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DIE
TO OUR SINFUL NATURE AND BE BORN AGAIN (BAPTISM)
It
is extremely unfortunate that baptism requires explanation.
It is clearly indicated in the Scriptures, but for some reason
many believers resist or distort it. Because of this, it is
necessary to spend considerably more time discussing baptism
than other things. Please understand that just because this
section is longer than the others does not imply that baptism
is any more (or less) important! First, some basic passages
about baptism:
•
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo,
I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20, “The Great Commission”)
• Now when they heard this, they were pierced to
the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
“Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them,
“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37-38)
• For all of you who were baptized into Christ have
clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
• Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not
the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for
a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. (1 Peter 3:21)
It
is clear that Jesus and His Apostles commanded baptism as
part of the process of salvation, but why? What is it about
this seemingly primitive rite that contributes to developing
a relationship with God? Is it a work? What kind of baptism?
Is infant baptism biblical? What about baptism for the dead?
Is baptism necessary for the children of believers?
I’m going to take some time to discuss baptism here—not
because it alone has redemptive power, but because so many
well-meaning people who claim to be Christians and lead otherwise
exemplary lives deny the necessity of baptism.
Baptism
is simply a symbolic death—killing off our sinful nature
and replacing it with Christ’s. Being lowered into water
represents death (just as Jesus died on the cross) to be raised
up (just as Jesus rose from death) to a new life. Saying one
is a “born-again Christian” is redundant—all
Christians are to be born again in this way: Jesus answered
and said to him, “Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom
of God.” (John 3:3)
The
Apostle Paul described the symbolism of baptism in his letter
to the church at Rome: Or do you not know that all of
us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized
into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through
baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk
in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him
in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in
the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old
self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin
might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves
to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans
6:3-7)
Through baptism we are joined to Jesus and we are given the
Holy Spirit, who serves as our Counselor as we continue our
perilous walk through a lost world until we rise again to
join Him again in Paradise. Without the Holy Spirit, as well
intentioned as we may be, we are like a rudderless ship sailing
on a tempestuous sea.
There
is even more compelling evidence for the importance of baptism:
1.
Jesus was baptized.
• Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan
coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent
Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and
do You come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him,
“Permit it at this time; for in
this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up
immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting
on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This
is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
(Matthew 3:13-17)
2.
Jesus baptized.
• After these things Jesus and His disciples came
into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with
them and baptizing. (John 3:22)
3.
Paul was baptized.
• So Ananias departed and entered the house, and
after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul [Paul],
the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you
were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately
there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained
his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food
and was strengthened. (Acts 9:17-19)
4.
Peter baptized.
• While Peter was still speaking these words, the
Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the
message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter
were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been
poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them
speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered,
“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be
baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did,
can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few
days. (Acts 10:44-48)
Note: some might use this incident to show that the Holy Spirit
can be received without baptism, as it was here, but it is
important to recognize this as an exception that God performed
in order to show Jewish Christians that Jesus’ sacrifice
was for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Before this, some
Jewish Christians were apparently refusing to baptize Gentiles.
There are always exceptions to every rule, but that doesn’t
nullify the rule. And God made this exception.
5.
Paul baptized.
• Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas;
beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
(1 Corinthians 1:16)
One commentary I recently read used the verse following this
one to show that baptism was not part of salvation. Here’s
the verse:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the
gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of
Christ would not be made void. (1 Corinthians 1:17)
That’s the problem with pulling individual verses out
of context (sometimes referred to proof-texting). If you don’t
have the whole context, a verse can be used to prove just
about anything. Here, Paul is saying that he rarely baptizes
because his primary ministry is preaching the gospel. From
other verses (i.e., Romans 6:3-6) it is obvious that Paul
recognized the importance of baptism.
6.
Every example of conversion in the New Testament involves
baptism. Here they are:
• The crowd in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2:37-41)
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart,
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren,
what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent,
and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and
your children and for all who are far off, as many as the
Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other
words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying,
“Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then,
those who had received his word were baptized; and that day
there were added about three thousand souls.
