I cannot stress the point enough that this is the most important decision you'll ever make in your lifetime: getting baptized. Baptism is the moment you go from darkness to light, from death to life, from sin to righteousness. Baptism saves you—it is not, as you will see, just an outward sign of an inward change as Baptists teach. The following is proof of the need to be baptized. But first, let us define the word. Webster gives the meaning of the word as
bap - tism n. A Christian sacrament of spiritual rebirth through the application of water. baptismal adj.
The Confusion
Is sprinkling baptism? That's the modern-day definition, and the word has quite evidently lost some of its meaning in its transliteration from the Greek. Our word baptize comes from the Greek verb baptizo, which means to dip or to immerse. In English, the word has come to mean any kind of sprinkling, dipping, anything that these false religions claim is baptism—but in reality, baptism is solely immersing in water. That means that the person being baptized goes down completely into the water. Romans 6:3–4 states,
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death? 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.Note the "buried" portion of verse 4. You normally don't bury people by sprinkling dirt on their heads—you immerse them in the dirt. It's not a burial without immersion in soil. Therefore, you have not been baptized if you were just sprinkled.
What about infant baptism? Another problem with the teachings of false religions is the baptism of infants. Just take a look through the Bible—we have no record of baptism in any other age group besides adults. In Acts 2:41, it says that "those who gladly received his word were baptized." Youngsters can't gladly receive the Truth, because they are not fully developed in their emotional faculties, and they don't comprehend the gospel. Acts 8:12 says that "men and women were baptized." That obviously doesn't include babies. In the same chapter, verse 38, a eunuch from Ethiopia, a treasurer for Queen Candace, is baptized—another adult. Paul was baptized in Acts 9:18, and we all know he was an adult. More adults were baptized in Acts 10:47–48. Acts 18:8 says the Corinthians heard, believed, and were baptized. No infants were baptized here because infants lack the capacity to believe. Also, 1 Corinthians 1:14–17 mentions the baptism of adults.
In some of these verses, as in the last one, it says the household was baptized. Some may claim that that includes children, but we have no indication from scripture that any infants were baptized, or even members of said households. My point is that there are no examples of infant baptism, so people are going out on a limb and assuming that it is okay, but in reality, one must believe understand why he is getting baptized—baptism means nothing to a baby. Baptism and belief go hand in hand (Mark 16:16).
In whose name are we baptized? Some say that we are to be baptized solely in the name of Jesus. They quote Acts 2:38, which indeed says to be baptized in Jesus' name, but they take this out of context and miss the big picture. The Bible is one book, and we can't just take one verse out of context and refuse to look at the rest. Many do this with Romans 10:10, saying that faith alone will save a man, but they don't look at other verses (like, for instance, Acts 2:38) that mention other steps in the plan of salvation. On the subject of whose name we are to be baptized in, we must also look at Matthew 28:19, which says we should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 doesn't give us the complete picture. Why did Peter choose to say only Jesus' name on the Day of Pentecost? I don't know. He had just finished a sermon finsished a sermon about Him, so perhaps he felt that Jesus' name was the only one he needed to say at the time. I don't know the exact reason, but Jesus said to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so if we want to go by the Bible's teachings, that's what we'll do.
The necessity
Some religions teach that, as I've mentioned, one has only to believe and that saves him. Well, that's true—to a point. Romans 3:28 says "that a man is justified by faith." But what kind of faith do you have if you neglect to do the things God has commanded? Okay, here's the deal: Acts 2:38 plainly states,
The Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.""Remission" means "forgiveness" in this context; could it possibly be made clearer: sins are forgiven at the point of baptism, not belief. Let's check out this scripture, too: "There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism." (1 Peter 3:21) Baptism saves. Various people, including Peter and the Christ Himself, commanded baptism (see Matthew 28:19–20; Mark 16:15–16; Acts 10:46–48; and Acts 22:12-16)—and why exactly did they command it? Because baptism is what now saves us. The need is there—so why wait?
The bottom line
Many people are perplexed by the thought of baptism—an action—saving us. They say that baptism is a work, and we are not saved by works (Romans 4:2–6, 9:31–32), so baptism does not save. They say that it is Jesus who saves, so we must believe in Him to be saved.
But there are some flaws with this logic. First of all, Jesus calls belief a work in John 6:29:
Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."So if we're not saved by works, and belief is a work, then, according to their logic, we're not saved by belief, even though belief is the thing they say saves us.
Let me clear this up. Belief alone won't save us—even demons believe in God (James 2:19). Jesus saves us because He is the Way to the Father (John 14:6). Jesus saves us because He is the Door, the gate to Heaven (John 10:9). So if Jesus is how we get into Heaven, how do we get into Jesus? Galations 3:27 says,
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.We have Christ when we are baptized into Him. The way into Christ is through baptism. We're not in Christ unless we've been baptized into Him. Baptism is how we get into Jesus, but why does baptism put us in Him? We read some of this earlier, but let's look at it again. Romans 6:3–7 states,
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death? 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. For is we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.Again, this passage says we are baptized into Christ. Baptism is how we gain access to Jesus, and Jesus is how we gain access to Heaven. But why is it this way? Because we are baptized into His death. According to Hebrews 9:22, there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, so baptism is how we come in contact with that blood. Jesus died so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16), and without His death, His shedding of blood, we can't have eternal life because we would still be in sin. Therefore, we need baptism in order to be washed in His blood, and with His blood comes forgiveness.
