 |
 |
|
Student Work Sample |
Wet or Damp, Infant or Old: Introduction
I
am 14 years old and have been attending Adams United Methodist
Church in Lothian, Maryland my whole life. I was baptized at the age
of about 1 year old. I have heard the story of my baptism plenty of
times. The half dozen baptisms I have seen were all the same. The
pastor always baptizes babies. The pastor takes a baby, no younger 6
than months old; the baby probably is dressed in a white dress for a
girl, or suit for a boy. Then the pastor calls the family and
friends of the child to come to the front with a Bible. He asks the
congregation to turn to a specific part of the Bible where there is
a prayer that my congregation uses when a baptism is being held.
Then the congregation says the prayer. After the prayer is over, the
pastor sprinkles drops of water on the baby’s head, while saying a
prayer. Many times, at this point, the baby starts to cry. Then the
pastor kisses the baby while the congregation claps and smiles. He
passes the baby back to his parents. The family then returns to
their seats. I
went through 14 years of my life not questioning the ritual of
infant baptism. I never really thought of it an important issue. I
did not think baptizing babies was any different from another type
of baptism, I thought they were all the same.
Now
I attend Genesis Christian Academy. All of my classmates are
Christians. We attend a variety of different churches, where
different Christian principals and rituals are taught and practiced.
Christian Studies is at the core of our curriculum. From my
Christian Studies class as well as from talking to my friends about
what they believe and how they worship, I found out many things I
did not know. One of those things was another kind of baptism, which
is called “believer’s baptism”. I would describe it as a
baptism that takes place when you are old enough to understand what
it means to be saved and to be a Christian. Now
I wonder if I am saved, since I was baptized as a baby, and I don’t
even remember it. Do I need to be baptized again? What does baptism
have to do with being saved, anyway? Does it matter if you are
immersed in water, or simply sprinkled with water? What about the
other kind of baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Who came up with the idea of infant baptism, and what were
they thinking about? And who decided that once you accept Jesus
Christ as your savior, it doesn’t really count unless you get wet
afterwards? This paper will examine the debate over believer’s baptism versus infant baptism. After defining baptism, I will explain the scriptural basis of support for each view, and the history of each practice of in the Christian church. Finally, I pray that God will give me an understanding of what it is He would have me do in regards to baptism. What is Baptism? There are many different kinds of baptisms. A Baptism is a religious ceremony that represents the salvation that we get from Jesus Christ. In this ceremony, a person can be baptized by the sprinkle of water or by being immersed into the water. In English when someone refers to the word baptism, one associates this with a religious practice. The word “baptism” in Greek means to immerse, cause to be dipped, to submerge, and to overwhelm. During the time of Christ, if someone referred to baptism, it would be assumed they were talking about dying cloth. The act of the cloth going down in the water is just like a person being immersed into the water. When the cloth comes out of the water, it will never go back to its original state. It will always be the color that it was dyed. No one will ever think of it as a white piece of cloth again. Additionally, the term baptism also meant to be overwhelmed. “Overwhelmed” was baptisms most common definition in the Greek-speaking world. All of these examples suggest immersion, being so very overwhelmed by something that it becomes part of your identity. Likewise, the ritual of Christian baptism represents a permanent change of identity that has taken place in the life of a believer. Baptisms
in the New Testament
The first baptisms in the New Testament were not performed in the name of Jesus Christ, but by John the Baptist. Baptizing in the days of Christ was a right of initiation to something new. To be water baptized was a sign of adherence to the teachings of the respective teacher. John taught repentance for the repentance for the remission of sins. Those who received his teaching had to repent. The practice of water baptism appears in the Bible first with the appearance of John the Baptist. John baptized individuals in the water as a ceremony that would publicly identify them with their sins and need for repentance. “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all of the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.”(Mark 1:4,5)
When Jesus went to John to be baptized, John argued with
Jesus, because John knew that Jesus was the Messiah, so he was
confused why Jesus would request John’s baptism of repentance.
