Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Matthew 28:19, ESV

And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. Acts 22:16, ESV

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them. saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Acts 2:40-41, ESV

 

What is baptism? Why is it so important? Does it make any difference how you are baptized? These are but a few questions that the typical person has when confronted by the many verses in the New Testament that refer to baptism. In the last article, I left you with another "homework" assignment to find out as much about baptism as you could from sources inside and outside of the New Testament. Of course, the most important of these will be those references, examples, and commandments concerning baptism that we find within the pages of the Bible, but historical sources are also needed for things that various religious groups may have added after the New Testament was completed.

 

For the purposes of this study, we are limiting our study of baptism to the one commanded by Christ in the passage from Matthew 28 that is recorded above. John the Baptist's baptism, though similar in numerous aspects including the mode in which it was done, differs in the fact that his was not a baptism into Christ, and therefore was not a baptism which allowed us to enjoy the spiritual blessings that are given to one who is "in Christ". Galatians 3:26-27, and Romans 6:3 both tell us the way to get "into Christ" is by being baptized into Christ. 

 

So, to answer the questions, "why is baptism important?", we now see that all spiritual blessings are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3) and we are placed "into Christ" through baptism, (Galatians 3:26-27 and Romans 6:3). Add this to Christ's commandment that we become His disciples (followers) by being baptized (Matthew 28:18-20), that our sins are removed by baptism (Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16) and that we are saved by baptism (I Peter 3:21 and Acts 2:40-41), and we can readily see from the Scriptures that baptism is a vital part of God's salvation plan. It should be noted at this point that baptism is not the only thing required for salvation and the forgiveness of our sins, but it is nevertheless one of the things that is a commanded part of our responsibility.

 

The second question, "Does it make any difference how you are baptized?" is a vital question that must be answered. In modern times, baptism has been represented as anything from sprinkling and pouring of water, to a full immersion in water. Many religionists have gone so far as to claim that baptism is just figurative and is therefore unnecessary. Further, baptisms and other religious rites are practiced in many religious circles upon not only adults, but also infants. With so many different opinions about baptism, is it even possible for us to know what it was that Jesus had intended when He commanded His apostles to baptize people in order to make them disciples?

 

Well, that's a lot of things to think about, so let's break all of these things down into "bitesize" pieces. First, as to the mode (way or manner) in which we are baptized. Is it sprinkling or pouring as some suggest? Does it have to be a full immersion in water? Several Greek words will help us to understand the way in which Jesus intended for us to be baptized. First, the word sprinkle is "rhantizo in the original Greek. Among other places in the New Testament, it is used in Hebrews 10:22, "having our hearts sprinkled (rhantizo) to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water." We can see from this passage that the word "rhantizo" is translated as sprinkle and does not refer to baptism. The Greek words for pour are "katacheo". "ekcheo" and "ballo". These words are used numerous times in various ways in the New Testament, but are never translated as baptism, nor are they ever used to refer to baptism.

 

On the other hand, the Greek word "baptizo" means to immerse. It is always translated as baptism. and is in fact the Greek word used in all of the passages that are referenced above. Even without understanding Greek, we can see evidence of the immersion of baptism in Acts 8:38 where Phillip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, "they both went down into the water, Phillip and the eunuch, and he baptized him", and also in Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12, where the phrase "buried with Him (Jesus) through baptism" is used. From the evidence of the Scriptures, we can see that those who were baptized went down into the water to be buried with Him. In all three passages, the word "baptizo" is used.

 

While the research into the Greek plainly shows that baptism was always practiced as immersion in the New Testament (since the word literally means "to immerse") the question that follows next would be this: Can it be something other than immersion? The simple answer to that question must come from you: Do you want to risk Heaven by assuming that something not specifically commanded will be okay? This answer cannot reasonably come from anybody other than the one who is contemplating their position before God at the Judgment, so it is crucial that each one of us answer it for ourselves. Of course, it also has ramifications for our loved ones whom we want to steer in the right direction on this, but it will ultimately be an individual Judgment, so we as individuals need to do our best to answer this question as accurately as we possibly can.

