Introduction
The
Lord Jesus instituted two sacraments for the New Testament church – the Holy
Communion and water baptism. While the Holy Communion is complied with in the
main, except for some church denominations that have placed unnecessary
conditions for participation in it, the practice of water baptism is being
taught and carried out in such a manner that its significance has been lost.
The
Doctrine of Water Baptism is one of the important doctrines in the Bible, yet we
have relegated it to an inconsequential thing and rendered it of minor
spiritual significance. This is most
unfortunate. This article is intended to show the proper place of water baptism
in Christianity in the hope we will make amends where we have been in error.
Water
baptism was taught and practiced in the New Testament only. In the Old Testament,
baptism was observed only in types and shadows. The Bible teaches that some of
the events that took place before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
and before the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, were
foreshadows of the real things, the antitype, that would take place in New
Testament church: “Now all these things
happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon
whom the ends of the world are come”. (1 Cor. 10:11). “For the law having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very
image of the things” (Hebrews 10:1a).
The Doctrine of Baptism
Apostle Paul included
“baptisms” among the six elementary doctrines of Christ in Hebrews 6:1-2. “Therefore leaving the principles of the
doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. Of the
doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the
dead, and of eternal judgment.”
Notice that baptism here is in the plural form. This
is because there are different types of baptism taught and/or practised in the
Bible. For example, 1 Cor. 10:2 talks of some people being “baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea”;
Acts 19:4 says that John “baptized with
baptism of repentance”; Jesus said in Matthew 20:22, “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Our discussion,
however, shall be limited to the baptism that forms part of the Great
Commission in Mathew 28:19 where Jesus commanded His disciples saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost.”
The
word baptism in Matthew 28:19 is not
a translation but a transliteration of the Greek word “baptizo”. The root meaning of the word was derived from the action
of immersing a vessel completely in a fluid, especially water, with the aim of filling
it up in order to draw out a full measure. Sprinkling adults with water or baptising
infants, therefore, do not qualify as water baptism and are not even taught in
the Bible.
Jesus
told Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John
3:3). And again, “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). The water here refers to water baptism. By this scripture, Jesus, taught
that entry into the Kingdom of God, that is, salvation, is achieved via water
baptism and the Holy Spirit.
But
doesn’t Eph. 2:8 teach that we are saved by the grace of God through faith only?
May be so, but remember that James 2:19-26 also teaches faith must be
accompanied by works. Faith without works is dead. Faith must be proved by some
works. Abraham believed God but had to prove it by offering his son, Isaac.
Rahab the prostitute believed in the God of the Israelites but had to prove her
faith in Him by taking action to ensure the safe exit of the twelve Israeli spies.
Though
Romans 10:9-10 says that belief with the heart and confession with the mouth leads
to salvation, some action to prove this faith is required. Hebrews 11:6 says
that we cannot please God without faith, but some works would have to accompany
that faith according to James. Submitting to the sacrament of water baptism is
the work required by God from a believer to prove his faith in Jesus Christ for
salvation. Remember that we earlier established that Jesus said entry into the
Kingdom of God must be by water and the Spirit.
In
the book of Acts, every case of belief in Jesus Christ, without exception, was
followed by water baptism immediately. The 3,000 persons who believed on the
day of Pentecost were immediately baptised. Paul was baptised in Damascus by
Ananias on the third day after Jesus arrested him. Philip preached to many
people, including Simon the sorcerer, who believed and were baptised immediately.
Immediately the Ethiopian Eunuch believed, he asked Philip to baptise him in a
nearby river. Jesus Himself insisted that John the Baptist should baptise Him. Does
this not suggest that water baptism is an integral and necessary part of the
New Testament salvation process?
When
Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 people were convicted of their
sinful ways, they asked him what they must do next. His replied, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). Repentance must be followed by water
baptism in order for God to forgive sins and send the promised Holy Spirit.
The Great Commission Is To Preach,
Baptize and Teach
We
have titled Jesus’ last instructions to His disciples before He ascended into
heaven the Great Commission. While Matthew’s account simply says those who
believe the gospel should be baptised, Mark’s rendition says those who believe and
are baptised shall be saved. (Mark 16:16). Mark makes baptism a condition for
salvation. The instructions are to preach, baptise believers and then teach
them. However, many churches insist on teaching first (for up to one year in
some cases, and even pass some written and oral examination) before water
baptism is administered on a believer. Why these churches choose to violate the
scriptures is surprising.
Baptised Into Jesus Christ
Romans
6:3 says we are “baptised into Jesus
Christ” while Gal. 3:27 says we have put on Christ because we have been “baptised into Christ”. 1 Cor. 12:13 says
“we are all baptised into the one body”.
Though a fellow human being dips us into the water, at the moment of being
dipped, the Holy Spirit carries out a spiritual operation of regeneration in our
souls and places us in the body of Christ. Therefore, the actions of the man
baptising us is not what births us into the body of Christ but the unseen
spiritual work done by God while we are inside the water. We thus become one
body and one Spirit with Christ. That is why in Christ there is no tribe or
race or gender or slave of free or rich or poor. There is only “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism”
(Ephesians 4:4-5)
Warning About Church Tradition
Though
Church traditions and rules have their advantages, the Bible warns about those
of them that may have been couched along the lines of human philosophy and the
traditions of men and not the teachings of Christ. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
(Col. 2:8).
