Through Baptism in water, God adopts us as his own children. From that moment onwards we are part of his Church, the great family of Christians. The person receiving Baptism (or his parents) promises to do his very best to live a good Christian life, and to reject all that is evil.
This sacrament washes away our ‘original sin’, the evil that we inherited from our ancestors. All the sins that the baptised person has committed until that moment are also ‘washed off’ and forgiven. In this way, our new life as a Christian starts with a clean slate! From the moment of our Baptism, the Holy Spirit helps us to live as good Christians (I Cor. 12:13).
