When Jesus was probably in his late 20’s, he
went to see John the Baptist who was baptizing people in the Jordan River. John
was conducting a “baptism of repentance”, calling on people to turn from their
sins and follow God with all their hearts. John clearly expected that their
repentance or “change of heart” would result in changed lives, for example, he
specifically mentions sharing their clothing and food with those in need.
Jewish leaders responded to John with
suspicion. His ministry wasn’t approved by the religious leaders. Who did he
think he was anyway?! And what did he think he was doing? It’s not that baptism
itself was new. Archaeologists have uncovered large public baptismal pools
around Jerusalem dating from Jesus’s time. They were kind of like swimming
pools, only with steps extending the whole length of the pool on each side.
People would step down into the pool and ceremonially purify themselves in the
water before going up to the Temple to offer sacrifices.
So Jewish leaders knew about baptisms, but John’s
baptism different from the Jewish baptisms of his time. First, the Jewish
baptisms were repeated every time someone went to offer sacrifices. John’s
baptism was a one-time event. Second, John did the baptizing. For Temple
purification, the people baptized themselves. Finally, and most importantly,
Jewish baptisms were largely ceremonial or ritual. John required repentance or
heart change to be eligible for his baptism.
Although the Jewish religious leaders were
suspicious of John and his baptizing ministry, Jesus responded to John’s call
to be baptized—and theologians ever since have wondered why Jesus who, “Knew no
sin” would get baptized. The best answer is that Jesus was publicly identifying
himself in solidarity with sinful human beings for whom he would one day die.
By the way, we Baptists assume—I think rightly—that
John baptized by immersion or dunking under the water. Chapter 3 of the Gospel
of John says that John the Baptist was baptizing by the village of Aenon
because there was, quote, “plenty of water” there. If John was just sprinkling or
pouring water on people any small pool or container of water would do and there
would be no need for a river with plenty of water.
According to John chapters 3 and 4, Jesus and
his disciples continued this practice of baptizing people—though Jesus himself
didn’t actually do the baptizing.
After Jesus’ resurrection he met with
his disciples and according to Matthew 28 he gave them this command: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. It is important
to emphasize that in Jesus’ command to make disciples, the very first step was
to get them baptized. Baptism was the first step of discipleship. Baptism was the
first step of obedience to Jesus, the initial expression of genuine faith.
At the end of Mark’s Gospel, in chapter 16—a
passage that is disputed though I think it may be genuine—Jesus adds, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever
does not believe will be condemned. Jesus just takes it for granted that
those who genuinely believe will be baptized. Repentance and baptism go
together like salt and pepper, fish and chips, or needle and thread. In fact, repentance
without baptism may call into question the seriousness of the repentance.
Notice that Jesus says that those who do not
believe will be condemned, but he doesn’t say that you will be condemned if you
are not baptized. That is because baptism by itself does not save anyone. For
example, Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today
you will be with me in paradise” even though the thief couldn’t
possibly be baptized—he was being crucified! People sometimes face situations
that make baptism impossible. Baptism does not save anyone.
In fact, if we think baptism is something we
must do or have done to us in order to be saved, it becomes a “work of
righteousness,” and in Titus 3 Paul specifically teaches that we are not saved
by works of righteousness that we have done.
So baptism does not save us. Baptism is just the initial expression of genuine
faith.
Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection,
Peter, preached to a very large and potentially hostile crowd and according to
Acts 2:38 he concluded saying, “Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins.” For Peter, as for John the Baptist and Jesus, repentance
and baptism go together hand-in-glove. Genuine repentance involves a change of
heart which includes a desire to turn from the idols we put before God
and turn to Jesus Christ with our whole heart.
Baptism by immersion symbolizes this. Going
down into the water symbolizes our old self-centered life being dead and
buried. Coming up out of the water symbolizes our new life of devotion to
Christ. In fact, that is precisely the comparison Paul makes in Romans 6:4
where he says, We were therefore buried with him through
baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Baptism symbolizes death to our old self-centered
life, and resurrection to a new Jesus-centered life.
