Are you tired of hurting your loved ones and wounding your conscience? Do you live in constant regret for your past mistakes? Have you ever wished you could take a bath and come out clean inside and out? Then we have great news for you … you can! God has a plan that can totally wash all your sins away and supercharge your character — preposterous? Not at all! Christ says, “We are buried with him by baptism” (Romans 6:4).
When you accept Christ, the old life dies and the Lord promises to forget all our sins! Not only that, He can help you overcome every sinful habit in your life. Did you know the cross is mentioned 28 times in the Bible, but baptism is mentioned 97 times? It must be pretty important then, and no wonder, because it signifies a new life with the haunting, sinful past buried and forgotten forever. Read the Bible’s amazing facts on this incredible subject … you’ll never be the same!
This verse makes it clear that baptism is necessary for salvation.
1. Is baptism really essential?
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
Answer: Yes, indeed! How could any language or words make it plainer?
2. But the thief on the cross was not baptized, so why should I be?
“For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).
Answer: Neither did the thief restore what he had stolen, as the Lord specifically directs in Ezekiel 33:15. God holds us accountable for what we can do, but He also recognizes the limitations of “dust.” He will not require a physical impossibility. Could the thief have come down from the cross, he immediately would have been baptized. Every person who is able should be baptized.
Circumstances made it a human impossibility for the thief on the cross to be baptized.
3. There are many ordinances called baptism. Isn’t any one of these acceptable, provided a person is sincere and earnest about it?
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).
Answer: No! There is only one true baptism. All other so-called baptisms are counterfeits.
Note: The devil’s “buffet” plan for baptism says, “Take your pick. The method of baptism doesn’t matter. It is the spirit that counts.”
But the Bible says, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).
It also says, “Obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you” (Jeremiah 38:20).
How many methods of baptism are biblical?
Only ONE method of baptism is biblical, not 14.
4. How was Jesus baptized?
“Jesus … was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting” (Mark 1:9, 10).
Jesus was baptized by immersion.
Answer: By immersion! Notice that after the ordinance, He came “up out from the water.” Jesus was baptized “in the Jordan,” not on the bank, as many believe. John always found a place to baptize where “there was much water” (John 3:23), so it would be deep enough.
The Bible commands us to follow Jesus’ example (1 Peter 2:21). Any baptism other than immersion breaks this command. The word “baptism” comes from the Greek word “baptizo.” It means “to dip under or submerge or immerse.”
There are eight different Greek words in the New Testament used to describe the application of liquids. But among these various words — meaning to sprinkle, to pour, or to immerse — only the one meaning “to immerse” (baptizo) is used to describe baptism.
5. But didn’t the disciples or the apostles change the method of baptism?
“Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away” (Acts 8:38, 39).
Answer: No! Please notice that Philip, a leader in the early church, baptized the treasurer of Ethiopia by immersion precisely as John baptized Jesus. And the apostle Paul warned that any who teach contrary to what Jesus taught should be “accursed.” (Galatians 1:8).
No person — no matter how godly — is authorized to change God’s words and commands.
Philip baptized the Ethiopian by immersion.
6. Since Jesus and the disciples baptized by immersion, who introduced these other so-called baptisms which exist today?
All forms of baptism other than immersion come from people rather than Scripture.
“And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).
Answer: Misguided men introduced other forms of baptism in direct contradiction of God’s Word. Jesus says, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:3, 6).
7. What must a person do to prepare for baptism?
Answer:
- Learn God’s requirements. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20). - Believe the truth of God’s Word. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
- Repent of and turn away from his sins and experience conversion. “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).
There are three simple things a
person must do prior to baptism.
8. What is the meaning of baptism?
“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:4-6).
Answer: It represents the believer following Christ into His death, burial, and resurrection. The symbolism is perfect and filled with deep meaning.
When I am baptized, I affirm my belief in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
In baptism the eyes are closed, hands are folded, and breath is suspended as in death.
Then comes burial in the water and resurrection from the watery grave to a new life in Christ.
When raised from the water, the eyes open and the candidate begins breathing again and mingles with friends — a complete likeness of resurrection.
Death to sin.
Old life buried in the waters.
Raised a new person in Christ.
