The Scripture
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16, KJV)
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5, KJV)
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:25-26, KJV)
The Heart of It
There is a holy impatience in the words spoken to Saul on the Damascus road. Why tarriest thou? The man had been struck blind, had sat three days in darkness, and had come to the end of himself. And when the moment arrived, the word carried to him by Ananias was not wait, not think it over, but arise. Baptism in Scripture is never treated as a distant ceremony to be scheduled at leisure. It is the immediate and joyful answer of a heart that has heard the call and will not delay its obedience. The old life had its hold on Saul, and the washing broke that hold.
Nicodemus, by contrast, came in the quiet of night with a thoughtful question, and the Lord answered him with a truth that cannot be reasoned around. A man must be born again, born of water and of the Spirit, or he cannot enter the kingdom of God. This is not a change we work in ourselves by effort. It is a birth, and no one births himself. We come to the water, and God does the making new.
The two scenes belong together. Saul shows us the arising, the coming down to the river without delay. Nicodemus shows us the mystery of what happens there, that the water is joined to the Spirit and the result is nothing less than a new creature entering a new kingdom. That is the heart of "Washed Anew." What you carried, you carry no more. What you buried stays buried. And the one who rises from that water is not the polished version of the old self but a genuinely new person, brighter than they have ever been.
More Witnesses: Latter-day Scripture
The Book of Mormon records Alma at the Waters of Mormon, where the washing is bound to a covenant. To be baptized, he taught, is to be willing to bear one another's burdens, to mourn with those that mourn, and to stand as a witness of God in all times and in all places (Mosiah 18:8-10). The water is not the end of the story but the doorway into a people and a promise.
The Doctrine and Covenants describes who is ready to come down to that water. It names them as those who humble themselves before God with broken hearts and contrite spirits, who witness that they have truly repented, and who are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, determined to serve Him to the end (Doctrine and Covenants 20:37). The heart is broken open first, and then the old life is washed away. Across each of these witnesses the message holds steady: the water is real, the covenant is real, and the cleansing comes from God.
How the Song Carries It
"Washed Anew" walks you right down to the riverbank and asks you to lay the old life on the shore. The first verse names what we carry and what we bury, and promises we will carry it no more. The pre-chorus lets it fall beneath the water so we can rise and breathe the morning air, that first clean breath of a new day. The chorus gathers the whole gospel of the new birth into a single glad refrain, born of water and of Spirit, made new today, every stain covered and every debt made clean.
The second verse turns tenderly to those already baptized, calling them to remember the covenant and renew the vow. And the bridge is the resurrection itself, under and then rising, the grave that could never hold, up from the living water, alive in Christ, forever bold. The imagery moves the way the ordinance moves, down into the water and up into new life.
The Lyrics
Down to the water, come to the river,
lay the old life on the shore.
All that you carried, all that you buried,
you will carry it no more.
Let it fall beneath the water,
rise and breathe the morning air.
Washed anew, washed anew,
the old has passed away.
Born of water and of Spirit,
you are made new today.
Every stain the river covers,
every debt the Lord makes clean:
washed anew, washed anew,
Brighter than you have ever been.
This is the promise sealed upon you,
the covenant your soul has sought.
And if you made it long before now,
renew the vow, forget it not.
Under, and then rising,
the grave could never hold.
Up from the living water,
Alive in Christ, forever bold.
A Blessing
May you come to the water without delay, and may you rise from it brighter than you have ever been. May the old things pass away in truth, and may the new life in Christ prove sure beneath your feet. Go now, washed and walking in newness of life, and forget not the vow that seals you. Go in peace.
Scripture References
- Acts 22:16
- John 3:5
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Romans 6:4
- Ezekiel 36:25-26
- Mosiah 18:8-10 (Book of Mormon)
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:37