A minister in Abilene, Texas tells the story of an unusual event that took place in their baptistery. He was sitting in his office studying when he began to hear some commotion coming from the auditorium. At first he ignored it until he heard someone yell, “There’s a lady trying to drown herself in the baptistery.” Being a little skeptical, he decided to go out and investigate. When he got out into the auditorium, sure enough there was a mentally disturbed woman with her head stuck under the water in the baptistery trying to kill herself. By the time the minister got out there the children’s’ minister had already started through the ladies’ changing area to help and the youth minister was in the men’s changing area putting on the waders. He was going to help but he was determined to keep those torn blue jeans from getting wet. The minister immediately went into action jumping up on the communion table and into the baptistery. Then he held the woman’s head above the water until help could arrive. Someone had called 911 and pretty soon the church was flooded with police officers and paramedics. After it was all over everyone started leaving except for one old veteran police officer. He put his arm around the minister and said, “Son this wouldn’t have happened if you all practiced sprinkling.” Baptism is an issue that is debated quite frequently within the evangelical community. Today we are going to dive deeply into the subject of baptism dispelling some of the myths and looking at the evidence to develop a proper understanding of what the Bible really teaches about baptism.
I. Viewing baptism from a historical perspective.
A. Where did we get the word baptism?
1. The Greek word used in the New Testament for Baptism is baptizo (baptizw) which means to dip, plunge, submerge, sink or go under.
2. When the Bible was first translated into Latin in the early fifth century by Jerome the Greek word baptizo was translated merisa in the Latin which means to submerge.
3. Noted first century historian Josephus used the Greek word baptizo in several different contexts. For example he wrote, “The ship was about to be submerged.” He used the word baptizo for submerged.
4. The English word for baptism did not appear until the early seventeenth century, during the time scholars and officials were translating the Bible into English which was authorized by King James I of England.
5. During this time the Church of England practiced baptism by sprinkling and to avoid a major conflict within the State Church, they converted the Greek word baptizo into the English word baptize to signify all modes of baptism.
B. How did the early church practice baptism?
1. The necessity of baptism for the forgiveness of sins was the nearly unanimous consensus for about the first 1500 years the church was in existence.
2. Immersion for the forgiveness of sins was the exclusive method of baptism for more than 1200 years.
3. In fact sprinkling was not accepted until the fourteenth century when the council of Ravenna made sprinkling accepted in some situations in 1311.
4. The council allowed sprinkling to be used as a convenience in some situations. It was called clinical baptism and was mainly used for those individuals who were sick or dying.
C. How has the subject of baptism been dealt with throughout history?
1. Even the early church fathers saw the essential nature of baptism.
2. In the mid second century Justin Martyr wrote, “We have learned from the apostles this reason for baptism, in order that we may obtain in the water the remission of sins.”
3. Augustine in the early fifth century wrote, “Without baptism it is impossible for a man to attain salvation and everlasting life.”
4. Martin Luther wrote, “Both forgiveness and the driving out of sins are the work of baptism.”
5. The evidence from the use of the word baptizo in Jesus’ day and the view of the leaders in the early church baptism was by immersion for the forgiveness of sins.
II. Dispelling the two most common myths in regard to baptism. (Acts 2:37-38—NIV)
A. Baptism is an option; a true believer does not really have to be baptized.
1. Upon hearing Peter’s message the people were overwhelmed by the guilt that they had killed their Messiah. So they asked Peter what they needed to do to be set free from this guilt.
2. Peter’s response presents the very core of the Gospel. Good news that something can be done about sin and guilt, even guilt as serious as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
3. Two imperatives are given, “repent and be baptized.” In the Greek Language when a word is in the imperative form, the vast majority of times it is to be considered a command or exhortation. Rarely, it can be considered a polite request. Both metanoeo and baptizo are in the imperative form.
4. The Greek term for repentance is metanoeo (μετανοέω) carries the idea of turning from sin to God. Repentance incorporates a change of heart about unrighteousness and a desire to be reoriented toward the will of God.
5. The second imperative is baptism. Peter’s response makes both of these actions equally necessary. He said “repent and be baptized”—not “repent or be baptized.”
