New Christians often wonder about water baptism. Why is it done? What does it mean? When should I do it? These are questions that will be explained to help you grasp the doctrine of water baptism.
To start with, when one is dunked into the water it is symbolic of being buried with Christ in His death. So as Christ died unto sin, so we also should reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin.
When we are brought up from the water it is symbolic of being raised up from the dead, that we no longer should live the rest of our time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but that we should be alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:3-13
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (KJV)
Why do we get baptized? Because the disciples were commanded to.
Mt 28:19
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (KJV)
When should I be baptized? After you have received the Gospel in faith and have repented of your sins.
Acts 2:38-39
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.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (KJV)
Often the question is asked whether a person is to be sprinked with water, or fully dunked. Take note of what the word baptized means:
907 baptizo {bap-tid'-zo}
Meaning: 1) to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge;
Though baptism is an immersion, sprinkling is considered to be exceptable as seen from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Sprinkling was in the early centuries exclusively reserved for sick and infirm persons. There is evidence to show that those who received the rite in this form were somewhat despised; for the nicknames clinici and grabatorii were, unworthily Cyprian declares, bestowed on them by neighbors. The question was even raised in the middle of the 3rd century, whether this baptism by sprinkling was a valid baptism and Cyprian was asked for his opinion on the matter. His answer is contained in his lxxvth epistle. There he contends that the ordinance administered this way is perfectly valid, and quotes in support of his opinion various Old Testament texts which assert the purifying effects of water sprinkled (Ezek 36:25, 26; Nu 8:5-7; 19:8, 9, 12, 13). It is not the amount of the water or the method of its application which can cleanse from sin: “Whence it appears that the sprinkling also of water prevails equally with the washing of salvation - and that where the faith of the giver and receiver is sound, all things hold and may be consummated and perfected by the majesty of God and by the truth of faith.” His opinion prevailed. Sprinkling was recognized as a valid, though exceptional, form of baptism. But it was long of commending itself to ministers and people, and did not attain to almost general use until the 13th century.
Conerning infant baptism the Scriptures do not in so many words either forbid or command the baptism of infants. It is neither commanded nor forbidden in so many words; and the question cannot be decided on such a basis. The strongest argument against the baptizing of infants lies in the thought that the conditions of the rite are repentance and faith; that these must be exercised by individuals, each one for himself and for herself; and that infants are incapable either of repentance or of faith of this kind. On the other hand a great deal of evidence supports the view that the baptism of infants, if not commanded, was at least permitted and practiced within the apostolic church.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia gives us a look at the history of infant baptism in the early years of the Church: Evidence for the baptism of children goes back to the earliest times of the sub-apostolic church. Irenaeus was the disciple of Polycarp, who had been the disciple of John, and it is difficult to draw any other conclusion from his statements than that he believed that the baptism of infants had been an established practice in the church long before his days. The witness of Tertullian is specially interesting; for he himself plainly thinks that adult baptism is to be preferred to the baptism of infants. He makes it plain that the custom of baptizing infants existed in his days, and we may be sure from the character and the learning of the man, that had he been able to affirm that infant-baptism had been a recent innovation and had not been a long-established usage descending from apostolic times, he would certainly have had no hesitation in using what would have seemed to him a very convincing way of dealing with his opponents. Tertullian’s testimony comes from the end of the 2nd century or the beginning of the 3rd century. Origen, the most learned Christian writer during the first three centuries and who comes a little later than Tertullian, in his 14th Homily on Luke bears witness to the fact that the baptism of infants was usual. He argues that original sin belongs to children because the church baptizes them. At the same time it is plain from a variety of evidence too long to cite that the baptism of infants was not a universal practice in the early church. The church of the early centuries was a mission church. It drew large numbers of its members from heathendom. In every mission church the baptism of adults will naturally take the foremost place and be most in evidence. But is is clear that many Christians were of the opinion of Tertullian and believed that baptism ought not to be administered to children but should be confined to adults. Nor was this a theory only; it was a continuous practice handed down from one generation to another in some Christian families. In the 4th century, few Christian leaders took a more important place than Basil the Great and his brother Gregory of Nyssa. They belonged to a family who had been Christians for some generations; yet neither of the brothers was baptized until after his personal conversion, which does not appear to have come until they had attained the years of manhood. The whole evidence seems to show that in the early church, down to the end of the 4th century at least, infant and adult baptism were open questions and that the two practices existed side by side with each other without disturbing the unity of the churches. In the later Pelagian controversy it became evident that theory and practice of infant baptism had been able to assert itself and that the ordinance was always administered to children of members of the church.
I hope that this helps answer questions that you had about water baptism. If you are considering getting baptized and believe with all your heart that Jesus died for your sins, and rose again to give you new life in Him, then I encourage you to get baptized. If you do not believe this, I ask you to visit our Good News page, and ponder what is presented there.
To learn about the pattern revealed in scripture about baptism read the article The Pattern Of Baptism And Receiving Of The Holy Spirit.
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