Description:
The water has no saving power in itself but the very act of baptism appears to be a definite and emphatic command of God, and is therefore essential to salvation. Baptism is a new beginning. It's the turning of the corner. It's placing your hand into God's hand and saying, "Let's walk together from now on." Baptism is that exact moment in time that marks the very instant when we turned our backs on our past.

BAPTISM

IS BAPTISM REALLY NECESSARY?

THIS PAPER DEALS WITH ONLY TWO ISSUES.

THE DEFINITION OF BAPTISM IS: Baptism in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit is the rite or ordinance by which a person is admitted into the Church of Jesus Christ. It is the public profession of faith and discipleship. Baptism signifies the following
A confession of complete faith in Jesus Christ;
The glorious symbol of your union with Jesus Christ;
The realization that the Holy Spirit has entered you, and has sealed you as a child of God;
A cleansing or washing of the soul from sin;
A death to sin and a new life in righteousness.

Baptism is symbolic to what is happening to us spiritually.

QUESTION 1---Is baptism necessary for salvation?

I present the following Bible passages to answer that question.

Mark 16:16 He that believes and is baptized will be saved, but he that does not believe will be condemned.

Acts 2:38 "Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."

John 3:5 Jesus answered, most truly I say to you, unless anyone is born from water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Galatians 3:27 For all of you who are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.

Colossians 2:12 For you were buried with him in baptism and you were raised up together through faith.

Acts 10:48 With that he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with him through our baptism into his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised up from the dead through the glory of the Father, we also should likewise walk in a newness of life.

Ephesians 4:5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
(The person helping the Christian in the body of water during the baptism process is not the one that is baptizing that Christian. The one who is doing the actual baptism is the Holy Spirit, because He is the one who does all baptizing. That is why this verse says, "One Baptism").

Acts 22:16 And now why are you delaying? Rise and get baptized and wash your sins away by your calling upon his name.

Acts 2:38 Repent and be Baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of your sins.

1 Peter 3:21 And corresponding to that, baptism saves you. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience; through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of people of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
(Here the Lord declares that these three names, that of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, be recorded in the very act of baptism. It is in this rite of baptism that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit meet the believer; the Father to receive him as a child, the Son to welcome him as a brother, and the Holy Spirit to endow him with the Spirit of God. It is also interesting to note that these are the very last words that Jesus spoke before rising up to heaven and they were instructions to the apostles to go out and baptize the world, and to do this in the NAME of the three persons making up one God.

It certainly appears that our Lord demands that we be baptized. Mark 16:16 shows that belief in Jesus Christ is mandatory, but at the same time the Lord himself is telling us to get baptized. It is his command to us over and over. And as a believer and faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I would think that one who has surrendered to Jesus Christ would obey our Lord and become baptized.

The water has no saving power in itself but the very act of baptism appears to be a definite and emphatic command of God, and is therefore essential to salvation. Baptism is a new beginning. It's the turning of the corner. It's placing your hand into God's hand and saying, "Let's walk together from now on." Baptism is that exact moment in time that marks the very instant when we turned our backs on our past.

So the person who is simply unwilling to be Baptized, or who just doesn't want to put forth the effort, or who simply does not have the faith in Jesus Christ that it takes to be Baptized, is making a very serious mistake and is putting their entire eternal future into terrible jeopardy.

Although we may be lost by simply not having faith, we must have faith and be baptized to be pleasing to God and to achieve eternal salvation. The Bible teaches that we have not taken that final step to salvation until we do get baptized. John 3:5 sums up the entire baptism question when it says, "Jesus said, truly, truly, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, He cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

QUESTION 2---Is the sprinkling of water sufficient or do you need total immersion?

Again I present the following Bible passages to answer that question.

John 3:23 But John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salem, because there was a great quantity of water there and people kept coming and being baptized.
(This passage shows that "much water" is needed to baptize. Very little water would be needed if only a sprinkling was required.)

Acts 8:36 Now as they were going over the road, they came to a certain body of water, and the eunuch said, "Look! A body of water. What prevents me from getting baptized?
(This body of water would not be needed if only a sprinkling of water was all that was necessary to baptize. If only a sprinkling was required they could go to a fountain and fill a small cup with water and then baptize. Also if only a sprinkling was required then the Apostles would have only needed to carry a container of water with them and a large body of water would never have been needed)

Acts 8:38 With that he commanded the chariot to halt, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
(In this passage the Bible says that they went down and "into" the water. In sprinkling it is the water that comes to the person and of course in sprinkling there is no way that you can go into the water.)

Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with him through our baptism into his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised up from the dead through the glory of the Father, we also should likewise walk in a newness of life.
(The "burial" of a person being baptized can only be accomplished by complete immersion in water and not just by sprinkling a little water on the person's head.)

