Another common teaching is a combination of humanism and grace. Such a belief states that certain good deeds (like baptism, communion, confession, faithfulness, etc.) in addition to the death of Christ are necessary for salvation. This belief is totally inconsistent with the above Scriptures. Grace combined with religious humanism is no longer grace!

 

The Word of God is clear on the subject of salvation. Only faith in Christ alone results in salvation from sins. Praise God!

5. WHY DO SOME BELIEVE BAPTISM IS NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?
Well-meaning sincere people have wrongly concluded that baptism is necessary for salvation because of misunderstanding a few passages of Scripture. These verses should be carefully examined.

ACTS 2:38: Peter said, "Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins." This is a favorite verse of those who believe baptism is necessary for salvation. The key to understanding the verse is the little word "for" ("eis" in the Greek). The word "for" in Acts 2:38 does not mean "in order to obtain," but means "because of." The following two sentences illustrate the difference in meaning:

*He won the victory for the trophy. (Here "for" means "in order to obtain.")

*He won the trophy for the victory. (Here "for" means "because of.")

Thus the verse in Acts 2:38 does not mean be baptized in order to obtain forgiveness of sins, but because of the forgiveness of sins.

MARK 16:16: Jesus said, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved." Notice He did not say "He who has believed must be baptized in order to be saved." One must be cautious not to add more than Christ said. Please read all of the following statements which are true, but have nothing to do with requirements for salvation:*One who believes in Christ shall be saved.

*One who believes in Christ and has been baptized shall be saved.*One who believes in Christ, has been baptized and joins the church shall be saved.

*One who believes in Christ, has been baptized, joins a church and witnesses for Christ shall be saved.All of the above statements are true, yet only faith in Christ is necessary for salvation. All the other good works come as a result ofobedience to the Savior. Further, in Mark 16:16b the condemnation is based only upon disbelief; baptism is not mentioned!

ACTS 22:16: In Paul's recounting of his conversion experience, Ananias told Paul to "Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins." However, a more literal translation is helpful here. "Arise, get yourself baptized and get your sins washed away, having calledon His name." Ananias was not telling Paul to literally have his sins washed away by baptism, but figuratively or symbolically. Paul already had called on the name of Christ. Even Ananias called Paul "brother" back in verse 13. Paul was born again because he called upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). He was then instructed to be baptized as a symbol of his cleansing.

I PETER 3:21: Peter taught that "baptism now saves you." The context, however, identifies the baptism as a figure or likeness or type. Just as the story of Noah and the ark illustrates salvation from judgment, so baptism is a figure of salvation from judgment. He clearly states that baptism is not "for the removal of dirt," but is an "appeal to God." An appeal is a testimony or outward answer of one's belief.

CONCLUSION
It is important to consider Paul's view of baptism. He said in I Corinthians 1:14, "I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius." We can be certain that if baptism were necessary for salvation, Paul would never have made such a statement! If baptism were necessary for salvation, then Paul laid an incomplete foundation (I Cor. 3:10-1 1 )1

One may wonder why the thief on the cross has not been presented as evidence that baptism is not necessary for salvation. He was promised Paradise by Jesus and yet never had been baptized. However, the entire event is pre-pentecost, and therefore pre-church. The thief on the cross, like all the Old Testament saints, had no instructions on baptism. Since the thief on the cross was a pre-church saint he cannot be used as evidence for the church-age saint's baptismal standards.

6. BAPTISM IS A TESTIMONY TO OTHERS
Baptism gives testimony of faith in Christ to the baptizer and any others watching the service. The degree of privacy or publicity in Acts is not stressed, yet there is no attempt to baptize in secrecy. Acts 2:41 seems to indicate a crowd. Acts 8:38 seems to show only a few. Obviously, there is always at least one to witness the testimony -- the baptizer! In the Book of Acts, the witnesses of baptismal services were usually Christians. Baptism is for the church family.’ It shows the excitement of new brothers and sisters inChrist. Baptism is not primarily an announcement of one's salvation to the unsaved world, but rather to the body of Christ.

7. BAPTISM IS A STEP OF OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST
When a believer is baptized, he is obeying His Lord. The convert is saying in action, "1 will do whatever the Lord asks -- even getting dunked under water." Baptism is a beginning of the Lordship of Christ. "Be baptized" in Acts 22:16 is a permissive middle in the Greek language meaning "allow yourself to be baptized,"
Because of the importance of the baptismal testimony (both to the convert and the church), baptism was always encouraged immediately upon conversion in Acts. Evidently the full teaching concerning the meaning and significance was done after the experience.

