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Baptism - Why?
Baptism - Why?
One of those commandments was to be baptised in
Mark 16v15 where Jesus said unto the disciples:
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved”
Jesus said “if you love me, keep my commandments”.
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Sources
Wikipedia - Baptism
In Christianity, baptism (from Greek
βαπτίζω baptizo: "immersing",
"performing ablutions", i.e., ritual
washing) is the ritual act, with the use of
water, by which a person is admitted to
membership of the Church.
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Wikipedia - Baptism
• Most Christians baptise infants; many others
hold that only believer’s baptism is true
baptism.
• The New Testament reports that Jesus
himself was baptised.
• The usual form of baptism among the
earliest Christians was for the candidate to
be immersed totally
Infant Baptism
• The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or credobaptism, from the Latin word credo meaning "I believe," which is the religious practice of baptising only individuals who personally confess faith in Jesus, therefore excluding under aged children.
• Infant baptism is also excluded by ….., Christadelphians …
X
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Wikipedia – Believer’s baptism
• A person is baptised on the basis of his or her profession of faith in Jesus Christ and as admission into a local community of faith.
• Such baptisms are performed in various manners: believer's baptism by immersion is more common than by pouring water or sprinkling water.
Jewish practice of Immersion
Mikveh (or mikvah, both also spelled without the ending -"h") (Hebrew:
[1] מקווה orִמְקָוה , ModernMiqva TiberianMiqwāh ; plural: mikva'ot or
mikves[2] Hebrew: ִמְקֶוֹותor ִמְקָואות) is a bath used for the
purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism.
Converts to Orthodox Judaism, regardless of gender,
are also required to immerse in a mikveh
The word "mikveh", as used in the Hebrew Bible,
literally means a "collection" – generally, a collection
of water.
Several biblical regulations specify that full
immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity
after ritually impure incidents have occurred. Most
forms of impurity can be nullified through
immersion in any natural collection of water.
Dated to
AD 69
Jerusalem
Birmingham 2010:
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“Baptism” in Old Testament• We could look back at creation where we have darkness, then water is mentioned
and then light is created.
• Or at how God cleansed the earth in the time of Noah by covering it completely with
water.
• There are also many references to Ritual washing for uncleanness where it is
necessary to bathe in water:
– Leviticus 15 - 11 occurrences
– Leviticus 16 – 2 occurrences
– Leviticus 17 -2 occurrences
– Numbers 19 - 2occurrences
• Naaman was a leper - 2 kings 5 - had to go down into the water 7 times
• Israel passing through the red sea, leaving Egypt behind going to the promised land
The Old Testament is relevant - Peter
• The apostle Peter talked about Noah’s flood, and then
specifically tells us that New Testament baptism “corresponds
to this”
• God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building
of the ark, in which just 8 people were saved through water.
• “Baptism, which corresponds to this, could save you, not as a
removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a
clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who
has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.” (1 Peter 3:20-22)
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The Old Testament is relevant - Paul
• In the New Testament, the apostle Paul explicitly says that the Israelites
were “baptised”. He also mentions a number of other things that the
Israelites experienced. Then he goes on to say that these things he wrote
down “occurred as examples” for us:
• “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our
forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the
sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all
ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they
drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was
Christ. . . . Now these things occurred as examples . . . .” (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)
• Also, Hebrews 9, John 3, and Colossians 2 each point us back to various Old
Testament passages as well.
Why full immersion?
Baptism means "dipping".
It involves the complete
immersion of a person in water.
Matthew 3:13-17; “Jesus came up out of the water”
Mark 1:9-10; “Jesus baptised in the Jordan”
John 3:23; “much water there”
Acts 8:36-39 “they went down both into the water”
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What is baptism?
Baptism is by complete
immersion in water of a
person who knows the
Gospel.
Belief and baptism allow us
to share in the promises of
eternal life, and is for the
forgiveness of sins.
It’s the start of a life-long commitment to serve God.
Academic reasons for baptism
• Myths of Evolution
• The “Goldilocks” Earth
• Acceptance there is a
God that created…
• Reasons why but not
normally enough….
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When? Prophecy?
When?
World Events?
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When? Gradual Process
• A bright light like Apostle Paul?
• I doubt it.
• More often a slow drip
• A gradual realisation
• But I can be wrong
X
When? Life-changing events
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• You are turning 13,16,18,20,30,40 etc. soon
• Your friends/siblings seem to all be getting baptised.
• You’re under pressure from family, friends or people in the ecclesia.
• You are an impulsive person where you just want to “get it over with” now
• You have reservations with believing in God, accepting the Bible, or the Christadelphian interpretation of the Bible.
• You are on a “spiritual high” after an uplifting gathering or youth weekend.
Reasons to be wary
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Other reasons why not?
• I do not believe there is a God.
• I believe the Bible is true, but I know what I am
like, and I could never live up to the ideals.
• There is someone I really dislike who is a
Christadelphian, so I do not want to be one.
• I do not feel I know enough about the Bible to be
baptised.
• I know nothing about Christianity or the Bible.
• If I'm honest with myself, I know I should be
baptised, but I don't want to because of ______
Commandments not suggestions
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Baptism
“For God so loved the
world that he gave his
only begotten Son,
that whoever believes
in Him should not
perish but have
everlasting life”.
John 3:16
“Fear not, little flock;
for it is your Father’s
good pleasure to give
you the kingdom.”
Luke 12:32
Baptism
• Total Immersion in water
• Shows you accept the Gospel and its implications
• The first step in a life serving God
• An important reasoned decision not on impulse
• Don’t be pushed into it by peer or family pressure
What to do next?
• Read the leaflets quietly, read the Bible and pray
• Talk to others, parents, Sunday school teachers.
• Remember Baptism – It’s your choice IF and WHEN.