Colossians 2:12 For you were buried with him in baptism and your were raised up together through faith.
(The "raising up" can only be done if a person is immersed under the water. This can not be true of sprinkling.)

Mark 1:9-10 In the course of those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan River by John, and immediately on coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being parted, and like a dove, the Spirit coming down upon him.
(Here Jesus Christ is using himself as an example, and he is telling the entire world that baptism is very important, and he is also showing the world the way that he wants people to be baptized. And he is telling us that complete immersion in water is going to be required for baptism. How can any believer say that even though Jesus did it that way, that they themselves don't have to be baptized by immersion, that sprinkling is sufficient for them).

So it appears that our Lord is telling us that baptism by immersion is very important to him. Anything different than that appears to be going against the Word of God. This may be why he used his own baptism as an example to all of mankind, to show the importance that he placed on baptism and the method that he wanted used. Jesus was not baptized because of any sins for which he needed forgiveness for. He was baptized in order to show all of us, that it was required by our Heavenly Father and to give us an example of how baptism should be carried out. Jesus told us repeatedly that he was the only way which lead to God the Father, so I would think all believers would therefore want to be baptized the way he was.
John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

There is not a single case in the entire Bible that indicates anyone was baptized by the "sprinkling" method. On the contrary, in every single case it is indicated that the person being baptized was having it done by total immersion.

Most of us realize that we would not be able to make it spiritually without the help of the Holy Spirit and this is another extremely important reason for being baptized. For when we are baptized we are instantly indwelled with the Holy Spirit. It is at the point of baptism when the Holy Spirit seals us as a child of God. It says in Acts 2:38,
"Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Purpose of baptism
Baptism is a public declaration of one's loyalty to God and to the principles of his kingdom. It is not a dedication of a baby, for baptism is a deliberate, willful, known, and knowledgeable act on the part of a believer who has received Jesus Christ as their personal savior, and who in obedience, has followed Christ in his example and command into the act of baptism.

Baptism is to God's people what the mark of the beast will be for those who worship the antichrist during the great tribulation. So in a practical way, baptism is an event that separates yesterday from tomorrow. Baptism declares severance. Severance from the old life that is over, and the new life that has just begun. The immersion under the water is symbolic of death to the old person. Death to the old lifestyle. While the coming up from beneath the water represents the birth of the new person. The start of a brand new Godly lifestyle which has Jesus Christ at its center.

So baptism reflects an inner transformation from unbeliever to believer; from a carnal person to a spiritual person; from dominion by the sinful nature to dominion by the spiritual nature; from being a part of this world to being a part of the world to come.

John The Baptist And Some Serious Questions About Baptism
John the Baptist was a very important figure in the Bible. The Bible tells us that even as an unborn baby he leapt with joy while in his mother's womb. The reason he leapt with joy was because Mary, who was pregnant with the Son of God, visited the mother of John the Baptist when she herself was pregnant with John. The Bible also tells us that at the very moment that John was leaping in his mother's womb, the mother of John the Baptist was being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41) So with that said, please answer the following questions.

What was John The Baptist known for?
Who baptized Jesus Christ?
If baptism was not important, then why did Jesus Christ allow himself to be baptized?
If baptism is not important then why did the gospel writers write so much about it?
If the act of baptism was utter nonsense and completely irrelevant, then why didn't Jesus reprimand John the Baptist, and why did he allow himself to be baptized by him?
If baptism is frivolous and unimportant, then why didn't somebody make great objections to it when the name of Jesus Christ was used every time someone was baptized?
If Baptism is a false practice, then why didn't any of the Bible writers, especially Paul, talk against this misleading and ungodly practice?
Why did Paul and the rest of the Apostles all baptize believers?

Infants and small children
Infants do not need to be baptized since they are not old enough to be accountable and therefore can not be lost. It is in fact impossible to be scripturally baptized until one is able to be taught the gospel, believe, repent, and confess faith in Christ. It's important to note that Jesus wasn't baptized as a baby. We have biblical references of Jesus's boyhood, such as when he astounded the scholars in the Temple. Yet he waited until he was about 30 before he chose to be baptized. There are no biblical references to the baptism of babies. Since baptism is an outward symbol of a new birth and a choice made by the individual, the Bible teaches baptism only when an individual is old enough to repent of sin, accept Christ, and understand the truths of Scripture.

When baptism by sprinkling first came into existence
History shows that the practice of "sprinkling" with water didn't come into existence until 1311 AD, when it was declared by men to be an acceptable substitute for immersion by a council of the Catholic Church held at Ravenna, Italy. Here is another of many examples where human man overruled the Word of God because the Bible is very clear that scriptural Baptism is a burial or immersion in water.

For a more extensive look at other areas of baptism, please see:

Baptism and six very Important Factors

A look at other types of baptism


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bob wells

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