Since
the earliest times it was believed that baptism washes away sins and that one
should lead a sinless life after baptism. (Hendrick F. Stander and Johannes P.
Louw, Baptism in the Early Church [rev ed.; Leeds: Reformation Today
Trust, 2004], 39)
It
is noteworthy that the Christian tombstone inscriptions use various terms
referring to baptism, such as ‘being made a believer’ or merely ‘believer’ or
even ‘died in peace’, ‘received grace’, ‘became a neophyte’, etc. (Hendrick F.
Stander and Johannes P. Louw, Baptism in the Early Church [rev ed.;
Leeds: Reformation Today Trust, 2004], 91)