Baptism is the public profession of faith where by one accept to die the flesh and all its desires and allow the Spirit to live (Col. 3:1-17). It is a God’s people rite of initiation practiced by all who profess to embrace the faith foe those who are sons of God. In the NT for persons professing Christ were immersed in water as a public confession of their faith in Jesus, the Savior. In its simplest form baptism is a public identification with the son of God. Baptism with water symbolized the washing away of sins. Does water was away sin the answer is no. It just sympolizes the washing away of sin. Water is just a symbol but the real object is the word of God. Jesus said sanctify them with your truth for your word is truth John 17:17. It is only the Word of God which will cleanse the corrupted mind of man. The mind which was corrupted by the doctrine of man. These doctrines are the one Jesus referred to as the yeast of the Pharisees (matt 16:6 & 12). This is the reason why Jesus had to go through it as the founder of Christianity. It coordinated with John’s message of repentance and reformation Matt 3:8. The Word of God says John was a man who came to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. Preparing the way for Christ meant cleansing the mind of people so that the true Word could have the place. He preached this massage and put it to practice and when the owner came had to prove it as the right way to God’s people. The son of God, by humbling down to be immersed, it was an indication that the massage which John was preaching was correct with His massage. This practice was to continue and everyone who profess to be the follower of Him must preach the same message. Baptism is the removal of mans traditions that’s culture of man and adopting that of the spirit which is the Word of God. Baptism of water (the immersion) is an “outward” sign of commitment that one has accepted the old to die and allow the new one to be manifest. For baptism to be effective, it has to be accompanied by an “inward” change of attitude leading to a changed life. John’s baptism did not give salvation; it marked as the beginning of the new life, it prepares one to welcome the coming Messiah and receive his message and his baptism John 3:11. It is to be done after repentance. One is to receive the Word and this Word convicts Him of his or her sins which will lead him or her to repentance Acts 2:36-46).
As such it pictures the death of Jesus for the sins of the world, His subsequent burial, and His triumphant resurrection. After one has nailed his or her sins on cross and burry them, the person receives the devine body of Christ which hates sins. This is the body that the holy Spirit dwells in. Holy Spirit is so holy in that He does not tolerate sin at all and does not stay in a dirty place. One cannot receive Him before accepting to burry the old man who is used to sin and receiving the new one who is immune to sin. This is neglected and that is the reason we hear people professing Christ living in sin especially in church. Christ’s body is immune to sin and where there is sin He exposes it out. You need this baptism if you are to receive the Holy Spirit don’t miss him He is a good friend whom you should not miss as a believer.
In addition to its usual sense of faith-witness initiation, the Bible speaks of a baptism of fire Matt. 3:11-12, baptism by/in the Holy Spirit 1 Cor. 12:13, baptism for the dead 1 Cor. 15:29, and even the baptism of the Hebrew people into Moses and the Sea 1 Cor. 10:2. But overwhelmingly the most prominent use of the word refers to the first response of obedience by a new follower of Jesus. The word “baptize” is itself a loanword borrowed from the Greek term baptizo. Few scholars contest that the meaning of the term is “immerse,” and not “to pour” or “to sprinkle.” In classical Greek, the word is used, for example, to describe the sinking of a ship that is, therefore, “immersed” or totally enveloped in water. Five important issues about baptism are: (1) the meaning of the ordinance, (2) the appropriate candidate for baptism, (3) the proper mode of baptism, (4) the right time for baptism, and (5) the correct authority for baptism.
Meaning
In its simplest form baptism is a public identification with Jesus Christ. As such it pictures the death of Jesus for the sins of the world, His subsequent burial, and His triumphant resurrection. There is also a reenactment of the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old man, and a resurrection to walk in newness of life with Christ Rom. 6:4.
Proper Candidate for Baptism
Accordingly, the only appropriate candidate for the witness of baptism is someone who has something about which he can bear witness Acts 2:38; 8:12-13,36-38; Eph. 4:5). There is no precedent for infant baptism in the NT; in addition, only one who has experienced regeneration can give genuine witness to that experience. Only one sufficiently mature to have recognized, confessed and repented of his sin, and made a conscious commitment of faith in Christ should be baptized Acts 2:41. John was Baptising people after preaching. You cannot preach to infants, you only preach to matures who are to be convicted of their sins by Holy Spirit. After being convicted, they are to repent and finally declare publicly that they are followers of Christ by accepting to die with Jesus and resurrecting with Him. Baptism is done to somebody who knows what is happening and why that person is doing it. Baptism is not to be done as a ritual without the person knowing the commitments he or she is taking. Infants do not know what is happening why baptize them? This is the reason why Christianity as a religion is suffering all it is going through.
Correct Time for Baptism
Baptism is a public confession of faith, an initiatory ordinance of a new believer desiring to be obedient to Christ Acts 8:35-38. The accompanying safeguard is a scriptural program of church discipline. Therefore, as soon as one realizes his or her sin and decide to leave that kind of life to follow Christ, he should be baptized Matt 28:20. You don’t be baptized then wait for salvation. Conversion is the first step and this comes after hearing the gospel which has power to convict sin. I love using physical example when teaching spiritual things; Ladies when planning to get married, they do not change their names in courtship, the name is changed on the day they declare public that they are married. This is done on the wedding day when they are signing the marriage certificate. I believe this should be the same with Christians on their baptism day. After conversion one needs to get baptized and change the name, be called the name that is connected to the one he page is committed to. It can be the same day after conversion or another day so long as you have made up your mind, the Eunuch was baptized when he saw the water on the way Acts 8:36-38. The day to be baptized should not dictate but the time and meaning of baptism are the most important to be observed.