9. But a person shouldn’t be baptized until he is certain he will never slip and fall, should he?
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Answer: This is like saying a baby should never try to walk until certain that he will never slip and fall. A Christian is a new-born “babe” in Christ. This is why the experience of conversion is called “the new birth.” The ugly, sinful past no longer exists for a child of God. A person’s sinful past is forgiven and forgotten by God at conversion. And baptism symbolizes the burial of that old life. We begin the Christian life as babies, rather than adults, and God judges us on our attitude and the trend of our life, rather than on a few slips and falls that we may experience as immature Christians.
New Christians are like toddlers learning to walk.
They sometimes slip and fall.
10. Why is baptism an urgent matter for a converted sinner?
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
Answer: Baptism is a public testimony that the repentant sinner has been forgiven and cleansed by Jesus (1 John 1:9) and that his sinful, traitorous past is behind him. No incriminating evidence against a person exists after conversion.
Men and women today stagger and struggle along under heavy loads of guilt and sin. This contamination and burden is so devastating to the human personality that people will go to almost any length to achieve a sense of forgiveness and cleansing. Many have been driven to the psychiatrist’s couch, where human beings earnestly attempt to assist other human beings.
Baptism is a glorious event because it symbolizes the burial of the old life of sin and the beginning of a new life in Christ.
But the real help is found in coming to Christ, who says to all who approach Him, “I will; be thou clean.” Matthew 8:3.
Not only does He cleanse, but He crucifies the old nature of sin within you. Burial in the water of baptism symbolizes the burial of the ugly corpse of the old sinful life.
The ordinance is of utmost importance because it publicly represents the most stupendous provisions ever made for people.
11. How long does it take to prepare for baptism?
Answer: That depends on the person. Some grasp things more quickly than others. But in most cases, preparation can be made in short order.
Here are some Bible examples:
- Ethiopian treasurer (Acts 8:26-39) — baptized same day he heard truth.
- Philippian jailer and his family (Acts 16:23-34) — baptized same night they heard truth.
- Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-18) — baptized three days after Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus.
- Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48) — baptized same day he heard truth.
Philip baptized the Ethiopian treasurer the same day he accepted Christ as his Saviour.
At conversion, God:
- Forgives and forgets our past.
- Miraculously transforms us into new spiritual beings.
- Adopts us as His own sons and daughters. Certainly no truly converted person would want to delay baptism, which publicly pays tribute to Jesus for working all these miracles.
12. How does God feel about the baptism of a converted person?
God is pleased with people who are baptized by immersion. Is He pleased with your baptism?
Answer: He said at His Son’s baptism, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
So, today, God is well pleased when a person is baptized by immersion in harmony with His command.
Those who love the Lord will always strive to please Him (1 John 3:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:1).
Is God pleased with your baptism?
13. Can a person experience true baptism without becoming a member of God’s church?
Answer: No! God clearly outlines this. Notice the steps:
- All are called into one body. “You were called in one body” (Colossians 3:15).
- The church is the body. “He is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18).
- We enter that body by baptism. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
- God’s converted people are added to the church. “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
Baptism is the official entry into God’s church. Being baptized without joining God’s church is unbiblical.
14. Notice four things that baptism does not do:
First: Baptism itself does not change the heart of man; it is a symbol of the change that has taken place. A man might be baptized without faith, without repentance, and without a new heart. He might even be immersed after the example of Jesus, but he would simply come up a wet sinner instead of a dry one — still without faith, without repentance, without a new heart.
Baptism cannot make a new person. Neither can it change or regenerate anyone.
It is the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that changes the heart in conversion.
One must be born of the Spirit as well as born of water.
Second: Baptism does not necessarily make a person feel better. It doesn’t necessarily change his feelings. Some people are disappointed because they do not feel different after baptism.
Salvation is a matter not of feeling, but of faith and obedience.
Third: Baptism does not remove temptations. The devil is not through with a person when he is baptized.
But Jesus is the helper of every believer. He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
No temptation will come without a way of escape. This is the promise of Scripture (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Fourth: Baptism does not guarantee salvation. It is not a magical rite.
Salvation comes only as a free gift from Jesus Christ when one experiences the new birth.
Baptism is a symbol of true conversion, and unless conversion precedes baptism, the ceremony is meaningless.
15. Jesus asks you to be baptized as a symbol that your sins have been washed away. Would you like to plan for this sacred ordinance soon?
Your Answer:
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If Jesus is speaking to you about baptism, do not put it off.
Baptism is a public expression of your desire to follow God fully.
