Does baptism confer freedom upon us?

St. Mark the Ascetic says, “Holy Baptism grants us perfect freedom although a person has perfect free will to either enslave himself once again to the bonds of passions or to remain free in fulfilling the commandments. If the mind clings to any of the passions, this is the product of our own free wills and not of coercion. Scripture says that we have been given the authority to ‘cast down arguments’ (2 Cor. 5:10) … And so, for those who cast it down, a wicked thought would be a sign of their love for God and not a sin, because the presence of an evil thought is not sin in itself, but the sin lies in the conversation of the mind with it — an amicable and friendly conversation. We are not delighted by evil thoughts, so why do we leave them in our minds for so long? If our hearts hate the thought wholeheartedly, then we must not leave our hearts to converse with it, unless there is a malicious fellowship with it.”

1086 St. Augustine of Hippo, Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 41:8 (NPNF I/7:233) amended.

1087 St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God 4.3 (NPNF I/2:66).