Basics
3. Baptism in water
We have now arrived at the second foundation linked with becoming a Christian, which is baptism in water. Let’s just repeat here the way that people became Christians in the Bible, which was:
i) They repented, believed and were born again,
ii) They were baptised in water,
iii) They were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 38).
There have been many disputes in the churches concerning the significance of “christening,” though almost all of them practice it in some form or other. Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about baptism.
a) The outward confession of an inward decision to follow Jesus – the sign of entry into the new covenant
Throughout the ages, God has entered into relationship with man by means of covenants. We can think of a covenant as being like a contract or agreement between two parties. This will contain promises and obligations to be fulfilled by the parties, which both will read carefully, agree to, and then sign or “seal” with a rubber stamp. According to the New Covenant, the obligation we have is to believe in Jesus and follow him as his disciple, and for this God promises to give us eternal life. If we agree to the conditions, the way we “stamp the contract” is by agreeing to be baptised. (God then stamps it by giving us the Holy Spirit, which is the subject of the next study.) Let’s just compare the covenants of God for a while.
If an outsider, a pagan wished to approach the God of Israel to such an extent that he wanted to join the Jewish community of faith, then he made a decision to change his lifestyle, and live from then on according to the law of Moses. The first step in this process was to be circumcised as a sign that he was “entering” the Mosaic covenant, as well as a confession that he intended to keep the law.
In contrast, physical circumcision is not a factor in the Christian life, because we are now living under a different covenant (see Gal. 5: 2-4, “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is required to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”)
On the other hand, the New Testament does compare circumcision with baptism (see e.g. Col. 2: 9-12). This can be understood in such a way, that if someone submits to baptism, he makes a public confession, or pledge, to the world, that he has repented, his life will change from now on, and he will live as a disciple of Christ. As a parallel with circumcision, this is the “initiation ceremony” into the new covenant. (See study 1 on what being a disciple of Christ entails. The continuing sign of the new covenant is the Lord’s Supper, which will be dealt with in due course.)
Whoever follows Christ is called into his service, and for whoever ministers, it is important that he “compete according to the rules.” (Cf. 2 Tim. 2: 5). God called Moses to perform a very important task for him, but when he set out for Egypt to fulfil his calling, God wanted to kill him (Exod. 4: 24-26). Moses had neglected to circumcise his son, even though this was the sign that as a descendant of Abraham, he was in a covenant relationship with God (see Gen. 17: 10-11, 14: “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised … it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you… Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”)
Bearing this in mind, if someone commits himself to follow Jesus and serve God, he should not neglect to be baptised as soon as possible, so that he too will be able to compete according to the rules.
A brief digression
If baptism is a parallel to circumcision, and if someone is born a Jew, then he is circumcised as a child, so what about infant baptism?
Under the old covenant, the Jews, as a holy nation, were the people of God, and if someone was born a Jew, then he received this sign of the covenant. In contrast to this, God’s people under the new covenant are the Christians (a people made up of those Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus). It is important to realise, though, that no-one is born a Christian, even if he is a child of Christian parents. Someone becomes a Christian by the new birth, not by natural birth. So, just as circumcision followed natural birth for the Jews, baptism follows repentance and new birth for Christians.
In all cases that we know from the Bible, baptism followed conversion, and followed it immediately. A little baby can neither repent nor believe.
b) Death and resurrection
I shall quote the passage referred to above, “In him (Christ) you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…” (Col. 2: 11-13).
As well as, “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom. 6: 2-4).
As the freshly converted person disappears under the water and then emerges from it in the act of baptism, this portrays that he has died to his old sins and lifestyle, and from now on will live a completely new life, endued with supernatural, resurrection power.
From the verse quoted above, though, we can see that it is only the faith of the person that makes this at all effective (Col. 2: 12). Baptism is not a sacrament, i.e. a ceremony which works by itself, without any kind of faith being present. If someone is baptised who has not understood the gospel, and not repented, then all that happens is that he gets wet.
c) Washing away sins
When the disciple Ananias came to Paul after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he prayed for his healing, baptised him, and prayed for the Holy Spirit (see Acts 9: 1-19; 22: 6-16). In connection with baptism, he said, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised, and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22: 16). Also in his letter to Titus, Paul alludes to washing sins away as well as the work of the Spirit in connection with regeneration, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit…” (Titus 3: 5).