 

The next question is this: Is infant baptism required, and if not required, is it acceptable? Again, from the Bible, we see that people were to "repent and be baptized" (Acts 2:38) and to "believe and be baptized" Mark 16:15-16. Both requirements are clearly for a level of understanding and maturity that an infant cannot possess. Some will point out that the jailer and his entire family were baptized (Acts 16:34), but it should also be pointed out that the jailer and his entire family believed (Acts 16:35). As for children, I believe you will find that Jesus indicated that they were already in a safe condition when He stated that we needed to change and become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of God {Matthew 18:3). 

 

So, where did the practice of baptism (immersion) get switched to sprinkling or pouring? The earliest documented case I found was of a man by the name of Novation, who in AD 253 was on his death bed and wanted to become a Christian. The religious leaders of his day compromised and poured water over his body since he could not be practically immersed. As to infant "baptism" some enterprising people in the 4th century AD decided that infants were no longer saved, so they sprinkled water over them and called it baptism. Obviously, the child could neither understand the need for repentance or belief in Christ, but the religious leaders of the time saw a good opportunity to get someone for life if they could perform a religious ceremony on them and conveniently add them to their church at the same time. So, we see that pouring and sprinkling as a substitute for baptism were ordained by men, rather than commanded by God in the Scripture. The question necessarily arises "will God accept such substitutions? The answer can only be made by God, but it seems a risky proposition all the way around to me.

 

Well, that's a lot for one study, so I will leave it in your capable hands for now. What did you find in your studies? Did they reveal anything different? I would sincerely be interested to know, so please feel free to share your findings in the comments below. Thanks for reading today - I hope it helps you to begin a more thorough study on your part.

 

 

 

 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' instructions to His apostles as found in Matthew 28:19. NKJV

 

The word "baptize" in its various forms is used over 40 times in the New Testament when referring to the baptism of the Christian era. It is used many more times than that when you include the baptism that John the Baptist taught, but for our purposes we only want to look at those instances in which a person was baptized in obedience to Jesus' command that we read above. In various places in the New Testament, we are told that baptism washes away our sins, that is places us into Christ, and that it is one of the elements that go into our salvation. 

 

Since we all want to enjoy the spiritual blessings that are found only in Christ, including the forgiveness of our sins and salvation, one can readily see that baptism is an essential concept that needs to be understood by all those who desire to be obedient disciples of Christ.

 

So, what exactly is baptism? Is it a "Christening", a manmade term that refers to the sprinkling of water? Is it a pouring of water, as is so often popularly portrayed in modern day movies, as well as in religious rites within our churches? Is it a complete immersion in water, as many will contend today? Or does it matter at all, since people in our modern-day churches refer to any sprinkling, pouring or immersion as baptism?

 

This is the very question that we want to answer in this two-part series, and the first part is going to involve the same encouragement that we gave in our last set of articles on the topic of the Sinner's Prayer. That encouragement is simply this: Take some time to study this very topic on your own, before you read what I (or any other person) have concluded on this particular study. Get yourself a good Greek lexicon such as Strong's Greek Lexicon, Thayer's Greek Lexicon, or one of the free online lexicons that you can look up various English words from your Bible and find out what the Greek definition of those words are.

 

I would discourage the use of a modern dictionary, for they are not going to discuss as much of what the word means as originally used, but more the way the word is used in our modern-day language. It's not that a dictionary can't help, but it can definitely be misleading for those who are seeking the meaning of the words as they were originally used in the Scriptures. You will not find that to be a problem with the lexicon, so that will prove to be more useful for the purpose of this particular study.

 

So, get you a good Bible concordance (blueletterbible.org is but one excellent free online source) and look up every time the words "baptize", baptism", "baptized", "baptizes". "baptizing", and "baptisms" are used. I like the Blue Letter Bible site because it has an easy-to-use interlinear tool that gives you the original Greek word that was used when translating the Bible into the various versions that we have available today.

