Does the Bible really say... Baptism

What is Baptism

We are asking the question in these studies about what the Bible really says. To do this we will be very heavily in the bible. We will be thorough, and look at each verse in context. Some of our concussions may rub you the wrong way, because sadly many of our church doctrines are no longer solely based on the Scripture, but have been built up with tradition instead. So I encourage you, to stay for the whole lesson, and take notes of the things you don’t like or feel are off, and examine weather it is your tradition that is being rubbed wrong, or if I am misusing the bible.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Baptism

The Gk verb for “baptize,” baptizein, is formed from baptein, “dip,” and means “dip frequently or intensively, plunge, immerse.” By Plato’s time and onwards it is often used in a figurative sense (e.g., in the passive, “soaked” in wine, Plato Symp. 176 B). It appears 4 times in the LXX: 4 Kgdms 5:14 (Naaman in the Jordan), Jdt 12:7 (purification), Sir 34:25—Eng 34:25 (purification after touching a corpse), Isa 21:4 (figuratively of lawlessness). The noun baptisma is only used in Christian literature, where it refers to the baptism of John or to Christian baptism. The word baptismos is used in a wider sense for dipping, washing (of dishes Mark 7:4), of ritual washings (Heb 9:10); John’s baptism, Joseph.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Infant Baptism

Infant Baptism. Although from the first *Baptism was the universal means of entry into the Christian community, the NT contains no specific authority for its administration to infants. But by a tradition at least as old as the 3rd cent., and virtually universal until the *Reformation, children born to Christian parents have been baptized in infancy. In the 16th cent. this practice (‘paedobaptism’) was rejected by the *Anabaptists and since the early 17th cent. also by the *Baptists (and later by the *Disciples of Christ).

So this is the definition of baptism, the next question is who needs it, and most importantly who commands it?

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 28

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 “aGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Here we see that Jesus tells His Disciples to o baptise people from Every nation. So here we have the Who commands it (Jesus) and the who needs it (everyone). We read a very similar thing in Marks account of the Great Commission.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 16

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

Now there are those who do not take this last part of the book of Mark as true scripture. many believe it was added later as part of church tradition. So we will keep looking at what the New Testament has to say on the topic of Baptism, and see if this is in fact still in line with the rest of the scripture.

We do see another Baptism in the NT that is not comanded by Jesus, it is in fact before Jesus even starts His Earthly ministry. And thats with John the Baptist in Matthew 6. It tells us that John is baptising for repentance, and many come, but this is what John had to say about his baptism and that of Jesus.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 3

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

So here, we do see a difference in their baptisms, John himself says they are different, so from here on out, lets just look at the one Jesus commands.

The first time Jesus hints to the idea of His Baptism, is in John 3. Most people only know this chapter because of verse 16, but before that, Jesus and Nicodemus has an interesting conversation.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 3

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these bsigns that You do unless God is with him.”

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”

10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?

11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.

12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His conly begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”