Let’s talk.. Baptism.

In this day and age, there are many disagreements on the purpose of baptism and if the act of baptism saves us.

Today I want to take a look at some falsehoods that many believe about baptism, but first let’s look at the meaning of the word and what the Bible says about it.

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What does the word baptism mean?

The Greek word for baptism is “baptizo” or “baptisma” which means: to baptize, primarily a frequentative form of bapto, to dip, was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment, or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another; consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence (from bapto, to dip).

From the definition of the word, it is easy to see exactly what was involved in the act of baptism: “immersion, submersion and emergence.” Baptism was not sprinkling or pouring, but immersion.

Consider these points:

1) Baptism requires enough water to immerse the believer. John the Baptist baptized in the Jordan River, the largest and most important river in Palestine, and it contained enough water for the innumerable baptisms (immersions) that took place there.

2) Baptism is immersion since one goes down into and comes up out of the water. This is seen in the various baptism accounts in the gospels and the book of Acts.(Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). Matthew 3:16 and Mark 1:10 tell us specifically that Jesus “came up from the water.” In Acts 8:38-39, it’s noted that “both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,” and “they came up out of the water”.

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What is baptism according to the Bible?

Galatians 3:27 says “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Romans 6:3-7 says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.”

Colossians 2:12 says, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

These verses make it clear that baptism is the act of putting on Christ.

The act of baptism is when the cross is actualized for the believer. Every time a person becomes a Christian, a sinner dies, “being buried with him in baptism”, and is raised up a saint “through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead”. Simply put, baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It is not a random practice void of any logic pattern, or special meaning. God chose baptism as the perfect representation of the redemptive plan performed by His Son, Jesus Christ.

Not only does baptism allow us to imitate Christ and also be united with him, baptism also saves us and cleanses us of our sins.

1 Peter 3:21 says, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

🔑 This specifically states that baptism saves us. It’s not the water that saves us but Jesus’ blood that we come in contact with.

Acts 2:38 says, “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

🔑This verse is one that many look over. Many when reading this verse take out “and be baptized” and only believe the part that says repent.

🔑This verse includes two conditions. It says those who repent AND are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will receive the Holy Spirit. Not those who just repent. Not those who are just baptized. Those who have done both!

Mark 16:16 says, ““Whoever believes AND is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

🔑Same with this verse here. 2 conditions are stated. Belief and Baptism. No one who just believes, no one who just is baptized, you have to have both!

John 3:5 says, “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

🔑 To enter the kingdom of God we have to be born of water and of Spirit! And where do we receive that spirit? (Acts 2:38) Through being baptized for the remission of sins!

Acts 22:16 says, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”

🔑Baptism washes our sins away! We cannot disregard verses to fit our own agenda. Faith requires obedience.

Being baptized also adds us to the kingdom of God or the church.

1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭13 says, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

This verse tells us that when we are baptized we are baptized into one body.

Acts 2:41 - 47 says, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

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Notice how in these verses those who were considered saved were baptized. These verses say nothing about public declaration, or accepting Jesus into your heart.

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Another way to look at baptism:

My boyfriend recently did a sermon at my church, and his lesson was titled “It was always the water”.

In the lesson he discussed 2 different occurrences in the Old Testament: Noah and the Flood, and Moses and the Red Sea.

I’m sure many of you know those stories but if you do not and would like to read more you can find the story of Noah in Genesis 6 and the story of Moses in Exodus 14.

The story of Noah is one of those basic Bible stories that we were taught when we were little.

The whole world was wicked and God regretted creating man (man what would he think now..) (Genesis 6:6). There was only one family who was not wicked, verse 8 says Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord planned to send a flood to rid the earth of all living things and he told Noah to build an ark. Noah built the ark exactly how God wanted him to, he gathered all the animals he was told to gather and he and his family got on the ark. It rained and rained for 40 days and 40 nights.

Long story short.. in my boyfriend’s sermon he stated that all his life he had thought the ark was what saved Noah but he had an epiphany. It wasn’t the ark that saved Noah from the flood, it was the flood that saved Noah from the world.

