Water Baptism

What is Water Baptism?

The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo which means to immerse or dip. To baptize something, then, means to completely submerge it in a liquid. In a biblical sense, to baptize a person in water means to put that person completely under the water, then immediately raise him or her up again.

According to the Bible, water baptism is a symbolic act whereby a new Christian identifies with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Water baptism is a public profession of a person's repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and a way of giving outward testimony to an inward work of God.

What Does Water Baptism Signify?

When God baptizes you into Christ, you become a new creation in your spirit, not in your body (flesh). Your body remains corruptible until the Resurrection, but something inside changes. Your heart is washed clean by the blood of Jesus, and your spirit is quickened (made alive) by the Holy Spirit. You now have the ability to communicate with God, hear His voice, love and obey Him, overcome sin, and walk out your salvation by faith.

Therefore, water baptism symbolically identifies us as new creations in Christ. By going down in the water, we illustrate that our old man is dead to sin and buried by faith in Christ. As a result, we are free from our old master Satan. By being raised up out of the water, we show that our new man is raised by the Spirit and made alive by faith in Christ. Since our new Master is the Lord Jesus, we commit to walk in righteousness (not by our old ways and fleshly habits but by our new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit).

The Bible tells us that there is a baptism necessary for salvation; however, it is not water baptism! A person must be spiritually baptized into Christ in order to be saved:

At the moment of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, a person is:

Many people insist that water baptism is essential for salvation. However, this is incorrect. You see, salvation is and always has been about faith in Jesus Christ. You must be "baptized into Christ" in order to be saved; however, this is not the same as being "baptized in water." Water baptism is purely an outward sign of God's cleansing work in a person's heart, and is therefore meaningless without a prior spiritual baptism into Christ.

To illustrate this point, imagine that you have a friend who receives Jesus as Saviour today but then dies in a car accident tomorrow. Your friend never had a chance to be water baptized, but was he or she saved? The answer is yes. That person was baptized into Christ, by faith. The same is true for the thief on the cross, who received salvation because he was baptized into Christ, by faith. So we see that it is faith in Jesus Christ that brings about salvation — not a ritual.

People in the Old Testament were not saved by sacrificing animals but rather by their faith in the coming Lamb of God. In a similar way, one is not saved by being immersed in water; nor is water baptism a requirement for one's salvation. A person is saved purely by his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Just as it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin, the natural water used in baptism will not wash away sin. Spiritual baptism into Christ is what saves, for a heart must be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb:

In the New Testament, Paul told the Jewish believers that circumcision was not necessary for salvation. This statement brought about some heated discussions, for the Jews thought that the Gentile believers should follow Moses' commandment of circumcision. But Paul explained that a person's heart is purified by faith, not by an outward ritual. He said:

Paul's speech persuaded the Jews.

The Bible says:

It would be silly for us to interpret the "pure water" in this passage to mean the absence of impurities in a church baptistry or river. Rather, the "pure water" mentioned here is symbolic, referring to the days when Israelite priests were required to wash with water before ministering in the Tabernacle. You see, God requires clean hands and a pure heart from those who partake in His holiness.

Believers are sanctified and cleansed:

Jesus reinforced this truth when He said:

To further illustrate this point, Ezekiel likens sprinkling of water to the spiritual cleansing of a person's heart. God said:

Indeed, the cleansing work of God unto salvation is a spiritual baptism which takes place in our hearts. God draws us to Himself, we respond by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, He forgives and cleanses us of all sin, and then our clean conscience toward God saves us!

Thus, it is through Christ's resurrection that we have the hope of salvation, because as Paul said, if Christ be not resurrected, then our faith is in vain.

Yes, water baptism is very important. As a first step of obedience in walking out one's faith, a new Christian should most definitely be water baptized because the Bible commands it! Furthermore, water baptism helps new believers understand the spiritual truth that according to their faith, their old man is dead in Christ and their new man is alive in Christ.

However, the fact remains that water baptism is a work. John the Baptist called it a work "meet for repentance." In other words, water baptism is a work which is appropriate for one who has repented.

Ephesians tells us that we are saved by grace, through faith, and not by works so that no one can boast.

To say that "a person is saved by water baptism" is to exclude everyone in the Old Testament from salvation, everyone who has ever been saved moments before death, and everyone who is physically unable to be immersed in water. Clearly, such a belief contradicts Scripture. The Bible teaches that salvation is by faith alone. Water baptism is the testimony of that salvation.

Water baptism is only appropriate for those who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus with all of their heart. A biblical example comes from Acts:

Disciples of Jesus in the New Testament church were baptized to proclaim their total allegiance and commitment to Jesus, regardless of the consequences. For a first century Christian, this meant identifying with Christ even unto death, since many of them faced severe persecution.

Let's look at some other examples of water baptism in the New Testament:

• John the Baptist baptized those who would repent
  Mark 1:5

  And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

• On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 new believers were baptized
  Acts 2:41

  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added {unto them} about three thousand souls.

• The Samaritans that believed were baptized
  Acts 8:12

  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

• Paul was baptized three days after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus
  Acts 9:18

  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

• Cornelius and some other Gentiles were baptized
  Acts 10:47

  Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

• Lydia and her household were baptized
  Acts 16:15

  And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought {us}, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide {there}. And she constrained us.

• The Philippian jailer and his household were baptized
  Acts 16:33

  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed {their} stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

• Many Corinthians were baptized
  Acts 18:8

  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

• The Ephesian disciples were baptized
  Acts 19:5

  When they heard {this}, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

All the biblical accounts agree: water baptism is for those who believe.

