Why Baptism Matters
Baptism is the first thing Jesus asks of a new believer. In a few moments in the water, a believer tells his church, his family, and the watching world that he belongs to Jesus Christ. Jesus commanded it, the apostles practiced it, and every believer is called to obey it.
We believe baptism is for those who have already trusted Christ, and that it is done by immersion: the believer is lowered under the water and raised up again, a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism follows salvation. It does not cause it. It is the believer's first step of obedience, and it is the door into the membership of a local church.
Christians have long disagreed on three questions. Who should be baptized: believers only, or their infants too? How: by immersion, or by pouring or sprinkling? And why: does baptism picture salvation, or give it? The answers reach the Gospel itself. If water saves, salvation becomes grace plus a rite. If baptism belongs to everyone born into a Christian family, the church becomes a mixture of believers and unbelievers.
On a desert road, a new believer saw water and asked, what doth hinder me to be baptized? (Acts 8:36). If you have trusted Christ, it is a good question to ask yourself.
Loading the rest of this article
For Deeper Study
- 40 Questions About Baptism and the Lord's SupperAmazon John S. HammettA clear, readable Baptist treatment of both ordinances, including who should be baptized, how, and why baptism precedes membership (Kregel, 2015).
- Understanding Four Views on BaptismAmazon John H. Armstrong, ed.Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran, and Churches of Christ writers each make their case and answer one another. Thomas J. Nettles presents believer's baptism by immersion.
- Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in ChristAmazon Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, eds.Baptist scholars trace baptism through the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and church history, with careful answers to the covenant case for infant baptism.
- Going Public: Why Baptism Is Required for Church MembershipAmazon Bobby JamiesonWhy the New Testament joins baptism to membership in a local church (B&H Academic, 2015).
- Manual of Church OrderAmazon John L. DaggA classic Baptist work, first published in 1858 as A Treatise on Church Order, on immersion, believers as the only subjects of baptism, and the order of the ordinances.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
As an Amazon Associate, Theologica earns from qualifying purchases.
The Perpetuity of the Church
Christ's churches of saved and baptized believers have existed in every age since He founded them, distinct from the institutional church of Rome.
Open Doctrine