Baptism is the public acceptance of Jesus and adoption into His fold, both by action of the Holy Spirit and by man's symbolic use of water. All too often Baptism is a stated requirement to join into a particular church denomination as opposed a public showing of a bond between a new believer and God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.
Baptism has been called a sacrament, a ritual, and an ordinance of Jesus Christ. The Gospels report that even Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. That was a historical event recorded with absolute certainty in the Jewish, secular, and Christian world.
However, there are troublesome theological differences, even the splittings of many churches and congregations, based on opinions as to what Baptism does or does not accomplish and whether Baptism should be sprinkling, pouring or full immersion.
Lets dive into the discussion of these troubled waters. When someone decides to accept Jesus the Christ part of the external demonstration of accepting their savior is the act of being baptized. But there are important questions regarding Baptism that should be clarified because of the many conflicting ideas that have developed since the ministry of John the Baptist's centuries ago. These questions often come from a few fundamental concerns:
If I'm baptized does that mean I'll go to Heaven?
When should adults and/or children be baptized?
Where in the process of accepting Christ does Baptism fall
Why should someone be baptized?
What is the proper way to be Baptized?
Let's address each of these questions in order.
1. If I'm baptized does that mean I'll go to Heaven?
Can you go to heaven just by being baptized at a river, pool or church? No. Baptism alone does not save. People are saved and get to stay in heaven only by believing Jesus is the Christ and putting their faith in Him.
But conversely, as we'll delve in to later, not being Baptized by man does not prevent you from obtaining salvation but comes highly recommended. Being saved and Baptism are usually united. Are you totally confident in your eternal salvation?
2. When should adults and/or children be baptized?
Your next natural question might be, “does a new believer's age make a difference?” No! Once you accept Christ you should desire to be baptized as a public demonstration of your faith. Parents might ask, whether infants or young children should be baptized. To that regard it may help you to understand when the idea and practice of baptizing babies and infants came about. Around 400 AD, Augustine emphasized 'original sin' saying everyone inherits the sin of Adam at birth and children therefore are separated from God from the first moment of their life. Of course, this caused parents to become overly obsessed about the spiritual fate of their children. What happens if they die before “accepting the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God?” So parents decided to baptize babies and infant children to “remove original sin.” Since it is dangerous to fully immerse an infant, they elected to sprinkle them with water instead. Thus, both baptizing infants and baptizing by sprinkling came from human ideas. Not from the Bible.
In reading the Bible we never learn of children “accepting Christ.” Also interesting is that God never tells us what to do to safeguard a child's salvation. Did Jesus just forget this important issue? Was He allowing the young and innocent babies to die and endure Hell's eternal punishments? I believe No! I believe a child is safe in the arms of God until they can understand how to be saved by accepting Jesus as their savior. Is this known as a certainty? No. Even King David was not sure when he spoke in 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 22, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live. So how can anyone be certain about salvation for young children? As I see it, only adults and older children, who can comprehend sin's separation from God, should be Baptized at their respective individual ages when knowledgeable acceptance of Christ is possible.
If you were Baptized before the “Age of Knowledge and Acceptance” should you consider being Baptized properly with a true believing heart?
3. Where in the process of accepting Christ does Baptism fall?
New believers often ask, “Should I get baptized immediately, when I first accept Christ; or later as a follower of Christ; or as I come to know the Bible better?” If you’ve been around different churches, you may hear different philosophies such as: “Baptism is just an outward sign of an inward grace, so it can be done later.” Or “You need to ‘grow in Christ’ (become good enough) before you are ready to be baptized.” Or “To join 'OUR' church, you have to be baptized into 'OUR' church.”
The problem with these restrictions are that they are in conflict with the Bible. Clearly, the Bible places believing in “Christ for salvation” and “Baptism” in collaboration. They can be separated, but are usually not.
Acts chapter 2, verse 41, 3,000 men were baptized after believing on the first day of the Christian church. Verses 38 and 39 make it clear that this is the way that it will always be done. That is, all people who accept Christ as their savior will come to Him in this way.
Acts 8:26-39 We know where this road from Jerusalem to Gaza is. Verse 26 terms it a “desert.” The only water there was oasis water. This means that the eunuch and Philip climbed down into the people's drinking water to do this. Apparently, Philip and the eunuch did not think it could wait until later! Notice they did not take a handful of water and “sprinkle” the eunuch to keep him hygienic. The Bible states that all Philip did was “preach Jesus to him” (verse 35) and then the eunuch said that he wanted to be baptized (verse 36). This means that the teaching's of Jesus includes the need to be baptized.
