What Did Jesus Teach About Baptism?

There are those would teach that baptism is not essential to salvation. These individuals will usually teach that faith alone is necessary, and that Christ never taught baptism. Let us then consider some of the words and actions of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, regarding baptism and whether or not it is necessary.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 3:13-17 (KJV)

There are also accounts of this even in Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22. In this passage, Christ is setting an example for His followers. The reason given for this baptism was to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus, being sinless, did not need to repent have his sins washed away. But in order to fulfill righteousness, that is, to do all which the Father required, Jesus submitted himself to baptism. If our Lord saw the need to be baptized, we should too. It is also worth noting that the Lord had to come up out of the water. The implication is that in order to be baptized, he had to go into water deep enough that it could be reasonably called “going down into” it. The implication, in addition to the word baptism (baptisma - consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence, according to Vine) itself, is that it is submersion, not pouring or sprinkling.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)

In this passage, Christ states that He has all authority. That is important to the context, because He is about to issue some commands to His disciples in what is often called the “Great commission.” He commands them to teach and baptize. Most people would happily and quickly admit that learning the gospel of our Lord is necessary for salvation. Also necessary to be His disciple is to be baptized. Being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is to be baptized by the authority of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and with their full approval and acceptance. In other words, the command to baptize (and, thusly, be baptized) is given with the full backing of God.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:15-16 (KJV)

This passage, parallel to Matthew 28:18-20, is short and simple to understand, yet many choose not to. The disciples are told to go and preach the gospel. They are then told two things which must both occur for salvation. First, that belief is necessary. Almost no one argues that faith is unessential to salvation. Faith is required by God. This faith must be active and living (James 2:14-26), that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:19), that God is and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), and in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (I Corinthians 15:1-34). It is also stated here that one must be baptized to be saved. Just as in Romans 10:9-13, where both faith and confession are necessary for salvation, so we see here that both faith and baptism are necessary to grasp the salvation which has been offered by God. As for the fact that a lack of baptism (only a lack of faith) is named as leading to damnation, consider this: one cannot be be Biblically baptized without faith. Without faith, one will never choose to put on Christ (Galatians 3:27), so it is rather unnecessary to state here that its lack will lead to damnation.

When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

John 4:1-2 (KJV)

This verse is occasionally named to teach that Jesus did not baptize anyone. To be completely honest, I do not know if the Lord ever did baptize anyone Himself. But there is a point made here about whose authority the baptizing was happening. The disciples, being learners and followers of the Christ, were, with full knowledge of their Master, baptizing others. Since the Pharisees knew the baptisms were attributed to Jesus, it is safe to say that the Lord, who is God and thus, omniscient, knew His disciples were baptizing others. We see no efforts to stop this from happening, and thus we see not only knowledge, but also approval and consent to their actions. Jesus approved of His disciples baptizing others.

Just from these four short passages we learn several things about baptism: First, that Jesus Himself was baptized. If our Teacher and Master was baptized, shouldn't we be as well? Second, that baptism fulfills righteousness. As we all (hopefully) want to stand righteous before God, should we not submit to baptism that we might also fulfill all righteousness? Third, that baptism is immersion. Fourth, that Christ commanded His apostles to teach and baptize all people. There is no exception made, but all must learn of Christ and be baptized. Fifth, that Christ had the authority to command baptism, and that the Father and Holy Spirit also likewise authorized and approved of it. It is not simply the will of the Son that we are baptized, but of the Father and the Son as well. Sixth, that each of us must be baptized to be saved. It is as necessary as faith to our salvation, and without it, we stand condemned. Seventh, that baptism must follow faith. It cannot precede the ability to hear, understand, and accept the teaching of the gospel. Eighth, that in Jesus' lifetime, He knew of and approved His disciples baptizing others and accepted that it be attributed to Himself, as it was done by His authority and will.

So did Jesus ever teach or show that baptism is necessary to be His disciple? Did Jesus teach that baptism is acceptable? Did Jesus teach that baptism is essential to salvation? He sure did!

What Do You Do?

The chances are, you have been asked this question at some point in your life, usually in reference to your particular occupation. It is a question that we must also be able to answer as Christians. Each of us has a role which we must play. Each of us has abilities and talents that should be put to use in furthering the cause of Christ.

Often when we consider this question, we limit our thinking to the assembly. In so doing, we only come up with a short list of things that we can do: preacher, song leader, prayer leader, announcement giver, Lord's Supper tray passer, and teacher. The fact of the matter is that there are far more things that as Christians we can and should be doing. Each of us have roles to play outside the assembly that are as important, if not more so.

