What It Really Means to Renounce Satan

When you hear the word renunciation, what comes to mind? Perhaps a dissident giving up citizenship, or a monarch abdicating a throne, or a bride and groom pledging loyalty to one another forsaking all others in a covenant vow. These public, binding renunciations capture a profound truth: that at certain moments, we must turn away decisively from one path in order to choose another.

In the Christian tradition, the most significant renunciation occurs not in politics or marriage but in baptism. For centuries, believers have publicly renounced Satan, his power, and his schemes at their baptism an act that underscores the cost, clarity, and commitment of following Christ. Yet this practice has faded or become hazy in many modern churches. What has been lost? And what might be recovered?

Baptism’s Dual Commitment

From its earliest days, baptism has been more than a symbol or ritual. It has been a public identification with Christ a pledge of allegiance to his reign, death, and resurrection (Romans 6:3–5; Galatians 3:27). It is the outward sign of inward grace marking one’s entrance into the community of faith (1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 2:12).

But baptism has also always carried a negative dimension. To be baptized means to be delivered from the “domain of darkness” and brought into Christ’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13). That transition implies a rejection of the old lord Satan and his works. Thus, much of Christian tradition has included a dual commitment at baptism:

1. A renunciation of Satan, his claims, his power, his ways.

2. A profession of faith in Christ, pledging to live under his lordship.

As one classic description puts it: The new believer makes a dual commitment at baptism. He freely and intentionally renounces the claims of Satan upon his life, and he consciously embraces a lifelong, exclusive commitment to the lordship of Christ.

Early Church Witness: Renouncing Satan

The use of a renunciation vow in baptism is not a later novelty but appears in early Christian liturgical tradition.

• Tertullian (c. 155–220) describes how, just before entering the water, the candidate would solemnly declare, “I disown the devil, and his pomp, and his angels.”

• In the Apostolic Tradition (attributed to Hippolytus, 3rd century), the presbyter is said to command each baptismal candidate: "I renounce thee, Satan, and all thy servants and all thy works."

• Cyril of Jerusalem (4th century) taught that on the eve of baptism, catechumens would turn toward the west (symbolic of darkness) and voice a renunciation: “I renounce thee, Satan… and all thy works, and all thy pomp, and all thy service.”

• Many ancient liturgies across East and West preserved such renunciation formulas, often followed by the “turn to the east” and a profession of faith.

These sources suggest that the renunciation of Satan was considered a nearly universal element of Christian baptism by the second and third centuries.

In fact, some church historians characterize baptism as exorcism in action because the entrance into Christian life required casting off spiritual bondage to Satan.

Why Did It Decline?

If renouncing Satan was once so central, why has it largely fallen away in many modern Christian traditions?

A few factors contribute:

• Infant baptism. As baptism shifted toward infants rather than professing adults, the explicit renunciation was often assigned to godparents or sponsors instead of to the individual.

• Rationalism and skepticism. In modern theology and culture, belief in a personal Satan or demonic forces is rejected or minimized. Churches wary of seeming superstitious may omit the renunciation out of caution.

• Liturgical pruning. In many Protestant traditions, early reformers retained only parts of the baptismal rite (e.g. profession of faith) and simplified liturgies. The renunciation vow sometimes was trimmed away as less essential.

Yet the omission comes at a cost: it weakens the clarity of what Christian conversion signifies not just a yes to Christ, but also a no to spiritual powers and darkness.

What It Means to Renounce Satan Today

Renunciation of Satan is not a mere formality or superstitious ritual. It is a profound confession. To renounce Satan means:

• Rejecting allegiance. You affirm that you no longer recognize Satan as lord or rightful authority over your life.

• Dismissing his works and temptations. You renounce the world’s lies, idolatry, deceit, and spiritual claims laid by the enemy.

• Pledging fidelity to Christ. The renunciation isn’t the whole story it naturally leads to the profession of faith and surrender to Christ’s kingdom.

This renunciation doesn’t earn salvation (which comes by grace through faith) but expresses the heart’s severance from the old master. It is also a reminder that Christian life is spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10–18; James 4:7).

Even if a person was baptized in a tradition without this explicit vow, the spirit of it remains true: in Christ, our identity is defined by his lordship, not by any claims of darkness.

If you’d like, I can create a shorter version you can use in a sermon or congregational liturgy to recover this renunciation meaningfully today. Would you like me to do that? Share this article or subscribe to our newsletter for updates.