Yes, even a child who is old enough to understand the significance of repentance and faith in Jesus can be baptized. Water baptism demonstrates obedience to the command of Jesus and gives evidence of saving faith.

Two Examples of Baptism

To help us better understand the spiritual significance of baptism, let's look at two types (illustrations) of baptism in the Bible.

1. John's Baptism

John the Baptist came preaching the baptism of repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah. Whoever believed John's teaching showed their change of heart (repentance) and faith through water baptism.

John later baptized Jesus to "fulfill all righteousness." In baptism, Jesus not only set a precedent for His followers but also publicly declared that He was leaving His past life as a carpenter to enter into the mission for which He came. He was the promised Messiah Who would baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire, and at His baptism the fullness of the Holy Ghost came upon Him.

2. Apostles' Baptism

In the New Testament, the apostles preached repentance, baptizing new believers in water just as John the Baptist did; but their message went deeper than John's. Now, they preached Christ's death and resurrection and the infilling of the Holy Spirit with power, which was given at Pentecost. The book of Acts recounts many examples of believers being water baptized and being filled with the Holy Spirit (though not necessarily in that order).

So we see from both the Old and New Testaments that baptism is a spiritual work of God which is entered into by faith. For Christians today, water baptism is our proclamation that we are turning from our old life (repentance), dead to sin (crucified with Christ), our past is buried with Christ, and we have been raised anew into Christ's life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Believers can reflect back on the specific time of their water baptism as a signpost of their commitment to follow Jesus, thereby building up their faith in hard times.

Questions and Answers

Below are five common questions regarding water baptism.

The verse in question here is John 3:5, which reads:

If you assume that being "born of water" means water baptism, you might conclude that water baptism is essential for salvation. However, it is dangerous to isolate a verse out of context. The context of John chapter 3 is Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus about birth. In verse 3, Jesus said:

Notice that there are no other stipulations to seeing the Kingdom of God; you simply must be born again.

Well, Nicodemus didn't understand what Jesus meant by "born again," so he asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Nicodemus puzzled over the concept of two births: a first (natural) birth and a second (spiritual) birth. Jesus replied:

With this statement, Jesus clarified that a man had to be "born of water" (referring to conception in the water of the human womb), as well as "born of the Spirit" (birth by the Holy Spirit), in order to enter His Kingdom.

It's really quite simple: you have to be born once before you can be born twice. Those who insist that Jesus added a water baptism stipulation in John 3:5 are ultimately saying that Jesus didn't tell the whole truth in John 3:3. So, taken in context, John 3:5 has nothing to do with water baptism; it has everything to do with birth.

No, there is no scriptural basis for infant baptism. How can you be baptized into One on Whom you do not believe? Baptism is an act of faith by one who chooses to identify his life with Christ, and a baby is not yet able to make such a choice.

There are some who believe that an unbaptized infant is in danger of dying without salvation, but Jesus said the Kingdom of God belongs to children as well as to anyone who will enter it as a little child.

And again:

Additionally, water baptism should involve a person's total immersion in water (not sprinkling), because it is a testimony of the person's death, burial, and resurrection in Christ. Biblically, only youth and adults who were able to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus were baptized. They in turn would lead their families and young children into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

A new believer should be baptized once in obedience to the command of Jesus. Some people, however, may have been baptized earlier in their life (such as in the case of infant baptism) without understanding the significance of baptism, or perhaps they did not truly repent and receive Jesus as their Savior. In such cases it is very important to be re-baptized as a public profession of faith.

Also, a backslider (prodigal son) who has returned to Jesus may want to be baptized again, which is appropriate as long as he understands it is not necessary for his salvation and will not make him any more spiritual than someone who was baptized once. Remember that water baptism itself does not save anyone; rather, water baptism is a public, outward demonstration of a person's repentance and saving faith.

Actually, both ways are found in Scripture. On the day of Pentecost, baptism was done in the name of Jesus. The Jews who had gathered for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit heard Peter say:

Thus, they were baptized into the name of Jesus, for there is:

Traditionally, however, water baptism is done in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost according to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19. But either way is correct, for there is still only:

There is not a ritualistic formula for water baptism, nor does it matter whether a person is baptized in a river, lake, pool, or church baptistry. Baptism is all about faith, identifying with Christ, and walking in newness of life. Christians are to be known for their love arising out of a new life in Jesus, not for how or where they were baptized.

Interestingly, the doctrine of water baptism on behalf of the dead comes from a flawed interpretation of Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 15:29, which reads:

At first glance it might seem that Paul was advocating such a practice, but it is always important to let Scripture interpret itself and not isolate a verse out of context.

1 Corinthians 15 was written to prove the validity of resurrection. Verse 12 says:

Paul continues in verses 13-49 by refuting false teachers who deny the resurrection. This is where Paul's mention of baptism for the dead comes in. He pointed out that those who deny the resurrection, yet engage in proxy baptism, contradict themselves because baptism implies hope of a future resurrection! Thus, far from endorsing baptizing the dead, Paul associates that rite with a group of false teachers.

We have already seen that baptism is of no value without inward repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Paul even stated that he was called not to baptize but to preach the Gospel, further indicating that water baptism doesn't carry the same indispensable importance as faith in Christ. Aside from that, each person will give account of himself to God. The Bible says that:

And:

Practicing baptism for the dead places faith in a ritual to cover another person's sins instead of in Jesus Christ. Such a baptism contradicts Scripture and is therefore meaningless and void.

Conclusion

Water baptism is a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Although water baptism in itself does not save, it does identify us with Christ:

When God baptizes you into Christ, you become part of the Body of Christ, which is the worldwide family of God. Thus, water baptism is not a meaningless ritual or even a mere duty; it is an awesome privilege for the child of God.