Acts 9:18 after this encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road, Saul (later renamed Paul) decided to accept Jesus—and was baptized.
Acts 10:47,48 Cornelius and those with him were commanded to be baptized. Thus becoming the first non-Jewish converts to Christianity.
Acts 16:13-15 Lydia and her household “believed” and were baptized.
Acts 16:16-34 The Philippians jailer “believed” with his household and they were baptized—and this was in the middle of the night!
Galatians 3:26,27 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Ephesians 4:4-6 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one Baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Yet, people ask "is Baptism required for salvation". Some say 'Yes!', some say 'No!' I ask which kind of Baptism are you referring to? My belief is there are two forms of Baptism, one of the Holy Spirit and one of man and water. What does the Bible say?
In Mark 16:16, Jesus declares that, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." Does this mean that Baptism is a requirement for salvation? This verse is often misunderstood. Some take this verse to mean Man's Baptism by water is required for salvation, thus establishing a human 'work' as a prerequisite for salvation. Plainly, announcing any human work as a necessary requirement for salvation contradicts the clear and consistent teaching of the New Testament.
This is perhaps best summed up by Paul in Romans 4:5: But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. And Romans. 10:9-10: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
If Jesus had intended to make water Baptism a requirement for salvation, then He would be contradicting testimonies of Scripture, and we know that God never contradicts Himself (1 Sam 15:29). Fortuitously, no contradiction is present, because this verse does not teach that you must receive water Baptism to be saved. Instead, Jesus was saying that faith and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the moment of regeneration within the spirit of every believer that accompanies and enables a true faith.
It is impossible to believe the Gospel and be saved without the Baptism by the Holy Spirit, which occurs in the moment the Holy Spirit indwells a new believer. Yes this Holy Baptism is a requirement but it comes freely to believers. We read about this Baptism of the Holy Spirit in many passages in the New Testament. For example, John the Baptist talks of the coming Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Mark 1:8 and John 1:33. Jesus talks about it in Mark 10:38-39 and again after His resurrection in Acts 1:5. Peter talks about this new Baptism in Acts 11:16.
Paul talks about this Baptism in Rom 6:3-4, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 4:5, and Colossians 2:12. These are all references to the saving work done by the Holy Spirit in the heart of every believer, which we call the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" or sometimes just "Baptism."
Remember, water Baptism is merely a sign of something greater. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15 that water Baptism is a picture of how we died with Christ through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and how we will rise again with Him one day. By experiencing a water Baptism, under the surface of the water, we make a public declaration of our faith and Christian beliefs. When we come up out of the water, it is an outward sign of the inward change previously accomplished by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Both Peter and Paul made it clear that water Baptism is not a requirement for salvation in their letters. Paul explicitly said that Jesus did not send him to water baptize people, but instead to preach the Gospel for the salvation of men (1Corinthians 1:17).
If water Baptism were required for salvation, would not Paul make an opposite claim? Wouldn't Paul have emphasized that he performed water Baptism on many believers, since it was essential to their salvation? Instead, Paul says he's glad he didn't baptize many with water. Clearly, Paul did not think water Baptism was a means to salvation, and his words in Corinthians indicate that water Baptism can be overemphasized in an inappropriate way.
Furthermore, consider Paul's own conversion and water Baptism. In Acts 9, we find when Paul arrives in Ananias' house, he'd been saved and appointed to become Jesus' instrument to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. At that point, Paul had not been baptized by water, yet Scripture says he was already saved. Obviously his salvation was cemented before his water Baptism.
Additionally, please consider three clear reasons for why we know water Baptism is not a prerequisite to salvation:
The thief on the cross was saved by Christ, and there is no record that he ever experienced water Baptism. If even one man can go to heaven without water Baptism, that demonstrates a water Baptism is not a requirement for salvation.
The Old Testament Saints like Abraham never experienced any form of water Baptism, yet the Bible tells us they were saved. In fact, they were saved in the same way we are saved: by faith alone. Paul clearly and specifically teaches in Romans 4 that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham was declared righteous (e.g., saved) by faith without any requirement for water Baptism. Again, if the Old Testament Saints could be saved by faith without the requirement for water Baptism, then we can know that Mark 16:16 is not teaching that water Baptism is a requirement for salvation.
