Water baptism is vital in a Christian’s walk and maturity with Jesus Christ so I want to break this down, in hopefully, digestible parts so you can clearly see what Scripture has to say about water baptism.

Let’s start at the beginning…the word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word “baptizo” which means to immerse.    So followers of John the Baptist and later followers of Jesus would have understand that baptism involves full immersion or to submerge oneself in water.

Below are just 3 examples of baptism in the Bible starting with Jesus.

1) Jesus

Now the goal of every Christian is to become more Christ-like therefore Jesus is our ultimate role model and the first thing Jesus did BEFORE starting his ministry was to get baptized.

Matthew 3: 13-15
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.  But John didn’t want to baptize him.  “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”  But Jesus said, “It must be done, because we must do everything that is right.”  So then John baptized him. 

Jesus is our example and he is telling us that it is right to get baptized.

2) Paul

The conversion of Saul to Paul is quite extraordinary.  And we see that immediately following Paul’s conversion he gets baptized.

Acts 9:17-19
So Ananias went and found Saul.  He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you may get your sight back and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he regained his sight.  Then he got up and was baptized.  Afterward he ate some food and was strengthened.

3) Philip

The third example I want to go over is Philip’s encounter the Ethiopian eunuch.  The passage doesn’t tell us what exactly Philip said but we do know the eunuch’s response; which was “there’s water, can I be baptized?”

Acts 8:29-38
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”  Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.  The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.  And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.  He was humiliated and received no justice.  Who can speak of his descendants?  For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

In these 3 examples we are shown two important items:

1) Baptism is the first step in a follower’s life with Christ.

2) Baptism should happen ideally at the time you accept Christ.  There should be no extended wait time and I’ll expand on that later.

Why Baptism is Important

It’s about taking your knowledge of Jesus from your head to your heart.  Although we are saved by grace, our faith in Jesus and who he is should make us obedient to his commands.

John 14:15, 23
If you love me, obey my commandments.
All those who love me will do what I say.

What has Jesus commanded us to do when it comes to baptism?

John 3:3-7
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

When we get saved we repent our sins to God, we get baptized to Jesus Christ and we get baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus also says…

Mark 16:16
Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.  But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.

Baptism is the very first command that Jesus gives all new followers!

Why?  Because...

Ephesians 5:25-27
He gave up his life for her (the Church) to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word.  He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.  Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

Jesus came to save us from sin.  To accept Jesus you must repent which is to turn away from your sins.  When you do that God takes out your heart of stone and replaces it with a new heart.  So if you have truly repented you cannot live in sin or continue in sin.  So now you have this new heart but in a dead body.  What do we do with dead bodies? We bury them and this is water baptism.  So in baptism we bury our old sinful nature and rise in new life with Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

When you understand what baptism is all about there is freedom!!

Romans 6:4
Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him?  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.  And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Spiritual Significance to Baptism

Water baptism is so much more than just acknowledging to the congregation your belief in Jesus.  I have witnessed and participated in baptisms where people literally cannot bend their knees to get baptized.  When someone is baptized with a repentive and submissive heart and understands the spiritual significance of baptism satan hates it and will try to stop you from getting baptized.  It is a physical act with huge spiritual power.

Colossians 2:11-13
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure.  It was a spiritual procedure – the cutting away of your sinful nature.  For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.  And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.  You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away.  Then God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave all our sins.

Hallelujah!!  Praise the LORD!!

This spiritual breaking off of our sin nature is why in the Bible we see people getting baptized as soon as they came to Jesus.  There was no waiting the next month till the next baptismal day. It was done immediately so that the sin nature was cut away.  So we’re not dragging this dead body around with this new heart.  So you’re not feeling like you’re being dragged back to old habits (aka sins).

Galatians 3: 27
And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him.

This is also the reason why Jesus has commanded us, fellow born-again Christians, to baptize others…

Matthew 28:19
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…

Mark 16:15-16
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.  Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved…

The Robber on the Cross

Now some might say that baptism isn’t necessary and they will most likely bring up the robber on the cross with Jesus.