As baptism is referred to as a washing, and also due to the previous picture of death and resurrection, it is important that it should be performed by full immersion, and furthermore, only on those who have already repented of their sins. The Greek word for baptise (baptidzó), has the primary meaning of dip, immerse or wash, as in reference to the Jewish ceremonial washings (see Luke 11: 38, also the related word baptó in John 13: 26).
d) Cutting off from the past
The New Testament refers to two Old Testament incidents in connection with baptism, where the people of God were delivered from their enemies. 1 Peter 3: 20-21 says, “God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”
Also Paul writes, “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1 Cor 10: 1-2).
The two events referred to are the worldwide flood, which only Noah and his family survived, and the crossing of the Red Sea, when the children of Israel were delivered from the pursuing Egyptian army. In both cases, the people of God passed through “water” in some way, and by means of this same water, those who were responsible for evil in their lives perished – the whole population of the wicked world in the case of Noah, and the oppressive taskmasters who held them in slavery in the case of the Israelites. In this way, the people were able to escape to live a totally new life, in which they were free from all these influences of the past.
In the same way, after baptism, a believer can live a new life having been set free from all evils influences from the past which would otherwise hold him back, such as sin, bad habits, demonic forces, curses, etc.. Once again I should stress that this is not automatic, it is only effective by faith, but it is nevertheless a real deliverance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is baptism a sacrament or a symbol?
Based on the points discussed above, baptism is not a sacrament. The concept of “sacrament” originates from Roman Catholicism. This is a ceremony performed by a consecrated priest (who does not exist under the new covenant) on a layman (who also does not exist), and which is “ex opera operando,” or an act which is effective in and of itself to transmit grace automatically, irrespective of the faith of the priest or the layman. This concept is totally foreign to the world of the Bible. Even the obligatory ceremonies of the Mosaic covenant had no significance without the faith and sincere repentance of the people (see Isaiah 1: 10-17).
Continuing the parallel with the old covenant ceremonies, based on the verses considered above, it appears that baptism has considerable spiritual significance (because it is death and resurrection, washing from sin, etc.), but only in such case that it is combined with repentance and faith. Both the old covenant and the new covenant (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) ceremonies, therefore, are less than sacraments, but at the same time, they are more than mere symbols.
Must someone make a detailed confession of sins before baptism?
This practice cannot be found in the Bible. We see most of the examples of how people became Christians in the earliest period in the book of Acts. The cases can be summarised more or less as follows: the gospel was proclaimed, and the preacher saw that the message had touched the hearers, because they asked, “what shall we do?” (e.g. Acts 2: 37; 16: 30). From this they must have understood that those present were repentant, so they answered: repent, and be baptised (Acts 2: 38); believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (16: 31). In several cases, we just hear that, “they believed and were baptised” (e.g. Acts 8: 12; 16: 14-15; 18: 8; 19: 4-5).
It is true that when the Jews went out to John the Baptist to be baptised in the river Jordan, in two of the four gospels it is written that, “Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan river” Mark 1: 5, cf. Mat. 3: 6). John’s baptism, however, must not be used as a precedent, because it is clear that this was not Christian baptism. John performed a preparatory baptism, and told people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in the Messiah. When it later became clear that Jesus was the Messiah, then even those who had been baptised by John also had to undergo Christian baptism (Acts 19: 17).
It is probably due primarily to Roman Catholicism once again that this particular practice has become widespread in Hungary. If as an adult someone adopts the Roman Catholic faith, then after preparation and study, he has to confess all the sins he has committed in his life before being christened.
We see no reason to insist on this extra-biblical practice.
How should we be baptised?
With regard to the fact that baptism is death and resurrection as well as washing from sin, and also due to the meaning of the Greek word, baptism should be carried out by total immersion. We do not employ other traditional practices, such as sprinkling or pouring. The Bible also says that people were baptised in the river, or in a place where there was a lot of water (John 3: 22-23). The Ethiopian eunuch together with Philip went down into the water and came up out of it again (Acts 8: 38-39). In the Didache, an early Christian writing which probably dates from the first century, it is mentioned that initiation by pouring water on the head is only admissible if insufficient water is available for baptism, i.e. for immersion (Didache, Chapter 7).
When may someone be baptised?
If he has heard the gospel, accepts it, wants to repent, and be a disciple of Jesus. If not, he should not be baptised. If so, then as soon as possible.
This also means that we do not christen little babies. This practice is nowhere to be found in the Bible.
It must be said, that nowadays leaders have a very difficult task, because they have to decide whether they should actually baptise someone who asks for it. Particularly with regard to the fact that many people have a totally false concept in this post-modern world about what repentance, baptism, and the Christian life actually are. In ancient times they would have understood somewhat better that this involves making a complete break with the past, and adopting a new lifestyle.
