What's With Baptism?

The Bible contains a vast wealth of revelation and information and it is intended for us regular people to be received by faith, comprehended and obeyed.  While the tenets of the Christian faith can be  easily understood by a child, the most learned scholars can never plumb the depths fully.  Biblical doctrine is complex, but it doesn't need to be complicated.  This is where we can muddy the waters despite our best efforts and confuse rather than clarify.  Water baptism is one topic many people do not understand.

Occasionally there are people who express an interest to be baptised, and I find it important to ask them why.  Among those of the Christian faith there is diversity in practice and teaching concerning the significance of baptism for believers.  There are also many traditions and assumptions people have that are not always based on scripture.  While there is nothing wrong in itself with tradition, the Bible (that teaches us about baptism in the first place!) ought to be the ultimate authority in guiding our beliefs and practices.  The purpose of this post is to briefly discuss water baptism in particular.

The Bible teaches salvation by faith in Jesus alone, so baptism in water cannot save anyone.  Atonement for all our sin comes by the price paid by Jesus on Calvary with His blood, so baptism in water cannot cleanse us from sin.  Some shrug off water baptism as unnecessary because it is not required for salvation, but it is necessary for obedience to our Saviour.  Matthew 28:18-20 reads, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."  Like each person makes a conscious decision to place his or her faith in Jesus to be born again, disciples of Jesus are commanded to baptise and make disciples of all the nations, teaching to observe and obey all Jesus has said, following His example.

Being baptised in water in obedience to Christ's command follows His example when Jesus drew near to be baptised by John.  John preached a baptism of repentance, but Jesus was without sin.  He was baptised to fulfill all righteousness and be identified as the Messiah when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove.  Peter directed new believers to be baptised in Acts 2:38:  "Then 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."  The Ethiopian eunuch who believed Jesus Christ the Messiah in response to Philip's preaching from the book of Isaiah in Acts 8:36-38 requested to be baptised:  "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" ³⁷ Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." ³⁸ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him."  Belief in Jesus Christ as God and Saviour is the sole requirement for baptism, and as we are born again once we only need be baptised once with understanding.

In addition to baptism being a step of obedience, it is personal identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus, that we have been raised to new life by faith in Him.  Baptism cannot add to what Jesus has done for we are complete in Him as it is written of Jesus in Colossians 2:9-12:  "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."  Those who are Christ's are immersed in His life.  Even as Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead, baptism is a picture of dying and burial with Christ and being raised up to new life with Him by God's miraculous power.  Baptism symbolises being born again and cleansing through the Gospel.

If you ever wondered why Christians are baptised, hopefully this sheds light on the matter.  When Peter saw the Holy Spirit come upon Gentile believers he exclaimed in Acts 10:47-48, "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" ⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days."  No one can earn salvation or forgiveness, but all who have received the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus ought to be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Peter commanded the Gentile believers to be baptised, and all who are born again ought to heed this command in submission to our Saviour--as well as obeying all the commands of Jesus like loving God and one another.