In Acts 10, Peter declares that the church leadership shouldn't withhold the opportunity for water Baptism from Gentiles who had already received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47). Elsewhere, Paul tells us that the definition of a true Christian is anyone who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14). Therefore, according to Peter the Gentiles in Acts 10 were already indwelled by the Holy Spirit, which means they were already Christians and yet they had not received water Baptism at that point. Here again, we see clearly that water Baptism is not mandatory for salvation.
There are other, more general, examples in the Bible which prove and give credence that water Baptism is not the essential requirement for salvation.
On top of all these references, when Jesus left the earth (see the end of the book of Matthew) He told his followers to make disciples (followers), baptize them, and teach them. Jesus apparently felt it was pretty important to make this a priority for His followers.
The Bible is clear, belief and Baptism were together. Thus, “when we believe” is the right time to be baptized.
If you “believed” some time back and were not baptized, then this should become a priority for you to fulfill what God asks you do in the Bible.
4. Why should someone be baptized?
The Bible gives a number of reasons to be baptized: Acts 2:38 Ties repentance and Baptism together. This provides forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:1-7 This shows us that the mode of Baptism (immersion) portrays the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In the same way that He went through these things, our old nature is to “die” and we are to be “buried with Him through Baptism into death” and raised to “walk in a new life.” So we don't just try to be a better person, we bury the “old person” in the water and become a “new person” through our acceptance of Christ. It is truly a new birth and a new beginning in Christ. For as in Galatians 3:27 We “put on Christ” when we are baptized.
1 Peter 3:21 tells us Baptism is not an outward cleaning, but saves us through an inward cleaning. It is an appeal to God for a good conscience and asks God to take away the guilt of our past sin that Christ paid for, wiping our slate clean.
If you are not Baptized, have you really become a new person in Christ?
5. What is the proper way to be Baptized?
The rituals of Baptism are not complicated. The candidate begins by standing, sitting, or kneeling in water. A Christian, man or woman, or pair of people, then lowers you under the water and then brings you back up out of the water. This is “Baptism by immersion.”
Because some faiths sprinkle water instead of immersing. The obvious question is whether this is proper. The consistent answers comes from within the Bible. Isn't interesting that nowhere in the Bible does any Baptism other than by immersion take place? Baptism by water is always by immersion.
This makes sense if you realize that “baptize” is a transliteration of the original Greek word baptizo, which comes from the root word bapto, a term used in the first century for immersing a garment first into bleach and then into dye, both cleansing and changing the color of the cloth. Note the similarities; Baptism's cleansing of sin, and becoming a new person through Christ. If sprinkling of any kind was to be practiced, a different Greek word would have been used, but it was not.
Although Catholics, Lutherans and many believers of various other denominations are usually baptized by sprinkling or pouring (infusion), they know that full immersion is also a valid way to baptize. However, as we Baptists only regard full immersion as a true Baptism, by that way of thinking, one could surmise many non-baptist Christians are not validly baptized. If you've only been sprinkled why take the chance that was not the proper way?
Though the New Testament contains no explicit instructions on how physically to administer the water of Baptism, the Greek word baptizo means "to immerse." Only immersion could reflect the symbolic significance of being "buried" then "raised" with Christ (see Romans 6:3-4). Martin Luther, the Monk that forever changed Christianity when he began the Protestant Reformation in 16th-century Europe urged, in opposition to the standard practice of pouring, that Baptism should be by immersion. He pointed out that the word in the Greek language means 'To plunge something entirely into the water, so that the water closes over it,' and urged that immersion should be the mode of Baptism.
For example, the Greek version of the Old Testament tells us that Naaman, at Elisha’s direction, "went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy" (2 Kings 5:14). Why bother to travel miles to the Jordan River if sprinkling was okay? Most every home had water jugs available had he just wished to be poured upon. No. He traveled to the river so he could be plunged under.
Before Jesus began his ministry, John the Baptist was God's appointed servant. John had been announcing to the people throughout Jerusalem and Judea to prepare for the coming Messiah. He was calling them to repent, turn from sin, and be baptized. He was pointing the way to Jesus. The Baptism of Jesus as related by Matthew 3:13-17. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son,whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Why did Jesus ask to be baptized? It was plainly part of his earthly mission. Like early Jewish, God sent priests, such as Moses, Nehemiah and Daniel, Jesus was defining sin and teaching for benefit and behalf of the people. He was also endorsing John's ministry of Baptism. In addition, Jesus was identifying with those who were repenting. He was also setting a new Testament, Christian, example for his followers. He was foreshadowing his death, burial and resurrection. Jesus was declaring His ministry on earth.
