I have spent multiple weeks studying this topic, and now I am very excited to share all of my findings with you. Baptism is a huge topic within Christianity, and many of its doctrinal aspects within Scripture have been widely debated for centuries. I was encouraged a few weeks ago to take a deeper look into baptism, and I was honestly very surprised to see how many people disagree on many doctrinal pieces of baptism. I spent quite a bit of time researching what baptism is, how we are to do it, and why it is so important, as well as learning the different beliefs that are held concerning baptism.
The most concise definition of baptism that I can give is that it is immersion into water after salvation which symbolizes new life. The book of Romans says it in a similar way: “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.” (Romans 6:3-4).
The purpose of baptism
There are a few different aspects to the purpose of baptism. The first and foremost reason is to be obedient to God’s command to us to pursue baptism. In addition, we should desire Jesus, and baptism is what began his ministry on the earth. If you want to get baptized because you feel pressured to, or because you believe that this is simply something you do if you go to church, then please reassess your purpose before you decide to pursue baptism. What is more important in this is your heart attitude, and less of the physical baptism.
Does baptism save us?
This is one of the most controversial pieces of baptism among different church denominations. Some denominations believe that in order to receive salvation, you must be baptized in addition to your faith. However, the Scriptures that are said to prove this are taken out of context. If you compare scripture to scripture, you can see all throughout the BIble that salvation is received through faith alone. My favorite verse to quote when talking about this subject is Ephesians 2:8-9, which says that “for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” This verse makes it clear that nothing we do can gain us salvation: there is no work that we can do that can justify us.
In addition, Acts 15:8-9 says this: “And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.” Again, it is shown that faith is what cleans our heart and brings us salvation. Baptism is amazing, and it is something that every believer should do, but it cannot save us.
Baptisms in Scripture
I believe that the best way to learn how to approach baptism is through seeing all the times it appears in Scripture. There are quite a few baptisms in the New Testament, whether it is in one of the Gospels or in Acts, but I am only going to go through the ones that I feel are “most important”, or at least give us the greatest understanding of baptism and how it applies to us.
Obviously, Jesus’ baptism is one that is worth noting.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:13-17)
This one is a little tricky, because we cannot apply it devotionally as fully as we can with the other ones. After all, Jesus’ baptism was unique due to his divine nature and identity as God. This baptism was important for two reasons: it showed Jesus displaying obedience towards God the Father, and it provided proof that Jesus was indeed the son of God. When he was baptized, we can see that all three parts of the Trinity were present: Jesus in his human form, the Holy Spirit as a dove, and the Father as the voice from heaven. Although this definitely cannot be something we assume will happen in our baptism, it performs a similar task in showing who we are to the world. Carrying out this act in obedience to God is one way that we can show the world that we are a child of God, and that this is something we want everyone to know.
Next, I want to identify some pre-resurrection baptisms, because there is actually a difference between pre- and post-resurrection baptisms. All the baptisms carried out by John in the Gospels serve as examples of these baptisms.
“John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Mark 1:4-5)
At this point in time, people were not getting baptized to mirror Jesus, as he was not yet baptized. In addition, they were not getting baptized to provide an image of the resurrection, as it had not happened. Baptism at this time served a different purpose: it was similar to a purification ceremony in the way that it prepared people’s hearts for Christ’s coming. This is why Mark 1:5 says that people were confessing their sins. This gave people the opportunity to open their hearts towards the coming Christ, and was similar to asking for repentance. This was a symbol for change in people’s lives, which is what it still is today.
Next, all of the baptisms that appear in the book of Acts, such as Acts 2:37-41 (I would recommend taking a few minutes to read this on your own) are examples of post-resurrection baptism, and they serve a somewhat different purpose. While the symbol of changing your heart and your life to follow God, there is a different significance to the baptism, because it now reflects the resurrection and our new life. The most crucial example of this (in my opinion) is Acts 8:36-38:
“And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”
The reason that I find this so crucial is because some verses omit verse 37, which is where the eunuch proclaims his faith in Jesus. Because of this omission, it gives people the excuse to say that baptism can be done whenever, and that it is necessary for salvation. However, if you read it with the correct verses included, we see a quick and simple example of what baptism looks like today. Here, the first step is a confession of faith, and believing that Jesus is who he says he is. After that, we take the step of obedience in baptism to show our faith and make a public declaration of our faith in Jesus. The baptisms in Acts best mirror how we practice baptism today, but other ones are still very devotionally applicable, and I would encourage you guys to look at some other baptisms in Scripture and study them out on your own.
Immersion vs. sprinkling
I don’t want to take long on this part, but I do want to touch on it, because this is a pretty debatable topic in baptism. Some churches practice ritualistic sprinkling when baptizing, but immersion is the biblical way to practice baptism. All the examples in Scripture show that people are immersed in baptism: “when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water”. Although the important part of the baptism lies in our heart and less in the physical act of going in the water, we still need to be obedient to God's commands as to how to carry out this act.
What happens next?
In the Gospels, Jesus’ baptism is said to begin his ministry, and it also begins his temptations. In Luke 4, Satan shows up and attempts to tempt Jesus into sin, by offering things like power and glory. This is similar in our lives, because once we make that public declaration of faith, the devil is going to do whatever he can to pull us back from Christ and bring us back into the sin that we were just freed from. This isn’t something that should be used to scare us from baptism, but we are told this so that we can prepare our minds and our hearts to stand firm in Christ and resist temptation. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Even though we are assured to run into temptations in our life, God will always give us a way to resist this temptation and choose the Lord. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). As long as we remain steadfast in our faith and draw close to the Lord, we will be able to resist any temptation that comes our way.
When to get baptized
Firstly, baptism is something that is done after salvation, so don’t get baptized if you haven’t already received salvation and given your life to Christ. After that, most people will say to get baptized immediately, but I would say that this isn’t always the case. I believe that before getting baptized, you should meet with somebody to make sure that you understand what you are doing. I got saved at 7, and was baptized about a week after, but I had no idea why I was getting baptized, and all I cared about was that the water wasn’t freezing cold. I didn’t understand the significance, or how my life was supposed to change after I made this declaration. Before you decide to get baptized, I recommend meeting with a trusted adult, maybe even a leader of the church, and walking through baptism Scripture with them. Make sure your heart is in the right spot, and that you know what you are committing to.
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I know that this post was much longer than what I usually do, but there is so much to unpack when it comes to baptism. The Bible has so much to say on this topic, and it is a pretty big part of our faith. Let me know if you have any questions, and what you would like to see a word study on next! Love you guys <3
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