Baptism:  A Matter of Obedience

In a previous post we talked about being Kingdom citizens.  God’s kingdom citizenship is no longer granted by birth (Romans 2:28-29).   Every citizen must apply for a “passport”, just like any other country, and you must follow the application process.  Jesus opened the border to all, but there are still requirements.  Baptism is one of those requirements.

Baptism is a simple Bible truth. There is nothing difficult about it. It is an easy matter of obedience if one chooses to follow Messiah Jesus.

The people in Acts 2 heard, understood and believed what was being taught.  They realized that they must do something with this belief because belief requires action.  The answer to their question was to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38).  We all must repent and turn away from our sins.  Not only sin as most see sin, but also from the sin of disbelief, and wrong belief.  We must turn to the right belief of scripture, and then obey.

What is Baptism

It seems that many people are misinformed about baptism.  It was a simple command of Jesus and it was practiced by the apostles and the early church.  Baptism is not something magical in and of itself to save people.  It is a commandment, and it is a matter of obedience, not just a ritual.  Being obedient is what saves.

Naaman, in the Old Testament, was told to go dip in the water of a particular river in order to be healed.  He was put off that the prophet told him to go to a dirty river and questioned why he didn’t tell him to go to the nice clean river.  Naaman’s wise servant asked him what his problem was.  He encouraged him to just do what the prophet said because it was not anything difficult.  We see in this instance that it was not the dipping in the water, or where or how, that helped.  It was an issue of faith and obedience.  If Naaman wanted healing, he needed to obey.

Biblical Baptism

The Greek word for baptism means to dip or immerse.  When baptism is talked about in the New Testament, they are talking about being dipped or immersed in water.  One place even says there was a lot of water.

Biblical baptism is going under water, not just having water sprinkled on you, unless that is your only option. We see in the New Testament that it symbolizes death to our old self.  As you go under the water it is like dying and being buried.  You are burying your old self.  When you come up out of the water it symbolizes resurrection and being raised to new life.  You are born again and now have the hope of being resurrected from the dead, just as Jesus was.  (John 3:5, Romans 6:1-11, Colossians 2:11-15, 1 Peter 3:21)

Recieving God’s Holy Spirit

We are told that we will receive God’s spirit, which also is a seal upon us, when we obey and are baptized.  What a great promise for such simple obedience!

Philip was led to a Ethiopian eunuch and they discussed the scriptures that he was reading.  We are not told everything they talked about.  But, because we hear the questions of the Ethiopian in regards to baptism, we can deduct that there was discussion about immersion and water.  The Ethiopian’s question was, “Look! Water!  What prevents me from being baptized?”  This reaction obviously tells us that they talked about these things.  They were an important part of their discussion and his conversion process.

In another verse it says that when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, they were baptized, men and women alike (Acts 8:12).  People must believe the truth about who Jesus is and what he preached.

People must use the brains that God gave them.

We must believe what is written and spoken about Jesus, who he is, which would also include, who he is not.  Belief and acceptance of what Jesus preached and taught, the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, is also essential.  With that knowledge and accepting it to be true, they must act upon it by being baptized.

You cannot baptize somebody outside of their will or if they do not understand the required minimal beliefs.  (Minimal beliefs are knowing who Jesus is and his teachings about the Kingdom of God.)  Churches that teach infant baptism do not practice biblical baptism.  An infant or young child cannot understand or accept the good news of the preaching and teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God, and know who Jesus is.  The Bible does not say to sprinkle babies with water and then “confirm” them later in the church’s faith.  You must consciously accept the teaching after understanding it.  Then you make a commitment through water baptism by immersion.

Baptism is a sort of initiation rite or signing a declaration, applying for your passport per say, in order to be a Kingdom citizen.  You must do it according to your own convictions, not that of your parents or what your church or denomination promotes and practices.

Jesus Obeyed

Baptism was not only commanded, but in Scripture we are told to look at Jesus as our example, and he was baptized.  If Jesus humbled himself to be baptized, how much more ought we follow in his steps?

Baptism is also commanded in regards to what we ought to be doing before Jesus returns to set up the Kingdom.  “Go preach and teach the kingdom of God and baptize…”  We should be going to people who do not understand Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God, or who he is.  They too must have the opportunity to hear, believe, repent, and be baptized.

