Water Baptism-Full Immersion
| Baptism in the Jordan River |
WATER
BAPTISM
Matthew 3:1-9
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness
of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For
this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather
girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out
to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And
were of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of
vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth
therefore fruits meet for repentance:
To be
eligible for water baptism one must be born again! The need to be baptized in
water is understood from the following verses:
"And
it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and
was baptized of John in Jordan" (Mark 1:9), "…For thus it becometh us
to fulfill all righteousness.,, "(Matt. 3:15), "And straightway
coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a
dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mark 1:10, 11). Notice that
Jesus was fully immersed in water!
"And
he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…" (Mark 16:15,
16).
"...Baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you… "(Matt.
28:19-20).
The need for Water Baptism is:
1. To fulfill all righteousness.
2. For the disciple to follow
Christ's example.
3. To have the approval of the
Father and the Holy Ghost.
4. In obedience to "whatsoever
I have commanded you."
The new
convert has already put away the filth of the flesh through repentance by the
blood of Christ; so water baptism is the answer publicly of a good conscience
toward God. Water Baptism does not wash away sins, it is done as a sign that
one’s sins have been washed away by the blood of the Lamb, Christ Jesus. Some
have interpreted Jesus’ words to Nicodemas in the gospel of John as meaning
that Water Baptism is what washes away sin. But this is a misunderstanding. Let
us consider: “Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Instead of offering
opinions we will allow the Bible to interpret itself in the meaning of this
verse. In Ephesians, Paul tells us that the church will be made clean by
saying, “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word” (Eph. 5:26). Here it can be seen that the Word is symbolized as
water that washes us, Jesus also speaks of this as recorded in John’s gospel, “Now
ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). Paul explains what Jesus referred to when speaking to
Nicodemas when he said, “not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5). The Word (the water of life) and the Spirit of
God must come together to wash away sin by the blood of Christ as we have faith
in what he did on Calvary for us. If Water Baptism saved an individual then it
could be said that salvation is by works. But as Peter has already stated that
it does not wash away the filth of the world, Christ blood and Word by the
Spirit have done that, then we are baptized in Christ with a good conscience
(clean) toward God. There
is spiritual truth in water baptism as seen in the words of Paul:
"For
if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection" (Rom, 6:5). The Bible gives evidence
of the disciples carrying out the Great Commission in preaching and baptizing
as the multitudes responded to the gospel.
"Then
Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto
them"(Acts 8:5); "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" (Acts 8:12).
"...Then
answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized,
which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be
baptized in the name of the Lord..." (Acts 10:46-48).
While
water baptism is not required for sanctification and the baptism with the Holy
Ghost, it is important to walk in the light as you have the opportunity,
Falling from grace necessitates both repentance and baptism in water
(Revelation 2:5), From the previously quoted scriptures, "baptized in the
name (authority) of the Lord," in addition to, "baptized…in the name
of Jesus" (Acts 2:38), give the distinction from John's baptism, and the
baptisms of the heathen. This is the reason Luke used this phrase in Acts.
As the
winds of doctrine brought change to water baptism, by the end of the second century some in kingdom saw infants
baptized by immersion, a practice that quickly became sprinkling, or pouring,
Then eventually adults were "baptized" in like manner, Such practices can be
attributed to:
a. the
rationalization that the inherited/inbred sin caused the new born infant, upon
its death, to be lost which was a false doctrine, this emerged from the idea of
circumcision of the Jews.
b.
misplaced emphasis on, "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,
" One must first be born again before he can be eligible for baptism in
water. Baptism does not save but rather the answer of a good conscience that
one has been saved by the blood of Christ, through his mercy and grace.
c. the
misconception that, "born of water" (John 3:5) was water baptism.
The
biblical practice of full immersion, Candidates for water baptism must testify,
and bear fruit to having been born again, new converts should be taught on this
subject and practice is always in order. Worship usually precedes water baptism
by immersion as the minister says,,, "With the authority vested in me as a
minister of the gospel of Christ, and in obedience to the command of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I baptize this my sister (name) my brother (name) in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen,"
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:
You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And Tell Someone What Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)
May God through Christ bless you!
If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:
If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment