Baptism

A friend of mine who has recently come to faith was asking me about the purpose and meaning of baptism. The following is what I sent him in response.

First and foremost, baptism is a command of Christ. We see this in Jesus' great commission to his disciples in the book of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 18-20;

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

We are baptized because Jesus commands it of his followers. This is not part of our salvation, our salvation does not depend on our baptism. For an example of this, when Jesus was crucified, there were two thieves who were crucified with him. One of the thieves put his faith in Christ and Christ's response was to tell the thief that he would be with him in paradise (Luke 23:40-43). He did not tell him that he was out of luck because he could not be baptized. I say this because there are some who claim that baptism is a part of salvation. They would claim that baptism is necessary for salvation, but they are wrong.

As we discussed earlier as well, baptism is symbolic. Christ went to the cross in order to pay the price for our sin because we could not. Once God the Father finished pouring out his wrath on Jesus, he died. After he died, he was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimithea. After three days, Jesus was raised from the dead. Our journey to faith in Christ is very similar to this (aside, of course, from paying the price for sin, as only Jesus Christ, the unblemished lamb, could do that). In the book of Romans Paul tells us that the wage of sin is death. As we are all born in sin and also guilty of sin, without Christ we are dead in our sin. We may live physically for a short time, but spiritually, we are dead and the only thing we have to look forward to in eternity is the second death, which is to be thrown into hell. However, when we place our faith in Christ, we are given the gift of eternal life. As Christ died, so to we died. Paul uses this illustration to say that we who are in Christ were crucified and buried with him. As Christ paid the price for our sin, our old self died and was buried. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, so to, we have been raised from the dead, not only now spiritually, but for all eternity. In the book of Colosians, chapter 2, verse 12, Paul says the following;

Colossians 2:12
"having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

In other words, our immersion in water symbolizes our old self dying and being buried. Then, as we come up out of the water, it symbolizes our being raised from the dead in newness of true life in Christ. As Paul tells us in the book of Romans, once we were a slave to sin (which leads to death), now we are a slave to righteousness (which leads to life).

As far as the history of baptism, it began as a ritual washing for those who wished to join the Jewish community in Old Testament times. A gentile (or non Jew) who wished to become a Jew had to go through a series of ritual purification, including being washed. This, of course, was highly symbolic of the coming of Jesus and what he did on the cross. In New Testament times, we see the first baptisms being performed by John the Baptist. John was the prophet who came to announce the imminent coming of the redeemer (Jesus). He came preaching repentance as the fore runner of Christ. He would preach repentance and then baptize by full immersion in water, those that repented of their sins. The perfect example of baptism came with Christ, who was baptized by John the Baptist. We have record of this in two of the four gospels. Following is the record from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 3, verses 13-17;

Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

As you can see, even Christ was baptized, as he puts it, to "fulfill all righteousness". In other words, it is a righteous act to be baptized, even for the savior of men. As such, we should follow his command and be baptized ourself. Jesus tells us in the gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 15, that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. As baptism is a command of Christ, we should, as his followers, keep the command to be baptized.

Finally, it is also a means of professing before men our faith in Christ. It is a means of publicly identifying ourselves with the body of Christ (the church).