The
Doctrine of Baptism as taught today by many churches has left out a lot of
important elements. To preach salvation without recommending immediate baptism
for for hearers who believers, or to teach that baptism does not save us or
take us into heaven, or to teach that baptism is done just to fulfil all
righteousness, or to conduct water baptism only once or twice in a year where
people have been accepting Christ every week, or to sprinkle believers with water,
is to water down water baptism.
Physical Circumcision versus Spiritual
Circumcision
“In whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also
ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses”. (Col. 2:11-13)
We
are told in these verses that entering the body of Christ is through spiritual
circumcision. This spiritual operation is carried out by God Himself. As we
subject ourselves to water baptism due to our faith in Christ, God does it.
From being spiritually dead in sins and not physically circumcised, through this
spiritual operation, God forgives us our sins and changes our sinful nature
into a righteous one.
Physical
circumcision was required when a Gentile converted to Judaism under the old
Abrahamic covenant (See Esther. 8:17; Acts 13:43). The new and superior covenant
in the blood of Jesus, abolished that Old Testament practice, which was a type
and a shadow of the real thing we now have in Christ. That type and shadow has
been replaced by the anti-type, which is water baptism as evidence of faith in
Christ. The comparison of water baptism with physical circumcision is a
biblical truth not understood by many Bible scholars.
The Repentant Thief Crucified with Jesus
Many
people are confused about the case of the thief crucified alongside Jesus who
repented on the cross and Jesus told him that the two of them would be in
paradise that day. We should realise that these crucifixion events took in the
Old Testament era. Jesus had not yet died and the Holy Spirit had not yet been
given. All dead saints then went to paradise and not heaven. Such saints
include Abraham, David, Elijah, Esther, Rahab, Mary Magdalene and all the other
faithful people we read about in the Old Testament up to the day of Pentecost
when the church of God was born by the arrival of the Holy Spirit.
The
repentant thief, therefore, couldn’t have been “baptised into the body of Christ” at that time. Baptism in the name
of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit had not even been taught. Only
John’s baptism unto repentance, which did not save but was only a preparatory
step, was being practised then. The repentant thief’s soul had to go to paradise
and stay there till Jesus died and went there to move him and the souls of other
righteous dead to heaven. Paul said once he dies, he would be with Christ
immediately and this applied today for all of us. We can therefore safely
assume that paradise is empty right now.
To Fulfil All Righteousness
Jesus
told John the Baptist to baptise Him, though He had no sin, in order to fulfil
all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). Righteousness means right standing in the eyes
of God. This means that Jesus needed to take that step before God would do the
next thing – send the Holy Spirit to Him. Immediately He submitted Himself to
water baptism, the Father in heaven released the Holy Spirit to Him. He then started
His earthly ministry. Without getting water-baptised Jesus wouldn’t have been
given the Holy Spirit by the Father and wouldn’t have been able to carry out
His ministry on earth.
What
about us? We definitely need water baptism in order to fulfil God’s conditions
for the release of the Holy Spirit too or our salvation process would be
incomplete. The Holy spirit is the power of God needed by us for the work of
God on earth. No wonder, Jesus told His disciples not to start any ministry
work until they had received power from heaven through the coming of the Holy
Spirit (Acts 1:8). Why has the church treated this most important and direct
instruction with such levity?
Requirements For Entry Into the Kingdom
of God
Is
salvation by grace alone? (Eph. 2:8). Is salvation by faith alone? (Eph. 2:8;
Heb. 11:6). Is salvation by belief in Jesus alone? (John 3:16; Rom. 10:9-10). Is
salvation by confession alone? (Rom. 10:9-10). Is salvation by belief and
baptism only? (Mark 16:16). Is salvation
by love for God and for neighbour only? (Matt. 22:37-40; 1 Pet. 4:8; 1 Cor.
13:13). Is salvation by hope alone? (Rom. 8:24-25). Is salvation by repentance
alone (2 Cor. 7:10). Is salvation by calling on the name of Jesus alone? (Acts
2:21; 4:12). Is salvation by baptism alone? (1 Pet. 3:21). Is salvation by
works alone? (Philippians. 2:12-13; Heb. 5:9). Is salvation by hearing the word
of God alone? (Rom. 10:17). Is salvation by any of these alone? The answer is, ‘No’.
We are not saved by any of these biblical salvation ingredients alone. How then
is man saved? We are saved in the following four steps: (1) Hearing the gospel message
of salvation and faith rising in us; (2) Believing that Jesus is the Son of God
and the Saviour of mankind from sin; (3) Calling on God to forgive us our sins;
and (4) Getting water-baptised.
If
you have believed Jesus Christ for salvation but have not yet been
water-baptised, I urge you to do so immediately. If you were water-baptised
before you received Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then go and get baptised again
because you have put the cart before the horse, which is of no effect. Jesus
said we should be baptised after we have believed.
