Keypoints
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The Bible clearly shows that the act of baptism - in the way taught by Christ and the Apostles - is complete immersion and not just a sprinkling of water. |
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People should only be baptised when they clearly understand what baptism means and achieves. |
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The Bible explains that baptism is essential for anyone wanting salvation through the sacrificial work of Christ. |
A search on the Internet under the word ‘Baptism’ brings up 1,430,000 entries, all with a viewpoint and idea as to what the meaning of baptism is. However, our search engine and reference material for this study is to be the Bible, as it alone is the inspired Word of God.
Baptism is first mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel record where we read concerning the mission of John the Baptist:
‘In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”…People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River’
[ Matthew 3. 1,5,6 NIV].
Jesus himself was baptised by John and this is recorded in the following chapter. This act that Jesus undertook ‘to fulfil all righteousness’ [Matthew 3:15], gives us an indication of the importance Jesus himself placed on it. This is later clarified by Jesus’ instructions to his disciples prior to his ascension into heaven as recorded by Mark:
‘He (Jesus) said to them:“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned”’
[Mark 16.15,16 NIV].
Therefore, if Jesus himself placed such importance on the act of baptism (and the baptism of his Apostles proved that they did too), we should look carefully at what it means to be baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must decide if it is important to us as well in the 21st Century.
 What is Baptism?
The original word used in the New Testament that is translated into English as baptism, is the Greek word ‘baptizo’, meaning ‘to dip’ or ‘to plunge’. This word was particularly used in relation to the dyeing of cloth and described the action of plunging the cloth into the liquid dye. A complete covering through total immersion is implied as, without it, the dyeing would be incomplete.
The Bible’s recorded examples of the act of baptism clearly show that complete immersion was the way taught by the 1st Century AD Apostles and not a sprinkling of water as taught and practiced by many established churches today. The sprinkling of either infants or adults is not a teaching supported by a careful study of the Bible.
Two examples from the New Testament confirm this. Firstly, the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by Philip is described as follows:
‘Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away’
[Acts 8.38,39 NIV].
Secondly, the Apostle John recorded that John the Baptist was ‘baptising at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water’ [John 3.23 NIV]. The going ‘down into’, and coming ‘up out of' the water, coupled with the need for ‘plenty of water’ are consistent with total immersion and in consistent with a sprinkling of a few drops of water on the head.
Christening, as performed on infants in many churches today, only came into use in the 3rd Century AD as a response to the erroneous belief in an immortal soul and the conclusion that, if a child died before reaching the age of responsibility, he or she would automatically be sent to hell if not baptised. Unfortunately, the effect of this teaching is that the majority of Christians today would appear to have no wish to emulate the examples of Jesus and the apostles and be baptised through total immersion.
Who should be baptised?
Taking the Bible as our reference once again, we see that those who were baptised by the apostles, did so only after coming to a state of understanding and belief of the Gospel. The Ethiopian eunuch is a clear example once again. He had been reading the prophecy of Isaiah (see Isaiah 53.7,8) but did not understand the passage he studied. The result was that ‘Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. As they went down the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said,
“See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then Philip said,
“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said,
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”’
[Acts 8.35-37 NKJV].
It was only then that he and Philip went down into the water, that is after Philip had heard his declaration of faith and belief.
A second example from the book of Acts is that of the terrified jailer in Philippi. This followed the dramatic earthquake that had opened the doors of the prison where Paul and Silas were imprisoned and loosed the prisoners chains. Believing that all had escaped, the jailer was prepared to kill himself until assured by Paul that all the prisoners were still inside. He then ran to Paul and Silas with the question:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house…then immediately he and all his family were baptised’
[Acts 16.30-33 NIV].
The words of Jesus quoted previously, ‘Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved’ set out the required order of events. Belief must come first. This premise is not adhered to by proponents of infant baptism, as there can be no knowledge, let alone belief, by an infant. Baptism is therefore the only appropriate response for those who believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection and in his promised return to the earth to establish the kingdom of God. This was shown by those who believed in Samaria:
‘But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women’
[Acts 8.12 NIV].
What does baptism mean?
The importance of baptism by total immersion is made clearer by understanding its significance and symbolism. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, taught the crowd in Jerusalem about Jesus’ death and resurrection to life and of it being foretold by God in the Scriptures. When the crowd understood their role in crucifying the Son of God, their Saviour, their consciences were pricked and they appealed to the apostles,
‘“Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied,
“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins”
[Acts 2.37,38].
Paul, writing to the Ephesians, said that
‘In him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace’
[Ephesians 1.7 NIV].
In bringing these two examples together, we see that being baptised in the name of Jesus Christ identifies us with the redemption and forgiveness of sins he achieved through his death. Paul confirms this relationship through baptism in his letter to the believers at Rome:
‘…don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life’
[Romans 6.3,4 NIV].
