Baptisms are such a special time in the life
of the Church. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus
said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” A couple weeks later when the Church was born
on Pentecost, Peter remembered the Lord’s command to baptize when he preached
the first sermon in Church history. In Acts
2:38 he said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins.” After
Phillip explained to the Ethiopian official about salvation, he was immediately
baptized (Acts 8:36-39). Our Lord also was
baptized (Matthew 3:13-16). While it
wasn’t for the same reasons as Christians, we still see His as an example to
follow just like we see the rest of His life as an example (John 13:15). When a Christian is baptized they join the
ranks of all those before them who have carried out this precious rite in the
Church of Jesus Christ.
What Baptism Does
Not Do
First, baptism does not save us. Only through believing the Gospel of Jesus
Christ can a person be saved (Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 16:31; Galatians 2:16). Baptism is an outward sign of an inward
reality. Much like a ring symbolizes the
marriage union between a man and a woman, so too baptism symbolizes the Lord Jesus
Christ’s work of salvation.
However, while we must never think baptism is
necessary for salvation, we do need to see that the Bible does tie the two
closely together. It is normal and
natural in Scripture for someone to be baptized soon after they are saved. For someone to seek salvation in Jesus Christ
but not seek baptism would be a very strange incongruous thing.
Second, baptism does not give us the Holy
Spirit. While this is the teaching of
the Roman Catholic Church, it is not the teaching of Scripture. The Holy Spirit is given to someone at the
moment they place their trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation (Ephesians
1:13).
Thirdly, baptism does not make us spiritually
mature. Spiritual maturity happens as we
study the Word of God and apply it in our lives (Heb. 5:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2
Tim. 3:16-17).
Why baptize?
The most important reason is because it was
commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew
28:19-20 Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The real simple definition of a disciple is
this: someone who obeys the teachings of Jesus. Notice therefore how closely Jesus connects
baptism and discipleship. He links them
together in such a way that we can’t imagine one without the other. Actually, we can’t imagine a disciple who has
not been baptized. That would be to find
a disobedient disciple. (If a disciple
is someone who obeys Jesus, then what is someone who doesn’t obey Him?)
Here are several other reasons baptism is
important from the Scriptures.
First, baptism is a wordless Proclamation
that we make. Baptism is an act that
proclaims Jesus to be our Savior and Lord.
When the people heard the message of Peter in Acts 2, it says in verse
41 they “accepted the his message and were baptized, about 3,000 of them…” These 3,000 Jews were in Jerusalem during a
very big national festival. Only very
recently had the Jewish nation rejected Jesus as God’s Son and crucified
Him. So, much was being risked for these
3,000 Jews to accept the Apostle’s message about Jesus and get baptized in
public. When a believer stands up to
give their testimony and be baptized, they are proclaiming to the public that
Jesus Christ is their Savior and Lord.
Second, baptism is a Picture. It pictures the finished work of Jesus
Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
Standing in the water we see Christ’s death on the cross. When placed under water we see His
burial. And when we are raised out of
the water we see His resurrection. Baptism
therefore gives a picture of the true means of salvation: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
Thirdly, baptism Publicly Identifies
us with Jesus Christ. Jesus said in
Matthew 10:32, “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge him before my
Father in heaven.” Baptism
allows us to publicly identify with Jesus Christ that He is our Savior and we
want the world to know that He is the One we stand with.
Notice how the following 2 verses indicate
our identity with Christ. Romans 6:4
says, “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.” Colossians
2:12 says, “having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your
faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
We no longer identify with our old self, with
sin, with the world, or with Satan. We “died”
to all these things. The verses say we
were “buried with [Christ] through baptism into death”. We have a new identity – one that is in the
risen Lord Jesus Christ. Since He was
raised to life He has power to raise us up to new life also. Central to this new life is our desire to
obey His commands. The first step of
obedience is to be baptized and publicly identify ourselves with Him.
FAQ Regarding
Baptism
Why don’t we
baptize babies?
Baptizing babies is called “paedobaptism”,
which literally means “child-baptism”.
There is no teaching or instance in the NT showing babies are to be baptized. When Scripture says “households” were baptized (Acts 16:15, 33; 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:16) paedobaptists
suppose that infants were a part of those households. However, that is an assumption because those
passages of Scripture do not say there were any infants. Also, the Scriptures do not teach that baptism
is analogous to circumcision in the OT. Since
the NT teaches that only those who can exercise faith in Jesus Christ are to be
baptized, and babies cannot do that, babies should not be baptized.[i]
“What if I was baptized when I was a baby? Should I be baptized again now that I have accepted Jesus Christ?”
Yes.
The reason you were baptized as a baby is not based in Scripture. The Bible teaches that baptism comes after
salvation. Therefore, to have a baptism
that is in line with Scripture, and thus has Biblical meaning, seek baptism after you are saved.
Why do we baptize
by immersion?
The Greek word for baptism is “baptizo” which
literally means “to dip under”. The
Greek words for “sprinkle” and “pour” are never used for baptism in the
Bible. Every baptism in the NT was
immersion (e.g., everyone baptized by John the Baptist, the Ethiopian official,
the early Church, and Jesus Christ).
Immersion best symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
Christ according to Romans 6:4.[ii]
If it won’t affect
my salvation then it doesn’t matter if I’m baptized.
The argument being made here is basically “I can be still be a Christian and be saved
if I don’t obey this command”. Where does that argument end? This doesn’t mean someone would argue this
way in every area of their Christian life.
However, it does reflect a very misguided and unholy attitude for a
child of God. It is a self-willed
attitude. Consider this: someone who is living on their own terms and
is selective in their obedience to Christ considers themselves to be the real authority
in their life – not Christ. For me to
only follow Christ’s teaching if they fit with my personal views submits
Christ’s authority to my own.
Scary. Consider another thing,
commands are given to Christians in the NT and do not put our salvation on the
line. Obedience is never rooted in the
fear of losing your salvation. A love
for God (John 14:15; Psalm 119), a desire to please Him (2 Cor. 5:9), to
glorify Him (1 Cor. 10:31), and to gain reward are (1 Cor. 3:14).
If you are a believer and you have not been
baptized you should make arrangements immediately to do so.
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