In this series of articles I will answer questions about baptism, not from theology, tradition or church doctrines, but from what we can read straight from the Bible. I will go through some basic investigative questions: Who, what, where, when and why. Please consider carefully what the scriptures actually tell us as we consider these questions about baptism.
This simple approach helps us to see that most Bible controversies are not about what the Bible actually reveals / teaches, rather, they are about whether or not we need to do exactly what the Bible teaches. Do you think it is necessary to do just what God reveals in His word?
What is baptism? How should a person be baptized?
The answer varies in the religious world: pouring of sprinkling water on a person, dunking a person in water (face down, or backward) one time or three times. The varied suggestions can be confusing, but the Bible is not.
The word baptize is actually a Greek word (baptidzo), not English. It has been given English letters and pronunciation and in our day includes all the above meanings, and more! However, all Bible language scholars know that this Greek word means to immerse, submerge and emerge, dip, usually in water. It was a common word in New Testament times and its meaning is clear. So, every time you read the word baptize or baptism in scripture, it is appropriate to substitute the word immerse or immersion. That is without a doubt the specific action that is called for in scripture.
New Testament scriptures support and confirm that baptism is an immersion. In John 3:4 we read: “Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.” Notice further that John as was preaching in the wilderness of Judea (Matthew 3:1-2), “Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan (river, DB), confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:5). In Acts 8:38 after Philip had been teaching the Ethiopian man, the Ethiopian wanted to be baptized: “So, he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” In both of these instances a lot of water was necessary. It is clear that the more convenient action of pouring or sprinkling a little water was not done and that, though inconvenient, immersion (baptism) was carried out.
Furthermore, the word burial is used in connection with baptism – both words calling for a complete covering. Note Romans 6:4: “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. One is buried (immersed, completely covered, in baptism and raised up (brought out of the water) to enjoy new life. Colossians 2:12 says almost the same thing: “buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
Notice that there is no suggestion that the process requires plural immersions. No command to be baptized or dipped in water three times. There is no mention of going into the water front-ward, backward or straight down. Immersion is all that is required. If we are going to honor God’s instruction and authority, we must be careful not to make rules where He has not.
The word of God is clear about how a person is baptized. The question is not: “What does the Bible describe?” That is easy. The question is “Are we going to do it God’s way?”
Please let me know if you have any questions – don@nycbibleteacher.com