If we happen to baptise someone who has not repented, then it is of no help to him at all, but on the other hand he may be given a false sense of security, because he may think that he is now a Christian, when he is not.
If, on the other hand, we do not baptise someone who really does want to repent, then we deprive him of the spiritual help from God, which is available to him through water baptism and baptism in the Spirit. If we want someone to get free of all his sins before being baptised, then we are teaching him to be legalistic instead of walking in the Spirit. A holy lifestyle is only possible as the fruit of the Spirit, and not by the carnal nature making more of an effort.
Let us pray, then, that first of all we can preach the full, true gospel, and then we can have the wisdom and insight to make right decisions in every individual case.
Who may baptise?
Usually the elders of an assembly. This cannot be supported from Scripture, it is just our practice. In the Bible, it appears that “the believers” baptised the new converts, see e.g. Acts 2: 41; 8: 12, 36-38; 9: 10-18; 10: 46-48; 1 Cor. 1: 13-17. With regard to the problems mentioned in the previous paragraph, though, it is wise in this modern world to leave the decision to those with greater maturity in the faith.
What formula should we use when baptising?
This is a disputed issue, because there is an apparent contradiction between Jesus’ commission and the practice of the apostles. Jesus gave this command to his disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Mat. 28: 19). In the Acts of the Apostles, though, the converts were baptised in the name of Jesus. If we look at the cases in Acts, however, we can also see that there are differences in the expressions here too, see: “Be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2: 38); “they had simply been baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus” (8: 16, cf. 19: 5); “that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ” (10: 48); be baptised…, calling on his name” (22: 16).
A great many explanations have been proposed as to how these differences can be reconciled, and this is not the place to discuss all of them. Briefly: as there are various differences in the accounts, it is probably not necessary to use an obligatory formula, and we cannot say that if we make a mistake with this then people will not be saved. It is much more likely, with regard to the use of language in that period, that if we do something “in the name of someone,” then we do it on his authority, as his representative, and with respect to him. So the disciples received authority from Jesus Christ, indeed from the whole Godhead, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and this was enough to distinguish the baptism they performed from all other baptisms that were practiced in that period (i.e. John’s, that of the Jews, and those of various pagan cults). The important thing is, that someone should receive Christian baptism.
In consideration of all this, and also in order to cover all possibilities, I propose that one of the following be used, “On confession of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,” or “On confession of your faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I baptise you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Is it ever appropriate to rebaptise anyone?
Only when the form of “christening” the person has undergone cannot be accepted or considered as Christian baptism.
We do not accept the christening of infants as baptism, because no such practice can be found in the Bible. A little baby has not understood the gospel, has not repented of his sins, and has not placed his faith in Jesus Christ. Infant christening is not a sacrament by means of which anyone has ever been born again.
It is perhaps more difficult to decide in a case when someone may have been baptised as an adult, but it was into a cult where he accepted a false gospel, and placed his trust in a false Jesus. Furthermore, it was more important to be baptised in the name of the organisation, church or movement, than into the body of Christ. In such a case, it is highly unlikely that he was born again.
For instance, if someone is baptised as a Jehovah’s witness, he is asked the following two questions: “On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will? Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organisation?” We are dealing here with a Jehovah who is not a Trinity, a Jesus who is not God, and a spirit which is not a person. Moreover, joining the Watchtower society is also a feature of the baptismal act.
Compare this case with the two questions that were put to me when I was baptised in a Baptist church. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal saviour? Do you wish to live as his disciple? And the baptismal formula was this, “On confession of your faith, I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” I think this second case can be considered Christian baptism, though the previous one is much more doubtful.
On the other hand, we do not undertake to rebaptise anyone who, although he has undergone Christian baptism, is not satisfied with the precise form of words which were spoken over him.
Neither do we rebaptise anyone who once repented and was baptised, then fell away from the Christian life for an extended period, and now wishes to return. We consider his original baptism to be valid.
Is baptism a salvation issue?
I would rather not get involved in this dispute – both answers may be supported by “proof-texting.” On the other hand, if we wish to become Christians like they did in the Bible, then all three foundations are necessary – repentance, water baptism, and baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Do I become a church member on baptism?
If someone is not willing to be baptised then he cannot be a church member, but baptism is not the only condition for church membership. More details on the conditions for membership are to be found in the appendix.
