Believers Baptism

Baptism is a command of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have come to faith in Christ publicly express their identification with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection through immersion in water. This act also signifies belonging to the people of God, the Church of Christ. Furthermore, the emblem of burial and rising portrays death to the old life of sin and entrance into the new life in Christ.

1. Appointed by Christ

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Therefore, baptism is not only a command but is ordained by the Lord as an ongoing practice within the local church. The church is instructed to make disciples of all nations and baptize them, continuing this mandate until the end of the age. “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)

2. Identification with Christ

Baptism publicly expresses one’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Romans 6:3-4 clearly teaches, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” It is important to note that while baptism symbolizes this identification, it is ultimately faith that unites us to Christ. Baptism serves to publicly declare this faith. The imagery of baptism as death, burial, and resurrection reflects what occurs spiritually at the moment of salvation: the old self of sin dies, and a new life of faith emerges. This is what you confess to the world and God when you are baptized. Paul reiterates this in Colossians 2:12-13: “Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

3. Baptism is by immersion in water

Scripture teaches that this expression of identification with Christ involves immersion in water. Romans 6:3-4 describes baptism as burial and rising from the dead, which naturally suggests being buried under water and then coming out of it to signify a resurrection. The Greek word for baptism means to dip or immerse, and this understanding aligns with how the early church practiced baptism. In Acts 8:37-38, the Ethiopian eunuch, after coming to faith while riding with Philip, eagerly requests, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” Philip then commands the chariot to stop, and they both go down into the water, emphasizing immersion rather than sprinkling. Similarly, John 3:23 states, “John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there,” suggesting that plentiful water was necessary for immersion.

4. In the name of the Triune God

Jesus instructs in Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This highlights that not every immersion qualifies as baptism. There is a significant invocation of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, ensuring their presence in this holy act, which reflects their work in redemption. Without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is no salvation. When we invoke their names, we acknowledge and honor them, stating that this act is made possible through them. Apostle Peter emphasizes this as he affirms our connection to God in 1 Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”

5. Outward expression of faith and spiritual birth

Baptism serves as an outward expression of faith and is therefore reserved for believers. The Scriptures do not advocate for infant baptism. Colossians 2:12 teaches, “...having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith...” The phrase 'through faith' is critical. Paul indicates that rising from the water signifies being raised with Christ, and this occurs through faith. Baptism acts as a symbol of death, burial, and resurrection with Christ and derives its meaning from the faith it represents. Baptism signifies a turning away from the old life and toward a new direction following Christ. Paul articulates this in Romans 6:4, stating we were buried with Him in baptism into death so that we might walk in newness of life. In Ephesians 4:22-24, he advises, “That you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” This act symbolizes dying to the old way and embracing the new life. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17). Paul connects our status as sons of God to baptism in Galatians 3:26-27: “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” This inclusion in the new-covenant people of God occurs through spiritual birth, initiated by the gospel. “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” (1 Peter 1:23). Thus, the meaning of baptism is intricately tied to our inclusion as children of God, serving as a unique expression of saving faith connected to our conversion.

6. Followed by fellowship in the local church

In Acts 2:41-42, we read, “Then those who gladly received His word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” In baptism, a believer publicly identifies with fellow believers, highlighting the importance of both baptism and local church fellowship as expressions of the universal body of Christ. Neglecting baptism constitutes disobedience, and many Bible-believing followers of Jesus overlook the significance of being baptized as a believer, inadvertently excluding themselves from fellowship. This is not the normative pattern seen in the New Testament.

7. Baptism symbolizes cleansing from sin (not the means of cleansing from sin)

Finally, baptism symbolizes cleansing from sin, as emphasized in 1 Peter 3:18-21, which states, “There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism; not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” While cleansing is a primary symbol associated with water, it is essential to clarify that immersion in water does not cleanse the heart. Peter makes it clear that water only removes physical dirt, and true cleansing comes through the resurrection of Christ, granting victory over sin and death. “O! Death, where is your sting? O! Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:56-57)

Although baptism, being an act involving water, is often closely linked to salvation, we must remember that it cannot save anyone. Paul references salvation in Titus 3:5 as “by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” However, he also clarifies that God saved us “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness.” Only by God’s grace through faith in Christ are we saved (Eph. 2:8, 9). After Saul’s encounter on the road to Damascus, Ananias instructed him, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling upon His name.” (Acts 22:16). Charles Spurgeon’s insights here are illuminating: “I know that believer’s baptism itself does not wash away sin, yet it is the outward sign and emblem of cleansing to the believer, that the thing visible may be described as the thing signified. Just as our Saviour said, “This is my body,” when it was not His body, but bread; yet, inasmuch as it represented His body, it was fair and right according to the usage of language to say, “Take, eat, this is my body.” And so, inasmuch as baptism to the believer represents the washing of sin, it may be called the washing of sin; not that it is so in reality, but that it is to saved souls the outward symbol and representation of what is done by the power of the Holy Spirit in the person who believes in Christ.” - Spurgeon’s Sermons, Baker, 1983, V.8 p.31.

Conclusion

Baptism symbolizes our identification with Christ and His body, the Church.

At the moment we believe, we become entirely identified with Christ—His death becomes our death, His burial our burial, and His resurrection our resurrection. Going under the water during baptism symbolizes death to our old life, while rising from the water signifies the beginning of a new life, lived for God in the power of Christ’s resurrection. We are “baptized into Christ” by the Holy Spirit, placing us “in Christ” at the moment of salvation: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:13). What Paul refers to in Romans 6 is not specifically water baptism, but what it represents—the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4). Paul further reinforces this in Colossians 2:11-12: “Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” This identification occurs the instant we place our faith and trust in Christ. Water baptism symbolizes our identification with Christ and the church, realized spiritually at the moment of saving faith. In the act of baptism, a person publicly identifies with both Christ and fellow believers, forming one body with Christ as the head. We become members of His body, the church, as stated in Ephesians 1:22: “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Additionally, in 1 Corinthians 10:17, we read, “For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”