 

Then, once you have found out for yourself what the Greek words are for "Sprinkling", "pouring", and "baptizing" are, and you compared them to all of the examples and commandments that we have concerning the Christian baptism, you will then likely know as much about this subject as your priest, preacher, or pastor. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, you will find that you actually know more than they do on the subject of how the word baptism is used in the Bible.

 

Well, that's the homework assignment for today. It will likely take you a few hours to do it, but you are not wasting your time on some sort of petty "trivia" expedition, you are doing your best to find out exactly what Christ meant when He commanded His apostles to make disciples of all men by baptizing them. Further, once you have this information in as accurate of a form as you can possibly achieve, it may just change your understanding on the meaning and the importance of baptism. 

 

I pray that God will assist you every step of the way in your search into what He wants you to do in order to be obedient and pleasing to Him. And be sure and come back tomorrow if you would like to see what my studies have revealed. Then, you can have a basis for comparison, because you will no longer just be taking someone else's word for this vital subject, you will be taking from God's Word everything that you can to help you understand exactly what He expects of us all when it comes to His commandments on baptism.

 

 

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among his brothers. 

Proverbs 6:16-19, NIV (1978)

 

I have to confess, I have never seen anything quite like the events of recent weeks. A man was killed in cold blood, and a shockingly large percentage of the population applauded his murder. As if that wasn't enough, when many of those who openly celebrated evil were punished in ways such as losing their jobs or being expelled from school, people on the other side began celebrations of their own. The question I have is this: How have we sunk to such a level as to celebrate death and punishment?

 

On the one side we had a man who was unafraid to point out that the things God says are sin, are indeed sin. This has made a lot of people who enjoy their sin extremely angry. This anger has built up over time to open contempt and hatred, so it should not come as a surprise to anyone that hateful people are going to act on that hate, and especially when they are already steeped in a culture that revels in sin. This side, though completely despicable, is totally understandable - it is the natural progression of sin. Robert Bork referred to such a state as "slouching towards Gomorrah". It is very much akin to the total state of depravity that Sodom and Gomorrah reached before God wiped them out in order to both punish them for their sin and to protect the innocent from further harm.

 

The part that has disturbed me as much as the hatred on the one side has been a reciprocal hatred on the other. When companies rightfully fired those who were rejoicing in Charlie Kirk's murder, and when schools began to suspend and expel others who were doing the same, many people on the other side cheered this turn of events. Now, I don't want you to misunderstand; when people expose themselves as being so depraved as to celebrate murder, then justice must be served. A company cannot afford to not punish a person who brings harm to their business by celebrating evil. There are simply too many righteous people on the other side who will not continue to patronize a company that tolerates such poor behavior. It's the same for schools who expel people who revel in violence and who cheer on those who commit these wicked acts. Such students have exposed themselves as a danger to the other students. They are a type of cancer that must be addressed before it spreads. So, I am not condemning the punishment of those who richly deserve it.

 

What concerns me is the lack of humanity on the other side. While it is true that people who celebrate wicked behavior need to be punished in an appropriate way, this punishment should be met by the righteous with a kind of sober reflection. In the days when public hangings were a fact of life, those who witnessed the punishment did so with a mixture of sadness and relief; mourning for a person whose life had come to a harsh conclusion but satisfied at the prospect that justice had been served. It is certain that there were some who openly celebrated the punishment of their fellow man, but such displays were not looked upon with favor by those who understood the need not only for justice, but also the God-given responsibility to refrain from sinning themselves by rejoicing at someone else's pain and suffering.

 

But in our modern world, people celebrate. A person has rightfully lost their job - that's on them. But do we stop to think about how difficult it will be for their children, who now have one less parent to help feed and house them? Have we thought about our own hearts that have been lowered to such a point that we can actually be happy at the pain someone else is going through. Please don't misunderstand: pain is a necessary part of punishment, and those who experience it for their own wicked conduct are certainly deserving of any suffering that they receive as a consequence of such behavior. 