•
Samarians and Simon the Magician (Acts 8:9-13)
Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing
magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming
to be someone great; and they all, from smallest to greatest,
were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what
is called the Great Power of God.” And they were giving
him attention because he had for a long time astonished them
with his magic arts. But when they believed Philip preaching
the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus
Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. Even
Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued
on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles
taking place, he was constantly amazed.
Simon the Magician subsequently became jealous of the miracles
practiced by the Apostles and asked to buy that power, for
which he was severely rebuked. Baptized Christians still make
grievous errors and sin, but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
serves to continually cleanse as long as we make the effort
to make Jesus Lord of our lives and do our best to live like
Him. The fact that we often fail only proves our humanity.
•
The Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-39)
But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get
up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to
Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went;
and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure;
and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning
and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this
chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah
the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are
reading?” 31And he said, “Well, how could I, unless
someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up
and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was
reading was this:
“HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER;
AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT,
SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
“IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY;
WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION?
FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.”
The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me,
of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone
else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from
this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along
the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said*, “Look!
Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And 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.” And he ordered the chariot to stop;
and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as
the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of
the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and
the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
•
Saul (Paul) (Acts 9:17-19; 22:12-15)
So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying
his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus,
who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming,
has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled
with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from
his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight,
and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened.
“And a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the
standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who
lived there, came to me, and standing near said to me, ‘Brother
Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very time I looked
up at him. “And he said, ‘The God of our fathers
has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous
One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. ‘For you
will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen
and heard. ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized,
and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
Ananias recognized that Paul had been personally appointed
by God to preach the Gospel, and yet he still insisted that
Paul be baptized.
•
Gentiles at Caesarea (Acts 10:44-48)
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All
the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed,
because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on
the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with
tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, “Surely
no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have
received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” And
he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
•
Lydia (Acts 16:14-15)
A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller
of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and
the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken
by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized,
she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful
to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed
upon us.
•
The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:27-34)
When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing
that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a
loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are
all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and
trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and
after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must
I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will
be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the
word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his
house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed
their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all
his household. And he brought them into his house and set
food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in
God with his whole household.
•
Crispus and other Corinthians (Acts 18:5-8)
But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul
began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying
to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted
and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them,
“Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now
on I will go to the Gentiles.” Then he left there and
went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper
of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. Crispus, the
leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his
household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were
believing and being baptized.
•
Ephesian believers (Acts 19:1-5)
It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed
through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some
disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No,
we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?”
And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul
said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance,
telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after
him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
These believers had been baptized, but since it was not a
Christian baptism (in the name of Christ Jesus), Paul insisted
upon a proper baptism.
By
now, I hope it is apparent that baptism is not trivial consideration.
It is critical because of what it accomplishes (see Romans
6:3-7 again). There are, of course, passages about salvation
that don’t mention baptism; i.e., Romans 1:16-17; 1
Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 2:8-9, but remember that in every
case where this is true, the writer was addressing saved believers,
who had already been reconciled. There is no need to preach
baptism to the baptized—it was considered a basic teaching:
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ,
let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation
of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of
instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the
resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. (Hebrews
6:1-2)
The
epistle writers were concerned with urging the saved on to
maturity and maintaining sound doctrine. There is only one
baptism (see Ephesians 4:4-6), but developing a more mature
faith is an on-going process. Using verses like Ephesians
2:8-9 to deny the necessity of baptism is like using 1 Peter
3:21 (Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not
the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for
a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ) to suggest that baptism has redemptive power
without faith. Both suggestions are grievous errors.
Having
established the purpose and the importance of baptism, let’s
turn to some of the other questions.
Is baptism a work?
Some
insist that baptism is not a part of the salvation plan because
it is a work and therefore violates the principle of Grace:
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
from works of the Law. (Romans 3:28)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works,
so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Salvation
through Christ Jesus is a free gift of God out of His boundless
lovingkindess. But God gave us free will and we can choose
to accept this gift or reject it. Baptism is our responsive
acceptance of the Grace of God. If you are given a present
by someone, does any credit fall to you for accepting it?
