What's the Deal with Baptism? Part 2.

There are many, widely differing views on water baptism.

• Is it necessary for salvation or not?
• Is it by sprinking or by immersion?
• Is it for infants or those of have come “of age”?
• When and how, by whom and in whose name should one be baptized?
• Is it required for church membership?
• Then you have several other baptisms mentioned in the Bible -
• what about baptism for the dead?
• baptism of fire?
• Holy Spirit baptism?

Many who hold a particular view have a long church and family history in that tradition.  Furthermore, each view claims to have strong biblical support.  Two people arguing about baptism can each come up with various “proof” verses for their position.

All of this is a recipe for any discussion about water baptism to be very emotional and divisive.

And yet, baptism is of critical importance in the Bible and we must be willing to shed our bias and objectively explore what the Bible has to say about it.  To overcome our deeply rooted affection for a particular tradition of baptism, I recommend going through the following chronology of biblical baptism.  This study will take us through most of the Bible and you will see the progession of baptism through history.  Many problems are introduced when the student of baptism stops at one particular point in the progression without taking the time to see how it all fits together.

The key to understanding the progression below, is the understanding that God has different administrations, or dispensations, and that the rules change. For, example circumcision is no longer a requirement. Disobeying the Sabbath or dishonoring parents are no longer causes for death. I could go on but in short, the rules change in different administrations. Salvation comes only through Christ’s work, but God imputes that righteousness on those who respond in faith to his requirements. For a Jew in Moses’ time, there were many requirements of faith (keeping the law, circumcision, baptisms, etc.). For a person today, there is one: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

While there are numerous baptisms described in the Bible, many Christians today only know of one, and it is one that is actually not described in the Bible, but rather according to their particular church tradition.  Consider Apollos in Acts 18:24-28, who was a godly man, yet know only of one baptism.  Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and “explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

1. Prior to the law, I know of no baptisms mentioned in the Bible.
2. Under the law, various baptisms or ceremonial washings were required. It was a Jewish thing, like circumcision, Sabbaths, diet, etc.
1. Part of the preparation in becoming a priest was a baptism (Exodus 29:4-9; Numbers 8:1ff).
2. Ceremonial (not actual) cleansing from various unclean events.  Numbers 19:9-10, 13, 20, 21 show that these washings were necessary for salvation for the nation of Israel as a statute forever. Hebrews 9:10 used the word “baptisms” when referring to these washings.
3. Israel was promised that as an entire nation they would become priests (Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6) and that God would wash them as part of the New Covenant (Isaiah 4:3,4; Ezekiel 36:25). Remember that ceremonial washing was required of priests, so if the whole nation is to be priests, then all must be baptized.
3. In the NT, John the Baptist came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
1. This baptism was for the whole nation (Matthew 3:5), not just 30-year old males entering the priesthood, and not just people who had done something unclean, it was for every Israelite, in preparation for the kingdom (Matthew 3:2) (remember the promise, mentioned in point 2.c. above, for them to be a kingdom of priests).
2. This baptism was necessary for salvation (Matthew 3:6-11; Mark 1:4-5; Luke 3:3)
3. This was the long awaited start of the ushering in of the kingdom of God and the New Covenant and came after a 400+ silence (Malachi to Matthew).
4. Jesus reiterated that the Kingdom and the New Covenant were near for the nation of Israel by connecting his own ministry to Isaiah 61:1-6 in Luke 4:16-21.
5. Jesus gives the “Great Commission” to the eleven disciples. It is also a Jewish thing. It involves making disciples (or “followers”) of many nations – i.e. many nations would come to God through the nation of Israel in the coming kingdom, exactly according to prophecy. The conversion process (see Mark 16:16ff) involved believing and being baptized, then the person would be saved, then they would perform many miracles as proof. Despite many Christians’ claims to be following the Great Commission, this is very different from the conversion process a person goes through today. Even Paul stated that baptism wasn’t part of his commission (1 Corinthians 1:17).
6. Peter reiterated that baptism was necessary when he preached to Israel in Acts 2:38. In Acts 3:19-21, Peter explains that if Israel would repent of crucifying Christ that he would return to establish the kingdom. (Remember, that baptism was an ordinance imposed on Israel until the “time of Reformation”, i.e., the setting up of the millennial kingdom, Hebrews 9:10)
7. Israel did NOT corporately repent and Christ did NOT come and establish the kingdom at that time. Instead Israel rejected and even stoned Stephen when he preached to them in Acts 7. I believe that in Acts 7:55-56 Stephen was pronouncing the judgment of Israel (Stephen sees Jesus “standing” up in judgment. See Isaiah 3:13 as an example of the concept of standing up in judgment.)
8. In response to Israel’s rejection of Him, God set aside the nation and raised up Paul to be an apostle “to the Gentiles” in Acts 9. See also Acts 28:28; Romans 11:11,25.
9. In this new administration, God showed Peter
1. that ceremonial uncleanness was no longer an issue in Acts 10:15 and
2. that Gentiles could be saved before being baptized (or circumcised!) Acts 10:44-45. We see in Acts 10:47, that Peter baptizes them after they were saved & received the Holy Spirit. Remember in Acts 2:38, Peter had previously shown baptism as a prerequisite to remission of sins (salvation) and the receiving of the Holy Spirit.
3. that circumcision was not longer required (Acts 15).
10. In this new administration, God showed Paul that all believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit upon belief (Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 12:13)
1. In Romans 6 we see the word “baptized” being used synonymously with “united”, when Paul described our baptism, or unification, with Christ at the time of salvation (not before or after but during, and not water but spiritual).
2. In fact, a careful word study of baptism in Greek in the Bible and other ancient literature, shows us that the root meaning is unification.
3. In 1 Corinthians 1:17 Paul says baptism was not part of the gospel and not part of his commission and was thankful he had only baptized a few. This is very different from the great commission where Jesus told his 11 disciples that baptism was part of the gospel and part of their commission.
4. Ephesians 4:4,5 (Ephesians is one of Paul’s last books and at the end of God’s revelation given to Paul regarding the new administration, the Body of Christ), Paul tells us there is only ONE baptism. I believe that he must be talking about the spiritual baptism that happens at salvation when the Holy Spirit indwells us and we are united with Christ.

 In conclusion, there were many things Christ did that we don’t do, not because we don’t want to follow him, but because the administration has changed. For example, Jesus was circumcised according to the law (Luke 2:21), was baptized, he kept the Passover and other feasts, kept the Sabbath, did not keep company with Gentiles, restricted his diet, he kept the whole law, he worked miracles in fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 11:4-5), and he was crucified. The point is, he did all that so we wouldn’t have to!

Consider meditating on Colossians 2:8-17 as a practical wrap up to this whole issue.