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Water baptism

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This article is one in a series of studies on baptism - you are currently on the topic that is in bold:

Baptism in Tanzania in cow trough

The word baptize comes from the from the Greek word βάπτειν, which means "to immerse". For two thousand years, Christians have been immersed in water to demonstrate their obedience to the words of Jesus, who instructed his followers to be baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The Bible records that the apostles baptized all new converts in the name of Jesus Christ.

Baptism in Siberia through the ice
Baptism in the Philippines.

Baptism symbolizes a Christian's participation in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It demonstrates submission to the teachings of Jesus Christ, and is also an acceptance of the promise of eternal life.


Why must Christians be Baptized?

 
Baptism in the Black Sea, Ukraine.

Jesus commanded it.

Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)

Baptism was taught and practiced by Jesus' Disciples (the Apostles)

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)

The Apostle Peter said this doctrine was applicable to all Christians - in every century.

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:39)

Baptism is God's instruction for us. It is not wise to reject this instruction

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:16)
But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. (Luke 7:30)

Baptism is identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ 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: (Romans 6:3-5)

Should Christians be Immersed?

 
Immersion in a Philippine Jail.

Full Immersion is the preferred Biblical method of Baptism.

The Greek word for baptize (βάπτειν) means to fully immerse something in a fluid. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states that the word is derived from bapto, meaning to dip, and was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment, or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another. Vine's also sets forth the noun form as follows: "baptisma ... baptism, consisting of the process of immersion, submersion and emergence (from bapto, to dip)."

Consider also the following scriptures:

  1. At that time Jesus...was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water... (Mark 1:9-10)
  2. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (John 3:23)

The fact that baptism is to be by full immersion is further validated by its being likened biblically to a burial.

  1. We were therefore buried with him through baptism. (Rom. 6:4)
  2. Having been buried with him in baptism. (Col. 2:12)

In what Name should Christians be baptized?

 
Baptism in India.

Jesus said Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Mat. 28:19)

The following scriptures record actual baptisms in the New Testament:

  1. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:38)
  2. ...and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized... (Acts 8:12)
  3. They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 8:16)
  4. Be baptized in the name of the Lord. (Acts 10:48)
  5. That is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.(Acts 19:4b,5)

Christians should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ or in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, provided that it is made clear that the person is doing this on the basis that they have believed on Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins.

The reason that baptisms in the Book of Acts were "in the name of Jesus" is not because it was a formula, but because the phrase "in the name of" means "in the authority of."

We can see proof of this in Acts 4:7-10:

After making Peter and John stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, replied, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man—by what means this man was healed— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy.

So "in Jesus' name" is not a formula for what must be specifically stated when baptizing a person. "In Jesus' name" simply means by Jesus' authority or power. To baptize in Jesus' name simply means to do so in obedience to His power or authority. His authority is the authority of God , which is the same power as that referred to in Matthew 28:19 - the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So to baptize in accordance with Jesus' name is to baptize according to His power or authority, which is the same as baptizing according to the name or authority or power of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Either formula would appear to be acceptable from scripture.

Is baptism required for salvation?

Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in Jesus Christ performed once as the initiation of the believer into a community of believers, the church. Baptism signifies the believer’s confidence that Christ’s work was complete for his forgiveness and justification and indicates his desire for unity with the church, Christ’s community of the new covenant, purchased at the price of his blood.

Salvation does not derive from the act of baptism itself. The person baptized has no scriptural warrant to believe that, in baptism, Christ’s saving activity is initiated, augmented, or completed. In its symbolism, however, it sets forth the saving gospel of Christ both in its objective and subjective aspects. It pictures the historical event in the life of Christ that brought to fruition the purpose of his incarnation, namely, to give his life as a ransom for many. It pictures the believer’s conscientious testimony that Christ’s acceptable sacrifice alone allows a sinner to approach God in the confidence of being accepted. It pictures the present experience of the believer in his awareness that when he was dead in trespasses and sins, God “made [him] alive with Christ” (Eph. 2:5) by the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit. The power that is necessary to produce this change is “like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given” (Eph. 1:19–21).[1]


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Thomas J. Nettles, Baptist View: Baptism as a Symbol of Christ’s Saving Work, ed. John H. Armstrong and Paul E. Engle, Understanding Four Views on Baptism, Zondervan Counterpoints Collection (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), 25–26.


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