However, upon Jesus insistence, John consented (Matthew 3:15). As he
dedicated himself, Jesus stated, “Let it be so now; it is proper
for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then all who
witnessed the ceremony heard and saw that Jesus was filled with the
Holy Spirit, and identified by God as His Beloved Son. Christian baptism is a dedication to follow the lord Jesus Christ and to be his disciple. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). In Christian baptism, you must identify yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ. When you are baptized, you make covenant with God to submit yourself to obey the Spirit of God. In order to make this dedication, you must repent. Then you must confess all your sins to God. John prophesied that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. “John answered them all, I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”(Luke 3:16). Paul says we are baptized by one spirit into one body. “For we were all baptized by one spirit into one spirit into one body whether Jews Greeks, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). In these verses, the spirit is described as the agent of baptism. Interestingly, what we are identified with is the body, with Jesus as the head and the other believers as the members. 1 Peter 3:21 clarifies that the ceremony of washing is not the significant part. “And this water symbolizes baptism that know saves you also not the removal of the dirt from the body but the pledge of good conscience toward God. It saves by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Baptism
as a Christian Ceremony
There are two different kinds of physical baptism. They are
infant baptism and believers baptism. Infant
baptism
is the sprinkling or immersion of infants for the purpose of
invoking the promise of eternal life that God gives to those who
confess their belief in Him.. Though the exact purpose of it differs
from group to group, usually it implies that the child thereby
receives salvation in some sense. Infant baptism is practiced by the
Roman Catholic Church, the various groups of Eastern Orthodoxy, as
well as by most of the denominations that withdrew from Rome during
the Protestant Reformation, including Lutheran, Anglican,
Presbyterian, and Methodist. In almost all the polity manuals of
denominations that baptize infants, it is stated that when a baby is
brought to a minister of religion and sprinkled with a few drops of
water, accompanied by a specified and recited formula, the child is
then declared to have become: "A member of Christ, a child of
God and an inheritor of the kingdom of God." The minister is
also instructed to say, after the baby has been christened:
"Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that then child is, by
baptism, regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ's church,
let us give thanks to almighty God for these benefits." Believer’s baptism is identification with Christ.
This ritual imitates the life of Christ, in that he was baptized and
received the Holy Spirit before He began His public ministry. It
also is symbolic of the works and sacrifice of Christ to save
mankind. He died, was buried, and rose again the third day.
Entering the water represents submitting your old, sinful being to
Christ. Submersion in the water symbolizes the death, the
sacrificial death of Christ for the sins of the world. Emergence
from the water represents the resurrection of Christ, and the new
birth of a new believer in Christ. After
our baptism, we look back on it as reminder to us of the
"newness of life" that should characterize a child of God. Believer’s baptism is practiced by Baptists, and
Fundamentalist and Charismatic Christians, as well as many Christian
sects whose doctrines vary widely from mainstream Christian
theology, like Jehovah’s witnesses. Why
Do Some Christians Practice Believer’s Baptism? Those who agree with the
doctrine of believer’s baptism believe that that for baptism to be
significant, one must be to be old enough to make a decision for
Christ. In addition to age and understanding being a factor, some
think that if you do not go into the water you are not really being
baptized, because your not following in the footsteps of Jesus, who
was immersed into the water. According
to A.P. Gibbs, in his article, Christian Baptism: An
ordinance to be scripturally valid must meet a three-fold
requirement. First, it must be commanded by the Lord
Jesus in the Gospels. Second, it must be practiced by the
early disciples, as recorded in the Acts. Third, it must be
expounded in the Epistles. Only baptism and the Lord's supper
meets this threefold test. Based
on these requirements we can understand the argument that believer’s
baptism through immersion is the only valid, scripturally based
practice. The
Lord specifically commands the disciples to baptize new believers.
