THE TRUTH IN PRINT
July 2003, Vol. 9: Issue 6.
A Publication of the Valley
(928) 539-7089
Baptism As Taught From The
Bible
By Bob W. Lovelace
Dear reader Jesus commissioned His apostles
with these words: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. [16] He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk.
A friend with whom I have been discussing
baptism recently showed me the following definition for baptism in the Catholic
Encyclopedia under the heading, “Baptism, Sacrament of.” This reads: “The
sacrament in which, by pouring water upon a person or immersing him in water,
and using the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit,” the one baptized is cleansed of original sin and (in the case of one who has reached the age
of reason) of particular sin; he is incorporated into Christ and made a member
of His Body the Church; he is infused with sanctifying grace and receives the
theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, and the gifts of the Holy
Spirit; and this enables him to receive the other sacraments effectively. The
minister of Baptism is ordinarily a bishop, priest or deacon, but in an
emergency anyone can baptize validly.
If it is impossible for an individual to
receive the baptism of water, the same benefits can be supplied by “baptism of
blood” (whereby martyrdom is suffered for the Catholic Faith or for some
virtue) or by “baptism of desire” (whereby a person has perfect contrition and
at least the implicit intention of fulfilling God’s will for man’s
salvation). (Our Sunday Visitor’s
Catholic Encyclopedia, Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas,
Ph.D., S.T.L. Editor)
Dear reader directly underneath this
explanation of baptism from the Catholic church’s
teaching authority is a picture of a “Baptismal Font.” This is defined as a
fixed basin used in Baptism. Note: the basin does not appear in the
illustration to be very large and thus it would seem that it is used for
pouring. The explanation for its use is, “The person to be baptized bends or is
held over it while water is poured over the head, or is immersed, since the
Order of Baptism promulgated after Vatican II permits immersion.” Note: this
must refer to the “pouring” of infants as well as others who desire the use of
the water in the basin. Question: Where do we find “pouring” as baptism in the
New Testament scriptures for the baptism that was necessary for one to receive
the forgiveness of their own sins? Being simply a Christian the idea of pouring
from this font is an addition to what the New Testament teaches about baptism.
I have read the New Testament and it certainly commands immersion as scriptural
baptism (see Mk.
Following the statement that “the Order of
Baptism promulgated after Vatican II permits immersion” the Catholic
Encyclopedia continues with, “This was the custom of the early Church, so new
fonts are often built to facilitate the practice.” Note: it appears here that
the Catholic church’s teaching authority understands
that immersion was indeed practiced by Christ’s church at the beginning. Again,
I would stress that the New Testament command to those who heard the gospel
preached was “be baptized... for the remission of your sins,” and the word
baptized means to be immersed! (Acts
1. Strong’s
definitions ~ G907
bap-tid'-zo From
a derivative of G911; to make whelmed (that is, fully wet);
…”
2. W.E.
Vine’s Expositiory Dictionary of New Testament Words
says: “baptism,” consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and
emergence (from bapto, "to dip"), is used
(a) of John's "baptism," (b) of Christian "baptism," (A-1,Noun,908,baptisma).
Next from the Catholic Encyclopedia it
says, “The Order of Baptism mandates blessing fresh (or living) water for each
Baptism except during the Easter Season, when what was blessed at the Easter
Vigil is used.” Again I must say that I have never read in any of the New
Testament scriptures where baptism is commanded and exampled in one’s personal
obedience that there is any order on “blessing” the water! The element of water
certainly has a place in baptism for the scriptures teach that the element for
such is water (Eph.
Acts 8:34-39 (KJV)
“And the eunuch answered Philip, and said,
I pray thee, of whom speaketh
the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
[35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus. [36] And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water;
what doth hinder me to be baptized? [37] And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart,
thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. [38] And he
commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. [39] And when they were come
up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch
saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”
You will kindly note that the eunuch had
Christ preached to him by Philip and then upon his own confession of Christ
(this was based upon his own belief in Jesus as the Son of God, thus deity) he
was baptized, just like Jesus instructed in Mark
I will gladly tell you what I do find in
the New Testament concerning baptism into Christ for the remission of sins. The
teaching of Christ during His personal ministry, the cases of conversion
recorded in the book of Acts and statement in the epistles in the New Testament provide those interested in
learning what they must do to be saved with sufficient information to guide
them to the Truth and salvation in Christ (John 8:32).
I know
that the New Testament, the will of Christ, teaches that a proper candidate for
baptism such as the eunuch (see Acts
1. Is capable of HEARING and UNDERSTANING the
teaching of Christ, the New Testament (Mark 16:15-16; Romans 10:14; Acts
16:30-32).
2. Is capable
of BELIEVING in Christ as the Son of God (the deity of Christ) based upon
having been taught the Gospel, the New Testament (Mark 16:16; John 12:46; Acts
10:34; 16:30-32; Rom. 10:9-10).
3. Is willing to REPENT and turn to God with a desire to do His
will (Acts
4. Is willing to CONFESS with their own mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead (
5. Is willing
to obey from their heart the command to BE BAPTIZED for the remission of their
sins (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4,17; Col. 2:11-12; I Pet. 3:21).
For a complete study of baptism with the
cases of conversion in Acts go to Fundamental Lessons on the Church, Lesson
Three at our:
ON LINE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE!
Series: "Fundamental Lessons on the Church."
Lesson Three:
Membership Requirements According to the First Century Revelation