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Baptism in the Christian faith is one of controversy where some people baptize babies, say that you must be baptized in order to be saved in eternity, some say it is not necessary at all, and then there are those in between that follow the scriptures and what they say.
What do the scriptures say about baptism? Throughout the Old Testament we see that the Jews had to continuously wash themselves with water (per God's Word) because of an act of being unclean, of which there are many every day instances in which a person could become unclean. There were also traditional rituals the Jews used for continuous washing/cleansing whether it be whole body or hands, for uncleanness. These such washings are carried over into the New Testament in the form of baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19)
Acts 2 in the day of Pentecost, the people ask what it is they can do to be saved and Peter says:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)
Many instances throughout the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we see baptism of adults, those who are able to repent. Babies cannot repent so baby baptism is unbiblical and the act of baptizing babies actually stems from paganism through the Roman Catholics.
Is baptism a requirement in order to gain eternal life? Not according to what we see in scripture with the thief on the cross:
http://www.dontperish.com/john-424-radio-audio.html
Baptism in the Christian faith is one of controversy where some people baptize babies, say that you must be baptized in order to be saved in eternity, some say it is not necessary at all, and then there are those in between that follow the scriptures and what they say.
What do the scriptures say about baptism? Throughout the Old Testament we see that the Jews had to continuously wash themselves with water (per God's Word) because of an act of being unclean, of which there are many every day instances in which a person could become unclean. There were also traditional rituals the Jews used for continuous washing/cleansing whether it be whole body or hands, for uncleanness. These such washings are carried over into the New Testament in the form of baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19)
Acts 2 in the day of Pentecost, the people ask what it is they can do to be saved and Peter says:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)
Many instances throughout the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we see baptism of adults, those who are able to repent. Babies cannot repent so baby baptism is unbiblical and the act of baptizing babies actually stems from paganism through the Roman Catholics.
Is baptism a requirement in order to gain eternal life? Not according to what we see in scripture with the thief on the cross:
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:42-43)
He was not baptized yet our Lord said he will be with Him in paradise. If he would have been let down from the cross and allowed to live, it would have at some point been taught of him to be baptized.
See this article on Baptism for Salvation and why it is NOT biblical:
http://spiritandtruthdiscernment.blogspot.com/2017/06/baptism-for-salvation-is-not-biblical.html
So why baptism, for who and how?
Baptism is a symbol and shows a resemblance of the washing away of sin as well as the death (going under the water/immersion) and resurrection (coming out), resembling a new life/birth. God used water to wash away the evil on the earth through the flood of Noah's day. There is nothing mystical about the physical act of baptism, it is simply an act of obedience on the part of one being baptized and it is also a witness to the rest of the body as a commitment to Christ.
Who should be baptized? Those who are mature enough to understand the word of God, repent and commit to following after our Lord in obedience to His Word. Babies cannot do these things so again, baby baptism is unbiblical and stems from paganism.
How are people to be baptized? We see the instances where they used the Jordan river and Acts 8, a body of water:
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8)
Does that mean we have to go to a river to be baptized? God's Word doesn't say where or what kind of water but the spirit of what we see in scriptures is full immersion baptism if possible. The eunich used what was available at that time and we as believers would do the same.
There are times when it might warrant a baptism that is not full immersion and such instances might be a person in prison who comes to Christ in repentance and is born again that wants to be baptized:he may only have a cup of water to use. Or an elderly person who is bed ridden may have water sprinkled upon them.
The water is not the issue, it's truly an outward showing of the inward heart that wants to be obedient to the Lord and His Word so a believer will do the best they can under the circumstances they are in. The Lord God knows our hearts and through our deeds will see that we are truly committed to Him if in the pureness of our heart we do the best we can in the situation we are in.
Many religious groups teach that there must be a class or program that one must go through before they are baptized and oftentimes are put on a waiting list so as to line up a bunch of people to do it all at once. This is not scriptural. This turns it into a power play on the part of the modern pastor because scriptures say in Acts 2 "Repent, go through many weeks or months of classes and then be baptized!" NO! It says "Repent and be baptized..." Why?
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)
TODAY is the day of salvation! If a person knows the gospel good news (click HERE to read it for yourself), and they repent and turn to Christ they are then a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), born again (John 3:3) and will strive after Him in obedience (Hebrews 5:9) through His Word (Matthew 4:4). No where does it say to wait weeks (or months) for baptism until you go through classes that either the pastor or the religious organizations board members made up...choose this day whom you will serve! (Joshua 24:15)
And add the fact that most of the religious organizations make you sign a membership form which is unbiblical and if you don't, they won't baptize you. (Click HERE to read how local church membership is unbiblical.)
The modern religious organizations that you see today (over 30,000 denominations) are not ordained by Christ Jesus, they are made of man and preach many unbiblical teachings that are dangerous to a person's salvation. Please go to our main ministry site www.dontperish.com to learn more about God's Word and how the modern religious organizations do not line up...baptism being just one issue.
In summary, baptism is a command of God and a repentant believer (not a baby) will be baptized by immersion (if possible) as an outward act of obedience to our beloved Savior.
Let us know if we can help you.
www.dontperish.com
Let us know if we can help you.
www.dontperish.com