Later on, when Philip preached the gospel in Acts chapter
8, both the men and women who believed, got baptized. Also in Acts 8 when the
Ethiopian Eunuch believed, he immediately got baptized. In Acts chapter 9, when
Saul, also known as Paul, believed, he got baptized. In Acts chapter 10 when
Cornelius and his household believed, they all got baptized. In Acts 16 when Paul
preached the Gospel in Philippi, Lydia and her whole household believed and got
baptized. In Acts 18 while ministering in Corinth, the Synagogue leader Crispus
and his whole household believed and were all baptized, along with many other
Corinthians.
In Acts 19 Paul was ministering in Ephesus when he came
across a group of people who were disciples of John the Baptist and had
received John’s baptism. When they heard about and believed in Jesus, they got
baptized again.
Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Genuine faith in
Jesus was always followed by baptism! The idea of an unbaptized Christian would
have been unthinkable to the apostles and early church.
Near the end of the book of Acts, Paul
is arrested and allowed to give his defense. He gives his testimony and
presents the Gospel. He doesn’t close with an altar call. He says, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and
wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Notice that it is actually the calling on the name of the Lord in faith that washes
away your sins. Baptism just symbolizes that washing away of sins. But for
Paul, the very first response to the Gospel—if you truly believed—was to be
baptized!
And that has generally been accepted
in Christians churches of all denominations for 2,000 years
until modern Evangelicals somehow got the notion that baptism was an option
extra that you could take or leave. In fact, even churches that believe in
infant baptism, baptize adults who have never been baptized as infants.
So that raises the question about
infant baptism. Why was it that for about 1500 years, until Anabaptists came
along, that virtually all churches baptized infants?
One argument for infant baptism is that several
times the book of Acts mentions entire households being baptized. Surly some of
those households had infants who were baptized.
Baptists would point out, however, that in Acts
18 when it talks about the baptism of Crispus, it says that he and his entire household believed in the Lord.”
This wasn’t about infants being baptized since infants don’t have the capacity
to believe. When Acts talks about entire households being baptized, it could be
that Luke just takes it for granted that we are only discussing those old
enough to believe. The fact is that we just don’t know if there were any
infants in those particular households. So this is not a very strong argument
for infant baptism.
A much stronger argument for infant baptism is
in Colossians 2 when Paul compares baptism to circumcision. Colossians 2:11-13 says,
11 In him that is, in Christ, you were also circumcised with a
circumcision not performed by human hands. In other words, Paul
is not talking about a literal circumcision but a metaphorical circumcision.
Paul goes on to explain what he means: Your whole self, ruled by the flesh, was put off when
you were circumcised by Christ. Circumcised by Christ? What does
that mean? Paul explains, you
were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with
him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your
faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
In this passage, Paul likens baptism to
circumcision—Since babies were circumcised, why shouldn’t babies be baptized?
Now to be honest, this is a pretty
strong argument for infant baptism. So why don’t Baptists baptize infants? Don’t
we believe the Bible? Baptists would argue that the point of Paul’s
comparison is that both baptism and circumcision symbolize the putting off of
the body of sin. That’s precisely what Paul says in Colossians 2:11 when he
writes, Your whole
self, ruled by the flesh, was put off when you were circumcised
by Christ. Just as the physical flesh was cut off in circumcision,
metaphorically, you are cutting or renouncing your sinful flesh, or old way of
life, when you get baptized. Baptists would insist that this is the point of
the comparison—not the age of the one being baptized. To focus on the age
issue, misses the point.
So how were we “circumcised by Christ?” Paul explains in Colossians
2:12, having been buried with him in baptism, in
which you were also raised with him through your faith. So baptism symbolizes being
raised with Christ which happens, Paul says, through your faith. Infants don’t have faith in Jesus, which
leads Baptists to believe that Paul was not advocating the baptism of infants
in Colossians 2 or anywhere else. That wasn’t the point of his comparison.
