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

Apostle M. Gumbo

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Contents
1. What is Baptism?
2. Types of Baptism
3. Why should Christians be baptized?
4. Is it possible for a Christian to enter the kingdom of God without being
baptized?
5. Who is to be baptized and why?
6. Is it good for someone to be baptized again once he/she was baptized in
another church?
7. Which one is the right Biblical Christian baptism?
8. When should the person get baptized?
9. Where should a Christian get baptized?
10.The technical of Baptism?

NB: Baptismal Creeds.

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
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM?

There are two words in Greek:

- Baptizo: to dip down permanently.

- Bapto: to dip in and out several times.

Let’s explain the Christian Baptism:

a. Rom.6:3-5 “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized in His death? Therefore we were buried with
Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
All the underlined phrases or words are key points to the real meaning of
Christian baptism.

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 - In the first place we see the phrase ‘baptized in His death’, this means
when Christians are baptized, they will be buried with Christ.
- Again we see the term ‘Buried’ to burry is to completely cover, so when
Christians are baptized they will be buried therefore, there should be an act
of completely dip down their whole bodies.
- Also we can see the term ‘Him’, there is no them but it’s ‘Him’ meaning
Christ the only one was buried not the Father as in individual or the Holy
Spirit. Though we have a full understanding of the Godhead to be upon
Jesus but in the burial of the earthly body of Jesus, the Bible states it clearly
that at his last breath He surrendered His spirit in God’s hands (Luke 23:46)
then His body carrying world’s sins was buried. In His resurrection we will
see two angels sent from Heaven coming to perform a divine duty. Now
this is to say in baptism we burry people together with the body of Christ,
which is the resemblance of doing away with the body of sin and waiting
for the new body which comes up with the newness of life.
- We see the phrase ‘BAPTISM INTO DEATH.’ Here we are given a clear
picture of burial. If a person dies we don’t burry and leave some parts of
the body outside that is if we all believe that the meaning of the word
baptism (BAPTIZO) is to completely immerse. Also the incarnated body of
Christ was the only one buried and it was once for all then on the third day
He rose. According to the law of burial, if someone dies we are not allowed
to bury him/her then after we dig him/her up and burry again, except with
an order from the government whereby the law enforcers will be
suspecting something wrong on the deceased.
There is a term ‘RAISED’ and is underlined also, if we continue we see, ‘GLORY OF
THE FATHER.’ It means Christ was raised by the glory of God. Here is also a clear
picture that there is no God the Father or God the Holy Spirit being buried and
raised instead these are the ones who did the raising of Jesus’ body from the
dead.
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
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
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- Water baptism is an act of faith and obedience to the commands of Christ.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

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2. Types of Baptism

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3. Why should Christians be baptized?

- Water baptism is an act of faith and obedience to the commands of Christ.

Following Christ:
In order to understand the reason for being water baptized, it is important to
carefully consider what the Bible says about it… Jesus himself was baptized. He
was not a sinner, yet he humbled himself in obedience to identify with us and give
us an example to follow.

At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the
Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God’s
Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice:
“You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.” (Mark 1:9
MSG)

A New family:
Baptism also connects us to the ‘body of Christ’, his people in the earth. In baptism
there is a real sense of being joined with other believers, not just participating in an
individual act of our own spiritual journey.
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 - “…For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…” (1 Corinthians
12:12-13)

A Public Declaration:
- Baptism declares that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a public confession
of your faith in and commitment to, Jesus Christ. It is the next step after salvation
through repentance and faith and is an important foundation for the Christian life.

Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of
God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved;
whoever refuses to believe is damned.” (Mark 16:16 MSG)

- “Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it
was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When
you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding
to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All
sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and
nailed to Christ’s cross.” (Colossians 2:12-14 MSG)

A Brand New Life:

It is a symbol of your new life as a Christian. We bury the ‘old life’ and we rise to
walk in a ‘new life’. Baptism is like a wedding ring, it is the outward symbol of the
commitment you made in your heart, a commitment that has to be followed
through and lived out on a daily basis.

- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Here is one simple way to explain baptism:

Baptism is a symbol. It’s meant to show the world that you love, trust, and have
put your hope in Christ. It’s like a wedding ring…

A Blessed Life:
In baptism, the believer has the triune name of the triune God placed upon them,
‘Father’, ‘Son’ & ‘Holy Spirit’. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the name of
the Godhead (one God in three persons). The Gospels tell us to baptize believers.
- “… into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, (Matthew 28:19)

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4. Is it possible for a Christian to enter the kingdom of God without being
baptized? (Luke 23:39-46)

- Yes, it is possible as long there is true salvation in the life of an individual.

Baptism is an act of obedience and faith to the commands of God. The problem
might come when there is a chance to get baptized and then an individual
deliberately decides not to be baptized. This is interpreted as a sign of disobedience
to the commands of God and then it’s considered as a sin.

- Baptism does not make you a believer; it shows that you already are one!
- Baptism does not ‘save’ you; only your faith in Christ does that. (John 3:3-5)

- “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8-9)

- Baptism confirms our position ‘in Christ’ and affirms the blessings of the Father
on us as his children.

A New family:
- Baptism also connects us to the ‘body of Christ’, His people on earth. In baptism
there is a real sense of being joined with other believers, not just participating in an
individual act of our own spiritual journey.

- “…For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…” (1 Corinthians
12:12-13)
- “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4)

5. Who should be baptized & why?

- Every person who has made a decision to believe in Christ. (Matt.28:19-20,

John 1:12, 2Cor.5:17, Romans 10:9 & Acts 8:12-13; 26-32, 34-38)
- When Paul writes to the believers in Rome, he assumes that all of them had
been baptized (Romans 6). The one requirement for baptism is belief in
Christ!
- “Those who accepted his message were baptized….” (Acts 2:41).
- “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men
and women.” (Acts 8:12).

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 - As long one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and can confess sins, that
person can be baptized. (Mark 1:5)
- We believe in baptizing children when they are old enough to understand
what it means and make a personal declaration of belief. (Usually, the age of
16 years old is sometimes a good benchmark.)

6. Is it good for someone to be baptized again if he/she was once baptized in

another church?

Answer: It depends with the type of baptism the person received in the first place.
If the baptism was Biblically followed, then the person must not be baptized again
but if it was not Biblically followed the person should be baptized.

- If the person was baptized as an infant, it’s not Biblical.

- If the person was baptized because he/she attends church, that was not
Biblical.
- If there was a cross drawn on the face of a person, that was not a Biblical
way of baptism.
- If there was sprinkling of water on the body of the person, that was not
Biblical.






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- Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion under water. The book of Acts
shows us that this was the norm for every believer.

- “…then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized
him. When they came up out of the water….” (Acts 8:38-39)

- soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.” (Matthew 3:16)

7. Which one is the right Biblical Christian baptism?

Let’s explain the Christian Baptism:

b. Rom.6:3-5 “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized in His death? Therefore we were buried with
Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
All the underlined phrases or words are key points to the real meaning of
Christian baptism.

- In the first place we see the phrase ‘baptized in His death’, this means
when Christians are baptized, they will be buried with Christ.
- Again we see the term ‘Buried’ to burry is to completely cover, so when
Christians are baptized they will be buried therefore, there should be an act
of completely dip down their whole bodies.
- Also we can see the term ‘Him’, there is no them but it’s ‘Him’ meaning
Christ the only one was buried not the Father as in individual or the Holy
Spirit. Though we have a full understanding of the Godhead to be upon
Jesus but in the burial of the earthly body of Jesus, the Bible states it clearly
that at his last breath He surrendered His spirit in God’s hands (Luke 23:46)
then His body carrying world’s sins was buried. In His resurrection we will
see two angels sent from Heaven coming to perform a divine duty. Now
this is to say in baptism we burry people together with the body of Christ,
which is the resemblance of doing away with the body of sin and waiting
for the new body which comes up with the newness of life.

