Why Baptism Matters
150 Bible Basics
This is entry #110 of 150 from my book, Sunday School Catch-Up, available on Amazon!
Baptism
The Greek word for immersion or washing. In the Old Law, there were numerous cleansings required for drawing near to God, though they did not carry the same significance that baptism does in the New Covenant.
John preached a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). Though its intent was similar to Christian baptism (Acts 2:38), John’s baptism is no longer valid after Acts 2.
In Acts 19, Paul re-baptized some disciples who had been baptized into John, but apparently not out of belief in Christ (19:4-5) and not for the Holy Spirit (19:2).
After Jesus’ death, and beginning at Pentecost, baptism is how we join Jesus in death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12). The death and burial of going into the water is a repentance from and renouncement of our sins, and we are raised to walk in the light of His Lordship as we have believed in and confessed His name.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, Paul claimed Israel’s life under the cloud of God’s glory and passage through the Red Sea were a baptism of sorts. It would follow that Joshua and the parting of the Jordan would similarly prefigure baptism.
Hebrews 10:22, 12:24, and 1 Peter 1:2 seem to allude to baptism as a new version of the sprinkling of atoning blood in the Law of Moses. 1 Peter 3:20-21 compares baptism to the flood of Noah as it washed away the sinful world Noah left behind. Moses and Jonah each could be considered to have undergone similar typological baptisms.
Many have compared the Old Covenant practice of circumcision, which began with Abraham’s household, to the New Testament practice of baptism. This comparison fails, as circumcision was only given to the males of the family and it was given by parents to their newborn sons.
In the New Testament, baptism is for both sexes and is always depicted as being in conjunction with a confession of faith in Christ. It is a choice one makes rather than a choice that is made by one’s parents.
Well stated and concisely explained. If more people actually read the true and simple explanation(s) in the Bible rather than accepting the short-changed, erroneous, and man-made deceptive ones so widespread, more souls could be saved and more people could be true Christians rather than led astray. Many of these have it the other way around as you know and condemn and “preach” against “water baptism,” primarily based on the saved by grace passages, claiming it is a “work.” Many of the same “believe” first, then tack on some version of baptism later. My question to them is how can one be saved by grace without being IN Christ? …Then being baptized to “identify “ with Christ? Is Christ’s blood not part of the grace of God? It is a work, in sense that it is a work approved and commanded by God and Christ and by and through the Holy Spirt too! The New testament has numerous passages that align with the truth of baptism as the proper response in faith to be saved.
Michael Heiser said something about Baptism that was interesting to me. He said "Baptism was a loyalty oath and a message to the demonic powers(as well as any people present) of just whose side you were on in the spiritual battle"
This isnt the only thing he said about Baptism and I don't agree with everything he's said. But this was interesting to think about.