The Truth about Baptism
October 28, 2003
By Jessica McCreary
Recently I watched from the rear pew as a newborn baby was baptized at my home church, Eden United Church of Christ. The parents of this baby, whom I had never seen before, were not regular church attendees. I watched as the parents recited their rehearsed words, and the pastor sprinkled water on the infant in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The baby had on her white christening gown, and she cried for a moment as the pastor introduced her to the congregation. This baptism differed greatly from that of my roommate’s last September. Outside, in the parking lot of Two Rivers Non-Denominational Church, Amanda, my roommate, was dunked under water by her pastor. The pastor asked her if she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and after her affirmation, he submerged her in the horse trough filled with water. It is apparent that the practice of baptism is viewed very differently by dissimilar denominations.
The controversy surrounding the theology and practice of baptism is as old as baptism itself. Fortunately, God promises answers to the questions and solutions to the problems in the Bible. Some questions that have been raised include: What is the significance of baptism? Is baptism necessary for salvation? Is infant baptism appropriate? Is submersion better than affusion? Those questions will be answered according to the Holy Scriptures. The confusion will be obsolete in the light of God’s truth.
First, an understanding of the significance of baptism is necessary. Why do Christians get baptized? First of all, knowing that Jesus lived the exemplary Christian life, Christians must realize that they are to follow Jesus and be baptized like him. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river. The story of Jesus’ baptism is told in the third chapter of Matthew. Not only does God provide a perfect man for Christians to model their lives after, but God also commands us in the scripture to be baptized. In Acts, Peter tells believers living then and now, to “repent and be baptized.”
Baptism is also a symbol. Baptism is essential not only to obey the Lord’s commands, but also to show an outward sign of inward growth (Steffy 367). Baptism is a public confession of the Lordship of Christ in an individual’s life. A verse in Matthew says, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my father in heaven” (NIV). Arguably, baptism also depicts the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the believer. Often churches that practice baptism by submersion understand this to portray death to sin, burial of the old life, and resurrection of new life with Jesus on the throne (366). Yet another reason to be baptized is acceptance into the church. Often, salvation and baptism must precede membership in a church and participation in the Lord’s Supper (367). There are numerous reasons for a Christian to be baptized. Hopefully all of these reasons are included in one’s desire to be christened. If there are not biblical reasons for being baptized, then it is meaningless.
The Lutheran Church, and other churches also, feel that baptism is necessary for salvation. However, the Bible teaches something different. Certainly, if baptism were necessary for salvation the Bible would have stressed that in all the places where the gospel message is presented. There are numerous verses which say, “Believe and be saved,” not “Be baptized and find salvation” (NIV). Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (NIV). That scripture is proof that believing is the key to the kingdom of heaven. Baptism is not the way to eternal life. Paul fought a legalistic similarity in the first century: circumcision. He stressed to Jews and Gentiles that following Jewish traditions was not essential to Christianity. There are many places in the gospels and Acts that say that believing comes before baptism. A newly born-again Christian must then be baptized, publicly professing their faith. Baptism marks the end of a life searching for a god and the beginning of a new life with God (Lumpkin 61).
Knowing that belief precedes baptism provokes another question: Should infants be baptized? It has already been established that believers are baptized to imitate Jesus, to obey the commands of God, to publicly confess Jesus as Lord and to symbolically represent both their own and Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism of an infant does not fulfill those purposes. An infant is incapable of being born again or regenerate, and thus, has no need for baptism.
Is infant baptism scriptural? The answer is “no,” but some might debate. There are many places in the Bible that say that an entire “household” believed and was baptized. Many proponents of paedobaptism say that surely there were infants in those households. The key is that the Bible says that the families believed and then were baptized. Therefore, there may have been some children but even these children were old enough to believe. If one is old enough to be a believer, then one is old enough to be baptized; that is what baptism is all about. Additionally, it is essential to note that during the apostolic age, it was unheard of to baptize infants (Lumpkin 60). The first case of infant baptism took place after the apostles were dead (60). Up until then, only adults were baptized because of their profession of faith (60).
Why is it that so many denominations practice infant baptism if there is no scriptural support? Many churches have a misconception about original sin. The majority of mainline denominations feel that a baby will go to hell at death unless baptized. This belief can be refuted in many ways. First, notice how David reacts to the death of his baby. David says, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him but he will not return to me.” It is quite possible that this scripture can be proof that babies go to heaven when they die. David is anticipating the time when he will go to be with his son. He is no longer mourning.
Another scripture to ponder is Matthew 18:3. This is when Jesus says, “…Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” While this does not directly show that children go to heaven, it does show that little children have no sin to repent for and thus no need for baptism. Many Christians do not correctly interpret Romans 5:12 which says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men, because all sinned…” It is not the sin that is passed to children but death. Another scripture that supports this is Ezekiel 18:20, “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share in the guilt of the father...” With this scripture there is no need to fret over the eternal resting place of a child. There is a common belief that says children are protected until the age of accountability.