 

But decent people do not rejoice at the suffering of others, even when that suffering is just. Righteous people should be pleased when justice is carried out, but God has always insisted that this justice tempered with mercy. When we openly celebrate the bad things that happen to bad people, we are in danger of sinking to the same level of hatred and depravity that brought them to the point that they find themselves in. And, when the righteous begin to sink to the same level of hatred that those they oppose have, can we even say that we are righteous anymore?

 

Our nation finds itself at a tipping point, and that balance can easily be swayed in either direction. Will we "tilt" towards justice, or will we lean in the direction of revenge? Will we go in the way that a man who loves his fellow man should go, or will we plunge headlong into the same flood of evil speech. evil thoughts, and evil actions that have brought the wicked man his just and deserved punishment?

 

If our world is ever going to heal from this great divide, then it will have to be the righteous who lead the way. We got to this point because those on the side of this world quite literally hate those who are on the side of God. For those who fancy themselves as Christians, it means that we begin to act in a Christ-like manner. It means on the one hand that we see the need for justice, and this will at times require a heavy penalty. But on the other hand, it also means that we walk in Jesus' commands and begin to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  

 

How did we sink to this level? We stopped loving one another and replaced that vital Christian virtue with hate. How can we get out of this mess that we find ourselves in? Isn't the answer obvious? Isn't it time to temper our sense of justice with the proper measure of mercy? Isn't it time for us to once again love our neighbor as ourselves?

 

 

 

Keep hold of instruction, do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. Proverbs 4:13, ESV

I have applied all these things to myself and to Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written... I Corinthians 4"6, ESV

Study to shew thyself approved unto God... II Timothy 2:15, KJV

 

Let me start off by saying that I am aware this is a somewhat controversial subject. I want you to know that I have entered into this particular study with an absolute sincerity in my desire to find the truth, and I am certain that you are no less sincere in your quest for the truth. If we differ in our conclusions, I hope we can keep from hurt feelings or suspicions of false motives on behalf of or towards each other. The one thing we cannot differ on is the facts, and it is important for people on both sides of this study to keep in mind that while we can draw different conclusions from those facts and therefore have a right to our own opinions, we do not have a right to our own facts. Nor do we have a right to take God's place in the Judgment as to how we have handled our understanding of His Word. I have found that if I can keep my opinions separate from the facts, that I am then able to draw more sound conclusions from any study that I undertake. So, please know that I am not seeking to condemn anyone, what I am seeking is a better understanding of God's will as has been revealed in His inspired Word,

 

If you recall from the last article, there was a homework assignment attached. It was to learn everything you could, on your own, about the popularly phrased "Sinner's Prayer", first from a search of the Bible, and second from a search through other sources such as an internet search engine. If you haven't done this yet, I would highly recommend that you do so prior to reading about my findings which are set forth in this article. The reasoning behind this is that what we learn on our own is much more powerful and convincing than that which we obtain from others. Further, this study has implications concerning your eternal salvation and is therefore much too important to trust to someone else's efforts.

 

I would definitely avoid leaning on AI. While there is no question as to its artificial nature, when it comes to drawing reasonable conclusions as pertaining to God's Word, I have found the "intelligent" side to be somewhat questionable. Still. it's your eternity and you want to use the resources that you have the most confidence in. So, if your confidence is in artificial intelligence, then by all means use it. 

 

Having issued that encouragement, here, then, are the things I have found. To be fully clear, I have studied this particular subject for about forty years now, so it is not a new study to me (as I suspect it is not to so many of you who are reading this). Still, I have found a number of sources, both in full support of the sinner's prayer, and in opposition to the notion of such a prayer, that have added to my previous knowledge. Some of the websites I used were disciplestoday.org , patheos.com . thegospelcoalition.org, biblestudyguide.org, and wikipedia.org. Other than the Wikipedia site, I do not believe that I had ever visited any of these sites prior to my research of the past few days. As previously mentioned, some are in full support of the idea of a believer's or sinner's prayers, while some are skeptical of such an idea.

