Water Baptism

I believe that water baptism by immersion under the name of Jesus is an essential step in salvation. It is my hope that the Bible could speak for itself on this issue, as I think it’s fairly straightforward. Again, like my studies on Spirit Baptism and the Godhead, I encourage the reader to get out a Bible and follow along.

1 Peter 3:20-21, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”

Notice the phrase “saved by water.” In a “like figure,” baptism now saves us.

Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

“And is baptized” Here we see that baptism is essential. There are indeed many steps of salvation. One can hardly simply be baptized and be saved without believing, as this scripture also states. Indeed, it takes a lot of other steps to complete the salvation process, including enduring till the end.

Acts 10:47-48, “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. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

Here we see that the Apostles “commanded baptism,” which again indicates its importance to the salvation process.

Matthew 3:13-16, “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it to be so] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:”

“Fulfill all righteousness.” Once again we see baptism as a step of salvation, and this time we see the manner in which people were baptized: by immersion. In fact, the word baptize comes from an Anglicization of the Greek “baptizo” which literally means “immersed.” Baptism by sprinkling simply isn’t scriptural. Every time people are baptized in the Bible, it’s by immersion in water, a practice was maintained through the first couple hundred years of Christianity until the Catholic Church became the church of state and changed not only the practice, but the “formula” as well. We will deal with the latter, later.

Acts 2:38, “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.”

“For the remission of sins.” Yet again baptism is stated as a step of salvation. In this case, the apostles command baptism in the name of Jesus, which is indeed done throughout the book of Acts, as in the following example:

Acts 19:1-7, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid [his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.”

Apparently, Paul thought baptism in the name of the Lord was important enough that he re-baptized these believers. As it says, John’s baptism was one of repentance, or being remorseful for one’s sins. Baptism in the name of Jesus was for the remission of these sins, the actual shedding and forgetting of them. Jesus himself commanded the apostles to baptize everyone:

Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 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: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Now this last point leads to some confusion on the “formula” for baptism, that is whether one should be baptized by saying in the name of “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,” as in this scripture or “Jesus,” as in Acts 2:38. If there is a question in your mind about this apparent contradiction in the scriptures, understand that the apostles were not confused. Every time someone is baptised in the scriptures, it’s in the name of Jesus. I think we can all agree that what the apostles did in the Bible is the right way of doing things. If they got baptism wrong, how can we trust anything they wrote in the epistles? Why then do people baptise in the name of the “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?” In fact why would someone supposedly baptise in the name of someone, and then not mention a name, but rather titles? It’s simply unscriptural. All the Bible must be taken as true. Therfore, when Matthew records the commandment to baptise in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but the apostles apply it as Jesus, what does this say about the Godhead? It says that these two statements must be equal. That Jesus is the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. If you are still confused by this, please refer to my study on the nature of the Godhead. At its heart, it is almost wholly devoted to speaking to this point.