall also live with him: knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more; death has
no more dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he
lives, he lives unto God. So also, reckon yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive unto God
through Christ Jesus."
102 Now, he had set out to prove that we should not go on sinning, in
order that thereby grace might abound, and had said, "If we have died to sin, how, then, shall we
go on living in it?" And then to show that we were dead to sin, he had added, "Know you
not, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" Thus he
concludes the passage as he began it. Indeed, he introduced the death of Christ in order to
say that even he died to sin. To what sin, save that of the flesh in which he existed, not as sinner,
but in "the likeness of sin" and which was, therefore, called by the name of sin? Thus, to
those baptized into the death of Christ - into which not only adults but infants as well are
baptized - he says, "So also you should reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in
Christ Jesus."

53. Whatever was done, therefore, in the crucifixion of Christ, his burial, his resurrection on
the third day, his ascension into heaven, his being seated at the Father's right hand - all these
things were done thus, that they might not only signify their mystical meanings but also serve as a
model for the Christian life which we lead here on the earth. Thus, of his crucifixion it was said,
"And they that are Jesus Christ's have crucified their own flesh, with the passions and lusts
thereof"
103; and of his burial, "For we are buried with Christ by baptism into death"; of his
resurrection, "Since Christ is raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also
should walk with him in newness of life"; of his ascension and session at the Father's right hand:
"But if you have risen again with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is sitting
at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
104

54. Now what we believe concerning Christ's future actions, since we confess that he will
come again from heaven to judge the living and the dead, does not pertain to this life of ours as
we live it here on earth, because it belongs not to his deeds already done, but to what he will do
at the close of the age. To this the apostle refers and goes on to add, "When Christ, who is your
life, shall appear, you shall then also appear with him in glory."
105

55. There are two ways
to interpret the affirmation that he "shall judge the living and the dead." On the one hand, we may
understand by "the living" those who are not yet dead but who will be found living in the flesh
when he comes; and we may understand by "the dead" those who have left the body, or who shall
have left it before his coming. Or, on the other hand, "the living" may signify "the righteous,"
and "the dead" may signify "the
unrighteous" - since the righteous are to be judged as well as the unrighteous. For sometimes
the judgment of God is passed upon the evil, as in the word, "But they who have done evil [shall
come forth] to the resurrection of judgment."
106 And sometimes it is passed upon the good,
as in the word, "Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength."
107 Indeed, it is
by the judgment of God that the distinction between good and evil is made, to the end that,
being freed from evil and not destroyed with the evildoers, the good may be set apart at his right
hand.
108 This is why the psalmist cried, "Judge me, O God," and, as if to explain what he had
said, "and defend my cause against an unholy nation."
109





92 1 Tim. 2:5.



93 Matt. 3:13.



94 Luke 3:4; Isa. 40:3.



95 Ps. 2:7; Heb. 5:5; cf. Mark 1:9-11.



96 Rom. 5:16.



97 Rom. 5:18.



98 Rom. 6:1.



99 Rom. 5:20.



100 Rom. 6:2.



101 Rom. 6:3.



102 Rom. 6:4-11.



103 Gal. 5:24.



104 Col. 3:1-3.



105 Col. 3:4.



106 John 5:29.



107 Ps. 54:1.



108 Cf. Matt. 25:32, 33.



109 Ps. 43:1.





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