Baptism
The New Testament speaks of baptism more than 80 times; it mentions baptism in
every example of conversion. The Eunuch rejoiced after his baptism; he didn’t
wait but asked to be baptized. The Philippian jailer considered baptism so important
that he was baptized in the middle of the night. When the Samaritans believed
the preaching of Philip about Jesus and His kingdom, they were baptized both men
and women. The 3,000 who obeyed at Pentecost were baptized that very day. If baptism
was not necessary, why do we find this urgency in the New Testament to submit
to it?
Christian baptism is an immersion in water. And that’s what the word means,
a dipping in water. The New Testament never considers the idea of a Christian
who has not been baptized. When the risen Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission
in Matthew and Mark, he put baptism right in the middle of it.
You remember that the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20 that, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,
I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In the book of Mark chapter
16, verses 15 and 16, the Lord said, “Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved;
but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” That’s from the New
American Standard Version.
You see, from the very beginning of the New Testament baptism was an act of faith
and repentance. Jesus walked to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist.
“John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by
you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so
now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ And then,
of course, John consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up
from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from
heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Think with me! Jesus walked for two or three days from Galilee to Judea to be
baptized in the Jordan River. It must have been important to the Lord Jesus. In
his baptism, he came up out of the water. And this indicates that he was immersed
in the water of the river. The Bible says in John 3 and verse 23 that John “was
baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.” You
see, from the very beginning baptism required much water; it wasn’t a sprinkling
but an immersion.
Colossians 2, verses 12 to 13 speaks of the Christian “having been buried
with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in
the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having
forgiven us all our transgressions.” Oh, it’s obvious that when we
are baptized we are buried and raised with Christ. Burial, of course, is a specific
act. Now through the years as a minister I have attended hundreds of burials.
The funeral home directors, they instruct the workers to completely cover the
body under the ground. Well, in baptism one is completely covered in water, buried
with Christ and raised with Christ. A person before baptism is dead in his sins,
but God makes him alive with Christ in baptism and completely forgives all our
transgressions.
Notice again what Colossians 2:12 and 13 says: “having been buried with
Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the
working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Baptism on our part is an
act of faith, a response of faith, in the working of God. The working of God?
Yes! God is the one who raised Jesus from the dead, and He is the one who makes
us alive with Christ and forgives our sins. Baptism is not some work of merit
on our part to earn salvation. No, no, no! Baptism is God’s work! We respond
in faith and obedience to baptism, but God works on us in baptism.
Baptism is never an act by itself on our part. It is always the response of faith,
a response of repentance, and love. Some people baptize infants, but this is really
a departure from the practice of the New Testament. In Acts 8 and verse 12, the
Bible says, “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.” Men and women; no children! Peter commanded the people
on the day of Pentecost to repent and be baptized. You see, faith and repentance
are activities of people who are old enough to act on their own. The preachers
in the New Testament didn’t force baptism on nonbelievers with a sword in
their hands. Oh, no, they baptized the people who knew what they were doing and
wanted to be baptized. They baptized the willing, those who believed their preaching
and repented.
Now if you think about it, infant baptism denies the child an opportunity to make
up his own mind about whether he will follow Jesus as Lord. No one can make that
decision for anyone else. Would we regard an unbelieving adult who was forced
to be baptized against his will as Biblically baptized? Well, of course not! Why
then do we believe it is all right to baptize an infant who does not know what
is happening and often dislikes the experience?
Someone says, “Well, don’t you know about household baptisms? Weren’t
there infants in those households?” Yes, I know about the households of
Lydia, the Jailer, and Crispus and Stephanus. And Acts 18 and verse 8 says that,
“Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all of
his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and
being baptized.” You see, the language there means that they believed first
and then were baptized. In Acts 16:32 to 34 it makes it clear that the jailer
at Philippi together with all of his family heard the teaching and believed in
God. You see, if you study the accounts of household baptism closely, you will
see they were made up of people who were old enough to believe and act on their
own.
By Penny Mae
Return to the General
Articles page
Home / Bible
studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General
Articles / Non-Bible Articles /
Sermons / Sermon
Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith
The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence
Courses / What is the Church of Christ /
Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me
/