On most Sundays, after we have finished with our Worship Service, we meet during the Sunday School hour and discuss the sermon we have just heard. We do this by referring to a list of questions related to the message. Well today I'm going to give you the questions ahead of time, and answer them. There should be no problem later when it comes to providing answers - it's like being in school and getting the questions prior to taking the test.
So here are a dozen questions related to baptism.
1. Is baptism unique to Christianity?
Obviously not. John the Baptist was baptizing in the river Jordan before Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized by John. (Matthew 3:13) Perhaps John was part of a community called the Essenes who also practiced baptism. We also know that there were other Jewish groups that had a form of baptism, and in fact, other eastern religious practices have also included baptism. In fact, baptism for the removal of evil is found in the Sumerian culture, 2,000 or more years before the Christian era. In India, for thousands of years Hindus have gathered at the Ganges river to bathe, believing that the river's waters will wash away all sins. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest religious gathering in history was in 2001 when, on one day, 20 million people came to the river in Allahabad. The historical fact that there is ceremonial washing in almost every religion points to the universality of the human feeling that cleansing from sin is needed by all.
2. Can a person be a true Christian believer and not be baptized, or be baptized and not be a Christian?
Let me answer by asking, "Can there be a construction detour with no signs being posted, or can there be detour signs and no construction?"
Evidently the man who was executed on the cross next to Jesus was a believer because Jesus promised heaven to Him, and yet there was no opportunity for baptism before he died. (John 23:42, 43) And on the other side of the coin, any religious ritual done without faith is meaningless. After all, it's not the baptism that makes a person a Christian; it's their public confession of faith.
3. What does the word "baptism" mean?
No, it is not a derogatory term used of people we deem to lack intelligence, as in, "You dip." Rather, it literally means, "to dip," like when a person is rinsing soapy dishes in a sink filled with hot water (in the prehistoric era when there were no automatic dishwashers). The dish is baptized, i.e., dipped into the water, totally immersed.
4. Nowhere in the Bible does it explicitly command us to "be baptized," so why do we do it?
Simply because Jesus our role model was baptized, even though being sinless, He did not need to repent (Matthew 3:15). We also do it because Jesus instructed His disciples to baptize (Matthew 28:19), and there are several examples of baptisms in the book of Acts.
5. Why do some churches sprinkle and others immerse?
Different traditions have been developed for various reasons. As the Catholic Church moved the time of baptism back to infancy, apparently believing that salvation is obtained at baptism, it was obviously not able to continue immersion. In addition to the idea of "dipping" as just mentioned, the idea of total immersion comes from the Scripture in Leviticus 15:16 when it says, "he shall wash all his flesh in the water." It also can be seen in the baptism of Jesus - we know that He went down into the water because it says, "he went up out of the water." (Matthew 3:16) Similar language is used in the story of the Ethiopian being baptized by Philip, "the eunuch went down into the water . . . they came up out of the water." (Acts 8:38, 39)
6. If a person was baptized as a baby, why be baptized again?
When as an infant someone is baptized, it is according to their parent's decision, not the person being baptized. We believe it is important that baptism be a confession of personal faith made by a person who is capable of making and proclaiming such a decision. (Acts 8:37)
7. What is the difference between infant baptism and dedication?
Really, there's not much difference at all, except perhaps one is wet and the other dry! Both represent the parent's commitment to bring up their child in the ways of the Lord. (I Samuel 1:27, 28)
8. How old should someone be to qualify for baptism?
There is no particular age, given the fact that not all children develop at the same pace. Some churches follow the Jewish tradition and baptize children when they turn twelve. (Luke 2:42) We do not believe a young person's baptism should be determined by age, but by the quality of their faith, understanding and commitment.
9. If a person had been baptized but then wandered from the Christian way, when he or she returns to the Lord later in life, should they be baptized again?
The reason a person may be re-baptized is when they realize in adulthood that they were pushed along by parents or church leaders, and later come to realize that they were baptized when they had not really developed their own faith, understanding and commitment. For some people, if they were rebaptized every time they wandered and returned to the faith might mean they will be baptized dozens of time during their lifetime!
10. Is there a difference between Baptism in water and Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
They are two separate experiences - to be baptized in water does not automatically mean the person is also baptized in the Spirit. When baptized in water, the pastor is the baptizer and water is the medium, or the substance they are immersed in. When baptized in the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the baptizer, and the Spirit is what they are immersed in. (Acts 1:5-8)
11. What does baptism symbolize?
Several things. Of course it represents and acknowledges the cleansing that has come about through the forgiveness of sins. It also symbolizes death, dying to self so that we may live for Christ, and so it represents both burial (going down into the water) and resurrection (coming back out of the water). (Romans 6:1-7)
12. What is the spiritual value of baptism?
Three benefits come quickly to mind. Baptism helps us clarifies our identity as Christians, as though saying, "There, that's settled, I am a Christian." It also strengthens one's commitment; when the testing time comes, when doubts arise, and Satan tries to lure us away and destroy our faith - we can then say, "Leave me alone, I belong to Christ, I have been baptized." And finally, it secures the support of other Christian believers who witness our baptism and then help us remain true to what we have declared.
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