Baptism is a sacrament instituted by Christ himself. According to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer baptism is: ‘An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.’ In other words, baptism is a sign or symbol that represents our acceptance of God’s grace to us in Christ and God’s acceptance of us through Christ. The 16th century reformer, John Calvin, explained it like this: ‘Circumcision was for the Jews their first entry into the church, because it was a token to them by which they were assured of adoption as the people and household of God. (…) In a like manner, we also are consecrated to God through baptism, to be reckoned as his people.’