Do I have to?

And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.' (Acts 22:16 NIV)


Do I have to?


I must admit, this is one of those questions that have puzzled me for as long as I've been learning about God (which is basically my whole life.)  I've heard classes taught and sermons preached that try to make a case eliminating baptism from the equation.  "You don't have to be baptized to be saved" is the basic premise they will support.  Biblical scholars will stretch to reinterpret any passage that seems to tie baptism to God's plan of salvation.  Theologians build constructs that tie those reinterpreted passages together.  All to make a case that seems pointless to make.


Actually, I do understand why they make the case.  The church strayed from the true message of Jesus especially during the Middle Ages.  Everything got corrupt, including the church.  Church leadership became about wielding power and position, even to the point of selling people the ability to get to heaven quicker when they die.  It wasn't a pretty picture.


Originally, these reinterpretations and theological constructs were built in reaction to the corruption that existed in the day.  Unfortunately, reactionary interpretation can swing the pendulum too far...as it seems to have done in this case.


In addition to corrupt society and church officials, we have personal reasons for not wanting to be baptized.  What if I grew up in a church that said baptism wasn't necessary and so my grandparents were never baptized before they left this life for the next?  What if my family had water sprinkled or poured on them when we were infants?  Am I condemning them to death by acknowledging these teachings?  These questions and many more have gotten in the way of many, many people choosing to be baptized.  We ask, "Do I have to?"


It's understandable that we ask the questions, but these are not the questions God is answering for us in Scripture.


Consider this for a second.  Before Jesus came to the earth, the Israelite nation understood enough about God to realize that some things we do match God's design for our lives and some things don't.  The things we do (or avoid) that go against God's design are an affront to God.  They have a name: sin.  When we sin, we fall short of the Glory of God, turn our back on God, and set ourselves up as His enemies.  The penalty for this is death.  They knew that the death of bulls and goats did not make up for this, but they followed a sacrificial system that reminded them daily of the seriousness of sin.  They knew that the only way they could be saved would be by the mercy of God.  Would He be merciful?  Then Jesus takes the stage.


During His ministry, Jesus explained to us how God would work everything out through his upcoming actions.  He explained that he must die to take our place so everything would be balanced out.  He explained it before he died, then again after he rose from the dead.  He put his prophetic message in the hands of the third-day resurrection.  When he rose, his teachings were confirmed.


How do we receive this new-found forgiveness?  How do we accept this Good News into our lives?  Simple.

• Believe that Jesus is the way...the only way.  Don't follow false gods, only come to the One True God through Jesus.
• Repent of your sin.  Turn around.  Call it what it is - wrong.
• Confess Jesus as Lord of your life.  Let Him be in charge.  When He says jump...you jump.
• Be Baptized.  Jesus did it.  Jesus taught it.  His followers did it.  His followers taught it.  Now its your turn.

Do I have to?  
It's better than that.  You get to!
You get to do something that no one in the Old Testament could do.
You can be sure that you are reconciled with God...through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And now, what are you waiting for...

What does it mean for John, Jesus, and us?

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who… will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  (Matthew 3:11 NIV)


John the Baptist wasn't his real name.  We call him that because Scripture calls him that.  This title was given him because he baptized people in water when they wanted to repent of their sins.  John's baptism was a baptism of turning away from sin and turning back to God.




Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk Him out of it. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by You," he said, "so why are You coming to me?" But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. " So John agreed to baptize Him. After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy."  (Matthew 3:13-17 NLT)

When Jesus went to be baptized by John, it was a unique event.  John realized that Jesus didn't need to turn away from sin.  He had never sinned.  In fact, he wouldn't sin his entire life here on earth.  Why did he let John baptize him, then?  Jesus was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness."  In other words, He did it because it was right to do it.  He did it because God (the Father) said so.  In taking this step, he not only gave us a model, but he also showed the world that he is the Son of God - confirmed by the miracle that took place immediately after his baptism.  Jesus' baptism was unique.