 

Let me start with my personal findings from a search of the Bible on this topic. I used blueletterbible.org because you can type in the phrase you are interested in searching, and it gives you the complete results for all of the major translations that are in common use today. When I searched all of the variants for sinner's prayer, believer's prayer, etc., I found that such a phrase is not used within Scripture. I confess that I was already aware of this, having researched this topic from Scripture numerous times over a number of years, but I wanted to make sure that there were no gaps in that research. 

 

While the results of the search of the Bible did not come as a surprise, the results of my other research did. Since there is such a large percentage of believers who teach and adhere to the sinner's prayer, I did expect to find some claim that such a prayer was contained within the Bible. What I discovered instead was an honest admission that no such phrase, (be it "Sinner's Prayer", "Believer's Prayer" or even any variant thereof), was contained anywhere within Scripture. Further, if discussed at all, there was no example that any of the proponents of the sinner's prayer were able to find within the pages of the Bible. 

 

So, where did this belief come from?

 

The most common explanation from those who hold to the sinner's prayer was that it came from a combination of the following passages of Scripture:

 

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved... For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:9;13, ESV

Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20, ESV

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." Acts 2:38, ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And it is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV

 

Now, I believe that everyone will agree that these are excellent verses. After all, they are the word of God and are therefore infallible. The question that must be asked, however, is how does one go from these verses, to a prayer that is suggested by men that goes somethings along the line of "Father, I confess my sins to you and my belief in Jesus, and I invite Him into my heart in order that I might be saved"? 

 

I'm not disputing the need to confess our belief in Christ - this is plainly stated! Nor am I denying the need for repentance and baptism (though most who adhere to the so-called sinner's prayer claim the baptism part to be a work, and therefore deem it to be unnecessary), but again, I think everyone will agree that repentance and baptism are clearly and unambiguously commanded. I also believe with all of my heart that we are saved by grace, through faith, and not as a result of our works. Having said that, I cannot help but point out that the Scriptures reveal a minimum of six other elements of salvation that are in no way excluded by the passage in Ephesians chapter 2.  

 

But we still keep coming back to the origins of the sinner's prayer: Where did it come from? Since it is not directly stated as a requirement for salvation, is it logical to believe that it is necessarily inferred from the four verse we read above to the extent that everyone who reads them will come to the same conclusion that we must utter a prayer inviting Jesus into our hearts to be saved? What do you think? Is this reasonable?

 

So, where did this sinner's prayer originate from? 

 

Some trace its origins back to Eleazer Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College. In the mid 1700's, he came up with something called "The Mourner's Bench" and about 100 years later an American by the name of Charles Finney modified it to "The Anxious Bench". Both were a mode for people to think about their sins and their need for their own repentance as well as Christ's forgiveness. After Finney, Dwight L. Moody refined their theologies, and shortly thereafter a traveling evangelist by the name of Billy Sunday would encourage Gospel meeting goers to come forward and pray a prayer of salvation. A few years later, men such as Billy Graham and Bill Bright of Campus Ministries used the sinner's prayer as a convenient mode of salvation, and its popularity spread to the point we see it today.

 

One more thing that I found interesting: While the seeds for this belief may have been sown during the Reformation Movement, I could find no such reference to a sinner's or believer's prayer, nor could I find any hints of such a prayer in the history of the church prior to that time.

 

Well, that's a lot of information to digest, and I will leave you to it. 

 

I do want to ask you what you found? Was it anything significantly different to the things I have discussed in this article? If so, I would be most appreciative of your sharing that information in the comments below.

 

Thanks for reading today! I hope this study will prompt each one of us to make certain of the things that we have accepted as the Gospel, and will encourage us all to further study!