A Little Q & A For Your Day -- From The Enon Church of Christ

Dear Sir:  A friend of mine wants me to be baptized.  I have just come out of a very strict church and I want no part of any church ordinances, like baptism.  I just want to do what God says.

The Answer:

I commend you for your desire to just do what God commands.  Everyone should have that attitude.  So, look at what God has said about baptism.  "And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16).  When Jesus gave the great commission, sending the apostles into all the world with the good news, Jesus commanded them to baptize those who believed.  Baptism was commanded by Jesus as part of the good news, or gospel message.  Clearly, Jesus did not intend for baptism to be merely a church ordinance, but it was a part of the message of salvation.

When the first gospel sermon was preached after Jesus ascended to heaven, Peter convicted the crowd of their sins.  "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ- this Jesus whom you crucified.  Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts2:36-38).  Peter explained the role of baptism very clearly in these verses.  It is to follow repentance.  It is to be in the name of (that is, by the authority of) Jesus Christ.  When a person is baptized, sin is forgiven and the Holy Spirit is given.  Baptism was not merely a church ordinance, but was central to the process of being cleansed and redeemed.

Baptism does play a role in becoming part of the church, or body of Christ. "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Cor. 12:12-14).  Paul says many different parts make up the body. Some of those parts may have been Jewish, other parts may have been Greek.  But all the parts are added to the body in the same way, by baptism.  Baptism puts you, and all other believers, into the body of Christ.  Baptism is not a church ordinance in the sense that men decide what you should do to be in a church.  Baptism is a command of God that, when obeyed, adds you to the body of Christ, the church.

Also, baptism is the means by which you die to sin.  "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3-4).  Paul says we have died to sin when we join Jesus in His death.  This takes place at baptism when we are "baptized into His death".  In the act of baptism we are raised to a new life, a new relationship to God through the death of His Son.

So, what about baptism?  If the good news of the gospel is important, so is baptism, for it is part of the good news.  If forgiveness of sin is important, so is baptism, because those baptized are forgiven.  If being part of the body of Christ, the church, is important, so is baptism, because that is how we are added to the body.  If dying to sin and living for God are important, so is baptism, because in baptism we join Jesus in His death and leave sin behind to walk in newness of life.  As you can see, God has much to say about whether you should be baptized.  No matter what any church might say or suggest, God is clear about what you should do.  Be baptized, not because of some church policy, but because God commands it.

I hope this helps.

Have a Great Weekend!