What The Bible
Says About Baptism
By
Kevin Ruiz
Many religious people today seem to
think that baptism is not very important. It seems strange then that among the last
words spoken by Jesus before he returned to Heaven were words concerning
baptism. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark
One common teaching of man
concerning baptism is that a person does not have to be baptized in order to be
saved. Is this what the Bible teaches?
Absolutely not! On the day of Pentecost
mentioned in Acts 2, Peter said to
the people, “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” (Acts 2:38). If a person
wants his sins forgiven by God, he must be baptized. Again, the Scriptures teach the importance of
baptism through the words Ananias spoke to Saul, saying, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts
Another teaching of man that
contradicts the Bible is the idea that sprinkling and pouring are acceptable
forms of baptism. This, however, cannot
be true since the meaning of the word “baptise” is
immerse, dip, or plunge. The Apostle
Paul describes baptism as a burial in which one dies to the guilt of sin (Romans 6:1-7). Examples of baptism also
show it is an immersion in water. Concerning the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion,
the Scriptures state, “And he commanded
the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip
and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts
Some men teach that infants need to
be baptized. The purpose of baptism,
however, is to remove sin by the blood of Jesus Christ (Acts
A careful and honest study of the Scriptures will help one to understand the truth about baptism. The Bible plainly teaches that baptism is essential to salvation. In addition, one learns from examples of conversion that baptism is immersion in water and that it is for those who are guilty of sin--not for infants.
Are you following the teaching of
God about baptism or the teachings of men?
If you have not been baptized according to the teaching of the Word of
God, will you not do so today? Believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Mark