Baptism is not a work in any meaningful sense of the word.
When biblical writers point out that no one can earn his or
her salvation, they are describing the futility of good works.
No amount of good works can reconcile you to God.
In
baptism, you do nothing—you can’t baptize yourself.
Someone, acting as an instrument of God’s grace, lowers
you into the water and lifts you back up again. Nothing that
person does is contributing to your salvation—it is
God’s work in uniting you with Christ, forgiving your
sins, and giving you the Holy Spirit.
Baptism
is not a work.
What kind of baptism?
It
would be overly legalistic to insist on a specific method
of baptism, but it is important to understand that the Greek
word baptizo means “to dip, sink.” The
Greek word for sprinkling, rhantizo, is used only
in reference to the Old Testament practice of sprinkling the
blood of sacrificed animals. Because of this, it appears that
the New Testament practice was baptism by immersion.
This
is apparent in at least one baptism in Acts: And he ordered
the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water,
Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they
came up out of the water, the Spirit of the
Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him,
but went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:38-39, emphases
added)
One
early Christian document known as the Didache,
or The Teaching of the Twelve, specifically
dictates immersion, even preferring cold running water to
standing water. Pouring over the head (three times) is permitted
only if immersion is not possible. This document is not part
of the New Testament canon, but it was revered by the early
church and is an indication of its practices.
I
have heard it argued that the Jordan River, where many were
baptized, is little more than a stream, too shallow for immersion.
But it may have been plenty deep in spots in the First Century.
It really does no good to debate on this basis since the meaning
of baptivzw is clear. I am not going to claim that you are
not saved if you are not immersed—that is a decision
you need to make after you examine the Scriptures.
Is infant baptism biblical?
No.
Baptism alone has no more redemptive power than an ordinary
bath. The New Testament pattern is faith, repentance, confession,
followed by baptism. What faith can an infant have? How can
an infant be separated from the God who created him or her?
What public confession can an infant make? The doctrine of
original sin falling upon the newly born is a cruel hoax designed
to enslave people. We become enslaved by our own sin as we
allow ourselves to be influenced by the world and by Satan.
Jesus
Himself welcome children into His midst, even saying “Let
the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to
Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
(Matthew 19:14) How can the kingdom of heaven belong to unrepentant
sinners?
Some
point to the household baptisms of the Philippian jailer and
Lydia as evidence of the baptism of young children, but there
is no indication that there were young children in these households.
In those days, the household included not only family, but
also servants.
There
is no magic age for baptism. I was baptized at 36, after years
of separation from my Maker, by a man who was baptized at
seven. Baptism should occur when one is aware of one’s
separation from God, acquires faith through hearing the Word,
turns away from sin, and confesses Jesus. The specific age
is a matter between God and the individual with the possible
counsel of parents and other Christians.
What about baptism for the dead?
Those
who practice baptism for the dead (most notably the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Mormons) point to
a single Bible passage:
Otherwise,
what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead
are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
(1 Corinthians 15:29) If one looks at the context of this
verse, however, it becomes obvious that Paul is not endorsing
this practice. Apparently, there were some within the Corinthian
church who questioned or even denied the future resurrection
of believers, yet were baptizing for the dead. Paul’s
argument is simply this: if there is no resurrection of the
dead, baptizing them is a waste of time.
Again, the New Testament pattern of conversion—faith,
repentance, confession, baptism—places baptism for the
dead in the same category as infant baptism, for how can the
dead repent? How can the dead confess?
From the evidence of the rest of the New Testament, as well
as the writings of the early church fathers, baptism for the
dead was practiced only by some in this maverick congregation
in Corinth.
Is baptism necessary for children of believers?
There
are those who point to Old Testament scriptures to claim that
children of believers are covered by the faith of their parents,
but there is no New Testament basis for this contention. The
New Testament offers no alternative to individual faith, repentance,
confession, and baptism—while godly parental instruction
can certainly help lead children to salvation, it doesn’t
guarantee it, and each of us is individually responsible.
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