Baptism is one of those topics that seems like it should be simple, but there are so many different ideas regarding it and so many different practices of it that one can easily get confused trying to figure out what he actually needs to know. Is there a way to simplify this topic? Is there a way to strip away all of the confusion and get down to the basics of what a person needs to know? There most certainly is! And it is as simple as just picking up the Bible and letting it do the teaching itself. What does it say?
Baptism is God’s idea, not man’s. It is important to know that man did not come up with the practice or the doctrine of baptism. God did! This is not an “invention” of man, therefore, man has no right to regulate it (or confuse it). Everything that I need to know about baptism (and everything that has any authority regarding the subject) is found in the New Testament.
Baptism is a command of God. Jesus commanded “baptizing” as the means by which to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19), which is why the apostles “commanded” individuals “to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48). This is not optional. It is required in order to be obedient to God, thus it must not be minimized or altered by man.
Baptism involves prerequisites of God. Prior to being properly baptized, God (the Originator of baptism) specified certain steps that one must take. Before one can be baptized, he must be taught the gospel (Mark 16:15-16), he must believe the gospel (Acts 8:12), he must be convicted of his sins and repent of them (Acts 2:37-38), he must confess his faith in Jesus (Acts 8:36-38), he must arise of his own free will and be prepared for the commitment that baptism requires (Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4). If one does not meet all of these prerequisites, then he cannot be Scripturally baptized.
Baptism is defined by God. The Bible stipulates that baptism is by (and only by) immersion. The description is always of one going down into and then up out of the water (Matt. 3:16; Acts 8:38-39). Baptism is referred to as being “buried” and then “raised” (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). The word itself means “to immerse.” We need to let God define it.
Baptism is given purpose by God. If we strictly limit ourselves to what God says about baptism (and not man), then we find that He clearly identifies baptism as essential in order to be “saved” (Mark 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21), to obtain “the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), to “wash away sins” (Acts 22:16), to get “into Christ” (Gal. 3:27) and to “enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5). Man has no right to repurpose baptism!
Baptism is not a confusing topic. God has made it pretty simple to understand! The Bible gives it to us plain!