What Biblical reason is given for Baptism?

Baptism is:

To obey Christ (Mark 16:16)

To be saved. (Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21, Heb 5:9)

For remission of sins. (Acts 2:38)

To wash away sins. (Acts 22:16)

To come "into Christ" (Romans 6:3-4, Gal. 3:27)

To clothe yourself with Christ. (Gal. 3:27)

To contact His death. (Col. 2:12, Romans 6:3-13) (This is where the saving blood was shed. Rom. 5:8-10)

To be buried with Christ. (Rom. 6:4)

To be born again (John 3:5, Romans 6:4- "walk in newness of life")

To be added to the body (church) (1 Cor. 12:13)

To "obey the Gospel" (2 Thes. 1:8) The Gospel is the teaching (good news) about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4) You obey a "form" of this doctrine (the teaching of Christ's death and resurrection) when you are "baptized into Christ", are "baptized into His death" and rise to "walk in newness of life". (Rom 6:3-4, 17)

Baptism is a command of Christ. He said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

Many will tell you that someone believes, is saved, and then he shall be baptized. This is not the same thing Jesus said. It is not in the same order.

What would Jesus have said if he had meant, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved”?

I believe he said what he meant. I believe Jesus! “He that believes not shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

Many agree that baptism is commanded by Christ and necessary to obey Him, but they say it is not necessary for salvation. However, Hebrews 5:9 says, “He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”

Jesus said, "“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Mathew 7:21)

According to these verses, in order to be saved it is necessary to obey Christ or do God's will, therefore it is necessary to be baptized since Christ commanded it!

Acts 2:38 says that baptism is “for the remission of sins”, “unto the remission of sins” or “so that your sins will be forgiven”. (Depending on which translation you read.) I Peter 3:21 says "baptism now saves"!

In Saul's (Paul) conversion, he was commanded to be baptized and wash away his sins (Acts 22:16). Can we be saved if our sins remain? The blood of Christ washes away sins (Rev. 1:5) .

Romans 6:3-4 says we are “baptized into Christ”. Can we be saved outside of Christ? (See Gal. 3:27 also.) These verses in Romans also say we are “baptized into his death”. At Christ’s death is where his saving blood was shed and offered for our sins. We must contact His death to contact that blood! Can we be saved if we have not contacted His death?

How can our sins be washed away by the blood (Revelation 1:5) if we have not contacted that blood? To contact the blood, we must contact His death where the blood was shed!

Romans 6:3-13 also say that at baptism we “rise to walk in newness of life.” At a birth there is a new life. Can we be saved if we have not been “born again” to this new life in Christ?

In the New Testament after Jesus gave the command about baptism, every example of a conversion specifically mentions baptism. None of these converts ate, drank, or slept until they were baptized. It was ALWAYS immediate!

Saul who I mentioned earlier, is a good example of the necessity of baptism. He spoke to Jesus. He called Jesus “Lord” and he asked what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus told him to go into the city and it would be told to him what he “must do”. In the city he fasted for three days and he was praying. (Acts 9:9-11) Many would say he was saved at that point, but he still had not been told what he “must do”.

Then he was told to be baptized and wash away his sins “calling on the name of the Lord”. Obviously, “calling on the name of the Lord” involved more that saying ‘Lord’, more than praying, more than belief and more than repentance. Saul had done all of these things, but he still needed to call on the name of the Lord!

The phrase “calling on the name of the Lord” means to rely on His authority. Saul had not done this until he did what the Lord authorized (instructed), namely “be baptized”. (Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:18-20).

Please note, even though he had not eaten or drank for three days, he was baptized immediately, before he even took food. (Acts 9:18-19) This shows the urgency of baptism.

Speaking of Himself, Jesus said, "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:47)

Notice these 5 points:

1. Repentance should be preached

2. Remission of sins should be preached

3. This should be "in His name" (according to His authority or instructions)

4. This message goes out to all nations

5. This begins "in Jerusalem".

All 5 of these transpired in Acts 2!

Verse 5 says, "Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven." When they asked what they needed to do to be saved, "Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins..." (Acts 2:36-38 - quoted from ASV)

This is EXACTLY as Jesus had instructed.

When someone today asks what they need to do to be saved, why do many preachers not give the same answer Peter gave in Acts 2:38?

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It is too long to write it all out here so you will just have to look up the verses (that I have listed at the end) if you don't already know what they say.

Baptism does several things...

1.We obey the Word of God

2.We join in the death, resurrection and new life of Jesus

3.It is a spiritual circumcision it cuts away our sinful nature.

4.It completes our salvation by washing away our sins giving us a clear conscience to plea to God

Baptism is the time we come into contact with the blood of Jesus and are saved

We believe that one must be born again in order to receive salvation and be considered a Christian (follower of Christ). In order to be born again there are 3 steps that a person must take of their own ‘free will’, B.R.B.

