Water baptism |
We believers
in Jesus Christ have been baptized in water (in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit). Why? Because Jesus Christ, before He was
taken up into heaven, commanded His apostles: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 – NKJV). Therefore we, as
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, have obeyed a specific command of the
Lord. |
Now, since
water baptism is a rite which was commanded by Christ Jesus, it must have a
meaning and it must be important. |
So let us see
what the Scripture says about the meaning of water baptism and its
importance. |
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The meaning and importance of water baptism
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The apostle
Peter says that water baptism is “an appeal to God for a good conscience” (1
Peter |
All of us,
after we believed in the Lord, felt we needed to be baptized because we
perceived in us by the Spirit that even though we were sons of God washed in
the blood of Jesus Christ, we had to obey the Lord’s command concerning water
baptism in order to have a good conscience before God. Of course, we were
sure that we were both saved and forgiven, but, notwithstanding this, we felt
we had to be baptized in water according to the order given by Christ, our
Saviour. Therefore, according to the Scripture, by water baptism we obtained
a good conscience before God. |
At this
point, someone may ask: ‘Does a believer have a good conscience before he is
baptized? Or does the good conscience follow water baptism?’ Well, according
to the Scripture, the conscience of a believer is cleansed from dead works by
the blood of Jesus Christ and not by the water in which he is immersed after
believing, as it is written: “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the
ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of
the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14 – NKJV). Therefore, it is
when a man believes in the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross for the
remission of our sins that his conscience is purified. In other words, it is
by faith in Christ that a man receives the remission of his sins, not ‘by
faith and water baptism’, but by faith alone. The apostle Peter said to
Cornelius and his household: “All the prophets testify about him that
everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name”
(Acts 10:43 – NIV), and Paul confirmed this concept by the following words he
wrote to the Romans: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through
faith in his blood” (Romans 3:25 – NIV). Therefore, every believer has a good
conscience before he is baptized. Why then does Peter say that water baptism
is an appeal to God for a good conscience? Because after one has believed in
the Lord he must strive to have a clear conscience before God, that is to
say, he must see that he keeps his conscience clear. How can he do this?
Well, he can do it by keeping the commands of the Lord, and among His
commands is the command concerning water baptism. The apostle Paul one day
said before Felix: “I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense
toward God and men” (Acts 24:16 - NKJV). He was an apostle of the Lord, thus
He was a born again Christian, washed in the blood of the Lamb, his
conscience had been cleansed from dead works by the blood of Jesus, and he
had been baptized as well, yet he stated that he was striving to have a good
conscience (or a conscience void of offense) before God and men. Therefore,
no wonder that any newborn babe in Christ feels he needs to be baptized in
order to keep his conscience clear before God. His conscience bears him
witness in the Holy Spirit that he must be baptized. Let me tell you
something that happened to me several months after my conversion. In 1984 I
went to |
In
addition to this, by water baptism we were buried with Christ, as it s
written: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were
baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are
buried with 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” (Romans 6:3-4). And since it is the dead who are buried and not the
living, we can say that when we were buried through baptism into the death of
Christ we had already died to sin, since we had repented of our sins and
believed in the Gospel. In other words, we were already born again, thus,
dead to sin, before we were immersed in water; and through baptism our old
man was buried with Christ. Just as Christ was already dead to sin when He
was buried (“for the death that He died, He died to sin once for all”, says
Paul. Romans |
Through
water baptism we told the devil and his ministers (as well as the people who
were present or heard about our baptism) that we have become disciples of
Jesus Christ, and that we do not want to live for ourselves any longer, but
we want to live for Him who died and rose again for us. So we proclaimed that
we have decided to deny ourselves and the pleasures of sin, which the devil
offers us through this evil world. For we should always remember that when we
were born again we were delivered from this present evil age, which lies
under the sway of the wicked one and we were conveyed into the kingdom of the
Son of God; and also that before our new birth we used to serve sin but after
the new birth we begin to serve righteousness. Water baptism, therefore, is
an act through which we proclaimed that we died to sin and to the world. Just
as through the Lord’s Supper we proclaim the death that the Lord died to sin
once for all, so through water baptism, which one undergoes once during his
life, we proclaimed that we died to sin and to the world. And keep in mind
that just as the Lord’s Supper is not the repetition of the Lord’s death, so
water baptism was not an act through which we died to sin because our death
to sin took place before we were baptized. Consider that in some countries to
be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ means to be condemned to