We should each be an evangelist, sharing the gospel of Christ with those outside of the church (II Timothy 4:5). We should each be a servant, to the Lord and to one another (Romans 12:7). We should each teach, whether we are teaching in a class setting, teaching our children, teaching brethren, or teaching the unbeliever (Romans 12:7). We should each be exhorting the brethren, encouraging and helping to gain strength in the Lord (Romans 12:8). We should each be giving to the work of the Lord, whether in the contribution on Sundays or in individually helping those people who have need (Romans 12:8). We should each be cheerfully merciful, forgiving and showing kindness and love (Romans 12:8).

Not only should each of us be doing each of these things, but we all have particular strengths that make us more suited to specific roles and tasks. Some people have difficulty teaching, but are excellent at seeing to the needs of others. Others have difficulty discerning where needs are, but are well able to exhort the brethren. Some people have more difficulty exhorting the brethren, but easily approach those outside the body of Christ. Some are well able to lead singing, yet have difficulty in leading prayer. Some lead prayers well and capably, yet have difficulty preaching. While we are not excused from doing the other tasks because they are more difficult, we should be striving to effectively use what abilities and talents we have in the way that best pleases the Lord.

I Corinthians 12 shows us clearly that there are many different tasks that need doing, and no dishonor in performing any of them. It is easy to look at certain roles (usually those done in the assembly, particularly leading singing and preaching) and see them as being the “greater” roles to play. The simple fact is that all the work is equally necessary.

So what do you do? Have you been teaching? Exhorting? Serving? Merciful? Praying? Or have you been slacking off and not fulfilling your role? Have you not been using your abilities, skills, and talents to further the cause of Christ? If not, then now is the time to start. Sometimes we become so focused on the assembly that we forget that we each have work to do during the other 164 hours a week. What do you do?

"Come As You Are"

It's not too uncommon to see a sign outside a building belonging to a religious organization or to hear someone say, “Come as you are!” to encourage people to join them. Usually what people mean is “Come as you are and we will accept you! No changes will be necessary and we believe Jesus will accept you!” The problem is not so much with the phrase “come as you are” as with this common usage.

Anyone Can Be Saved
When a person first hears the gospel, and then chooses to believe and obey, they can be saved. We see many men and women in the Bible who were among the most sinful people imaginable who converted to Christ, and their conversion was accepted as sincere and authentic by man and more importantly by God. Consider Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. Here was a man full of pride, deceiving people, and committing acts forbidden by God. Yet he heard the gospel preached by Philip, believed the word of God, and was baptized. We can also look at the example of Paul who in I Timothy 1:15 describes himself of the chief of sinners. All sinners can choose to turn to Christ. Sinners who repent of their past misdeeds can be forgiven of their sins. Truly this is a great gift!

We Should Accept our Station
I Corinthians 7:17 teaches us that we should remain as we are in life. This is not teaching, however, that we should remain in sinful situations or continue living lives of sin. This is not to say that we should remain spiritually where we are when we first obey the gospel. If you consider the context, we are looking at social situation and standing. Slaves, free men, those living in Jewish society, and those living in gentile society should remain as their placed, not seeking to alter their situation. This is a teaching of acceptance and contentment, a teaching that all people can be useful in the work, and a teaching that our focus should not be on the things of this world, but rather spiritual things. We must not misuse this passage to show that remaining in sinful situations or continuing in sin is acceptable to God (Romans 6:15).

We Must Grow and Change
We must grow spiritually and change ourselves into the image of Christ (Hebrews 6:1-3, Colossians 3:10-11, Romans 12:2). This is not an immediate event, but one that takes a lifetime of work and effort in. We, as Christians, are not permitted to rest stagnant and unchanged. Rather, we must constantly work to be able to present ourselves as pleasing to the Lord (II Timothy 2:15).

We Must Obey
Part of this change is not simply to have belief or desire to serve God. We must obey the Lord's commands (II Thessalonians 3:14, Hebrews 5:9, I John 3:24, etc.). If we wish for Christ to accept us, we must be His obedient servants, submitting our will to His own. It is not a matter of simply believing and voicing our belief, but one of changing our lives to obedience to Him.

