On Baptism
As I was blogging a three part series coming from different angles of John 3:1-21 (which I did not start off to do, it just kind of happened like that), a couple of issues (or spin off blogs if you will) came to mind. Baptism happened to be one of those issues and it came to my attention when Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Jesus of course is emphasizing the spiritual regeneration of the Holy Spirit and the washing of the Word (Paul echoes this in Titus 3:5). However, the idea of a symbolic washing away of sin, dying to self and being raised to a new life in Christ that arises from that text should not escape our attention. So the question then becomes, what is baptism? Obviously, it is important (all evangelical churches practice this), but why? Just how important is it?
Jesus Christ was baptized. Matthew 3:13-17 says,
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 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.” Then he 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.”
Jesus’ comment for Him to fulfill all righteousness referred to a prophecy in Psalm 40:7, 8. “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.’” This makes sense when viewed in light of the Spirit of God coming down as a dove to show His pleasure with His Son. Not only is Christ delighting in doing His Father’s will, but the Father is pleased with Him. Jesus’ baptism was also the inauguration of His public ministry.
Baptism is a command given by our Lord right before He ascended back into Heaven. In Matthew 28:19, 20, Jesus says: “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.” Known as the Great Commission, this is where the specific ordinance of believer’s baptism was first instituted.
The word for baptize, in the original Greek (baptizo), comes from the root word bapto (to immerse) and both appear within the New Testament 83 times collectively. Baptizo means to be immersed with water (literally, to make fully wet) in token of purification from sin. In the general sense of the word, it means to be identified with (just like the Israelites were identified with Moses: cf. 1 Corinthians 10:2). Paul makes this point:
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:1-7).
We have identified ourselves with Christ through baptism. Before Christ, we were dead in our sins (cf. Ephesians 2:1, 2; Colossians 2:13, 14). After a person asks Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, baptism is first public display of identifying with Christ. We are buried (because we recognize that we deserve to die) into the baptismal waters in the likeness of Christ (because we also recognize that Christ died in our place) to our old sinful nature, and are raised to walk “in newness of life.” Romans 6:8-11 says, “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul goes on to say in Colossians 2:9-12
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
The same powerful, wonderful faith that raised Christ from the dead is the same faith that is at work in us when we are spiritually raised from the dead. That is the public symbol that we represent when we are baptized. That makes baptism entrical (hence the Great Commission in Matthew 28).
Please, do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting that baptism is a requirement for salvation. Baptism is a command, and an ordinance of the church, but salvation and entrance into glory does not depend on whether or not you are baptized. Paul says it is by grace that we are saved in Ephesians. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (2:8, 9). If baptism is something that we do, and if it is a requirement for faith, then it is a work. As Paul says, salvation is not through works. In Romans 10:8-10 Paul goes on to say,
But what does [the Law] say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Baptism is not mentioned in either of these passages. Jesus says in John 3:16, 17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus also said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46, 47).
In Acts 10:47, Peter says, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Peter says “who have received the Holy Spirit.” They had already received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized.
There are people who hold to this view of requiring baptism for salvation. They tend to point to Acts 2:38: “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Looking at the English translation, it looks like they may have a point. However, the term “for the forgiveness of sins” signifies action that was done in the past. So, it could be better translated “because of the remission of sins” or “for the purpose of identifying you with the remission of sins” (again, cross reference this with 1 Corinthians 10:2 where the Israelites were identified with Moses). Beyond that, if baptism was so important as to be a requirement for salvation, then why is there not any evidence that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself baptize people? In fact, John 4:1-3 says, “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.” We must not be tempted to build a theology based on one or two verses; we have to use the whole counsel of God’s Word and let the Bible speak for itself.
Baptism is important and was instituted (and commanded in Matthew 28:19, 20) by our Lord. It is an ordinance of the body of Christ to show, we declare our newfound faith as Christians and we should out of obedience partake. If you are a believer and have not been baptized, I encourage you to let your pastor know and follow our Lord in obedience.