While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them… (Acts 19:1-7 NIV)


After Jesus was baptized, his disciples started baptizing people who wanted to be followers of Jesus rather than John.  This baptism would prove to be more than a baptism of repentance.  More was being added to the meaning.  Now they were being baptized to repent and become a Jesus-follower.  Later, after Jesus died for us, rose again, ascended into heaven and sent His Spirit back for us; the meaning changed again.  When asked what it was about, Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized...for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:38-39)  Now baptism had even more meaning.  It was about repentance (like John's), becoming a Christ-follower (like Jesus' disciples), receiving forgiveness for sins (now that Jesus had died to take them away - the gift is offered to us), and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (which Jesus sent back to help us).  The meaning of baptism grew more and more rich as the pages of Scripture unfolded.  Now, it has all of this richness of meaning for us today!

Who performed the baptism?

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness… (Matthew 3:13-15 NIV)


The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. (John 4:1-2 NIV)


And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.  (Acts 8:38 NIV)


Simple answer: Anyone who was baptized.

John baptized Jesus even though he was imperfect and Jesus never sinned.  It was still necessary to "fulfill all righteousness."  Jesus never baptized anyone, so we have no examples of a perfect person baptizing people.  His disciples (followers) would baptize people as they became disciples (followers) of Jesus, too.  The pattern was begun even before Jesus did his final salvific work:  Baptized believers baptize new believers. (Say that three times fast.)

The point of the baptism has nothing to do with the person doing the baptism.  It has everything to do with the person being baptized.  It's a time where they appeal to God for a clean conscience, accept His work on the cross, have their sins washed away, declare Him as Lord of their life, and receive His Power to follow His Plan for their lives.  It's between them and God.  The person lowering them in the water just gets to be a witness to the most important decision a person will ever make in their lives:  Deciding to walk together with God.

You want to be baptized?  Find another baptized believer.  They will help you out.  Can't find one?  Contact me...I love going down into the water. ;)

@ What Age did they baptize people?

He and all his family were devout and God-fearing…He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.' (Acts 10:2, 11:14 NIV)


They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house…then immediately he and all his family were baptized. (Acts 16:31-33 NIV)


One of them was Lydia…she accepted what Paul was saying. She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests…Paul and Silas then returned to the home of Lydia, where they met with the believers and encouraged them once more before leaving town. (Acts 16:14-15, 40 NLT)


Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. (Acts 18:8 NIV)


The simple answer is, "We don't know."  I once asked my Seminary professor how old a person should be before being baptized and his answer was simply, "That sounds like a good topic for an advanced degree student to study for his thesis paper."  I chose a different topic.


However, I did do study on this topic because of it's practical application in everyday life.  Here's what I've found.


1) There are no examples of infant baptisms in Scripture.
2) There are examples of family baptisms.  In them, the family members were old enough to be "devout and God-fearing," "Believe in the Lord Jesus," "encourage" the believers, and "believed in the Lord."  In other words, they were old enough to make decisions and do things, but we have no specific age.
3) For Jewish believers, there was already an age of accountability that cannot be found in the Bible.  We know that in the first century (Jesus' days) the Talmud (Jewish teachings) state that for boys, "At age 13, one becomes subject to the commandments."  Girls have the same at age 12. (I guess they really are more mature than us guys.)


The idea of infant baptism didn't appear until a little later in church history and was directly tied to the doctrine of Original Sin.  This teaching states a specific interpretation that we have the sin of Adam and Eve placed on our souls at birth.  Since we have sin "on" us, as the thought goes, we cannot go to heaven if we die before being baptized.  Worried parents, then, would want their babies baptized so they can go to heaven.


Reading the writings of early church fathers, though, we find that there was no agreement on ANY of this.  Some teachers believed children were born innocent - no original sin.  Others believed they were born with the sin of Adam.  They debated this in their writings for hundreds of years.  It wasn't until Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) that the teaching of original sin was made official in the church.  To give us Americans a point of reference, the United States isn't even 400 years old yet.  They argued over what was true in this area for longer than our Country has been in existence!


