Have you ever wondered... What does it really mean to be baptised?
Why receive water baptism?
In Christianity, across the majority of denominations / within the Christian community, baptism is a deeply rooted, well-known and well-established sacrament and / or ordinance. Drawing from multiple / repeated Biblical records as a personal command and institution by Jesus Christ (Matthew 28: 19-20), the significance of baptism cannot be overstated and is widely acknowledged.
The shared belief is that baptism is a supposed rite of entry for individuals to be admitted into the fellowship of the church / the church’s spiritual family. Most then go on to believe that it is in baptism that the sins that individuals are earnestly repentant of are forgiven, removed, and remembered no more by God. This is made possible because of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ that the water in baptism represents (Romans 6: 4, 1 Peter 1: 18-19).
However, what baptism means to different Christian denominations and the degree of emphasis on baptism varies based on two overarching schools of thought – baptism is an essential sacrament, a channel through which God freely gives His believers grace and salvation, and baptism as an ordinance, a mere outward practice to be carried out by choice / as a result of conscious decision-making on the basis of individuals’ faith in God and obedience to His commands.
Is water baptism equally important across different Christian denominations?
One of the most prominent, if not, the most prominent Christian denominations, Catholics, include baptism as one and the first of the seven sacraments believed to be an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ Himself and entrusted to the Church. They believe in the existence of a direct link / relationship between baptism and eternal life, and thus, the need for baptism to be saved from this life. Individuals in the Catholic Church receive only one baptism and are considered to have entered the body of Christ henceforth.
Baptism is acknowledged in the Catholic faith to have the following five effects:
It forgives all sins that were committed before baptism including original, mortal, and venial sin.
It makes the baptised a new creature.
It turns the baptised into a newly adopted son or daughter of God and a member of the Church.
It brings them to share in the royal priesthood of Christ. (1 Peter 2: 9)
It leaves a spiritual mark (or character) of belonging to Christ on the soul of the baptised.
Conversely, a growing number of other Christian denominations, such as the Pentecostals and Evangelicals, believe in doing away with all sacraments and ordinances recorded in the Bible. They believe that, in today’s modern-day context, there is clear distinction and no more correlation between the promise of being saved from this life and the actions or practices instituted by Jesus that must follow.
These denominations believe and preach strongly that what Jesus commanded His disciples and apostles to do was completely symbolic and that only the faith and spiritual teachings behind the sacraments need to be followed. Sacraments and ordinances are viewed as signs, signifiers or seals of grace already given and received, rejecting the notion that they are passages of grace and requisite requirements for salvation.
A common verse they point to is Romans 3: 22-26, which, taken out of context, may be interpreted as God’s saving grace no longer granted because of the faith and obedience of rituals, but granted as long as individuals have inwardly confessed their belief in Him.
Other verses often cited by those who disagree with the belief that baptism is necessary for salvation are Ephesians 2: 8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”, and Titus 3: 4-7, “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
They argue that the grace of salvation is a gift and blessing from God, a blessing, deserving of it or not, God grants to whomever He chooses, and cannot be earned or achieved through any of man’s good works or physical means, including baptism.
They then point to the unprecedented example of the thief on the cross who was saved by Jesus without being baptised. In Luke 23: 39-43, the thief recognised Jesus as the blameless Son of God and asked Him to remember him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus responded by telling him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” These denominations use this example to further emphasise that salvation is available to anyone who simply truly professes that Jesus is Christ, regardless of their baptism status.
Why is water baptism so important to the True Jesus Church?
In the True Jesus Church, we believe, without a shadow of doubt, that baptism and salvation are mutually dependent and inseparable – one cannot occur in the absence of the other. When the Bible has been read, understood, and interpreted in its entirety, various references throughout it point to the absolute necessity of starting a new life in Christ through baptism.
The key effects of baptism are as follows – to be forgiven of our sins, to be born again, to be in Christ, and to become children of God.
The Forgiveness of Sins
According to Romans 6: 3-8, in baptism, our old sinful selves, being spiritually crucified on the cross with Jesus, are destroyed. We become freed from the bondage of sin. Hebrews 9: 13-14 tells us that the blood Jesus shed for us has the power to wash our sins away and cleanse our conscience. Acts 2: 38 and Acts 22: 16 state even more plainly that baptism is for the forgiveness of our sins.
Being Born Again
Since our old sinful selves have died and been buried with Christ, just as Christ overcame death on the third day, we too, in our new selves, are raised with Christ. Baptism, through Christ, is the washing of regeneration (Titus 3: 5) that allows true believers to be born again (John 3: 3-5) and start anew in and with Christ (Colossians 2: 12-13).
Being in or Belonging to Christ
Being baptised into Christ points directly to the putting on of and belonging to Christ (Galatians 3: 27-29), a change in identity to being that of Christ’s. Each of us upon baptism becomes profitable members of the whole body of Christ, that is the one True Church (1 Corinthians 12: 12-13, Colossians 1: 24) – Jesus, through the sacrifice of His life, recreated mankind and enabled believers and Himself to become one body (John 19: 30-35, Ephesians 5: 25-27).
Becoming Children of God
God sent Jesus to redeem those who were under the law, that is all of us, so that we might be adopted as His sons (Galatians 3: 26, 4: 3-7). We were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ during baptism (1 Peter 1: 18-19) and our new status as children of God is confirmed and evidenced by the workings of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 8: 11-17).
The cumulation of God’s great grace and mercy is in baptism. God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, opened the one way of salvation. Baptism was not instituted for the trivial removal of physical filth from the flesh by water but is an answer of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3: 21). We have this good conscience because God has chosen to forgive us, chosen to forget and put to death our old sinful selves, and allowed us to step into new lives in Him.