Matthew 28:19-20, and Mark 16:15-16 set forth the Lord's commission
to His disciples in regard to baptism: Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to
the very end of the age. However, the Lord never mentions water, and
He never says to dunk, not sprinkle. So while we know that we are to
be baptized, Jesus may very well be referring to baptism of the Holy
Spirit. Second,
do we have the apostolic example, as recorded in the Acts of the
Apostles? Again the answer is in the affirmative. Ten times it is
recorded that believers in Christ were baptized on their profession
of faith in Him. In each case baptism did not precede, but
always followed conversion. Believer’s baptism Christians
always point out that there is not a single case of infant baptism
recorded these pages; Acts 1:5, 2:38, 2:41, 8:12, 8:13, 8:16, 8:36,
8:38, 9:18, 10:47). However, as was mentioned earlier, many whole
households were baptized, which probably included children. Baptism
does meet Gibbs’ third test, but again, it is not clear whether
Paul is referring to baptism in the Holy Spirit, of physical water
baptism. The spiritual significance of baptism is plainly revealed
in Romans 6, for instance. While water baptism is not the subject of
this chapter, it is mentioned in order to illustrate the believer's
identification with the Lord Jesus. Paul takes it for granted that
those to whom he wrote had been baptized in a scriptural manner, for
he wrote: "Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore
buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we
too may live a new life. " Here again “baptism into Jesus
Christ” sounds more like a Holy Spirit transaction into new
existence, than a ritual or ceremony. In Ephesians, Paul uses
baptism to illustrate the unity into which each Christian has been
brought. In Colossians, baptism is used to show that a believer has
been put in a new existence through the death and resurrection of
Christ. Therefore,
the ordinance of baptism meets the “threefold test” of its
validity based on scripture. Why
Do Some Christians Practice Infant Baptism? Although infant baptism is not
actually in the Bible, those who believe in this doctrine point to
the fact that infant’s are born into a state of original sin.
Following the teaching of an early church father, St. Augustine,
they argue that the sooner and infant is saved from original sin
through baptism, the sooner and easier the road to personal
confirmation of the decision that was made for them to follow
Christ. Infant baptism doctrine uses
examples of the practices of God in relationship to blessings and
curses on families to support the idea that a parent’s baptism of
his child can impute salvation to the child. Those subscribing to
the infant baptism doctrine believe that God saves and preserves
whole families and households. The belief that God makes promises on
behalf of the whole family and future generations is one of the
principles of Covenant Theology, a doctrine developed by an early
church father named John Calvin.
In Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), it was adults
who were committing horrible sins. But God destroyed the parents and
their children, the entire city. When God battled the false Gods of
Egypt with ten different plagues (Exodus 7-11), it was the evil of
the adult Egyptians that he was attacking. Yet, all the families in
Egypt felt the death of the first born, individually innocent
children. The Bible says that Noah was a righteous man. It does not
speak to the goodness or evil of his children: “This
is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among
the people of his time, and he walked with God”
(Genesis 6:9). Based on these scriptures, it can be argued that if
God’s curse of destruction to adults includes their children, then
his promise of blessings to adults must include their children as
well. Besides drawing from patterns of God’s behavior
in the Old Testament, one can look at real
New Testament examples of baptism of whole households, which must
have included
children. “So,
he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then
they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days” (Acts 12:48). The
jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul
and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must
I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household" (Acts
29-31).
There is another kind of baptism
called baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said that we would "receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8.), power to live holy lives,
power to witness, power to pray, to understand scripture, to
minister, and to lay our lives down. (Acts 9:17-20; John 16:14; Luke
24:24; Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit is to be received by all
believers so that they can receive, with the power, certain
"gifts" from God: gifts of healing, power of wisdom, power
of faith, power of knowledge, power of miracles, and power to speak
the truth of God. In other words, the Holy Spirit is to be received
to receive power to be the active "body of Christ"
ministering in the earth today. The Apostle Paul said for us to
"earnestly desire spiritual gifts" (1Corinthians 12:31;
14:1). Conclusion Some people say that since a baby came in a world of sin, that the best thing to do is to baptize them as quick as possible. Then others say that you have to be at an age old enough to understand what it means to be saved or what it means to be Christian. Some say that sprinkling is alright, because it is a symbolic act. Others say that you must drown the sinful self through total physical immersion. To those who are making the arguments, the real debate is not about getting damp versus getting soaked, or being baptized at six months or twelve years old. The important question that those who devote themselves to the baptism debate are trying to answer is: What must I do to be saved? But Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.” So that means as long you confess in your heart that Jesus Christ is your lord and savior you will be saved. So it does not matter if you’re baptized as a child or a man as long as you are baptized in the Holy Spirit. This baptism is initiated with your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. The ceremony that follows is simply that, a witness and testimony of the change that has already taken place. I was baptized as an infant. This year I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and my savior. I did not worry about if I was saved or not until I heard this topic. Now I know that I am saved and I do not worry about it any more because, I know that the most important thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation. References
Demichele,
Rick, Believer’s Baptism in the Bible, file
//A:BELIEVER’SBAPTISMINTHEBIBLE.htm http://encarta.msn.com (10 June. 2002) |
|
|
Copyright (c) Genesis Christian Church 2014. All rights reserved.