After examining these scriptures, it is evident that infants are not damned to hell, and thus, have no need for baptism. Scripture proves that certain denominations have false beliefs on baptism that stem from false beliefs of salvation.
Another unbiblical reason for supporting infant baptism is the parallels between infant baptism and circumcision. However, there are no parallels to be drawn between the two. The basis of the New Covenant is one of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant (Atkerson). In the Abrahamic covenant, God required that all male descendants of Abraham be circumcised on the eighth day (Atkerson). The physical descendants of Abraham were allowed to be in the Abrahamic covenant through physical circumcision while the spiritual offspring played a part in the covenant after “spiritual circumcision” or regeneration (Atkerson). Colossians 2:11 distinguishes between the two types of circumcision, “In him, you were also circumcised, with the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ...” The next verse describes that once a believer is regenerate, or spiritually circumcised, they will be baptized. This does not support being baptized as an infant by any means. In fact, it says that baptism comes after belief. Possibly, paedobaptists are so rushed to find some scripture to support their heresy that they do not take the time to exegete the scripture correctly.
The exact words of Colossians 2:12 are these: “Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him in your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” Another passage that shows the correspondence between the death, burial, and resurrection, and baptism is Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we are buried in 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.” Apparently the scripture views baptism as a symbolic representation of Christ. However, do our modern practices of baptism view baptism in the same light? Unfortunately, many denominations do not baptize new believers by immersion. Sprinkling, or affusion, does not justly portray the symbolism in baptism.
The other reason Christians support immersion is that it was the method used by John the Baptist. He and all other early church leaders baptized and were baptized by immersion. This is evident in the scripture. In Acts 8, there is a story about Phillip baptizing a man who professed that Jesus was Lord. Phillip stopped and took the eunuch “down into the water.” When they came “up out of the water,” the Spirit of the Lord snatched away Phillip but the eunuch continued on his way. In John 3, John the Baptist picked a place where there was “plenty of water.” Even Jesus was submerged completely under the water in the Jordan River when he was baptized. This is alluded to in the first chapter of Mark, “As Jesus was coming up out of the water...” If baptism by immersion was good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough for all believers.
One more reason that baptism should be by immersion is the word baptism itself. The Greek word “baptiso” means to make fully wet, to dip, or immerse” (Steffy 374). When the Bible was originally translated into English in 1611, baptism by affusion was gaining popularity (374). Therefore, the translators of the King James Version Bible did not translate the word baptism to avoid ruffling any feathers in the church (374). Instead, they transliterated the word and created a new English word (374).
While immersion is better than affusion, baptism by immersion is not necessary for salvation. If a believer was baptized by sprinkling, it is not necessary for that person to be baptized again by immersion unless they truly desire to do so. However, a believer that was baptized as an infant really should be baptized again after committing their life to Christ. This is because, as an infant, that child was not capable of fulfilling the Biblical reason for baptism.
Baptism of believers is crucial for three reasons. First, Christians must imitate the man that led a perfect life and follow his example of baptism. Second, the Bible commands Christians to be baptized in numerous places throughout. Finally, baptism is a symbol, not only of the death, burial, and resurrection, but also of individual rebirth.
Baptism is not essential for salvation. Nowhere can it be found in the scriptures that baptism saves a person from eternal damnation. The Bible clearly states that believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the way to heaven. Even babies cannot be baptized into salvation. Babies are guaranteed salvation so there is no reason to think that babies must be baptized for forgiveness of sins. There is no reason for infants to be baptized. Baptism is for those who can confess that Jesus is Lord. Once a believer makes that profession of faith, they should be immersed in the water to represent the death, burial, and resurrection. Also, this is the process of baptism that early Christians used.
Surely, there are no longer doubts about baptism. If this essay raises questions in any reader’s mind, then I pray that the individual will take it upon himself or herself to find the truth. The Lord promises to display His truth to those who seek Him because He is truth. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your heart.”
Sources:
Atkerson, Steve. “Is Infant Baptism a Valid Practice?” New Testament Restoration Foundation. 7 April 2003.
Holy Bible. New International Version.
Holy Bible. King James Version.
Lumpkin, William L. Meditations on Christian Baptism. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1976.
Steffy, Gerald R. Baptismal Manual: Making Baptism More Meaningful. Ozark, MO: Dogwood Printing, 1993.
Jessica McCrearyis a sophomore from Columbia, Illinois, majoring in Religious Education. After she finishes her education, McCreary plans to make a career out of Biblical counseling.
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