But there have been many brilliant and godly Christians
down through the centuries who sincerely believed that infant baptism is
scriptural. In fact, there are many believers today who do not want to be
baptized as adults because they honestly believe that their own infant baptism
was biblical. They think that to get re-baptized would be to renounce their
first baptism—and I respect their views on this.
My personal perspective, however, is that to be
re-baptized as an adult is no more a disrespect of your infant baptism than a
reaffirmation of marriage vows disrespects your first marriage vows. I myself
was baptized as an infant in a Lutheran Church but was re-baptized as an adult.
Anyway, in just a few
minutes, I’m going to baptize ***, and I’m going to ask him five
questions which I think summarize what saving faith and baptism are all about.
My first question will be
Do you confess you have sinned against God in thoughts,
words and actions; and that apart from Jesus Christ you would stand guilty
before God?
In First John the apostle tells us that If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves…”
In Romans 3:10 the apostle Paul says,
“There is none righteous, no not one.” A
few verses later Paul adds that “All have sinned and
come short of the glory of God.” Paul goes on to say in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death.
If you don’t believe that you have sinned
against a holy God and that apart from Jesus Christ you would stand guilty
before God then according to the Bible, unless you repent, you will not be
saved from the wrath of God at the final judgment and should not be baptized.
My second question will be: Do you
believe that in Jesus Christ, God became human, died as a sacrifice to pay the
penalty for your sin, and physically rose again from the dead?
Many volumes have been written about this one,
but suffice it to say that if Jesus is not who the Bible says he is—that is the
Son of God who died for us and rose again—you have little reason to believe
Jesus could save you from anything! You might just as well be believing in
Aristotle or Oprah for your salvation—and you should not be baptized.
My third question will be, Do you
believe that Jesus Christ is your only hope of being saved from the
wrath of God at the final judgment?
Jesus said, I am the
way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.
According to Acts chapter 4, Peter spoke to the ruling leaders of Israel about
Jesus saying, Salvation is found in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Both Jesus and Peter are insisting that Jesus is the only way to be
saved. If you are trusting anything other than Jesus for your salvation, the
Bible teaches that you will stand condemned before a holy God at the final
judgment—and you should not be baptized.
My fourth question will be, Do you
repent of your sinfulness and testify that you love and are deeply committed to
Jesus Christ as your Lord and King?
Saving faith is not just believing facts about
Jesus. Even the demons believe those facts! Saving faith is not just trusting
that God will save us. Many who are trusting that God will save them will hear
Jesus say, “depart from me you workers of
lawlessness, I never knew you.”
The great reformer, John Calvin, speaks of
saving faith as the “disposition” or attitude of your heart. This is an
attitude of sorrow for sins and a desire to change, coupled with a heart of
loving devotion and commitment to Jesus Christ above all else. Jesus talked
about loving him even more than we love our own life. Paul said that if anyone
does not love the Lord Jesus, let them be accursed. If you are not lovingly
dedicated to Jesus, you do not have saving faith and should not be baptized.
My last question will be Is it your sincere
desire to live your life in a manner pleasing to the Lord?
Paul urges the Colossians to live their lives “in a manner worthy of the
Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Col.1:10).
Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he taught them how they “ought to walk and to please God” (1 Thess.4:1). Genuine
saving faith involves a heart attitude of love for Jesus that makes us want to
please him. No one does that perfectly, of course. But if someone has no desire
to please Jesus, it is strong evidence that they do not have genuine saving
faith and should not be baptized.
I would say that genuine faith is like our
marriage vows in which we pledge to love, honor and obey our Lord Jesus Christ—and
baptism is like the wedding ring symbolizing the union.
If you claim Jesus Christ as your savior but
have never been baptized at any time, you really need to be baptized. Baptism is not
just an optional extra.
And if you don’t know Christ as your savior and
Lord you should not put that off. You never know when this day might be your last.