I hope I've explained that in an understandable, intelligible way. It can seem complicated, but it is the simple truth of God, that we are saved by the blood of Christ through baptism.
Some objections
What about the thief on the cross? Many who don't believe in the saving value of baptism point to this man to whom Jesus promises Heaven without having been baptized (Luke 23:39–43). They say that if the thief could get into Heaven without baptism, then so can we. However, there is something we need to consider here: Jesus had not yet set the conditions for salvation. He didn't say, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved," until after His death and resurrection. The thief was not under those conditions, so the promise of salvation from Jesus' mouth at that moment was all it took.
In some verses, faith is said as essential to salvation, but no mention is made of baptism. This is true, but it does not weaken the case for baptism. I do not know why this is, but there are a variety of possible explanations. Let's take Romans 10:10 for example: It says belief and confession save, but it does not mention baptism. Keep in mind, however, that baptism has already been mentioned in this book (chapter 6), so perhaps Paul felt it unnecessary to repeat that portion. Perhaps he felt that his audience had a good understanding of how baptism saves us, so he saw it as redundant. Perhaps they needed further instruction in faith and confession, but no further instruction in baptism. I don't know Paul's reasons for writing in this manner, but it doesn't really matter. I could use the same argument these faith-only advocates use in defense of baptism. Acts 2:38 says we receive forgiveness of sins through repentence and baptism; I could use this verse to say faith isn't necessary, according to the objectors' logic. Of course, faith is indeed necessary, and so is confession, repentence, and baptism. Not every passage dealing with salvation mentions baptism, but that doesn't mean we can dismiss the ones that do.
Saying baptism—a work—saves us denies the power of God. Some say that since baptism is something we do ourselves, it means we're saving ourselves, and that denies God any role in our salvation. Those who believe in salvation by faith alone are the ones who usually make this argument—but remember, faith is a work (John 6:29). So if we believe in God of ourselves, are we saving ourselves? Absolutely not, and the same is true of baptism. By being baptized, we are meeting God's requirements for salvation, not saving ourselves. Baptism is the act of running into the arms of God and saying, "Save me." The water has no saving value, but the blood that we're baptized into does. By being baptized, we're baptized into Jesus' death (Romans 6:3), so it is Jesus who saves us. Baptism isn't a denial of God's power—it's a display of how a loving, almighty God came down in human form and died for us, and how He is so powerful that He lived sinlessly, died for us, and rose again.
Paul said he wasn't sent to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. It is true; Paul said this in 1 Corithians 1:17. Taking into account the volume of other scriptures that teach that baptism is essential for salvation, we must conclude Paul did not mean baptism is unnecessary. He just said baptizing was not his job in the church. We all have our talents, our gifts, our duties in the church, and we should do what we're good at. If you're good at leading songs, do that. If you're great at preaching, preach away. We all have our jobs to do, and baptism wasn't Paul's job. For more information, read 1 Corinthians 12:12–31.
Jesus tells a woman that her faith saved her. True; in Luke 7:50, Jesus says, "Your faith has saved you." But this does not apply now. The woman was under the covenant of the old law, and Jesus had not yet brought about the new law (which is applicable to us today) in which baptism saves. Her faith saved her then, but we are not under the same requirements for salvation.
The urgency
Are you in sin? Have you been baptized? Baptism is, as I have demonstrated, what takes you out of sin, what washes it away, using Christ's blood. Jesus died for you, so are you going to turn Him down and not join His church? He's waiting for you.
If you're not saved, you're lost. Plain and simple. Those that are lost go to Hell. If you're lost, you haven't a moment to lose. I'm not trying to scare the lost one into being baptized, but the danger of hell-fire is there. Just think of Heaven—all day long, praising the Lord our God in a beautiful symphony of singers. Just think—away from all the troubles this cursed world holds, away from death, pain and agony, away from sorrow, away from just something as simple as night. Be baptized, because without accepting God's grace and obeying His commands, you don't stand a chance. Baptism saves us. Are you saved?
The conclusion
After a detailed study of Scripture, we find that the following hold true:
- Sprinkling is not baptism. It must be immersion, a burial. (Romans 6:3–4)
- Infants cannot receive true baptism because they can't believe and understand. (Mark 16:16)
- We are to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)
- We receive remission of sins through baptism. (Acts 2:38)
- Baptism saves us. (1 Peter 3:21)
Thank you for taking part in this study. If you had any doubts about baptism's saving value before, I hope you see now that it is the antitype that now saves us. God bless you.