Yes, people come to Christ as they are: sinful, broken, and in need to salvation. But when people choose to follow Jesus, change must happen. They must put away sin from their lives. They must put on the new man and do works of righteousness. It is not a matter of expecting Jesus to accept us however we want to be. Instead, we must accept what Jesus expects us to be. So come as you are...and with the help of the Lord and your new brethren, change!

Some People Who Studied, Part 2

While it is easy to find reasons in scripture for studying God's word, and it is not too hard to find commandments to study God's word, sometimes we neglect to look at Biblical examples of men who took the time to study the scriptures. By looking at these individuals, we can learn much about how we should go about studying, what our motivation in studying is, and how we should make application from that study. Let us take a few moments to consider some of these people.

Ezra (Ezra 7:10)
Ezra prepared his heart to study, and then studied. And he did this so that he might teach others of what the Lord has said. He did not study simply for the sake of knowledge, but to be able to teach and help others in understanding God's will.

In this, Ezra sets an excellent example to be followed. In preparing his heart, he shows how important study is, and how seriously one should take it. In what he studied, he shows what we should be so diligent in examining. And in his purpose, he shows one of the things that study is necessary for. As Christians, we are to teach all the world (Matthew 28:18-20). We cannot do this if we do not know what we are to be teaching. We must follow the example of Ezra and study!

Lois, Eunice, and Timothy (II Timothy 3:14-15)
Lois had taught her daughter Eunice the scriptures, and in turn they both taught Timothy (II timothy 1:5). The scriptures were studied by them, even while Timothy was young. It is clear to see the importance placed on them by these godly women and this godly young man.

One of the examples shown here is of studying within the family, and the importance of such a practice. We also see that it is commendable to study with those who are young. People are never too young to begin learning God's word! And in these individuals, we see the end result of study. Because Lois studied and taught Eunice, who in turn studied and taught Timothy, who in turn studied and worked with the apostle Paul, and others, in teaching and converting untold numbers of people. Salvation is important not only for your own soul, but for other souls you can teach, study with, and influence towards salvation.

So how does your study compare with these individuals? Are you noble like the Bereans, in that you diligently seek to know and follow God's word? Are you like those Jews who studied God's word, but since you have your own ideas about how things are, you do not make application or have full understanding? Are you like Agrippa, in that other things are more important than what you know to be true? Are you like Ezra in that you prepare your heart for it and take it seriously? Are you like Louis, Eunice, and Timothy, learning the scriptures so that you may have eternal life and that you may help others have it as well?

Some People Who Studied, Part 1

While it is easy to find reasons in scripture for studying God's word, and it is not too hard to find commandments to study God's word, sometimes we neglect to look at Biblical examples of men who took the time to study the scriptures. By looking at these individuals, we can learn much about how we should go about studying, what our motivation in studying is, and how we should make application from that study. Let us take a few moments to consider some of these people.

The Bereans (Acts 17:11)
Perhaps the most well known of those who studied the word of God, the Bereans are described as being “more noble” than the Thessalonians, who almost universally rejected the gospel preached by Paul. Instead, the Bereans opened the scriptures and sought to see if what Paul taught was true and accurate.

The example they set for us is one of always comparing what is being taught with what is said by God. They hungered for what was right, and so regularly and frequently they opened the word and sought the truth of things. It is an example that we should be diligent to follow.

The Jews (John 5:39)
Christ states that the Jews searched the scriptures in search of eternal life. And it is true that such is found in the word of God. The problem was that the Jews that Christ was speaking to failed to apply it. Although they searched the scriptures, they failed to understand what was said in them, and so found themselves rejecting the Messiah that they had been looking for. The example they set for us is one we should avoid. While they studied God's word, they did so with their own ideas, seeking proof for their idea of what things should be like. In so doing they were not able to understand what God actually had said, failed to make application, and in the end, failed to gain the eternal life that they sought in the first place. We must always strive to study God's word not to prove what we think or back up our conceptions, but to see what God's word actually says.

King Agrippa (Acts 26:26-27)
While it is possible that Agrippa never diligently studied, we see that Paul notes some things that implies that he did. It is noted that Agrippa would have known of Christ, but also that Agrippa believed the prophets. And of course, that is hard to do without some time spent studying the prophets.

Sadly, King Agrippa does not set a good example for us today. Although he knew of the Christ and of the prophets that spoke of the Christ, he rejected the gospel as inconvenient. He valued his earthly position more. When we study, we must be sure to place proper importance on the things we find in the scriptures. There can be nothing more important to us than the Lord, and what He has said.