Thoughts on Baptism
Revised fall of 2000
One of the most controversial issues in today's churches is methods of baptism. Most churches believe that one must be immersed, and that sprinkling isn't true baptism. Others feel the exact opposite way. However, some people believe that both are acceptible. Someday if I am to pastor a church, I want to have facilities right there to do baptism, and wanted to be able to show them scriptural references as to why I felt the way about this issue that I do.
I believe that baptism by immersion is the Biblical way, as it follows the example of Christ. Having used both the Touch Point Bible and New King James Version for my study, I'll give you the reference for His baptism with NKJV (it most closely follows old text, but much more easy for me to understand). Matthew 3:16 "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the Heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him." I consider that it is impossible to ‘come up immediately from the water' and have been sprinkled. Then the question with big time KJV fans, "Well, what does that REALLY mean since you're not using the old text?" So, I consult the Greek Dictionary. Baptism comes from the Greek word ‘baptizo' which means to make whelmed, ie. fully wet. I know from personal experience that baptism through sprinkling doesn't make you fully wet. I've looked throughout the New Testament, not once does it mention baptism of sprinkling. There are over 25 references to baptism by way of John the Baptist scattered through the N.T (not all are in the gospels, Acts 1:5 also mentions it). We know from Christ's baptism that he immersed, and nowhere else is he shown using any other method. Now, I already told you that Acts 1:5 mentions baptism, it shows the completeness of baptism as it it shows that not only is baptism of water necessary, but baptism of the Holy Spirit completes it. We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). This method symbolizes the death of your sinful nature (Romans 6:3), and the birth into the new nature (Romans 12: 1-2).
I used to believe that baptism by sprinkling was Biblical too, until a friend challenged me to look at it into context. At that point I was convinced it was for Israel in the Old Testament times. At this point in my life I believe baptizing by sprinkling is only tradition of some denominations. Although I've never been immersed, I do believe that God has honored my baptism. I haven't seen God withhold blessings from me, I'm displaying the Fruit of the Spirit in my life, and I'm continually getting closer to Him. So I still don't see why God wouldn't honor a baptism merely because it was done by sprinkling rather than immersion. As a future pastor, I would baptize by immersion, but I would honor a sprinkling certificate for membership. My future congregation may not, but I would. My conclusion is, whichever way you choose for baptism, both are baptism of water and into the Spirit.
By now, you, the reader, are probably either very dazzled with my reasoning, or are seriously disagreeing with me for going against tradition. Maybe neither, it's only a thought. Well, I hope this has given you some insight into how God works in most mysterious ways.
Return to my Commentaries Homepage
E-mail me with Comments
