No doubt about it. Baptism is an important of the process of the task Jesus has given us as well as an important part of the process of the believer’s walk with Jesus.
It is not the most important part, nor is it the pivotal part but it is an important part. Why? Because Jesus said so. Because Jesus was baptized. Because every new believer in the New Testament was baptized. You know the verses.
In a recent study I was doing on baptism I came upon a few fallacies in my own understanding of baptism of believers in Jesus. Well, for whatever value there might be in it, here they are.
You don’t need to understand everything that is going on when you are baptized for your baptism to be valid. There is no way a person can understand everything (or even most things) about baptism before they are baptized. Paul strongly indicated in Romans 6:3 that the Roman Christians were unaware of the death component of baptism. Yet, that ignorance didn’t invalidate their baptism. I have many brethren who, to this day, do not believe that they literally received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized as is promised in Acts 2:38, 5:32 etc. That ignorance on their part did not invalidate their baptism and did not stop God giving them the Holy Spirit.
From the scripture there is only one thing that a person needs to believe before they are properly baptized; belief in Jesus (Mark 16:15). That faith in Christ needs to motivate them to turn from sin (repent). There is no scripture that would indicate that anything else is needed to precede a person’s immersion in water into Christ nor are these things expected to be done perfectly. Perfect baptism is no more possible than perfect faith or perfect repentance.
If you or I add anything else, we are adding to the scripture. Many say that for a baptism to be valid, a person needs to understand what God is doing when they are being baptized. God has never made our understanding of what He IS DOING a condition of Him fulfilling His promises. He does however say that we need to understand what He HAS DONE in Jesus’ death and resurrection. You can't obey the gospel unless you know it.
It doesn’t matter what words are said over you when you are baptized. Nowhere in scripture is there even the hint that that there is a correct formula of words that is to be said over person being baptized. The phrase “in the name of” in some baptism verses refers to the authority by which a baptism is being performed, not the words that must be pronounced over the person being baptized.
It does not matter who baptizes you. The faith or position of the person baptizing you is never said in scripture to be an issue. In fact, Paul once said he was glad that he hadn’t baptized some (1 Corinthians 1:14-15). He was glad they were baptized (in fact it was central to his argument) but who baptized them was unimportant. If it did matter who baptized you, then no one could be confident of the validity of their baptism. Who can know the heart of another person. In baptism a person is making an appeal to God (1 Peter 3:21). The person doing the baptizing is an irrelevant necessity. The power in baptism comes from God not from a minister, pastor or priest or the church for that matter.
It doesn’t matter whether you are baptized in a baptistery, in a church building or any body of water. The only necessity is that there be enough water to immerse you (John 3:23 is an interesting statement of this truth). That’s what the word, baptism, refers to. An immersion. The water needs to be there in quantity, that’s all. Some in the early church believed that the water had to be moving water and so would only baptize in a river or similar body of moving water. Scripture put no such restrictions. The water is water. Not holy water. The water doesn’t do anything. 1 Peter 3:21 is clear. The physical washing of the water is not the issue. It is what is in the heart of the person being baptized that is the isse.
No one is baptized into the church. They are first baptized into Christ and THEN He adds them to His church, His family. A believer in Jesus is baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). It is a personal thing between the believer and Jesus. No one in scripture is ever described as being baptized into a local church.
Baptism is not the gospel nor is it part of the gospel. God clearly defines what the gospel is. Start with 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 and follow all the links. It is the same everywhere. The good news of Jesus is His death, burial and resurrection. Baptism is a part of obeying the gospel as is faith and repentance.
Baptism is not a work which entitles you to salvation. I find it particularly strange that the most passive thing (allowing someone else immerse you in water) that we are asked by God to submit to is regarded as a work. There is no work for you and I in baptism. God does the working. The person lowering and raising you do some work. But you don’t. You just enjoy the ride!
Baptism is not the key determining factor of whether a person is going to heaven. What is key? Faith in Jesus. You take that away and you have a bath without soap. With faith in Christ, you have a wonderful marriage of God and one of His children. The scripture again is clear on this. It is what a person teaches about Jesus that is pivotal to their being considered faithful (Galatians 1:6, 1 John 4:2 and all the rest). Baptism is an important part of the process but it is not the key. I may be overstating this but I come from a background where baptism was treated as the pivotal part of the salvation process. More often than not, I asked a person if they were baptized before I enquired if they believed in Jesus.
NOTE: the words associated with baptism are spelled differently on one side of the Pacific to the other. I have let the spell checker spell them with a "z" despite my Australian desire to use the "s".
Next: Truths About Baptism. Coming soon.
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