Baptism: Essentials and
Nonessentials
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans
There are some very important issues associated
with New
Testament baptism, and the person who wants to obey God must not
neglect these
essentials. At the same time, some matters associated with the sacred
obligation are in the realm of expediency, hence allow for some
flexibility. In
this brief study, let us reflect on these categories.
Essentials
First, there is the matter of one’s intellectual
and
spiritual status. One entitled to baptism must be an accountable person
who has
become a sinner by virtue of the exercise of his individual power of
choice.
Sin is a transgression of divine law (1 John 3:4); it is an act of
disobedience
that one chooses to do; no one is born sinful.
This sinful person must be capable of accepting
the grace of
God by accessing the biblical information regarding the redemptive
mission of
Jesus Christ. Without faith in the Lord, one simply cannot submit to
baptism
(Mark
These requisites, of course, exclude the common
practice of
“infant baptism,” since babies do not yet possess the ability to
believe, nor
do they need to repent. In infancy, they have committed no sins, hence
are not
in danger of being lost.
The baptismal candidate must be immersed
in water.
That is what the Greek term baptizo signifies. One is “buried”
with
Christ in baptism, and is raised from the water to walk in newness of
life
(Romans 6:3-4; Colossians
There must be an understanding of the purpose
of
baptism, if such is to be valid. On the day of Pentecost, Peter
declared that
baptism is “for the remission of sins” (Acts
Some contend that the minimum requirement is
simply this:
One must be baptized to “obey God.” Is there anyone who submits
to
immersion who does not feel that he or she is “obeying” God in the act?
The
logical conclusion of this argument would be this – all people who have
been
immersed are children of God, irrespective of their level of
understanding. Few
indeed are willing to adopt and/or defend a consistent position
grounded in
this premise.
These issues are firm; they are non-negotiable,
and those
who respect the authority of the New Testament will not quibble with
them, nor
refuse to submit to the divine pattern.
Nonessentials
On the other hand, some matters connected with
baptism are
strictly in the realm of opinion, preference, or expediency.
Unfortunately,
some folks, not understanding this, have formulated restrictions where
they
ought not to have, and dissension has resulted. The careful Bible
student will
learn to separate the essential from the nonessential.
Place – Some boast that they were baptized
in the
Administrator – Some contend that baptism
is not
valid unless the administrator is a Christian, or maybe even a
“minister.” But
there are no qualifications placed upon the one who administers the
act.
Suppose a person is in a country where there are no known Christians,
yet, by
studying the New Testament on his own, he learns of his duty to God. Is
he to
neglect doing the will of the Lord merely because there is no Christian
to
assist in the act? Of course not. He should ask some kindly person to
immerse
him. The issue is what he understands, and does – not what
someone else
may be lacking. If one’s baptism is dependent upon the character of the
administrator, he would never know for certain whether his baptism was
genuine
– for no one knows the heart of another person.
Posture of the Administrator – There is a
new type of
baptistry that is designed so that the candidate stands in a narrow
pool of
water, while the administrator remains outside; the administrator
reaches over
and immerses the believer. Some have objected to this, but without
validity. I
once knew of a man who objected to the baptismal administrator wearing
wading boots
because the water did not actually touch his legs!
Posture of the Candidate – Must the
candidate be
standing in order for the baptism to be scriptural? There have been
situations
where the available water for immersion is so sparse that the candidate
is
forced to sit in a shallow pool. The administrator lays the person
backward
until he is immersed, then raises the candidate’s upper torso from the
pool,
and assists the new Christian to his feet. Was the convert immersed or
not?
Many have helped immerse sick people who had to be lowered into the
baptistry
on a stretcher. Must the candidate be immersed backward, or could
he/she be
baptized in a forward position? It does not matter as long as it is
immersion.
The issue is immersion; incidentals are irrelevant.
Words Spoken – The United Pentecostal
people (who
believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same
person),
insist that all baptisms must be performed in “the name of Jesus only,”
i.e.,
mentioning only the name of Christ when the baptism is performed. This,
of
course, corresponds to their belief regarding the Godhead. On the other
hand,
others, equally mistaken, will argue that the words, “in the name of
the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” must be audibly pronounced in
order for
the rite to be scriptural. Neither view is correct. Passages like
Matthew
28:19; Acts
Conclusion
It thus is imperative that one be able to
distinguish the
difference between the essential and nonessential. Such would save
souls and
prevent dissension. An erroneous idea relative to a “nonessential”
matter will
not nullify the validity of one’s baptism, but when incidental issues
become a
point of contention, the Lord is not pleased