The Bible on Baptism
Baptism is an outward witness of a Christian’s inward faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. It is a physical picture to us and others of our identification with Jesus in His sacrificial work for us. Romans 6:3-4 says, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 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.” The act of baptism pictures what happens spiritually at the moment of salvation. As the person is immersed beneath the water it symbolizes their death to sin and the burial of the old life with Jesus through His sacrifice for us. As the believer emerges out of the water it expresses their resurrection to a new life in Jesus.
Baptism is an act of obedience to Jesus. Baptism is important in the Christian life because Jesus both modeled it (Matthew 3:13-17) and commanded it (Matthew 28:19). Jesus’ apostles likewise commanded all Christians to be baptized (Acts 2:38; Acts 10:48). In His last appearance to the disciples after His resurrection, Jesus told them to, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a). Clearly, Jesus intends all who believe in Him as Savior and Lord to be baptized. Consequently, baptism immediately became the public sign of every believer’s entry into the Christian community (see Acts 2:41, for example).
Baptism is not necessary for salvation. The New Testament teaches (in over 200 instances) that salvation is based on faith alone in Jesus apart from any other action (for example see John. 3:16 & Ephesians 2:8-9). The Bible does not teach that baptism is a requirement for salvation. The dying thief on the cross illustrates this truth best when Jesus said to him, based only on his profession of faith, “...today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43b). Again, baptism is a physical picture of what has already happened in the life of those who have placed their faith in Jesus, not a necessary condition for salvation.
When should a person be baptized? The consistent witness of the New Testament is that one first believes in Jesus as their Savior and then is baptized. This is called believer’s baptism and is the clear practice in the New Testament (see Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:36-37; 9:17-19; 10:44-48; 16:14-15; 16:29-34; 18:8; 19:1-7).
Why Pathway practices baptism by immersion. All Christian agree that water is the element of baptism. But there is some debate about how water should be applied. Some churches practice baptism by pouring, some by sprinkling, and others by immersing in water. We believe the biblical practice is by immersion. It is the only mode that expresses the meaning of baptism in passages like Romans 6:3-4, where water symbolizes our identification with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Again, as Jesus was placed under the ground in His death, Christians are plunged under the water. Also, as Jesus was raised out of the grave to new life, so Christians are raised out of the water to symbolize their identification with Jesus in this.
Further, in Greek (which is the original language of the New Testament) the word baptism means to plunge, dip or immerse. In secular Greek this word is even used to describe a ship’s sinking and being submerged in water. The confusion over the word came about when the Bible was first translated into English in the medieval church. The standard practice of baptism in that day was by pouring. So in order to prevent confusion, instead of translating the Greek word baptizo as “immerse,” translators opted to leave it un-translated and merely changed the Greek letters into English ones. This practice is called transliteration. It differs from translation in that while translation seeks to communicate the meaning of a word from one language into another, transliteration doesn’t. As a result, the Greek word “immerse” (baptizo) became the un-translated, English word “baptize”.
At Pathway we do not believe that a Christian baptized by sprinkling or pouring dishonors God, for the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). However in an effort to be as biblical as we can, Pathway practices immersion. Yet, for those with physical disabilities, illnesses, or water phobias that would prevent immersion, we are happy to discuss other avenues of baptism, for again “the Lord looks on the heart.”
If you’re a Christian and desire to obey the Lord in baptism, please Contact or speak to one of our pastor-elders.
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