Stance on Baptism

​Before diving in, I want to acknowledge that there are many differences of opinion when it comes to the topics of baptism and salvation. I have done my best to be sensitive to any differences of opinion while also clearly standing on Scriptural truth as I understand it. If you happen to encounter anything within this statement or the book that you disagree with, it’s OK. At the time of writing this, I am attending a church that has a few theological positions that I disagree with, including ones on this topic. However, I know that I don't have to agree on everything in order to worship and serve with these brothers and sisters in Christ. As you are reading this, please remember that I respect your opinion, even if we don't agree on the some of the details.

I also want to state that this position has been developed by using my Bible college training in biblical exegesis (aka biblical interpretation) to take many teachings across the New Testament and harmonize them to get the full picture of what the Scriptures teach us. I have found that many controversies regarding these topics are based on many well-intentioned people having what I call a "selective theology." This phrase means that someone will cling to one verse or passage that supports their views while ignoring another that contradicts it, because the first passage was not interpreted with the context of the second passage. As political commentator Ben Shapiro has pointed out, people in our world today struggle to believe that two things can be true at the same time. While originally discussed in the content of politics, I think this is true when it comes to the Scriptures too. We need to remember that especially when it comes to God's Word (which I believe to be inspired and inerrant), two concepts that are mentioned in different passages or separate books of the Bible can be true at the same time. Scripture that is interpreted correctly will never contradict itself. So if you disagree with anything that is stated here, I ask that you double-check all the Scriptures listed and evaluate the reasoning presented to be sure that your disagreement has a solid Scriptural basis rather than being based on tradition or emotion. With that said, here's my stance on baptism that is presented in Are You Ready to Be Baptized and other resources:

According to the instructions given in the New Testament and the example set by the apostles, there are three steps given for new believers to respond to the story of the gospel and accept Christ's gift of salvation. First, we are to confess that we believe in Jesus as the Son of God (Romans 10:9). It's good to make your confession in public, and to be prepared in the future to profess your faith in Christ to anyone who asks what you believe (1 Peter 3:15). It can be easy to separate this step because it is not listed with the other two. Because of this, it is sometimes interpreted to be the only step. While Romans 10:9 does state that confessing faith in Jesus does save you, it does not cancel out other verses that state other actions that also save you.

The second step is to repent of your sins (Acts 2:48). When one repents of their sins, they are acknowledging that what they are doing is wrong, making a commitment to turn away from their sins, and making an active plan to eliminate those sins from their life. While this step may need to be repeated when we fall into sin again, the initial act of repentance is meant to be the moment of surrendering our greatest struggles to Christ, and trusting that His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to cover it (2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:9). While this is an important instruction in this process, there is no mention of repentance by itself having the power to save us. If that was the case, we would probably still be living under the Old Testament law and would not have needed Jesus' sacrifice to save us from our sins.

The final step, after you have repented of your sins, is to be baptized into Christ. When the apostles in the book of Acts were asked by new believers what they should do in response to the gospel, they were always instructed to repent and be baptized. Scripture tells us that practicing baptism and repentance in tandem are how one is forgiven of their sins and how they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:48). During His earthly ministry, Jesus set up baptism as the initiation rite into God's kingdom (Matthew 20:19). We are also told that baptism has the power to save us because it is an act of obedience (1 Peter 3:21), just as Noah and his family were saved through the waters of the flood because of His obedience to God's instructions (see 1 Peter 3:18-21, and the third to last paragraph on this page).

The decision to be baptized should be made by an adult, teen, or older child who had made the choice to follow Christ voluntarily, not an infant who cannot make the decision for themselves. According to the biblical model, it's best for baptism to happen as soon as a person makes their decision to follow Jesus or shortly after. A baptism can be performed by any believer who has been immersed themselves, but it is best for it to be performed by the person who led the new believer to Christ. A person cannot biblically baptize themselves (apparently, it is a common to Google the question "can I baptize myself?"). While it is best to do a baptism in public, they can be done in private. Rebaptism, or being baptized again, is not necessary unless you did not make the decision to be baptized yourself (like being baptized as an infant).