death by one’s countrymen: this is why many of our brothers in these
countries have been killed after water baptism, for thus they proclaimed
publicly their decision to follow Christ. That shows that in these countries,
according to the enemies of the Gospel, everyone who decides to be baptized
has decided to proclaim that he has denied his former religion and embraced a
new religion, and thus he deserves to be put to death for he is a traitor or
apostate. |
Water baptism
is an act through which we declared that we are not ashamed of Christ, but we
are willing to bear His reproach in this world of darkness. Therefore, the
fact that many believers, before their water baptism, have met with strong
opposition on the part of their unbelieving parents and relatives is due to
the fact that the devil, through those who are under his power, tried to
induce them to be ashamed of their Saviour. For the adversary knows that
Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels” (Mark |
At this
point, someone will say: ‘If it is not by water baptism that we have been
saved (because we have been saved by faith), why then does Peter say that
baptism saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter |
I want to emphasize
the fact that both Peter and Paul (I cite them because I have cited their
words concerning water baptism) did baptize immediately those who believed in
the Lord; I remind you of this so that you may understand that for them water
baptism had to follow faith immediately and it was not to be administered
after weeks or months or years. Their behaviour shows that even though they
did not teach baptismal regeneration they considered water baptism an
important rite which according to the words of Jesus was to be administered
immediately. However, today their example is not followed by most Churches;
and the reasons why believers are not baptized immediately are not confirmed
by the Scripture. As you know, many pastors want to baptize believers only
during spring or summer, or when there is a substantial number of people who
need to be baptized (so they refuse to baptize only one person or just two
persons), and it grieves our heart to see such things. |
I say this:
if the priests of the roman catholic church command parents to have their
infants ‘baptized’ a few days after their physical birth for they think that
through the ‘holy water’ sprinkled on them they will be regenerated and thus
they will become sons of God (which is not true); how much more must the
ministers of the Gospel command the spiritual infants to be baptized
immediately, knowing that water baptism is “an appeal to God for a good
conscience” and not the means by which men are regenerated and become sons of
God!! Why should a dead man, that is, a man who has died with Christ, be
buried after days, weeks or months? What hinders him from being baptized
immediately? Is it not true that when Christ died, He was buried immediately?
Why then shouldn’t a man who has died with Christ be baptized immediately? If
when a person dies his relatives decide to bury him as soon as possible, why
shouldn’t a person who has died to sin (because he has accepted Christ as His
personal Saviour and Lord) be baptized as soon as
possible? |
Therefore,
ministers of the Gospel, do not delay in baptizing
those who have really believed in the Gospel. |
I want to
take the opportunity to exhort also those who have believed but they delay in
being baptized. I say to you: ‘Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized’.
See that you are not ashamed of water baptism because it is an order given by
Jesus Christ and you must obey it. Do not be deceived by the devil, who tries
to deceive you into believing that you do not need to be baptized or that
water baptism is not important. Submit yourselves to Christ, and resist the
devil with the shield of faith. |
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Who must be baptized and how water baptism must be administered
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According
to the Scripture, water baptism must be administered to people who have
repented of their sins and have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore
infants must not be baptized, for they do not distinguish right from wrong
and they are not able to believe with their heart in the Lord. |
The
following verses of the Scripture show that those who are to baptized must
first repent of their sins and believe in the Gospel which is preached to
them, so infants cannot be baptized. |
● “Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter
and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then
Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, …. Then they
that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were
added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts |
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“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the |
● “Many
of the Corinthians who heard him [Paul] believed and were baptized” (Acts
18:8 – NIV). |
As you can
see, in the above mentioned verses the following expressions “they that
gladly received his word”, “when they believed Philip” and “believed” precede
the expression “were baptized” , and thus they show clearly that in ancient
times water baptism was administered only to those who had believed in the
Gospel. That is in agreement with the following words of Jesus: “He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark |
In
addition to this, we must say that the baptism of which the above mentioned
Scriptures speak consisted in immersing believers in water and not in
sprinkling some water on their head. On the other hand the Greek word baptizo means ‘to immerse’, ‘to dip’,
and not ‘to pour out’ or ‘to sprinkle’. The following passages of the
Scriptures state that water baptism must be ministered by immersion and not
by sprinkling. |
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John the Baptist baptized people by immersion (even though his baptism was
