False Teachers Say…

Sprinkling and Pouring are Proper Ways to Baptize

The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)

The first known case of sprinkling was upon a man by the name of Novation in 251 A.D. He was near death, according to Eusebius. This was not a common practice in this era. Later, it became the rule, when other doctrines were in place such as: Adam's original sin, infant baptism, etc. Sprinkling for baptism was accepted during this period on an emergency basis. It was developed through a tradition called, "Baptisms of the sick." Baptism at that time was upheld as necessary to obtain the remission of sins and for salvation. Since many of the un‑baptized would become terminally ill and immersion seemed unwise, the priests used small amounts of water to pour upon the subject’s head. Where is the authority for this clear tradition of man? (Col. 3:17).

In 1311 A.D., the council at Ravenna decreed immersion and sprinkling were to be regarded with "indifference." Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Church, 1952, page 519, declares, "Let every adult person, and the parents of every child to be baptized, have the choice of sprinkling, pouring, or immersion." A brother once said of his sister, “She understood she needed to be baptized in order to have her sins forgiven, so she choose the Methodist to perform it because she knew they would not immerse her in water.” She was unwilling to be covered, for whatever excuse.

No matter how hard one might try, you can't make the Greek word baptidzo, which means "immerse," to mean “pour” or "sprinkle." The Greek word cheo means “to pour.” The Greek word rhantidzo means "to sprinkle." It is true that the New Testament reveals the blood of Christ being sprinkled for sin, but only in the typical of the blood of animals in the Old Testament (Heb. 9:13; 10:1‑11; 12:24; 1 Peter 1:2). "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22; cf. Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14).

Sprinkling or pouring does not come close to fitting the idea of a burial, but that is what baptism is, according to inspired truth (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). Baptism is indeed a complete covering of the old man of sin. “Much water” (John 3:23) is needed for Scriptural baptism. Therefore, John baptized many in the river Jordan (Matt. 3:6). Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and came up out of the water (Acts 8:36-39). There is only one baptism (Eph. 4:5). This baptism is a washing and regeneration (Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5). It is for the remission of sins through the blood of Jesus (Matt. 26:28; Acts 2:38).

No matter how hard one tries to accommodate men, the Word of God will always read the same way (Gal. 1:6‑12; 2 Thess. 1:6-9). In order to lay claim to the grace of God, we "must" do His will first and always (Matt. 7:21‑23; Luke 6:46; Heb. 5:8‑9).    

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