BAPTISM
IS IT NECESSARY?
Throughout the present church world, baptism is taught with many variations. Some churches teach that baptism is administered by sprinkling water on the person; others teach that immersion in water is the correct way. Some practice a formula of baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, some in the name of Jesus only, and others in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then there are some that say baptism is optional; that you do not have to be baptized to be saved.
What we are going to cover here is that according to the inspired scriptures, baptism is indeed necessary for salvation, and according to the scriptures, there is only one kind of baptism that was taught and recognized by the early church, which is baptism by total immersion in water, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As the first and foremost authority, we turn to the words of Jesus Christ, who said without question that you must be baptized to be saved.
Mark (KJV) “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned.”
There is absolutely no doubt what Jesus is saying in this scripture. If a person believes the gospel and is baptized, they will be saved from the second death, for an eternal life in Heaven. But if a person does not believe the gospel, no matter how many times they are baptized, or by what manner, or they have no intention of being baptized, they will not be saved.
Even before Jesus made this statement, by His own action He made it clear that baptism was necessary. When He first came to John the Baptist, He insisted that John baptize Him and said that it was necessary to be baptized, in order to fulfill all righteousness. John then proceeded to baptize Him.
Mat 3:14-15 (KJV) “But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of you, and you come to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, permit it to be so now: for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him.”
One of the last things Jesus said to His disciples, before His ascension into Heaven, was for them to first teach all people about the gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven
Mat 28:19 (KJV) “Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
But even before this, Jesus and His disciples baptized all that came to them as a result of His teaching.
John 4:1 (KJV) “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.”
John 3:26 (KJV) “And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with you beyond Jordan, to who you bore witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to him.”
Even John the Baptist and his disciples came to where Jesus was teaching and were baptized.
John 3:22-23 (KJV) “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea
But baptism in itself was not an uncommon act in those days. All the people of that day were of the opinion that baptism was a part of joining oneself to any religious movement or way of life.
John (KJV) “And they asked him, and said to him, why do you then baptize, if you are not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?”
Then along came the Apostle Peter saying, not only is it necessary to be baptized, it is also necessary to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. But you see Peter had the authority to say that. That authority was given to him by Jesus, because Peter was the only one that received the revelation of who Jesus really was.
Mat (KJV) “And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven. (19) And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
After that, the Apostle Paul reinforced what Peter said when he questioned a group of believers in Ephesus
Acts 19:4-5 (KJV) “Then said Paul, John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe in him that should come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Eph 4:4-5 (KJV) “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling, One Lord, one faith, one baptism, …”
The act of baptism, as obedience to the commandment of the Lord, has extensive benefits that are far reaching. The disciple, Ananias, who baptized Paul, told him that baptism would be instrumental in washing away his sin.
Acts (KJV) “And now why do you wait? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sin, calling on the name of the Lord.”
Peter also spoke of baptism being the way to obtain salvation. Not because the water had any power in itself, but because it was in obedience to the Lord.
1 Pet (KJV) “The like figure whereunto even baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
But the most important aspect of baptism that should be given consideration is, that without baptism, you are not in the body of Christ. When Paul spoke to the Romans and the Colossians about being baptized, he spoke of being buried. What Paul meant here was to be buried under water, being baptized with total immersion.
Rom 6:3-4 (KJV) “Know you not, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Notice also that Paul spoke of being baptized into Jesus Christ in that verse of Romans. He is speaking about being baptized in water, into the body of Christ. This is also what he meant when he told the Corinthians that we are all baptized into one body. Without the act of water baptism, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ being part of our conversion process, we do not become a member of the body of Christ.
1 Cor 12:13 (KJV) “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, whether we are bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
Now you have seen what the scriptures have said about water baptism. And I join the Apostle Paul when he said: Gal 1:8-9 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that, which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel to you than that you have received, let him be accursed.”
As it is recorded in Mark 16:16, The Lord Jesus said: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned.” With this statement by the Lord there should be no question that water baptism is a requirement to obtain eternal life. The question then becomes; how are we to be baptized? In Matthew 28:19, the Lord told his disciples to “go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Then in Acts 2:38, Peter told the people to be “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Now which one is right, or does it really make any difference?
Paul the Apostle, in his letter to the Ephesians, told them there was only “one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.” But even though Paul said there was only one baptism, our church leaders tell us that what this means, is that there is only one baptism and that is water baptism, but it doesn’t make any difference whether you are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. But we want to be real sure, for IF IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE and we chose the wrong one, eternal life might be out of the question for us. Once again, one church teaches one way and another church teaches a different way. The only way for us to be absolutely sure is to turn to what the Bible says on the subject.
Peter was without a doubt the undisputed leader of the apostles, for on a number of occasions Jesus gave him some very specific instructions and commendations. In Matthew the 16th chapter, Jesus told Peter that because of God’s revelation to him, “whatever he would bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” In other words, whatever Peter said would receive the approval of God. In Luke 22:32 Jesus told Peter, after he was converted; he was to strengthen his brethren. And in the 21st chapter of John, the Lord told Peter three times to “feed his sheep” and lambs. Jesus was giving Peter the lead with the apostles. So, why only ten days after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, did Peter tell the people to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, knowing full well that Jesus had said to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Could this also have been given to him by REVELATION?
Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, the way to obtain eternal life is a very “straight and narrow way and few will find it.” Remember that He also said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, except by Me.”
And in John 10:1 Jesus said: “He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, the same is a thief and a robber.” Then in the 9th verse, He said; “I AM THE DOOR”.
There should be no doubt by these statements made by Jesus that there is only one way to enter into eternal life and that is by Him. It starts by believing that Jesus is the Son of God, accepting His sacrifice for the atonement for our sin, being baptized in His name and receiving His Spirit into our heart.
Jesus told His followers after He rose from the tomb: “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth.” And why shouldn’t He have all power and all authority? God gave to Him, His Spirit without measure.
Paul said in Ephesians 4:5 that there is only one baptism. Water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only baptism we are to follow. And why shouldn’t we be baptized in the name that God took when He manifested Himself in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that He was the way and no man could come to the Father except by Him.
NOWHERE in the Bible was anyone ever baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but in several places it is recorded that they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (For verification look at: “Acts 8:16, 10:48 and 19:5”) Was the correct way to be baptized necessary? In Acts 19 the disciples at Ephesus
PETER DID NOT MAKE A MISTAKE in the way he taught the people to be baptized. He had received the revelation from God about who Jesus was. Peter had the keys to the kingdom and was told; whatever he said to do was with the approval of God.
Matthew “And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
All the confusion in the churches about the correct way to baptize believers is due to a misunderstanding of what Matthew 28:19 means.
Jesus commanded them to baptize in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Notice He said name, and not names. Father is not a name: Son is not a name: Holy Spirit is not a name. These are all titles of the three manifestations of the one God. The three manifestations of any man might be father, son and husband but the man’s name is not father, or son or husband: these are just titles given to those roles he plays in life.
Peter did not make a mistake on the day of Pentecost when he commanded the people to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew fully well that the name of the Father was Lord, and the name of the Son was Jesus, and the name of the Holy Spirit was Christ – the Lord Jesus Christ. They were all the one and the same Spirit in three different roles.
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