To make things worse, there was also no agreement over what would happen to the babies even if they did have original sin on their souls.  Some said they would go to heaven anyway because it was not their own sin. Others said they would need to perish in the fires of hell (creating fear for us parents).  Still others came up with another "place" these children would go.  The place was named "limbo."  Limbo was a place separated from God, but with no pain or suffering.  The Roman Catholic church finally settled on this teaching as being the place where infant "innocents" went...until recently.  Now, that teaching has been revoked officially by Pope Benedict XVI.  Unbaptized babies can now go to heaven.


Where does that leave us?  When should we (and our children) be baptized?
1) In Biblical examples, they were old enough to understand and make decisions.
2) Our understanding of the culture of the day tells us that children were considered responsible before God for their actions at age 13 (for boys) and age 12 (for girls).
3) There was no official church teaching on original sin until 400 years after Christ.  Theologians still disagree today.
4) Even if there is original sin, theologians have disagreed for 2000 years on what happens to someone who dies with it.


Notice that the waters get more muddy the further away from the source we get?


Here's what I've done.  I teach my children to walk with God - every day.  I live it, model it, and talk about it with them.  We go to church services, serve in the church, enjoy the company of other Christians, and reach out to others who don't have God in their lives.  I want them to know how good it is to walk with Him.


Since I had not made the choice to be baptized (my parents decided for me), I made the choice to match the Scriptures as closely as I can.  I went down into the waters this time.  I do not worry about any unclear teaching/argument that has been going on for two millennium now.  I simply show my children how to walk with God and encourage them to choose Him as Lord of their lives.  All three of them choose this by age 12/13.  I didn't stop them from following through on their choice.


I realize this is a more difficult pattern than just having your children "saved" through baptism when they are really little, but it matches the Biblical pattern much better.  Walk Together with God yourself.  Train up your child in the way he/she should go.  Go to church services with them.  Read the Bible with them.  Pray with them.  Guide them well.  When they want to follow God, encourage them.  When you do these things, you will have empowered your children to walk together with God. 

Sprinkle, Pour, or Immerse?

He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the water. Philip baptized him. (Acts 8:38 NIrV)
And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death. (Col 2:12 CEV)
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4 TNIV)


This question arises all the time with the discussion about baptism.  "I was baptized as a baby and they poured water over my head."  "I had water sprinkled on me when I was baptized."  "I was baptized by being dunked."  Are all these forms the same?


The Greek word, βαπτίζω (baptizo) simply means "to dip, to immerse, or to submerge."  When a Greek-speaking person of that day would dye a piece of cloth, they would "bapto" it in a tub of dye.  That way the entire cloth would change to the desired color.


The only Scriptural examples of water baptism (like the ones above) refer to going "down into" the water or "being buried" in the water.  This includes John's baptisms, Jesus being baptized, Jesus' disciples baptizing people as followers of Jesus, and the baptisms occurring after Jesus was raised and ascended.


No other variation on the theme occurred until later in church history.  These variations appeared in writings first to accommodate death-bed conversions, then later because of the fear that unbaptized infants may go to hell if they are not baptized.  None of these examples or accommodations took place in Biblical days.


What is baptism, then?  Simply going "down into" the water.

Magic Water?

As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?"  (Acts 8:36 NASB)

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 Peter 3:21 NASB)

Perhaps you've seen "special" water that is used for religious ceremonies in churches.  Sometimes the water is referred to as being blessed or Holy water.  These waters are often used for baptism ceremonies.  It may lead you to ask, "Do I need Holy water to be baptized?"


Other groups will work hard to make a case that baptism was never a part of God's plan of salvation.  Jesus, they will say, did the only work necessary.  Since baptism is a work, we obviously don't need to do it.  Often times the statement is made, "Do you think there's some kind of magic in the water?"


It doesn't take long to see the answer to either of the questions above.  The water doesn't need to be holy.  The water isn't magic.  It doesn't even need to be particularly clean.  Baptism isn't about taking a bath and it's not about saying prayers over it.  It's about you, God, and following His plan.


