Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God; we become members of Christ. "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through and in the word." To baptize means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature. This sacrament is also called "the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit," for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without wich no one "can enter the kingdom of God."