Noah was living in an extremely sinful world; he lived in a time where the earth is said to be corrupt. So much so God regretted making man!

In the midst of that corruption there was only one family who stood for faith, and the flood saved that family from being consumed by the world! It was the water that saved!

Now let’s talk about Moses and the Red Sea.

In Exodus 14, the Israelites cried out for they feared that they would go right back into the bondage they just escaped from, but God had a different plan. In verse 15, God told Moses to stretch out his hands divide the waters. He did so and the Red Sea parted. As we know the people of Israel cross the red sea and as the Egyptians are following them the waters begin to close. Did you know that the Red Sea is about 190 miles wide where the Israelites crossed?

At any rate, just like the story of Noah and the flood the water saved God’s people! The Israelites had fled, but they weren’t safe until after they crossed through the water.

🔑The key point here is that God used water to save his people from the dangers of the world! From the very beginning it was the water that saved, and God uses water today to save us too! He has made a way so that we can be saved and come into contact with Jesus’ blood!

Think of it this way also… after a long day of playing in dirt or being outside working in the heat, when we finally come inside we’re disgusting! When we take a shower, if we didn't use soap what was the point? All we would be doing is rinsing off.

Baptism is the shower, and the rest of the steps are the soap. To truly be clean we got to have it all. We have to believe, repent, confess, and then be baptized!

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Now, let’s discuss some falsehoods about baptism.

• One of the biggest objections I’ve ever heard to not believing baptism is necessary is the “the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized, and he was saved”.

Take these points into consideration:

1. The thief was not subject to the New Testament command of immersion because this command was not given until after the thief’s death. (Or after Jesus’ death) It was not until Christ was resurrected that He said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). It was not until Christ’s death that the Old Testament ceased, signified by the tearing of the temple veil (Matthew 27:51). When Jesus died, He took away the Old Testament, “nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). So prior to the Lord’s death and the sealing of the New Testament, the baptism for the forgiveness of sins that would be in effect after the crucifixion was not a requirement for those who sought to be acceptable to God.

2. The thief on the cross could not have been baptized the way the New Testament instructs you and I must be baptized. Why? Romans 6:3-4 teaches that if we wish to acquire “newness of life,” we must be baptized into Christ’s death, be buried with Christ in baptism, and then be raised from the dead. There was no way for the thief to comply with this New Testament baptism because Christ had not yet died, or been buried, or had been raised.

3. The thief may well have been baptized prior to being placed on the cross. The Bible does not specifically say whether he was or was not. Many assume that he wasn’t but the Bible doesn’t say this! Considerable scriptural evidence points the thief being baptized prior. (Matthew 3:5-6; Mark 1:4-5; Luke 3:21; 7:29-30) If he was, in fact, baptized, he would have been baptized with the baptism administered by John the baptizer. John’s baptism was temporary, terminating at the death of Christ. However, even John’s baptism was “for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4) and, hence, essential for salvation for those to whom it was addressed. But John’s baptism must not be confused with New Testament baptism that is addressed to everybody, and that did not take effect until after the cross of Christ. John’s baptism was addressed only to Jews in the vicinity of Jerusalem and Judea. If the thief was a Jew, and if he already had submitted to John’s baptism, there would have been no need for him to be re-baptized. He simply would have needed to repent of his thievery and acknowledge his sins which the text plainly indicates that he did.

If you take a deeper close look at the thief on the cross, instead of just looking and saying oh he wasn’t baptized and he was saved, you’ll see that he is not an accurate example in this subject.

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• Another objection against baptism is that a person is saved the moment he/she accepts Jesus as his/her personal savior, or “Jesus into their heart”. This is probably the biggest that you hear in the world today.

To suggest that all one has to do to receive the forgiveness of God and become a Christian is to mentally accept Jesus into his heart and make a verbal statement to that effect, is to dispute the declaration of Jesus in Matthew 7:21—“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

Oral confession of Christ IS one of the prerequisites to salvation (Romans 10:10) BUT Jesus said there is more to becoming a follower of His than verbally “calling on his name” or “inwardly accepting Him as Savior.” We also have to believe, repent, and be baptized.

