BAPTISM

As referenced earlier, Jesus Himself was

baptized. This in itself is a compelling

argument for a Christian to be baptized.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus is giving some

final instructions to His disciples and tells

them: 18 And Jesus came and spoke to

them, saying, “All authority has been given

to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the

nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things

that I have commanded you; and lo,

I am with you always, even to the end of the

age.” Amen.

From both the word origin and accounts of

the act of baptism in the New Testament,

Biblical baptism is by immersion.

Anytime after a person has placed their

faith in Christ for salvation, they can be

baptized. (For this reason, we do not

practice infant baptism.)

Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch

immediately upon salvation (Acts 8:35-38)

as did Peter with some Gentiles (Acts 10:

44-48). Paul baptized some disciples in

Ephesus some time later after being saved

(Acts 19:1-5).

John the Baptist

The practice of baptism begins in the New

Testament with John the Baptist. He was a

messenger sent by God ahead of Christ to

“prepare the way for the Lord”. John called

people to a “baptism of repentance for

forgiveness of sins”. Many came to him for

baptism, including Jesus.

(Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1)

The Early Church

In Acts 2:14-36 Peter preaches to a crowd

in Jerusalem. People respond to his

sermon: 37 When they heard this, they were

pierced to the heart and said to Peter and

the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what

should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,

each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for

the forgiveness of your sins, and you will

receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

That day the church began.

The Definition

The Greek word used for baptism,

according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of

New Testament Words, is baptisma which

means: “the process of immersion,

submersion, and emergence”. Baptisma

comes from baptō: to dip. Baptō was used

by the Greeks in regard to the dyeing of a

garment, or the drawing of water through

dipping one container into another.

In Romans 6:3,4 Paul explains that baptism

is a symbol of the death, burial, and

resurrection of Jesus Christ:

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as

were baptized into Christ Jesus were

baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we

were buried with Him through baptism into

death, that just as Christ was raised from

the dead by the glory of the Father, even

so we also should walk in newness of life.

When a person is baptized it reflects the

death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus

Christ. It is also a picture of our old man,

dead in its sins and trespasses, being but

to death and buried, and then brought to

life as a new man made alive to God by the

Spirit of God.

By being baptized, a Christian makes a

public profession of faith in Christ, and a

commitment to discipleship.

Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:12-14

To clarify that the act of baptism does not

“save” anyone, Paul says in Ephesians 2:8,9 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

And also, in Titus 3:4-8: 4 But when the

kindness and the love of God our Savior

toward man appeared, 5 not by works of

righteousness which we have done, but

according to His mercy He saved us,

through the washing of regeneration and

renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He

poured out on us abundantly through Jesus

Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified

by His grace we should become heirs

according to the hope of eternal life.

In the Bible there is no record of the

disciples (John 15:3), the thief on the cross

(Luke 23:39-43), the woman with the jar of

perfume (Luke7:37-50), or a paralytic man

(Matthew 9:2) having been baptized, yet all

were forgiven.

We are saved by placing our faith in Christ

and His death on the cross as payment for

our sins, not by baptism.

John 1:12 12 But to all who did receive

him, he gave them the right to be children of

God, to those who believe in his name