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Welcome to a page dedicated to the study of the Bible and to explaining the importance of being baptised
and the part it plays in our salvation
First, let's consider a few questions....
-The One true Baptism - what does it mean?
-Where does Baptism come from?
-What does it signify?
-Why is it so important?
Meaning of Baptism according to Youngs Concordance -
"To consecrate by pouring out on, or putting into"
From this description, it could mean immersion or pouring or sprinkling over the head.
We'll come back to this point later, but it's worth just mentioning one scripture at this point.
Ephesians 4:5
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,(KJV)
If there is only "one baptism" then only one can be right..
Where does the idea of Baptism come from?
There are several examples of Baptism in the Old Testament, although you might not have thought of them
as such....
Noah.
1 Peter 3:20 and 21 says........
In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water
symbolises baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but
the pledge of good conscience towards God.(NIV)
So Noah and his family were effectively baptised in the Flood
Israelites in the Dead Sea.
Another example of a symbolic baptism is found in the account of the Israelites passing through the Dead Sea
Exodus 14:21&22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove
the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were
divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on
their right and on their left.(NIV)
The fact that this WAS a form of baptism is confirmed by Paul in l Corinthians 10 :2
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (KJV)
Israelites next generation were baptised in the River Jordan.
Joshua 3:17
The priests who carried the ark of the Covenant of the LORD stood on firm dry land
in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had
completed the crossing on dry ground.
Naaman.
A more personal example in the Old Testament is that of Naaman.
2 Kings 5:14
So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan 7 times, as the man of God (Elisha)
had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Parallels-
From these examples, we can see several parallels with the Baptism of the New Testament.
- Starting a new life
- The Promised Land
- washing and becoming clean (disease/sin).
Ceremonial washing
Ceremonial washing played an important part of Jewish life, particularly in worship in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.
The religious community at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found also had
ceremonial washing, and pools have been found which were built specifically for the
purpose.
John the Baptist, as the name implies, also baptised in the time of Jesus and indeed
baptised Jesus himself.
Mark 1:4&5
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea , and they of
Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
Repentance, of course means feeling sorry for your past mistakes.
Matt 3:16
And Jesus , when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove,
and lighting upon him:(KJV)
John 3:22&23
After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside , where he spent
some time with them and baptised. Now John was also baptising at Aenon near Salim,
because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be
baptised. (NIV)
So as far as Jesus and John the Baptist were concerned, for true baptism, you needed
"plenty of water" and afterwards you came up "out of the water".
(incidentally, we see another parallel here: both Naaman and Jesus were baptised in the River Jordan.)
Further clarification
Acts 8:36-38.
As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said Look,
here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptised? Philip said , If you believe with all your
heart, you may." The official answered, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And
he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into
the water and Philip baptised him. (NIV)
These scriptures prove that a real baptism needs plenty of water and for the person to
go down into the water, and afterwards to come up out of the water. Therefore, to
baptise cannot mean to sprinkle water on a person, or to pour it on their head. In fact,
the greek word for baptism - "baptiso", is completely different from the greek word
for sprinkling, which is "proschusis".
But isn't baptism just a symbol? Is any form of contact with water really necessary, if
our hearts are in the right place? What does baptism stand for?
We saw in the case of Naaman that one aspect of baptism is a "washing". Here is further scriptural proof.
Acts 22:16
And why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling
on the name of the Lord (KJV)
So baptism is a symbolic washing. Could this be represented by flicking some water in
the face? Possibly but......................................
Romans 6:3-5
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus were baptized into
his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
So baptism is a symbolic death and resurrection to a new life in Christ. Can a sprinkle
of water represent this? Or is the better representation one where you pass under the
water, as into a grave and then rise up again out of the water as out of the grave?
Galatians 3:27
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (KJV)
lCorinthians 12 : 13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or
Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one
Spirit.(KJV)
This is another aspect. to "Put on Christ" or to clothe oneself with Christ (NIV) is to
be protected by Christ against the world and against death.
Remember our scripture about Noah also.
1 Peter 3:20&21-
In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water
symbolises baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but
the pledge of good conscience towards God. (NIV)
Again we see that baptism saves us. Also that it is the pledge of a good conscience
towards God. Which is the more whole-hearted yet humble public declaration of our
intention to obey God, immersion or sprinkling? Naaman wanted to change the rules of his washing, by going
off to a cleaner river, but if he had not washed according to Elisha's
instructions, then he would not have been saved from his leprosy. Should we try to change the laid-down standards for Baptism?
Who can be baptised?
Acts 18:8
And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his
house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.(KJV)
Those who seem afraid of a proper immersion use scriptures such as this so show that
children can be baptised, reasoning that the household of Crispus must have
included children. There is no proof of this. In fact, every instance where the person
is named, that person is an adult.
Acts 8:12
But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the Kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus, they were baptised, both men and women. ( NIV)
As you can see in this instance, men and women are mentioned, but no children.
Another point to realise is - B.R.B - not the British Railways Board, but Belief,
Repentance and Baptism in that order. The men and woman in this scripture
believed and then were baptised.
This is supported by other scriptures
Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [NIV]
To make disciples requires them to have knowledge. As the KJV puts it,
Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned. ( KJV)
So Belief and baptism, in that order. That's Bible Baptism
Further Objections
There is a school of argument that states baptism is not necessary for salvation. This argument is founded upon just one incident in the New Testament concerning Cornelius and his household (Acts 10) where they received the Holy Spirit before they were baptised. The assumption is that because they received the Holy Spirit, they must already be saved. Does scripture back this up?
The danger is that this would overturn all the other Bible evidence we have just examined. Cornelius, being the first Gentile convert we are told about, was an exceptional case and it could well be that for this reason, God made things happen in a slightly different order, to prove to the Jewish converts that someone did not have to be a Jew first to become a Christian. And note, even after having received the Spirit, he was still commanded to take Christ's name on him by being baptized (10:48). Maybe therefore, Cornelius was the exception that proves the rule.
Much of the controversy can be avoided by remembering that it is by grace we are saved, not works. If we see Baptism as a Work, we can run into problems understanding the Scriptures, because this would suggest that we are bringing about our own salvation by being baptized.
The Bible tells us that Faith without Works is dead (James 2:20). It seems inconceivable to me that once having accepted Christ as their Saviour, a believer would not want, in obedience to submit themselves to the waters of baptism as Christ himself did. It also seems inconceivable to me that should the believer get run over and killed on his way to his baptism that God would turn them away from the Kingdom because they had not been baptized!
Thus Baptism is not a cause of Salvation, but an effect of entering into that state of Grace that leads to Salvation. But just as we can enter into that Grace (Galatians 1:6), it is also possible to leave that state of Grace (Galatians 5:4, Hebrews 12:15). What better way to leave that state of Grace, than by not bothering to be baptized and thinking that baptism is not important!
Conclusion
- There is only One True Baptism into Christ.
- It should be a true immersion, not a sprinkling-
- It should be for adults only, not children.
- It should come after belief (and repentance).
- It is important for salvation, because it demonstrates a living faith and obedience to Chist and his example.
Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins,
calling on the name of the Lord.(KJV)
If you are a Christian, have you been TRULY baptised? Ask us for a free leaflet on the subject.
You can Email us at The Dawn Christadelphians
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