He stated that before we can even consider ourselves as Christians, we must show our acceptance of His gift through outward obedience— (baptism) “He that does the will of My Father.”

James 2:14 - 17 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

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Faith without works is dead. This is why we must do everything the Lord has indicated must be done prior to salvation. Jesus is telling us that it is possible to make the mistake of claiming we have found the Lord, when we have not done what He plainly told us to do.

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46)

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• Another big objection to baptism is that it is a meritorious work (in which were saved by grace not works). (This goes along with the one before)

“Works” or “steps” of salvation do not imply that one “merits” his salvation upon obedient compliance with those actions. Rather, “steps” or “a process” signifies the biblical concept of preconditions, stipulations of faith, or acts of obedience—what James called “works” (James 2:17).

James was not saying that one can earn his justification (James 2:24). We cannot earn our salvation!

Rather, he was describing the active nature of faith, showing that saving faith, faith that is alive—as opposed to dead and therefore utterly useless (2:20)—is the only kind that is acceptable to God, a faith that obeys whatever actions God has indicated must be done. According to James you cannot have one or the other you have to have both! You cannot have just faith, you cannot have just works!

Faith is a belief that motivates a response. By being baptized you are responding to the upward calling. You are being obedient and acting in your faith the way God wants you to!

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Edit: some other points have been brought to my attention! So I’m gonna address those as well.

• Another point that was brought to my attention was baptism being a symbol of faith. Or a “outward showing of inward grace” if you will. I’ve also heard it said that it’s for others to see what Christ did for you.

The New Testament nowhere expounds the idea that baptism is merely a “badge” or “outward sign of an inward grace.” Yes, baptism can biblically be referred to as a symbolic act; but what does it symbolize? Previous forgiveness? No!

Romans 6 indicates that baptism symbolizes the previous death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So the benefits of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (remember, Jesus’ blood, which blots out sin, was shed in the context of His death, burial, and resurrection) are realized and received by the individual when he obediently (in penitent faith) submits to a similar ordeal, the death of his own “old man” or “body of sin” (Romans 6:6), burial (immersion into a watery tomb), and resurrection (rising from the watery tomb).

Forgiveness of sin is NOT received prior to baptism. If it were, the “new life” of the saved individual would also begin prior to baptism. Yet Paul said the “new life” occurs after baptism. He reiterated this to the Colossians. The “putting off of the body of the flesh by Christ’s circumcision” (Colossians 2:11) is accomplished in the context of water immersion and being “risen with Him” (Colossians 2:12). Chapter 3 then draws the important observation: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above”.

Salvation doesn’t have to do anything with other people. Yes we’re commanded to confess in front of men that Jesus is the Son of God and Lord, BUT the act of baptism is not for others, this isn’t taught in the Bible, unless there’s a verse that I don’t know of!

In the Bible, every account where someone was converted to Christianity, they believed and immediately upon belief they were baptized. Conversions in Acts: Acts 2:38, 41; 8:26-39; 9:1-6, 10-11, 18; 22:16; 10:34-38; 16:25-33.

They made their confession in front of people, and they were immediately baptized! Some were baptized in the middle of the night, with no one but the person baptizing them. I’m not sure where the idea of doing it so other people can see that you’re saved came from!

The Bible is its own best interpreter. It teaches that baptism is, indeed, a symbol. But what does baptism symbolize? It symbolizes: (1) Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; (2) the act of “cutting off ” in circumcision; and (3) the waters of the Flood. How could anyone get out of this that baptism symbolizes past forgiveness that was achieved prior to being immersed?

🔑It’s important to look at the whole New Testament (or even just the book of Acts) when we’re living our lives and when we’re discussing salvation. We have to take into context every verse. We cannot just simply believe and get to Heaven, we have to be obedient. Baptism is necessary for salvation. If it wasn’t it wouldn’t have been included in every conversion account in the Bible.

Thats all for now! I hope y’all learned something! If you have any questions or comments please let me know in the comments or feel free to message me!

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