John had devoted his life to preparing for the arrival of Jesus. He had focused all of his energy toward this moment. He was set upon obedience. Yet the very first thing Jesus asked him to do, John resisted. He felt unqualified. Do you feel unqualified to fulfill your mission from God? John felt unworthy even to unfasten the shoes of Jesus, yet Jesus said John was the greatest of all prophets (Luke 7:28).
Don't let your feelings of personal inadequacy hold you back from your God appointed mission to be Baptized. Salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ, and this salvation is not by works so that no man may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). So why do we receive water Baptism? Jesus commanded that every believer receive this as an outward sign of our changed heart (Matthew 28:18-20). Receiving water Baptism is an important step of obedience that welcomes us into the family of God and readies us to follow the Lord with our whole heart. It forms a wonderful testimony of our faith in Jesus Christ.
Since water Baptism is an act of obedience of every believer by our Lord Christ, we should not underestimate the importance doing it correctly and as close to how it was done in the Bible. When a believer knowingly rejects full immersion Baptism is that rebelling against the word of God? Against the Lord Who saved them?
But are there exceptions? The full submersion mode was used by the early Church for the first few centuries, with pouring reserved for occasions when immersion was impossible due to lack of sufficient water, and sprinkling used for individuals too sick or weak for either of the other methods. This situation, however, began to change fairly early and by the 13th century was actually reversed, with sprinkling the 'new' norm.
There are those who believe that all three modes are valid. Some point out that only in the most ritualistic view of Baptism can the amount of water be considered important. The immersion-only view, they say, appears absurd: What if one hair fails to be immersed? What if a finger or a hand? Where does one draw the line?
But the opposing argument can be made to appear absurd also: If a small amount of water is permissible, is one drop enough? How about no water at all, not a view to be laughed away, since the “Quakers” take this exact view? Therefore, the better approach is to realize that it is the general form of the act and the intention of those involved that matter, not the precise amount of water used. The issue still is: Shall we obey the command of Christ as He intended or shall we obey the command in a way that pleases us?
What shall we conclude from these differing opinions and beliefs? It seems clear to us that immersion in a river was the biblical norm for hundreds of years. But should it be an inflexible norm? Should every Church welcome in to fellowship only those baptized within their denomination or all whom Christ has accepted as found in Romans 15:7 and 1 John 1:3. Does God accept believers on the basis of their faith in Christ and their desire to obey Him or on the basis of how much water covered their bodies when baptized? It is not my place to tell you what is the one and only righteous way to baptize though I totally believe full immersion is completely biblical.
I believe a person's first Baptism is of and by the Holy Spirit. This is everyone's 'True Baptism' by God. The second, Baptism by water is a private and public reinforcement of personal faith by demonstration and obedience.
Once again, as with faith, the choice is yours.
Other Works by this author:
The Soul Searching Robot is a mildly adult version of a robot trying to get a soul so it could be saved.
The Soulful Robot is the same basic story as above except toned down to a “G-Rating.”
Valley of Deceit a BlackSteel Novel of Marines and Army soldiers in Afghanistan.
The Take Down is the follow-up story of Valley of Deceit.
Satan's Rummage Sale is a modern day fable suitable for all ages.
The Strawberry Squirrel a short children's adventure story.
Sunken Timbers (Part One) Two Kids find a magic turtle on a beach and go off on an adventure.
Sunken Timbers (Part Two). Sunken Timbers, parts One and Two combined can be ordered with customized names to fit any combination of kids like brothers, and sisters or cousins or just neighborhood friends. If you like, please preview these children's stories at Amazon and consider having the character names customized to fit your children, grandchildren or neighborhood children. This can be delivered via Email as PDF or MS Word file from HLS@USA,COM.
Invented and published an eight-suited 'Christian' card deck that plays all known card games like Spades, Hearts, Pinochle, Spoons and Old Maid. Besides the 'normal' four suits, the additional suits are the Cross, Angel, Shield and Castle and their colors are gold and blue, respectively. You may review this and order at Toss Christian Card Deck or from Amazon.com.
Copyright May 2016 Dennis King. Permission is granted for any Christian, non-commercial use.