6. During the ministry of John the Baptist, believers participated in “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. Now Peter instructed his audience to follow a similar course, except this baptism would be “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
7. They would be baptized now as a response of allegiance to the risen Lord. This repentance and baptism would also bring forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
B. Baptism does not have anything to do with the forgiveness of sins.
1. A number of commentators seek to diminish the force of the phrase “for the forgiveness of sins” at this point, apparently seeking to safeguard the doctrine of salvation by grace. They take the preposition “for” which is eis (εἰς) in the Greek to mean “because of” rather than “in order to.”
2. Peter, they say, meant be baptized because of the forgiveness of sins, implying that such forgiveness had already been granted by the time baptism was administered.
3. This position disregards the very common use of eis in the New Testament to mean “for the purpose of or in order to.” In Matthew 26:28 where this exact phrase appears, Jesus says his blood is poured out” for (eis) the forgiveness of sins. It would be absurd to argue that the phrase means “because of” and that Jesus’ blood was poured out because sins had already been forgiven.
4. The command to be baptized is only one of the imperatives Peter gave. “Be baptized” is joined to “repent” with “and.” Whatever Peter says about the forgiveness of sins follows from both imperatives. Just as repentance is needed “for the purpose of” the forgiveness of sins, so is baptism.
5. This position need not rob the plan of salvation of its basis in the grace of God. Both imperatives expect action to be taken on the part of the sinner.
III. Viewing baptism from a Biblical perspective.
A. Baptism is for repentant believers in Jesus Christ.
1. Baptism is for a person who has reached an age where they can understand that they have sin in their life and that the only way to be set free from sin is to have a Savior.
2. Throughout the New Testament all the people who were baptized were old enough to believe in Jesus, confess Him as Lord and to repent of their sins.
3. Baptism is apparently not for infants who can neither repent nor believe.
4. You will know if a person is ready for baptism if they realize that they have personally disappointed God and desire to make things right with Him.
B. Through baptism we are united with Christ in His death burial and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5—NIV)
1. “All of us who were baptized” means all Christians; in the New Testament there is no such thing as an unbaptized Christian. “Baptized” refers to water baptism and everything the New Testament includes with it.
2. Paul refers to baptism as being “baptism into Christ Jesus.” That he does not dwell on this point shows that it was a basic truth that any Christian would already know. To be baptized into Christ means to be baptized for the purpose of entering into a specific relationship with Him, or into a living union with Him.
3. The phrase “buried with him” basically repeats this. Therefore we must conclude that “into death” means something else, namely, our own death to sin. When we were baptized into Christ’s death (or buried with him through baptism), we were actually baptized/buried into our own death as well.
4. When we became united with Christ’s death in baptism, our old sinful self was put to death—not by our own will power, but by the power of His holy cross. It is as if, in his death, Jesus became a flame that is capable of extinguishing everything having to do with sin and death.
A few years ago Paul Harvey wrote in Guidepost Magazine about his own baptism. He said that even though he had received almost every reward for his broadcasting powers and ability, he still felt empty inside. One summer he and his wife were vacationing in a place called Cave Creek, AZ. Sunday morning came and they decided to go to church. So they went to this little church, and there were only 12 other people present. But there was a good spirit about that place, and for some reason he began thinking about John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." He said, "I liked that ‘everlasting life’ part, and I believed in Jesus, but I had never gone forward in a church service. I remembered one night praying in my hotel room and asking Jesus to come into my heart, but I felt that there was still something that was missing." He said that the preacher got up and announced that his sermon was going to be about baptism. Paul Harvey said, "I yawned. But as he started talking about it I found myself interested. He talked about the symbolism behind it, & how it symbolized the complete surrender of one’s life to Jesus Christ, and how there was nothing really magic in the water. But there was this cleansing inside that took place when you yielded yourself to Jesus." He went on to say, "Finally, when he came to the end of his sermon he said, ‘If any of you have not been baptized in this way, I invite you to come forward and join me here at the pulpit.’"
Paul Harvey said, "To my surprise, I found myself going forward. The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into the depths & rose again I knew something life changing had happened - a cleansing inside and out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain contradictory Paul Harvey’s, just one immensely happy one. I felt the fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit in my life.” Paul Harvey went on, "The change this simple act made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. Since totally yielding to Him in baptism, my heart can’t stop singing. Also, perhaps because baptism is such a public act and because one’s dignity gets as drenched as one’s body, I discovered a new unselfish-consciousness in talking about my beliefs." He closed with these words, "The other evening when on a speaking trip I was flying over west Texas and looking at the beautiful sunset. My heart swelled with joy in my new surrender and I thought, ‘How wonderful, we have all this and heaven, too.