The Scriptures above show us that people used whatever water was available.  "Look, there's water" was the statement...then they went down into it.  Baptism in water - any water - was a part of His plan from the very beginning.  So...find some water!  (Any water will do.)

Water or Spirit?

And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:7-8 NKJV)


After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.  (John 3:22 NIV)


The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.  (John 4:1-2 NIV)


When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place...They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit… (Acts 2:1-4 TNIV)


"Repent," Peter said to them, "and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 HCSB)


I've participated in churches of different denominations over the years.  Most recently, I've served as the Lead Minister of a church.  Now that I serve as lead minister, I have people who ask me questions about what kind of church we are.  Often, they will ask if we are "Spirit Filled."  I struggle with answering this question only because I know my answer will not match their question and I don't want to mislead.


The "Spirit Filled" question has to do with the thought that we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, as opposed to water like other churches.  Sometimes people in these churches are baptized in water as well.  Sometimes they are not.  The key, though, is receiving Spirit baptism and seeing evidence of this occurring through Spirit Gifts (usually speaking in tongues).


The question then becomes this: "Was baptism referring to water or Spirit?"


When John (the baptist) performed his baptisms before the work of Jesus, it was a baptism for people who wanted to repent of their sins.  The baptism was definitely in water. (He said so above.)  He also said that someone would come after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.  He was referring to Jesus.


Jesus was baptized in the water by John, not to repent of his sins (because he had not sinned) but to "fulfill all righteousness."  God wanted Jesus to be baptized in this way to kick off his ministry.  God used this moment to confirm Jesus as His Son and to add the Holy Spirit to the picture.  The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove.  For the first time, both water and Spirit were present.


Soon after, Jesus' followers began baptizing people (with water) to signify that they were now following Jesus.  The Spirit is not connected to baptism again until after Jesus completed his work on the cross (dying and rising again on the third day, then ascending into heaven).  He promised when he left that he would send his Spirit back to them.


This occurred on the day of Pentecost.  This time the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles  in the form of fiery tongues.  They immediately started showing signs of the Holy Spirit working in them because they could speak other languages (tongues) that they did not know.  Visiting foreigners could hear the Good News about Jesus in their own language!


When sharing the Good News with that crowd, they asked the apostles what they should do.  "Repent and be baptized...and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  They told people that day to be baptized in water to receive two gifts: forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  That pattern continued throughout the rest of the New Testament.  


Water and Spirit have both been present in baptisms from that day forward...even to today.

Muddy Waters

Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church.  (Ephesians 4:12-15 NLT)

Normally, I like to explain Scripture through stories.  Jesus was a storyteller.  The Old Testament is filled with stories.  I relate better to stories and so to many others I know.  So, I tell stories to help us understand Scripture.


This next series of posts, though, will depart from my normal pattern.  Here's why.  The topic I will be discussing has become very difficult to discuss in the world of Christendom.  In fact, this topic alone has caused church and denominational splits that are too numerous to count.  The topic is baptism.


Baptism and it's function in God's plan has become "muddy water" that people simply don't want to go into...including me.  However, I cannot avoid the topic simply because it is difficult to carry on a conversation without people starting to condemn one another to hell.  It is a central piece of God's plan for us, His followers.  Therefore, I will write about it.
I will be sharing Scriptures (and their references) with you.  I will also discuss the context of those Scriptures and why they are relevant to us today.


What I will ask of you is simply this: read what it says.  Look it up in your own Bible - your own favorite translation.  Check out the original Greek if you like.  Just please take the time to read what God has shared with us, not what your teachers have taught you.


I've moved across denominations throughout my life, so I hold not allegiance to any specific denomination or theological presupposition.  Jesus was not in a denomination.  The Apostles were not in a denomination.  They were simply listening to and following God.  That's what I want to do as well.


I'll be praying for you as you read through this next week of posts.  Pray for me, also...that I will serve you and others well.