just a baptism of repentance) as it is written: “Then Jerusalem, all Judea,
and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him
in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:5-6 – NKJV) and also: “Now
John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water
there” (John 3:23 – NKJV). |
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Jesus was baptized at about thirty years of age; he was immersed in water by
John, as it is written in the Gospel according to Matthew: “When He had been
baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water ….” (Matthew |
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The eunuch was baptized by immersion, as it is written: “And both Philip and
the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came
up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the
eunuch saw him no more ….” (Acts 8:38-39 – NKJV). |
What shall
we say then about the following arguments in support of baptism by sprinkling
or pouring, ‘on the day of Pentecost about three thousand people were
baptized and we know that there is no river near Jerusalem in which all these
people could be baptized’ and ‘the jailer and his family were baptized in the
prison and there was no river or swimming pool in which they could be
baptized, therefore in those cases water baptism was administered by
sprinkling or pouring’? We shall say that they are just empty words used by
many theologians to deceive people. God was not bound to move Luke to write
down how and where all those who accepted the Gospel were baptized. One thing
is certain, every time God did not want Luke to write down how and where water
baptism was administered to the believers, it was not because that baptism
was administered to them by sprinkling or pouring! In addition to this, if we
follow this way of reasoning we should say that every time it is not written
that some believers were baptized in water - as in the case of those people
who believed the words of Peter after the healing of the lame man which
occurred at Jerusalem (Acts 4:4), those who believed at Thessalonica, and
those who believed at Athens - those believers were not baptized at all, thus
water baptism was not necessary!! However, if we came to such a conclusion we
would cause the Word of God to state a thing which it does not state and which
is contrary to the Word of God. |
So we have
demonstrated that the baptism established by Christ is to be administered to
those who have repented of their sins and believed, and that it is to be
administered by immersion. Therefore, when a Roman Catholic or a Lutheran or
a Methodist or a member of the Reformed Church repents and believes with his
heart in the Gospel of the grace of God he must be baptized; I do not say
that he must be baptized again because as a matter of fact the water baptism which
was administered to him when he was just a child (or even when he was an
adult) is not a baptism at all but just something which is falsely called
baptism. |
As for the
baptismal formula, he who baptizes should say to the person to be baptized:
‘I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit’ for Jesus said to the apostles: “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). In the name of the Father because the Father drew
him (that is, the person to be baptized) to His Son (John 6:37,44,65); in the name of the Son because the Son received
him and revealed the Father to him (Luke 10:22); and in the name of the Holy
Spirit because the Holy Spirit convicted him of sin, and of righteousness and
of judgement (John 16:8). |
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Water baptism does not regenerate man
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According
to the doctrine called baptismal regeneration, when a man is baptized he
experiences the new birth, that is to say, he is regenerated through water
baptism. This doctrine is taught not only by the Roman Catholic Church but
also by some Protestant Churches. |
Those who
hold this doctrine, support it citing the following words spoken by Jesus: “Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), and also the following
words written by Paul: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration ….” (Titus
3:5). However, both the words of Jesus and the words of Paul, quoted by those
who affirm that water baptism is able to regenerate man have another meaning.
Let me explain their meaning to you. |
When Jesus
said that a man must be born of water in order to enter into the kingdom of
God he meant that a man must be regenerated by the Word of God because the
water represents the Word of God (Isaiah 55:10-11), Surely He did not mean
that water baptism regenerates or that it is able to regenerate a sinner
because this is not true; it is the Word of God that regenerates men, for the
apostle Peter says: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed,
but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter
1:23 – NIV). Furthermore, if the doctrine of baptismal regeneration were
true, it would follow that the thief on the cross who turned to the Lord could
not have entered the |
As for the
above mentioned words of Paul, the washing of regeneration is not the regeneration
worked by water baptism but the purification worked by the Word of God in the
heart of those who have believed, for the apostle says to the Ephesians that
Christ “loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:25-26). In
order to confirm that Christ washed and cleansed us through the Word of God,
and not through the water baptism which we underwent after we believed on Him,
I remind you of the following words Jesus said to His disciples on the night He
was betrayed: “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken
to you” (John 15:3 – NKJV). Notice that He did not say to them that they were
clean because of water baptism, but because of His word, which was the Word
of God, as Jesus said: “The word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s
who sent Me” (John 14:24 – NKJV). |