Luke 23:41-43
We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”  And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

You have to remember when this took place – it was before Pentecost which means the Holy Spirit hadn’t arrived yet which means the new covenant hadn’t started yet.  He didn’t need the whole part so he could live the holy life; right there he got forgiveness for his sins.  But we are under the new covenant which means we must be born of water and of the spirit (John 3:5)

Why Baby Baptism Isn’t Scriptural

There is nowhere in the Bible where a baby or even a child gets baptized.  You’re probably thinking, "What about jailer and his household?"  Let’s discuss that Scripture…

Acts 16: 30-34
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with you entire household.”  They shared the word of the Lord with him and all who lived in his household.  That same hour the jailer washed their wounds, and he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.  They he brought them in to his house and set a meal before them.  He and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

Most will argue that because it was the jailer’s whole household that was baptized that babies and children must have been there and included in the baptism.

I have three things to say about this passage:

1) Proverbs 30: 5-6 states
Every word of God proves true…Do not add to His words or he may rebuke you, and you will be found a liar.

When you are assuming something that is not stated in the Bible you are adding to His words.  The Bible is perfect so we need to be on guard that we are not adding to His words because when we add to perfection we are actually detracting from that perfection.  And nowhere in Acts 16 does it say that there were babies or small children in the jailer’s household.

2) It says that the entire household rejoiced after getting baptized.  Babies cannot rejoice or show praise.  So again this goes against the idea that babies were present.

3) Just wanted to point out that again we see that once someone accepts Christ baptism immediately happens.  Paul and Silas didn’t say “Great, come to our next meeting on Saturday and we’ll baptize you.”  No, they received the word and were baptized right away.

3 Parts to Baptism

I want to end with what I believe are three important aspects to consider before being baptized so you can receive the freedom God wants you to have.

1) Submission

You don’t want to be baptized if you haven’t truly accepted Jesus into your life.  You need to acknowledge and understand your need for a saviour and that you can’t do it on your own anymore.  You need to understand and acknowledge who Jesus is and what he has done for us- for you.

You need to submit your life to Jesus and God’s will in your life.

2) Repentance

You need to repent to God.  We must approach baptism (and our lives after) with a submissive AND repentive heart towards God.

When you repent of your sins God removes them from you; you’re no longer a sinner but a saint.  There can’t be any washing away of sins if you haven’t acknowledged to God what you’ve done wrong.  If you haven’t admitted that you have sinned.

Repent of anything you can think of and ask God to reveal to you what he wants you to acknowledge and ask forgiveness for.

Some sins to keep in mind:

a) Any sexual sins – this includes anything sexual outside of what God has shown us to be an appropriate relationship which is marriage between a man and a woman. So if you’ve had sex before marriage, adultery (which includes even thinking of other people in a sexual way other than your spouse), pornography, etc. you need to be honest about it and bring it to God.

b) Witchcraft and the occult – if you’ve ever had your fortune told, played ouija board, tarot cards, read your horoscope, participated in séances, practiced wicca etc.

c) Unforgiveness – God tells us in the Bible if we want forgiveness we must forgive others. Pray and look into your past to see if there is anyone you need to forgive. This can be difficult so bring it up to God and ask for His help!

3) Spiritual Aspect of Baptism

Understanding that baptism has a powerful spiritual aspect in that we are cutting away our sinful nature, becoming a new person and therefore receiving freedom.

When you understand what baptism is all about and when you approach baptism with a submissive and repentive heart towards God it’s like a nuclear bomb going off in satan’s kingdom!  Be aware of that and the fact that satan will try to put obstacles in your way to stop you from getting baptized.  You could start feeling that now’s not the time to get baptized, feel apprehension or things might come up intended to stall the baptism.  Pray and stay in God’s Word – He wants you baptized!

In Summary

We are saved by grace but the truth is that if you have truly accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you will obey him.  Baptism is not about showing other Christians that you believe in Jesus but that you’re breaking off your sin nature.  Baptism is spiritually powerful!!  And hopefully by now you can clearly see that Jesus commands all followers to be baptized at an age where they understand what baptism is about.  You can’t cut off your sin nature if you don’t understand that you have a sin nature or repent of your sins.

Acts 22:15-16
For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.

Your Sister In Christ,

Angela

I bless you with discernment and wisdom; that you may know what is pleasing and right before God.