The Proper Form of Baptism
The correct form of baptism is determined by the meaning of the act. While it is true that baptizo means “immerse,” and while it is further the case that Jewish and first-century Christian baptisms were all by immersion, it is the significance of death, burial, and resurrection that determines the form. The new believer is buried in a watery grave and raised up as a symbol of his trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the atonement of sins. Only immersion adequately pictures a burial and a resurrection Rom. 6:4-6. Jesus as the Founder of Christianity laid the right foundation of baptism, He was baptized through immersion. Not a few contemporary churches have even recognized the antiquity of the practice of immersion and have begun constructing immersion pools. Paul said ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ’ 1 Corinthians 11:1. We should imitate Christ and keep His commandment. He said most often “I do what my father tells me to do” John 5:19-20, 12:49-50. The life Jesus lived should be a guide to all churches that profess Christ. When you are employed in a company you follow the rules that are set by that company you don’t come with your own rules.We were in the world and we chose to walk with Jesus let’s walk in His way. He is the way, the truth and life John 14:6.
The Correct Authority for Baptism
Who has the authority to administer or perform baptism? Here the Scriptures are not explicit. Jesus after teaching the disciples on how they were to live as His followers he gave them power to preach and baptize the new converts Matt 28:19. Lacking more precise instruction, it seems safe to say that to identify with Christ as the head of the church without also identifying with the church, which is the body of Christ, would be unfathomable. The local church is the proper authority to administer baptism.i Incase your local church does not believe in this true baptism, you have free choice to get the church or minister that will baptize you. Disciples were given authority to baptize. It is not a mandatory that you have to be baptized by your pastor or in your local church.
Many churches nowadays teaches traditions of men and not the teachings Jesus commanded the disciples. Jesus said “teach them to observe all that I have commanded you” Matt 28:20. The teachings that are not guided by the scripture which is the foundation of the Church should not replace the word of God. This is where we need to be careful that we do not follow them. They may mislead many and make many miss the kingdom of God. What we are hearing today was happening even before the coming of Jesus so many years ago. When Jesus came to this world he found the Pharisees teaching the commandments but they were interpreting them carnal -minded. Jesus because of being the word Himself He had to put things in order that is the reason why He came. We need this word to put the church of Christ in order. For example, the commandment of not killing, they knew that for a person to kill, one was to take a way someone’s life. Jesus told them any one who hates the brother is a killer, the commandment of not committing adultery; they thought being in act of sex with someone outside marriage was its interpretation Matt 5:21-47 and so many others. The same to the commandment of honoring the parents had been changed by the tradition of the Pharisee Matt 15:3-9. Jesus rebuked their traditions because they were breaking God’s command and replacing them with their tradition. He had to put things correctly because he was the foundation of that Gospel He was preaching. Everything that is to be done by Christians is to reflect His Word who is the foundation of the Church. Jesus said all other things shall pass away but His word will be there forever Matt 24:35. This teaches us that we should not follow the traditions of people but use the word of God in every situation if we are to be true Christian. Jesus said the true disciples are those who keep his Word John 8:31. Anyone who does not build on the foundation of Jesus that foundation shall not stand 1 Corinthians 3:11. This is the reason why many who profess Christianity today do not live like Jesus.
In my conclusion I would like to advice my fellow ministers to be careful with the teachings we find in the churches we are ministering in, if these teachings are not biblical we should not teach them to the congregations that we are leading. Paul warned thin to Galatians who were preaching different gospel Galatians 1:6-9, this still applies to us ministers. To believers, let us not follow things just because we were taught, let us read the Word and we shall known the truth. God said in Hosea 4:6 “my people perish because of lack of knolegde. Paul in the same chapter he marveled that there were some who were teaching believers the gospel that is not gospel . We need to be careful when teaching the Word of God, it is not to look for popularity from people or for salary it may cost the rest of our families, it cost the life Eli with His family. Tradition of people should not replace the word of God. Jesus also said anyone who misleads believers was better if that person had been thrown into the sea… Mark 9:42-49. Many have looked at money and mislead the people of God; some have looked at positions, famous and titles all these leads if not well taken, it may make one to compromise with His calling. King Soul looked at what people could saying to him and this made him compromise his calling. He chose to listen to people rather than listening to God and this led to the loss of his kingdom. Samuel said to him you have disobeyed the Lord and rebellion is the same witchcraft.1 Samuel 15:23. Let us preach the word of God as it is it will rescue, renew, and restore the Church of Christ and many will be attracted to join.
When a child gets poor foundation in the early education, it may have negative effect on his later education. That is why teachers are advised to do comprehensive, empirical and relevant research before they go to class to teach this also applies to us ministers of the word of God. Our reference book for research is God’s word which is the Bible, the same to those who come to our churches. This is to be done in fellowships or bible study groups so that all may have the knowledge of God. Don’t perish because of having no knowledge Hosea 4:6. Immersion baptism should not be taken as a religious ritual, I mean because Jesus was immersed, i should also be immersed, but it should be done according to its correct meaning. When it is done as a religious practice it loses its meaning and it is of no value. Do you need to be filled by Holy Spirit? accept to die and resurrect with Christ through right channel of baptism. His crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection is the right channel. I assure you, you will enjoy His presence.
Be blessed.