The doctrine of baptism has sadly suffered, not only in Christendom, but also among those who are gathered professedly in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Amid the confusion of opinions, we hear of Infant Baptism, Household Baptism, and Believer’s Baptism. Naturally, the sincere and devoted heart enquires: “Are all these taught in the Word of God?”
As this paper is dealing with believer’s baptism, it is not our present purpose to discuss infant baptism nor household baptism, although we affirm that since we fail to find any scriptural support for infant and household baptism, we reject these as innovations of men. It is unhappily true that baptism has been troubled water among professing Christians. That an ordinance so blessed, simple, and instructive, should cause division, allows but one explanation: “An enemy hath done this.” But could such mischief have been wrought had Christians, instead of being taken up with far-fetched inferences, and religious formulae, been content to appeal only to the Word of God?
It is the Lord’s will that His people should be of one mind and should all speak the same thing, so that to leave the question alone, as some advise, and allow each to follow his own preference is clearly to play into the hands of the enemy and to slight the authority of the Lord.
The word “baptize” is an untranslated word. The Greek “to baptize” is baptizo. The translators simply anglicized the word. Dominant scholarship testifies that baptizo signifies “to dip,” or “immerse,” and that baptism is immersion.
The Meaning of Baptism.
This is stated in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with Him [our Lord Jesus Christ] by baptism into death.” The preposition “by” testifies that baptism is the instrument by which the burial is accomplished. As baptism is declared to be the instrument of burial, then necessarily, baptism is a burial. There can be no other possible meaning to the phrase. The logic of the statement is irresistible. Baptism is a burial.
To find the symbol of a doctrine, you must first find the doctrine. The doctrine is officially stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” He passed through death, burial, and resurrection. Death, burial, and resurrection form the official doctrine. The symbol of the doctrine, and therefore of the gospel, must be that which shall set forth death, burial, and resurrection. As burial is a testimony that the individual has died, he who would symbolize the death of our Lord Jesus Christ must be baptized–immersed in water–as a confession of faith in Him.
When the person who is baptized is lifted again out of the water, it is a consequent symbol of resurrection; nor is this baptism complete until the person is raised again from the liquid tomb. He is submerged that he may emerge.
Just as soon, therefore, as you are identified by faith with the cross of Christ, and are counted as having been representatively put to death in Him, you must be buried. Your burial, of course, must be symbolic. Baptism is a symbol that teaches that the person who has died and been buried must rise again. The symbol of burial and resurrection would be incomplete without each other.
The Authority for Baptism.
The vast majority of professing Christians agree that baptism is binding on us now. We find it instituted by Christ Himself. The parting commission He gave to His disciples is: “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Here then, we have Christian baptism introduced. We call it Christian because introduced by Christ, and to distinguish it from John’s baptism. This is the baptism that the disciples were commissioned by the Lord to carry out.
The Mode of Baptism.
Enough has been stated to show that baptism as taught in the Scriptures is by immersion. Nothing more need be added to the clear description given in Acts 8:37-38, “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest; and he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”
The Candidate for Baptism.
From a simple, even cursory reading of the New Testament, it is evident that only those believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation are suitable candidates for Christian baptism. Departure from this general New Testament rule has led into the error of infant and household baptism. An attempt has been made to connect children with baptism by falling back on the figurative baptism of Israel in the Red Sea and in the cloud (1 Cor. 10:2). Remember that Israel was figuratively a redeemed people, and their little ones correspond, not to literal infants, but to newborn babes in the family of God.
This is not the way our Lord made disciples. He made them first, and afterwards baptized them–“Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John” (John 4:1). The disciples followed their Lord in this. The godly way to disciple the nations is to preach the gospel to them.
It has been maintained that the Apostle Paul held baptism as non-essential, for he declared, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 1:17). An examination of the context will show this only means, “Christ sent me not to perform the manual act of baptizing.” Baptizing was not his special work.
The Apostle Paul, himself, submitted readily to baptism (Acts 9:18); he had all the Corinthians baptized (Acts 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:12-16); and he taught the doctrine of believer’s baptism in his Epistle to the Romans even before he had visited their assemblies. Therefore, the assumption, based upon his words–“Christ sent me not to baptize”–that he placed no value upon this ordinance, is definitely refuted by these facts; he himself submitted to it, practiced it, and taught it.
Some teach that baptism is wholly Jewish, and consequently should not now be practiced. They remind us that Matthew’s Gospel is Jewish in character, and they say that the commission of Matthew 28 was given in view of the kingdom. While it is true that Matthew’s Gospel does bear a Jewish character, we need only look into the Book of Acts to see that Gentile converts were baptized by Peter on the authority of Christ, and that not in view of the kingdom at all, for it is not mentioned in Acts 10, and later on Paul practiced baptism wherever he went.
Baptism is of utmost importance, for it is: the answer of a good conscience toward God (1 Pet. 3:21); the ordinance of the Lord, in the keeping of which there is great reward; and an opportunity for the believer to enter publicly and officially into his Christian position and responsibility.
“Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” There are three persons in the Godhead, but One Substance. They have but one name, and that name is God–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Let us think how the whole Godhead is concerned in the redemption which baptism proclaims: the Father sent forth His Son, made of a woman, yet that Holy One was conceived of the Holy Ghost. In the baptism of Jesus, we see the Incarnate Son of God going under the waters of baptism while the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, and the Father says, “This is My beloved Son.” At Calvary, the Father delivered Him up for us all, yet at the same time Christ offered Himself through the Eternal Spirit. The Godhead is seen likewise in the resurrection of our Lord. Christ raised Himself, for He laid down His life that He might take it again (John 10:17); in like manner the Spirit of God raised Him according to Romans 8:11, and yet we read that the Father raised Him (Eph. 1:20). We may also trace the operation of the Trinity in our redemption. We are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:3-14).
The Triune name in baptism reminds us of the formula of the Aaronic blessing upon Israel: “Jehovah bless thee and keep thee; Jehovah make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; Jehovah lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace” (Num. 6:25-27).