1. Believe: You must believe that the Bible is in fact the ‘word of God’ and Jesus is exactly who it says he is; The Lord, our Savior, the only begotten Son of God. And we become one with Jesus by doing what the Bible teaches us to do.

2. Repent: The Bible teaches that we must repent. That means to be so guilty and sorry for the sins that we have committed that we confess our sins to God and turn away from them.

3. Baptism: The Bible teaches that we must then be baptized by immersion to join in the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. We are buried with him when we go under the water and we rise with him into a new life when we rise up out of the water. Baptism is a spiritual circumcision that cuts away our sinful nature and washes away our sin. This is when we become one with Christ and receive salvation. Being born again does not happen to someone without their knowledge, one must be able of their own free will to Believe, Repent, and be Baptized, thus making a plea to God with a clean conscience. It is clearly impossible for infants and persons with severe mental disorders (that is to say, “unable to understand) to make this decision, therefore it would be unbiblical and pointless to baptize such with Christian Baptism. Persons such as these that I have just mentioned are protected by the “Grace” of God.

Matthew 3:6,16; 28:19-20; 26:20-30; Mark 16:15-16; John 3:3-6; 6:51-51, Acts 2:38-42; 8:12-13,36-39, 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16; Romans 6:3-11; 1Corinthians l0:l6-17, 11:23-30; 12:13; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:5; 5:26; Colossians 2:12 Titus 3:5; 1Peter 3:20-21; 2Peter l: 4;

It remits sin.

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..."

(Acts 2:38)

Some false churches baptize in the titles. That is a violation of God's word and denies the Oneness of God. The reason these false churches baptize in the titles is that they do not believe in the Oneness of God and thus are false churches believing and practicing a false religion. They are a false church preaching a false Gospel and baptism.

After the Samaritans believed Philip's preaching concerning "the name of Jesus Christ," they were baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:12,16).

After Cornelius and his fellow Gentiles received the Holy Ghost, Peter "commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48). The most ancient Greek manuscripts contain the name "Jesus Christ" in this verse, as later translations indicate: "So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" (NIV); "And he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah" (TAB).

When Paul met certain disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus, he asked about their baptism. When he found out they had only received John's baptism, he baptized them again, this time "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5).

Blessings,

James

Apostolic minister

It's in several places you know. John the Baptist baptized people. He even baptized Jesus and this was in order to set an example for us to follow. There are instances of baptizing in Acts, and also in the other letters. Jesus commanded us to baptize in Matthew 28:19.

Matthew 28:19 (King James Version)

19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

"Those who believe...were baptized...that day!" --Acts 2:41

"Then Philip began with the scripture and told him the Good News about

Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the

man said, ´Look, here is water! Why shouldn´t I be baptized right now?´

Philip said, ´If you believe with all your heart, you may.´ The man answered,

´I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.´ So they went down into

the water and Philip baptized him." --Acts 8:35-38

There are several reasons. This one is because Jesus and His Father gave us the command or commission to baptize people.

Matthew 28:18

(The Message)

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

John Chapter 3 is the most direct commentary on baptism in the Bible.

The Great Commission Jesus gave as final instructions to the Apostles.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Why Must We Be Baptized?

We Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Our Sins

The Apostle Peter taught, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38).

From the King James bible:

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

But looking back a bit:

Mat 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

We see that Jesus was baptized, and reading further we see Jesus' disciples baptizing others.

Baptism while Jesus was alive was a ritual of the ancient Essenes symbolic of being purified by water. Much the same that water removed dirt from someones hands, it was viewed as removing sin form the repentant. After Jesus' death, baptism became symbolic of death, burial, and resurrection. A person ritually "dies", is "buried", and is resurrected in Christ. That is the "new life" or process of being "born again"*.

*The term is actually "born from above", and not "born again".

It washes away sin (Acts 22:16), and it makes us born again (John 3:3-5). Of course this refers to true baptism, the holy sacrament instituted by Christ, not watered down (no pun intended) Protestant baptism, which is just a symbolic gesture of men, not a mighty work of God which makes us members of God's family, the Church.

Baptism is a submission of obedience that one does when they repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is baptism in Jesus' death and resurrection, this is not the same thing as John the Baptist's baptism of repentance. Nor is it the same as any other "washings" found in the bible before Jesus was crucified and resurrected.

Here are just a few verses that shows it is a commandment and what it is for.

John 3:5

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

Acts 2:38

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Baptism doesn't technically wash away your sins, Jesus Christ's blood does that, but baptism is something you do to show that you are serious about repentance and that you want a good conscience by having your sins "washed" away.