SHOULD BABIES BE BAPTIZED?
What is baptism? Who should be baptized? What is the purpose of baptism? Man has argued over these questions for many years. Is there an answer that we can all understand and agree on? Yes there is. God has given the answer. The answer is found in His Word, the Bible.
What is Baptism?
There are three ways by which denominations baptize people today-- sprinkling, pouring and immersion. (Immersion means to put a person completely under water for a short time). Which one is correct baptism?
In the Bible, baptism is called a burial. “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism Into death, that Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). If we want to bury a dead body, we will not sprinkle a little dirt on the head. We will cover the body completely with dirt. Baptism is like that. Baptism is a burial in water. Sprinkling water on the head of a person does not baptize him. He must be completely buried under the water.
“Now
John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water
there. And they came and were baptized”
(John
“So
he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into
the water, and he baptized him. Now when
they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so
that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing”(Acts
When Philip baptized the eunuch, both of them went down info the water. After the baptism, both of them came up out of the water. To sprinkle a person, it is not necessary to go down into the water. To baptize a person by burying him in the water, it is necessary to go down into the water. Therefore, Philip baptized the eunuch by a burial, not by sprinkling.
What is the proper way to baptize? The Bible teaches it is by a burial in water. Therefore sprinkling is not true baptism. Anyone who has been sprinkled, or had water poured on his head, has not been truly baptized.
Who Should Be Baptized?
The Bible says there are certain
things a person must DO BEFORE he can be baptized. A person MUST BELIEVE in Jesus Christ before
he can be baptized. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be
saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark
Before a person can be baptized, he
MUST CONFESS his faith in Christ. “…if
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God
has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation”
(Romans 10:9, 10). A good example of this is in Acts 8. The man from
A person also MUST REPENT of his
sins before he can be baptized. The
Bible says, “…Repent, and let everyone
of you be baptized In the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and
you shall received the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts
What we have learned so far? A person must hear the Word of God. He must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of
God. After that, he must confess his
faith in Christ as the Son of God. Then
he must repent of his sins. All of this
must be done BEFORE a person can be baptized.
A person cannot be baptized and then believe, repent and confess. The Bible doesn’t teach it that way. That is why a baby is not to be
baptized. A baby CANNOT have faith in
Christ. A baby CANNOT confess his faith
in Christ. A baby CANNOT repent of his
sins for two reasons. First, he has no
sins. Second, he couldn’t repent of them
if he did have them. Let’s follow what
the Bible teaches and then we can all agree.
We can, if we put the Lord’s teachings before man’s teachings. The Bible says, “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were
baptized” (Acts
Why Be Baptized?
There are several things mentioned
in the Bible as to why we must be baptized.
First, we must be baptized if we want to be saved. “He
who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark
Another reason for baptism is to
put a person “into Christ.” To be
“in Christ” means “to be a Christian.” You are not a Christian if you are not “in Christ.” How does a person get “into Christ?” Listen to the Apostle Paul as he writes to
the churches of
Baptism also puts us into the body
of Christ. The body of Christ is
Christ’s church. “...and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body...”
(Eph; 1: 22, 23). Christ built only one church (Matt.
WHAT does the Bible say about WHAT baptism is? The Bible teaches that baptism is putting a person completely under water for a short time. This is called a burial or immersion.
WHY should a person be baptized? So that he can be saved and have his sins forgiven. This baptism makes him a part of Christ and His church.
WHO should be baptized? The Bible says that the one who is to be baptized MUST believe, repent and confess his faith BEFORE he is baptized. If he is baptized before he does these things his baptism is no good.
Have YOU been baptized the Bible way? Did you believe, repent and confess your faith BEFORE you were baptized? Were you buried in water for your baptism? Were you baptized FOR the forgiveness of your sins? If you cannot answer YES to ALL of these questions, then your baptism is no good.
If you have more questions about baptism or you wish to be baptized right, let us know. We will be glad to be of help to you.
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