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LESSON 28

Baptism
cer1tral .Truthoutward expression of an inward faith. It is to take a
. 111 is an
sapt_is d for God against Satan. .
ubllc stan . .
P . . Baptism is one of the two sacraments of the Christian
In troductIon.
Though Baptism is conducte d .in various
. f orms by different
church: tions it is held in high esteem by all because of its inclusion in
denorninatolic a'nd Nicene creeds. It was John the Baptist who introduced
the Apos
it.
ist took baptism by the hands of John and set an example for
Jesus Chr . . .
His followers. He also had the d1sc1ples perform the rite.

What is Baptism?
The English word Baptism has been transliterated from the Greek word
•saptizo", which means " to dip" or "immerse". So baptism is a ritual of
immersing in water symbolizing the fact that sin has been forgiven.
When we study the New Testament we can find what is baptism all
about.

1) Counsel of God (John. 7:30)

First of all Baptism is something that God had planned and not the
resolution of an ecclesiastical council or that of a synod. God sent John
the Baptist to give baptism in water to those who repented (Jn.1:33) It is
known as Baptism of Repentance (Acts.19:4)

2) Commandment of the Lord (Matt.28:19, Mk.16:16)

After resurrection Jesus commanded His disciples to give baptism to
the new disciples. The significance of any commandment depends on
who gave it· Sinee th·Is Is
· our Lords
, commandment we cannot .ignore 1t.
.

3) Its Purpose (Rom. 6)

Paul, dealing w,'th t he subJect
. Baptism, gives its purposes for it.
i) To be in union with Christ

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The context here is doing away with sin. Paul says how the death
Christ has dealt with sin - 'That if One died for all ,then all died; an:
He died for all that those who live should lrve no longer for thernse111e,
but for Hirn (2 Cori.5:14,15). It is Christ's death that has P•id th~
penalty for sin. In God's sight Christ has died for all. Bec_ause of sin all
are condemned to death, now those who want to hve have one
option; be in union with Christ. 'Now therefore there is no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom.8:1)
ii) To be identified with death, burial and resurrection of Christ

In order to live for Him who died in our stead, we have to be identified
with him. In baptism we symbolically identify ourselves with His death,
burial and resurrection (Rom.6:4)
. iii) To live in the newness of life

Since death and burial is symbolic, resurrection also has a syrnboiic

expression. Paul says that is the newness of life in to which a believer
steps.

iv) To put on Christ (Gal.3:26,27)

"For as many of you as were baptised in to Christ have put on Christ•

"Since you have put off the old man with .his deeds and have put on
the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the im1ige
of Him who created him (Colo.3:9,10)

v) For a good conscience with God (lPeter.3:21)

•... Baptism is not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
of a good conscience toward God"

4) Who must be Baptized ?

Th_is is a very confusing to~ic for many Christians. Some give baptism to
children where as others give to the adults. But neither is correct in the
light of the Scripture. let us see what the Scripture has to say:
Jesus said,

"He who believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk.16:16)

On the day of Pentecost, "Those who accepted his mess were
baptised" (Acts.2:41) age

When Eunuch asked what hindered him to take baptism Ph·i· . d

, 1 rp rep 1re

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 . with your whole heart you may" (Act.8:37)
believe
"If you r that only those who believe must be baptised.
·t is c1ea
Here 1 ·
to be baptized? .
S) tf OVI d of baptism is also confusing to many. Whether sprinkling
rhe 111eth0. n is the right method of baptism? First of all the literal
or .""·111 ers10 .
of the word Baptism . .
cement~ the fact that 1mmers1on is the
r11eanin9 L t us look some of the occasions where baptism is conducted
right way. e
. the earlY days.
,n was baptising at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty
"John aIsoand people were constantly coming. to be baptised" (Jn.3:23)
of water, sus was baptised, He went up out of the water" (Matt.3·16
"AS soo n as Je ·
·Then both Philip and Eunuch went down in to the water and Philip
baptized him. When they came up out of the water" (Act.8;38,39)
from these references it is evident that baptism in earlier days was
given by immersion.

References: Rom.6:1-11
Memory Verse: Mark. 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever
does not believe will be condemned.

EXERCISE
1. What does the word Baptism mean?
2. What is Baptism all about? Explain.

3. Who is eligible to the baptised?

4. How should a person receive baptism, explain with reference from
the Bible?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Jesus take baptism, even though He did not need repentance?
O To confirm the fact that John's baptism was instituted by God
ii) Let John know that Jesus was the Messiah
I
I

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 . h t Jesus obeved the Father in all things
iiD Declare publicly t a ;
. . . h the sinful humankind for whom He came as
iv) To tdenttfy wtt o
Saviour
v) Demonstrate a symbolic picture of His baptism i.e., the affliction
he was likely to suffer on the cross
Why did'nt the thief on the cross, who repented, take ba_ptisrn? N
was dying and didn't have any time left. In one sense, h~ Is the onie
person who literally identified with the death and resurrection Wherea~
we can only identify symbolically.
In the baptism of some families mentioned, do not infants also
include?
Not at all. See the case of jailor "He and all his family were baptized"
(Acts.16:33)

While reading the whole passage we see that the apostles spoke the
word of the Lord to "Him and to all the others in his house" (16:32).
"He rejoiced having believed in God with his entire household" (16:34).
Here we do not overlook the inclusion of children in the family but
these verbs such as word being spoken, having believed, and rejoiced
etc. do not fit to the children.

Whe~ there is only one baptism (Eph.4:5) why did Paul give
baptism to some a second time (Act.19:1-5) ?
The disciples at Ephesus had the baptism of John th b . .
h "B · e aptIst, which
was t e apt1sm of Repentance" not the "Ch . t· B . ,, .
· h ,, ' ns tan apt,sm given
in t e name of Father, Son and the Holy S irit" Wh .
the word preached by Paul th t 00 k h P . en they believed
ey t e real baptism.