The victory over sin and death won by Jesus, and the hope of eternal life he offers to all, is made a reality only through association with him by baptism. In the same way that Jesus died and rose again, we, by undergoing a baptism of total immersion, metaphorically die and rise also. Baptism is a symbolic burial and resurrection to a new life.
Paul continues in the letter to the Romans:
‘If we have been united with him (Jesus) like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him’
[Romans 6.5-8 NIV].
Baptism is also symbolic of washing. Paul, in recounting his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus and subsequent meeting with Ananias, tells how he was instructed:
‘And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away’
[Acts 22.16 NIV].
The washing away of sins is therefore identified with baptism. Paul wrote to those at Corinth:
‘But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God’
[1Corinthians 6.11 NIV].
He also instructed Titus, that
‘He (God) saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit’
[Titus 3.5 NIV].
The washing away of sins is very closely associated with the redemptive work of Jesus in dying on the cross, to which the book of Revelation refers:
‘To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood’
[
Revelation 1.5 NKJV].
The act of washing away sins and the change to a new life through baptism was prefigured in the Old Testament at the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. The Apostle Paul confirms this in his first letter to the Corinthians:
‘For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea’
[1 Corinthians 10.1,2 NIV].
Moses had led the Israelites from a life of slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea to a new life of freedom as God’s chosen people and they were on their way to the Promised Land. Likewise, Jesus leads his followers from a life of slavery to sin and death, through baptism, to a new life in service to him, with the promised reward of eternal life at his return to the earth.
What does baptism achieve?
The Apostle Paul told the believers in Galatia that:
‘…all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ…If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise’
[Galatians 3.27,29 NIV].
To be baptized, then, is to put on Christ like a coat, identifying oneself with his saving work, and becoming related to Abraham and the promises God made to him.
We have already seen that belief is essential before baptism, but there must also be a change of heart. Before being baptised, the believer must recognize that his or her life up to that point had been in service to the natural self with its human desires and selfishness. The change of heart is a new determination not to serve sin but to serve righteousness. As Paul wrote to the Romans:
‘Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires….but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.’
[Romans 6.12,13 NIV].
The result of this change of heart is made clear once again by Paul:
‘But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
[Romans 6.22,23 NIV].
Is baptism essential?
It may be argued that there are many people in the world who are living peaceful, upright, generous, selfless, and God-fearing lives and that baptism is not necessary for them. However, once again the Bible is very clear in its teaching that the only way to salvation for all is through baptism. We have in the book of Acts the example of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, and a man of whom it is written:
‘He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly’
[Acts 10.2 NIV].
One day an angel appeared to Cornelius while he prayed and instructed him to send for the Apostle Peter, as his prayers and gifts to the poor had been remembered by God.
Peter, on arriving at the house of Cornelius, proceeded to preach the gospel to all the household, concluding with the words:
“All the prophets testify about him (Jesus) that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name…Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water?”
[Acts 10.43,47 NIV].
Cornelius and all his family were baptised there and then, the first non-Jews to be so. So, even though God had heard the prayers of Cornelius and noticed his treatment of the poor, God required him to be baptised to receive the opportunity of salvation that God offers to all.
Jesus told Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom of God, unless he is born of water and the Spirit,” [John 3.5 NIV] putting the necessity for baptism beyond doubt.
A simple act
Baptism as taught in the Scriptures, is a very simple act of obedience, as Jesus himself demonstrated when he approached John to be baptised. John insisted that it was he who had need of baptism at the hand of Jesus, but Jesus replied:
‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness’
[ Matthew 3.15 NIV].
God requires obedience from us and the demonstration of humility and subjection to His will, through a willingness to follow the example Jesus provided with his baptism.
As Naaman, Commander of the Syrian army, found out, God doesn’t demand any great act of us, simply obedience. The second book of Kings records how Naaman suffered from leprosy and, at the suggestion of an Israelite slave girl, approached the prophet Elisha to be cured. The prophet sent a messenger to tell Naaman to wash in the River Jordan seven times to be cured.
Naaman was furious for, firstly, the prophet had not recognized his importance and had not appeared in person. Secondly, to wash in Jordan was beneath him. Fortunately, his servants persuaded him to think again by suggesting that if he had been asked to perform some great act Naaman would have obeyed willingly, so why not when it was such a simple task. Naaman took their advice and washed as instructed and was immediately healed ( See 2 Kings chapter 5).
Conclusion
Baptism is the only way in which we can become related to Christ and his saving work, and to have the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life God has prepared for those that love him in sincerity, faith and truth.
To be baptised into the name of Jesus Christ is to associate oneself with his death, resurrection, and, above all, his victory over the barrier between God and man - sin. Paul reminded the baptised believers at Ephesus that at one time they ‘…were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ’ [Ephesians 2.12,13 NIV].
The instruction of Jesus is undeniably clear:
‘Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned’
[Mark 16.16 NIV].
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