God knows people’s hearts and He knows if they genuinely believe and repent.  If they get baptized for the wrong reasons or they really don’t believe, it is not some magical thing that will automatically give them an entrance ticket into the Kingdom.  Phony passports won’t let people into any country.  Insincere baptism will not save anyone.

Spirit Baptism?

We receive God’s spirit when we obey and are baptized (Acts 2:38), but this is not the same as manifesting His spirit in one way or another.  People should not confuse this command to be baptized in water with a manifestation of God’s spirit, like speaking in tongues.  Unlearned tongues was manifested at Pentecost, and a few other times, but it didn’t replace water baptism.

Yes, we see that God’s spirit was given to some Gentiles before they were baptized, but that was the exception, not the rule.  We can only be guaranteed that we will receive His spirit when we submit and are baptized, as it is written (Acts 2:38).

Jews needed to see that the Gentiles also received God’s spirit and were part of this new covenant, therefore they spoke in tongues just like some of the Jews did at Pentecost.  There was a purpose for this; the Jews needed to see that God truly was opening the door for the Gentiles.  They saw that Gentiles received God’s spirit just as they had.

Still Immersed in Water

Even after Peter saw they had received God’s spirit and manifested it by speaking in tongues, he still instructed them to go be immersed in water.  Peter clearly did not accept speaking in foreign tongues as a “new” baptism.  (Acts 10:41-48).

Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the holy spirit just as we did, can he?”  And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Nowhere in scripture does it say that a manifestation of God’s spirit in speaking in an unknown language, replaces water baptism.  Nothing replaced the command or the practice of water baptism.

If God cannot trust you to obey Him in these simple matters now, before Jesus sets up His Kingdom, then how can He trust you, or entrust you, to govern the nations and manage other people?

Re-Baptism

When discussing baptism, often the topic of re-baptism comes up.  Some people wonder if they should be re-baptized. if they were “baptized” as an infant.  It seems, according to scripture, that they were never baptized.  So yes, according to Scripture, they should be baptized.

Others say that they were baptized as an adult knowing that they were committing their life to Jesus, and were even immersed in water.  Those people I think need to make their own choice.  Personally, I would be re-baptized if I had been baptized by somebody who did not believe the truth.  I would also get re-baptized if I was baptized when I did not understand the truth about Jesus.  It is essential to understand that Jesus was a unique man – the human messiah, not sovereign God or part of God. 

I would also get re-baptized if I did not understand Jesus’ teachings about the coming kingdom.  I hold this opinion because of the verse that says that when they believed the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, then they were baptized.  If you did not understand those things and you thought that you were going to heaven, or you thought Jesus was in some way God, you obviously did not understand these two essential Christian beliefs.  Therefore, I would be re-baptized.  

Again, baptism is not legalistic as some will claim.  It is a matter of obedience.  The question is, will you obey God and will you obey what Jesus said and what he taught?

Simple Bible Teaching

Those simple Bible teachings are what we must understand before we can say that we are a Christian, a person following Christ.  If we do not follow what Jesus taught, we are not following him.

Baptism is not some hard thing that we are told to do; but if we desire to follow Christ, then we should do what we are told.  If we want to reap the results that come with being a child of God and be filled with His spirit like Jesus was (Luke 4:1), then we must obey.

We should be on guard and not accept teaching that tries to do away with water baptism.  Again, nowhere in scripture does it tell us that “baptism in the spirit” replaced water baptism.  We also must remember that having “more of God’s spirit” or being filled with his spirit does not equate to speaking in some unknown tongue.  Speaking in tongues is only one of the manifestations of God’s spirit.

Filled with God’s Spirit

If you truly want to see if someone is spirit filled, go to Ephesians and look and see if they are filled with His spirit and producing fruit.  Look for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and see if they have self-control.  If this fruit is lacking, then I would question if His spirit is in their life; even if they speak in an unknown tongue or have any other spiritual gift.

After Jesus was baptized, he was full of God’s spirit and went to the wilderness.  It mentions nothing about him speaking in tongues (Luke 4:1).  (We will talk more about spiritual gifts in a future blog.)

The main take away about baptism is that it is a matter of obedience and is required as far as it is possible.  Obviously if you are in a desert and have no water, God would see your heart, just as Jesus did the thief on the cross next to him.  These are exceptions to the rule and even show that it is not the act of baptism itself that saves, but one’s faith that leads them to baptism and being willing to obey and get in the water, even if it is a dirty river.