Linary Church of Christ · 1244 Old Hwy 28 · Crossville TN 38555 · USA

God's Plan of Salvation : Be Baptized

Note: In Internet Explorer 4+, when your mouse pointer hovers over a scripture, a popup tip will show the scripture from the New American Standard version.

Baptism is one of the most controversial steps in God's plan; and yet the Bible is as definitive on it as on any other subject.

The Greek word for baptize is baptizo, which Strong defines: "to immerse, submerge; to make overwhelmed (i.e. fully wet). The word did not necessarily have religious significance, and if were translated (as it is in some versions), it would probably appear most often as immerse. However, the King James and many other translators chose to transliterate the word. That is, they imported the Greek word into the English language, probably because of the religious significance that was attached to the word at the time of the translation.

It is important to recognize this since it is often regarded as a ritual with strange and mystical powers. In reality, the only thing that makes it significant is that it is commanded by God. It is He who chose this simple act, involving one of the most common compounds on the face of the earth, to accomplish His will. And, it is the rendering of obedience to God's will that makes baptism an act of faith in the working of God (Col. 2:12) and not a work of man.

You Must Be Born Again

Countless scriptures either command baptism or indicate that it is an essential part of becoming a member of the body of Christ. Although first introduced by John the Baptist, it is clear that John's is not the "one baptism" spoken of in Eph. 4:5. We know this because in Acts 19:3-5 Paul commanded those who had been baptized by John's baptism to be baptized again in the name of the Lord Jesus (i.e., by his authority). It is very possible for people to go through a ritual that is called baptism without it being the baptism commanded by Jesus.

So important was baptism that Jesus made it part of the great commission: ¹⁹"baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,..." (Mt. 28:19). In obedience to this when the first gospel sermon was preached on the day of Pentecost, Peter answered the question: "What must we do" with the following: ³⁸"Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins..." (Acts 2:38).

Baptism was practiced for remission (forgiveness) of sins in the first century. Hear what Ananias urged Paul to do: ¹⁶"And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." (Acts 22:16) If Paul was saved before washing away his sins, then he was saved while still in his sins.

Jesus made being born again a condition of "entering into the kingdom of heaven" (Jn. 3:5). He described this as being born of water and the Spirit. Read Romans 6:3f ³ "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

There are those who insist that the "water" in John 3:5 "...unless one is born of water and the Spirit..." is not referring to water baptism. There are at least three popular views held by those who believe that "out of water" in this verse does not refer to water baptism.

The passage should be translated, "born out of water, even Spirit. . ." This would make "water" symbolic of the Spirit. (The translators of the Amplified New Testament followed this interpretation.)

The word "water" should be understood as a reference to the Word of God. (This is probably the most widely held interpretation of the three, and verses such as {Eph. 5:26} and {Titus 3:5} are offered for support.)

The words "out of water" refer to the first birth of an individual, the natural birth. (An infant, surrounded by water in his mother's womb, is literally "born out of water.")

None of these views, however, can be considered tenable. The first two violate a basic rule of Greek grammar, and all three ignore the contextual interpretation of John 3:5.

The words translated "out of water and Spirit" in the Greek text of John 3:5 consist of two nouns governed by one preposition and connected by a copulative. There is a rule of Greek grammar which states that whenever such a construction occurs, both nouns must be understood either in a literal sense or in a figurative sense. One cannot be interpreted literally and the other figuratively. This is a common construction in the Greek text, and there are no exceptions to the rule. Thus, the first two views present a grammatical problem, for both interpret "Spirit" literally but interpret "water" figuratively.

When Nicodemus heard these words of Jesus for the first time, he had several good reasons to apply them to water baptism:

The fame of the ministry of John the Baptist, which centered around water baptism.

Jesus" own baptism by John (which he must have heard about)

John's teaching contained a strong emphasis on the distinction between water baptism and Spirit baptism (Matt 3:11; Lk 3:16; John 1:33; Mark 1:8). Therefore, when "water and Spirit" are mentioned together he would quite naturally think of water baptism.

Jesus (actually his disciples) were also water baptizing (John 3:22 & 23)

Since the context of this passage is water baptism, the third view is also in error.

Water baptism alone is the only interpretation which is in keeping with the subject matter at hand, with the type, and which presents no problems in interpretation.

Have you ever heard it said?? . . .

Baptism is a work and we cannot be saved by works ... but Peter said (1 Peter 3:21):

"...baptism now saves you..."

Lest we be accused of taking this out of context, please read the context, in which a reference was being made to the days of Noah. The comparison is made as follows: ²⁰ "who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. ²¹ And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,"(1 Pet 3:20-21). Those who would discount the apparent meaning here must honestly give an interpretation for what they feel the words "...baptism now saves you..." means if it does not mean that baptism now saves you.

There is nothing magic in the water. It is just that God has chosen this way for you to become a member of His body, His church (Rom. 6:3). Men have invented all kinds of other ways (the "sinners prayer" being one, however nowhere is this found in the Bible), but they all fall short of God's way. Read all of the detailed cases of conversion, and see if they do not all end in the convert being baptized (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:38; 9:18; 10:48; 16:15,33; 19:5).

Where is the magic in the water of the OT? On certain occasions, and for worship leaders especially, water purification was required before one could approach God, even when no specific offense was in view (see Exodus 19:10, 14; 29:4; Lev. 16:4). The bronze laver used for priestly washing was particularly significant. The ministering priests were required to wash in it before serving in the tabernacle; Exodus 30:20 "when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they may not die".

In what sense did the water or the act itself have any effect or bring about purification? The fact is that neither the water nor the act of washing caused any change. It was a matter of divine decision and declaration. God simply declared that before the act of washing, the person was unacceptable in His sight; afterwards the person was regarded as acceptable.

Consider the story of Naaman (a leper) in 2 Kings 5. He was instructed to ¹⁰..."Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean." Now what magical properties did the Jordan river have? Naaman was not impressed either, ¹² "Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?". The answer to this is "no". Why? Because God did not instruct him to wash in those rivers. The only thing that Gave the Jordan river the power to cleanse him is God. ¹¹ "But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, "He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper."" Like Naaman, we have a tendency to expect some great ceremony or supernatural occurrence (this is where "testimonies" spring from). The fact is, if we do not choose to do it God's way then it will not be accepted (consider Nadab and Abihu and their strange fire Lev 10 and King Saul and his own way of doing things 1 Samuel 13 & 15).

Baptism is the only one of the steps that is obeyed at a single point of time. All of the others affect the rest of our lives, and they are summed up in the term "being faithful unto death."

 Adapted primarily from David Brown"s "Think on These Things"
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible).

Last updated: Monday, March 06, 2006

Technical problems with these pages?
Please notify the Webmaster <webmaster@linary.com>

Site design by Jan Smith