While saying a prayer will most likely be involved in the confession/repentance process, there is nothing in the Bible about "asking Jesus into your heart," which is commonly referred to as the "Sinner's Prayer". In fact, the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus isn't the one we're supposed to have in our hearts; it's the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22; Romans 5:5). There is no example in the New Testament of anyone receiving the Holy Spirit because they asked for Him to come into their heart. Instead, most of the people who received the Holy Spirit after the day of Pentecost received it upon the event of their baptism, just as Jesus received the Holy Spirit upon the event of His baptism (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22). While there is one example of the Holy Spirit coming into a group of people before their baptism (Acts 10:44-48), Peter instructed this group to be baptized immediately after this happened. There are also a few examples of groups of people who didn't know the Holy Spirit when they were baptized (Acts 8:14-17; Acts 19:1-7), so apostles laid hands on them so the Holy Spirit would come upon them. Even taking these exceptions into consideration, there is no example of a Spirit-Filled Christian in the New Testament who did not obey the instruction to be baptized. As I mentioned earlier, there is no mention of repentance by itself having the power to save us, while this prayer seems to suggest that it can. It also tends to encourage those who use it to make their first confession of faith in Jesus in the privacy of personal prayer, rather than making a confession in public for at least a small group of people to bear witness.

However, there are a few things that I need to explain about these views. First, God is the Righteous Judge and ultimately, a person's salvation status is a personal issue between them and God. In other words, it's not my job (or any other Christian's job) to determine whether or not someone is saved or if they have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Judging someone based on their baptism status does not demonstrate Christ's love. While I disagree with the theology behind the Sinner's Prayer, I still believe that someone who uses it in their evangelism is my brother or sister in Christ, and that we can still work together to glorify the name of Jesus.

Second, the reasons I hold these beliefs is not the one that is normally stated in these discussions. Many people that hold my views are accused by their opponents of being "baptismal regenerationists" or "water regenerationists," as if we believe that the water itself has some sort of saving power. I do not agree with this label at all and do not believe that water has the power to save us. Instead, I believe that baptism has the power to save us is because it is an act of obedience. There are two reasons for this conclusion. First, Peter made the argument that because Noah and his family were saved from the flood through through the water by their obedience, so baptism now saves us through the resurrection of Jesus if we choose to obey (see 1 Peter 3:18-21). This is also similar to what happened when Naaman was healed from his leprosy, because he obeyed Elisha's instructions to bathe seven times in the Jordan River (See 2 Kings 5:1-14; pay attention to verse 13). Second, I believe that Jesus' baptism, meant to be an example to us, was an act of obedience. When Jesus was baptized, He did not have any sins that He needed to repent from, which has caused some to argue that His baptism wasn't necessary but merely symbolic. However, I believe that the reason that this baptism was necessary because it was an act of obedience. In other words, the Father probably asked Jesus to be baptized, which is why he told John the Baptist that this baptism needed to happen to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Because we know that He didn't sin, we can conclude that when the Father asked Him to do something, He always obeyed. Just as baptism was an instruction that the Father asked Jesus to follow in obedience, Jesus asks each one of us to do the same thing.

Third, while I believe it's best for baptism to happen immediately after a person decides to follow Christ, what matters in the end is that when they do get baptized, they are choosing to obey Christ's instructions and making this decision of their own free will. Just as it was in the parable of two sons, it was the son who initially refused to obey his father but then obeyed later that did the will of his father (Matthew 21:28-31a). On the other hand, this does become a concern is when someone is told they should be baptized, but they refuse to do it. Like the second son mentioned in this same parable, they claim they are ready to obey, but when they are asked to do something they don't agree with like baptism, they try to claim that they don't need to obey because they are already a Christian without it. But as my dad taught my Sunday school class when I was in junior high, "You are no more a Christian by spending time in church then you are a Big Mac by spending time at McDonald's." If someone recognizes that that the Scriptures instruct them to be baptized, but they refuse to do it, then they are acting in disobedience. That is something that they need to work out with the Lord.

Lastly, while there is quite a variety of options on this subject, our relationships with other believers should be more important than winning theological debates. Are You Ready to Be Baptized contains a whole section to help a student navigate an argument with a friend who disagrees with them on baptism, helping them be honest about their beliefs without damaging their relationship. Alienating others just to prove your point doesn't demonstrate Christ's love to the person you are arguing with. Instead, we should focus on what we agree on - that Jesus came to earth, died for our sins on the cross, and rose again to give us new life in Him. We can learn how to respect each other's views, even if we disagree. 
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