This year our church did a push for baptism. We had at least forty-four people come forward and be baptized that day. Praise the Lord. Some of these had even been baptized before, as babies. But they had not been Biblically baptized. So what is Biblical Baptism? Isn’t all baptism the same?
There are many traditions surrounding baptism and there are many beliefs about baptism that are not based on the Bible. For example, some denominations baptize babies in the belief that this washes away their original sin. Other denominations sprinkle. Some will sprinkle babies, some will sprinkle anyone. Some denominations don’t baptize at all nor encourage baptism in any way.
To start, let’s lay out the principles of Biblical baptism and then I’ll give the scriptural basis for each of these principles.
Baptism does not give a person salvation. Baptism does not wash away our sins. Baptism is to be done by full immersion in water. Baptism is only to be done after a person has accepted Christ. Baptism is one of two ordinances that Christ has commanded us to do, the other being the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is an outward symbol of the inward transformation we go through when we have been born again.
Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
There is only one baptism and that is the way the Bible describes it.
Why baptize? For starters, we are commanded to do so by Christ. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All throughout the book of Acts, we see stories of people being baptized.
And, Jesus himself was baptized. Matthew 3:13-17 says:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
This passage shows us that baptism is important. So important that Jesus himself asked to be baptized in order to “fulfill all righteousness”. This passage also shows that the act of baptism certainly does not give one salvation. Jesus was the son of God and God Himself. He hardly needed to be given salvation. Next, this passage shows that baptism is by immersion not sprinkling. For, Jesus “went up out of the water”. He was in a river to be baptized, not having some water dribbled over Him. Finally, this passage shows us the purpose of baptism. When Christ came up out of the water, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove” was seen, showing all that were watching that baptism is a symbol of our receiving the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:3-4 confirms the symbolism and public profession of baptism. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 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.” Picture the act of baptism. We are buried with Christ – submerged under water, then raised from the dead – raised out of the water, so that we may live a new life with Christ. Baptism is the outward representation of the inward transformation we go through when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is our public confession that we have accepted Christ.
Let’s turn more detailed attention to the order of things. There are several denominations that baptize babies. What is the purpose of this? Unfortunately, many believe that this secures the soul of the child to go to heaven. Others believe that this washes away original sin. Neither of these beliefs is Biblical. Throughout scripture we see that the order of things is believe in Christ first, then be baptized. Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Don’t be confused. This is not saying that you must believe and be baptized to be saved. It’s saying, you believe and then you’re baptized. This is confirmed in that the verse does not include not being baptized as a condition for being condemned. Only not believing in Christ and not submitting to His lordship can condemn you to hell. Also, we see many other passages where baptism follows salvation. As homework, check out the following verses: Acts 2:37-38, Acts 8:12-13, 34-39 (this one also shows full immersion – again, they came up out of the water), Acts 9:17-18 (here, the apostle Paul, several days after his conversion, is baptized).
I can understand some people’s confusion. Acts 22:16 says, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” But, if you examine this passage carefully you’ll see that these are words that Ananias said to Paul AFTER Paul had already been saved. Again, Paul’s sin was taken away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Baptism followed that.
So, if you were baptized as a baby and have never been Biblically baptized, does that mean you are not going to heaven? Actually, if you’ve been paying attention, it has nothing to do with heaven or hell. The determining factor between heaven and hell is your acknowledgement that you are a sinner and that you, on your own, cannot get into heaven because if God were to judge you, He would find you guilty of breaking His commandments. But, if you’ve accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and repented of your sins, then you are bound for heaven. Baptism, though, is something you should do in order to publicly confess that you are a child of God. Another verse that shows baptism is not necessary for salvation is in Luke 23:39-43:
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This man died on a cross as Jesus did. He had no opportunity to get baptized and yet Jesus told him that the man would be in paradise with Jesus. Only belief in Christ and submission to Him as Lord is necessary for salvation.
What you do with this is up to you. If you consider yourself a follower of Christ and have never been Biblically baptized what does that mean? It means only that you are disobeying your Lord and Savior. Baptism is often the first act of obedience. My advice, find a church that baptizes Biblically and follow our Lord’s command.
Just an aside and strictly my opinion, but if a church is not following the Bible in an ordinance as important as baptism, I wonder if they are preaching the Bible and only the Bible and I suspect they are not following the Bible in other ways. Personally, I would not attend a church that did not baptize Biblically.
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