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 - We see the phrase ‘BAPTISM INTO DEATH.’ Here we are given a clear
picture of burial. If a person dies we don’t burry and leave some parts of
the body outside that is if we all believe that the meaning of the word
baptism (BAPTIZO) is to completely immerse. Also the incarnated body of
Christ was the only one buried and it was once for all then on the third day
He rose. According to the law of burial, if someone dies we are not allowed
to bury him/her then after we dig him/her up and burry again, except with
an order from the government whereby the law enforcers will be
suspecting something wrong on the deceased.
There is a term ‘RAISED’ and is underlined also, if we continue we see, ‘GLORY OF
THE FATHER.’ It means Christ was raised by the glory of God. Here is also a clear
picture that there is no God the Father or God the Holy Spirit being buried and
raised instead these are the ones who did the raising of Jesus’ body from the
dead.
- Luke 23: 39-46 Father into your hands I commit my spirit.

- So we dip once not thrice or seven times because Christ died once, buried
once and rose once and forever. Note this, that God the Father did not die
neither was He buried and also God the Holy Spirit did not die neither was
He buried. (Romans 6:1-8)



8. When should the person get baptized?

- Immediately after believing in the message of the cross that is the death of
Jesus Christ, His burial and resurrection which brings about salvation to
mankind. This works as long as the environment and chance agrees.

- Believers in the New Testament were baptized the same day. As soon as a
person decides to believe in Christ, he can be, and is encouraged to be
baptized.

- “Those who accepted his message were baptized….” Acts 2:41.

- “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the
good news about Jesus. As they travelled along the road, they came to some
water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be
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 baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the
eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” Acts 8:35-39.

9. Where should the Christian get baptized?

- Wherever there is health & many waters in order to immerse them.

- We may check with the following scriptures as our examples:
- (John 3:23, Romans 6:1-8 & Acts 8:12-13; 26-32; 34-38)

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10. The technical of Baptism (How are we to be baptized?)

- As per the example of Jesus – by being immersed in water. The word “baptize”
comes from the Greek word “baptizo” which means “to immerse or dip under
water”.

- “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.” Matthew 3:16.

- Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion under water. The book of Acts
shows us that this was the norm for every believer.

- “…then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized
him. When they came up out of the water….” Acts 8:38-39.

- Luke 23: 39-46 Father into your hands I commit my spirit.

- So we dip once not thrice or seven times because Christ died once, buried
once and rose once and forever. Note this, that God the Father did not die
neither was He buried and also God the Holy Spirit did not die neither was
He buried. (Romans 6:1-8)


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 Baptismal Creeds

1. I have heard the Word preaching Jesus Christ the only way to God the Father
and His eternal life. Now, I believe that true life is found in God the creator of the
heavens and the earth. I am convinced and I am born again therefore, I need
water baptism so that the scriptures may be fulfilled. (John 1:12, John 14:6 &
Romans 10:17).

2. Now that I am born again, I believe my sins are forgiven through the blood of
Jesus Christ on the cross. Therefore, I am now a new creature in Christ Jesus, I
will not go back again to the old sinful life which was not honoring God my
creator. (2Cor.5:17)

3. I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and I confess
with my mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour of my life. Therefore, I
am assured that I am saved and I am a child of God. (Romans 10:9)

4. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of man, conceived of the Holy
Spirit, born of the virgin Marry, very God and very man. (Luke 1:26-35 & John
1:14-18)

5. I believe that the scriptures (Bible) are infallible and inerrant. (The Bible is the
word of God which came into existence by the writing of prophets and other
servants of God inspired by the Holy Spirit) I believe this without doubt.
(2Tim.316; 1Cor.2:13; 2Pet.1:21)

Compiled by Apostle M. Gumbo

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