Myth Busting Baptism {Part 1}

If you are already a Jesus follower, this is probably the most important thing I will ever tell you. 

If you are an American Christian, you likely have an unbiblical understanding of baptism.  I know that's no way to win people into reading your post, but I'm going with it.  If what I am going to tell you about baptism is true, then this is one of the most important things you will ever need to know.

{This is a long study and, if you're like me, you might prefer to print it out and read it. You can do that here.}

What is commonly taught in America about baptism:

Most American Christians will tell you that baptism is an "outward sign of your inward faith."  It's something that "happens after salvation." 

Sisters, this is not what God's Word says.  In fact, in almost every instance where baptism is addressed in Scripture, the complete opposite is taught.

Christian Baptism

The first thing to understand is that Christian baptism is different than John's baptism. 

In Acts 19, Paul comes across some believers who had been baptized in John's baptism - not baptized into Christ.

 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

(Acts 19:1-5 ESV)

Baptism after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection is the Christian baptism that we have in view in this blog post.

First Christians Baptisms in Scripture:

Acts 2 tells us of the inauguration of the Christian era.  The Christian church - also called the Kingdom of God - was instituted on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they preached their first gospel sermon.  Notice what happened when repentant men and women responded to the message:

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

  (Acts 2:37-41 ESV)

What we get about baptism out of this passage:
1.  Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. (vs 38)
2.  You receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when you are baptized. (vs. 38).
3.  This is a promise for people then and people today. (vs. 39)
4.  When we are baptized, we are added to the kingdom of God. (vs. 41)

Notice what else we can tell from this passage:
1.  No one is told to "trust in Jesus" or "turn to Jesus" or "say the Sinner's Prayer."
2.  No one is told that they are saved when they have believed the gospel message and repented.
3.  No one is told that baptism has nothing to do with salvation; in fact, it is just the opposite.
4.  Baptism is done immediately upon believing in Jesus.

One of the next references to baptism that we read is found in Acts 8 when the Holy Spirit transports Philip specifically for the purpose of preaching the gospel to one member of a royal caravan from Ethiopia:

 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

   (Acts 8:35-39 ESV)

What we can get out of this passage:
1.  Baptism is an integral part of "the good news about Jesus."
2. After the baptism was accomplished, Philip's mission there was complete.

Notice what else we can tell from this passage:
1.  The gospel message was not: "just accept Jesus as your Savior and you're done!"
2.  Baptism is an immediate response to believing in Jesus.

Later in the Book of Acts we read about the Philippian Jailer.  After he thought his prisoners had escaped, the jailer was preparing to kill himself when Paul and Silas told him that they had not left. 

Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

  (Acts 16:30-34 ESV)

What we can get out of this passage:
1.  Believing in the Lord Jesus includes baptism.
2.  After hearing the gospel, people are baptized "at once."

Notice what else we can tell from this passage:
1.  Believing is not just a mental response - it's a physical response to the gospel.
2.  No one was told to say the "Sinner's Prayer" or just "accept Jesus."

One of the most amazing passages of Scripture, in my opinion, is found in Acts 22.  In this chapter, Paul is describing his famous conversion - when he met Jesus on the way to Damascus and was blinded.  He tells of how Ananias was sent to heal his blindness.  Now, mind you, at this time Paul believed in Jesus - he had just had a serious "come to Jesus moment in person."  But this is what he was told:

“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

(Acts 22:12-16 ESV)

What we can understand from this passage:
1.  Even if we believe and even if we are repentant, our sins are not washed away until we are baptized, calling on the name of Jesus.

The ramification of this is huge.  Paul met Jesus very personally.  He was remorseful.  He believed, he repented, and he was told: "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins."  Sisters - this believing, repenting man was still in his sins until he was baptized. 

The book of Acts is, of course, a record of the events and activities of the brand new Christian church.  However, baptism is addressed not only in the letters apostles wrote to these new congregations of believers, but Jesus Himself also commanded baptism - it was the last thing we know of Him addressing on earth.

What Jesus said:

 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  (Mark 16:16 ESV)

What we can understand from this passage:
1.  Belief and baptism are essential to salvation.
2.  Baptism is pointless without belief. 

Paul dealt, extensively, with baptism, so we'll address what Peter had to say about baptism first.

What Peter said:

 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

  (1 Peter 3:18-22 ESV)

What we can understand from this passage:
1. Similarly to how water brought Noah safely through the flood, baptism "saves" us.
2. The "saving" factor of baptism has nothing to do with removing dirt from our bodies, but the fact that, when we submit to baptism, we are appealing to God to cleanse us of our sins.
3. Baptism is connected with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul had much to say on this topic:

 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 

(Romans 6:3-11 ESV)

What we can understand from this passage:
1.  When we are baptized we are buried with Jesus into His death so that we may walk in newness of life.
2. If we have died with Christ we are "set free from sin."

Paul spoke similarly in his letter to the Colossians:

 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him

. (Colossians 2:9-15 ESV)

What we can understand from this passage:
1. Our "body of flesh" was removed when we were buried with Christ in baptism.
2. We are made alive together with Christ as the "body of flesh" is removed in baptism.


And to the Galatians:

 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 

(Galatians 3:26-27 ESV)

What we can understand from this passage:
1.  We are "in Christ" once we are baptized into Christ.

Something important to note:  the benefits of being a Christian are for those "in Christ":

Romans 6:23 ~ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 ~ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
Romans 8:39 ~ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:22 ~ For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:19 ~ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Galatians 3:26 ~ for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Ephesians 1:3 ~ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 2:13 ~ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 4:32 ~ Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
1 Timothy 2:10 ~ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

 

The Nutshell:

According to Jesus, baptism is necessary to be saved.  According to Peter, baptism saves us.  According to Ananias we are in our sins until we are baptized.  According to Peter baptism not only saves us but it is the point at which we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and the point at which we are put into Christ's church.  According to Philip, baptism is integral to the gospel message.  According to Paul and Jesus belief includes baptism.  According to Paul our "body of flesh" is removed when we are "buried with Christ in baptism."  Additionally, he says that baptism is when we are clothed in Christ - which is where we find salvation, eternal life, freedom from condemnation, the love of God, spiritual birth, newness, reconciliation with God, sonship, forgiveness of sins, and every spiritual gift!

The most important thing to know about what Paul, Jesus, Peter, Philip and Ananias said is that every word of what they said was inspired by God.  When we deny the truth about baptism recorded in the Bible, we are challenging God Himself.

Next up:

It would seem that Scripture is quite clear on the teaching of baptism.  The curiosity is how very different the teachings of men are from the clear teachings of Christ and His disciples on this subject.

Next in this series, we will review what men say on this topic and how it conflicts with God's Word.