Why Should we Baptize?

Introduction

What is Baptism?

Why do we need it?

Because Something is Different

The first reason we practice baptism of believers is because there is something intrinsically different. There is a very real spiritual change! This is also why we refuse to baptise infants. It doesn’t matter if their parents are believers, an infant has not gone under the spiritual change that Baptism is meant to represent. When we baptize someone, we are recognizing that God has done a work in their life, what theologians call regeneration. They have been brought out of darkness and into the light of God’s truth. God has put faith into a heart and it has resulted in the trust they place in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.

The theme of a changed heart and it’s relationship to baptism goes back into the old testament. Noah’s passage through the flood waters in is likened to baptism in . Peter says that baptism, which corresponds to Noah’s salvation from the flood waters, is an appeal to God for a pure conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, in the same way that Noah was saved by his faith in God’s word by walking with God in righteousness and obeying his instruction to build the ark, believers are saved through our faith in our risen Saviour Jesus Christ. Again, we see that faith is at the centre of baptism, something has changed in the heart of the person.

Of course, it is the New Testament examples of Baptism that really convince us of the need to baptize someone because of the change that faith has made in their hearts. tells us to baptise disciples, that is, baptise those who have consciously recieved the Gospel and followed the Saviour. Matthew ends with a very succinct version of what the purpose of the church is and what our work is supposed to by while we wait for his glorious return. This commission is broken down into three stages: making disciples, Baptizing disciples, and teaching disciples. This order is important, but unfortunately the church has often gotten this clear order confused. We are not to baptize those who aren’t yet believers, and we should not baptize disciples only after they have reached a certain level of training or theological knowledge. Once we know a work of the Holy Spirit has happened, Baptism is the next step.

The same is seen after Peter’s sermon at pentecost where he tells those listening to “repent and be baptised.” This repentance means a changing of ones mind, it means to stop thinking like you used to and to start thinking in a new way, one characterized by faith in Christ and a love for him and submissive obedience to his Word. Again, when it is evident that something has changed, baptism is the next logical step.

It is important to realize that what changes is a work of God, not something that we can produce in ourselves. We are unable, in our sinful nature, to truly repent because we all naturally seek our own glory rather than the glory of God. Selfishness, pride, self-sufficiency, and rebellion against God’s word all characterize our behaviour before we come to Christ in faith. In Christ we are told to soften our hearts, to put others before ourselves, to deny what we want and instead seek first the Kingdom of God.

Because of the Work of Christ

This brings us to the next reason we practice baptism, because of the Work of Christ. Yes, baptism is a recognition that something has changed, something drastic, but we are not here to give glory to the one being baptised, as if they caused this change on their own. Rather, it is a recognition of the change that God has worked in them because of the work of Christ.

says, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Now, this sprinkling is not references Baptism, what it is references is the covenant sign of the sprinkling of blood on the people while they made a covenant with God in . God is saying that in the New Covenant, the one that was created at the death and resurrection of Christ, those who are in the covenant will be given a new heart and a new spirit. This newness is a gift, one that we cannot gain ourselves, it must be given to us by grace. Baptism doesn’t cause this great work to take place, rather it acknowledges that it has, indeed, taken place. In a spiritual sense, the believer has been sprinkled with the cleansing water of the covenant that purifies their hearts through faith. Baptism is meant to be a physical proof that the church recognizes this to be true.

But beyond this, the work of Christ is mean to be highlighted and exemplified in the baptism of the believer. Not only is Baptism the evidence that someone has changed, but it is a picture of what kind of change they have gone through, it is an image that is completely Christ-centred. explains this connection clearly, “3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Because Symbols are Important

Conclusion