The principle for today is that we should not be concerned that one being baptized knows all the doctrine on baptism before he can be baptized. Some basic teaching is important, but much of the understanding of the meaning of baptism comes after the experience. This can be compared to salvation. One usually trusts in Christ, knowing only the fundamentals, then later discovers more fully the wonderful doctrine of salvation. Obedience, not complete understanding, is what matters most to God,

II. THE METHOD OF BAPTISM
Today there are many different procedures employed in baptism. The common modes of baptism are as follows: (1) sprinkling water with trine action; (2) pouring water in trine action; (3) immersing in water once backwards; (4) immersing in water three times backwards; and (5) immersing in water three times forward. One must be careful not to give up and say, "it doesn't really matter." We should never take any subject of the Bible lightly. Such a loose attitude when applied to any other doctrine opens doors to wishy-washy teaching. Every believer should humbly (not arrogantly, nor argumentatively) and firmly hold to biblical convictions concerning the mode of baptism. We can be thankful the Bible does teach the method or mode of baptism in Matthew 28:19. The Book of Acts gives many examples of the practice itself, but does not explain a method. The epistles explain some of the spiritual significance of baptism, but only Matthew 28:19 sets forth the method itself.

1. THE WORD "BAPTISM" BEST FITS TRINE IMMERSION
The word "baptism" is not a translation, but a transliteration of the Greek word "baptidzo." When the translators of the Bible came to the word baptidzo, they decided to make up a word that sounded like the Greek word 'baptidzo." This is called transliteration. They were afraid to translate the word, because it meant something different than what the church was practicing! The church was generally practicing sprinkling, when the word "baptizo" meant "to immerse." Had the early translators possessed more fortitude and translated the word baptidzo, rather than transliterating it, what controversy it would have solved! Today the most reputable Greek lexicons (lexicons are dictionaries of foreign languages) define "bapto" (the root of "baptidzo") to mean an act of immersion under water. Here are some notable samples:

*Kitfie's, Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words: "to dip in or under"

*Thayer's, Greek-English Lexicon: "to dip, dip in, immerse"

*Bauer. Arndt and Gingrich's, A Greek-English Lexicon: "dip, dip in"*Liddel and Scott's, Greek-English Lexicon: "dip"

The word "baptidzo" also may mean repeated dippings. The "idzo" ending on the word can mean either intensive action or repeated action. Both Robertson's Greek Grammar (p. 1,49) and Green's Grammar (p. 148) explain that the "idzo" ending may mean repetitive action. The evidence favors repeated action when the "idzo" ending is applied to “bapto." Thayer actually defines "baptidzo" to mean "to dip repeatedly." There is also support from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament). In 2 Kings 5:14, the Septuagint uses the word "baptidzo" in a context of repeated dippings. The verse reads in part, "dipped himself seven times."
In summary the word "bapto" means "to immerse" and the “'idzo" ending can mean "repeatedly." Thus, "baptidzo," the Greek word for baptism, can be legitimately translated "to dip or immerse repeatedly."

2. THE SENTENCE STRUCTURE OF MATTHEW 28:19 BEST FITS TRINE IMMERSION.
The word "name" is singular in Matthew 28:19. It must be supplied in thought before each of the names of the Godhead, otherwise Matthew 28:19 would mean God's name includes two 'ands". If the word "name" were to be plural "names" then one might conclude the sentence structure permitted single immersion. Such a sentence would be diagrammed as follows:

Another more probable way of expressing single immersion would be using a "Granville Sharp" construction. This is a rather technical Greek grammatical rule which would be beyond the average Christian's grasp. But a simplified explanation is possible. The literal Greek wording would be as follows:

"baptizing them into the name of the God and the Father and Son and Holy Spirit."

Notice the addition of "the God," the definite article "the" before Father, and the absence of the definite article "the" before "Son" and "Holy Spirit." Such a Greek wording could be translated into English as follows (teaching single immersion):

"baptizing them into the name of God, that is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

However, the above examples are only hypothetical, not reality! The text reads, "baptizing them into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The word "name" is singular and there are two "ands." The word "name" is what grammarians call an ellipsis, and thus must be mentally added before each of the names to make sense of the sentence. The sentence is thus diagrammed as follows:

This writer has been able to explain this passage by using an apple, a young child and a bucket of water. The child is given the apple and placed before the bucket of water. Then the child is instructed to dip the apple in the name of Billy, and in the name of Sally and in the name of Mary. The child has always trine immersed the apple!

3. ROMANS 6:3-5 DOES NOT TEACH WATER BAPTISM
Special attention to Romans 6:3-5 is necessary because so many have misunderstood it to be dealing with water baptism. Note the following phrases using the term "baptized" in Romans 6:3-5: V.3 "baptized into Christ Jesus" V.3 "baptized into His death" V.4 "baptism into death".

It never says "baptized into water" anywhere! Obviously the subject is not water baptism but identification and union. "Baptized into" means to be immersed spiritually into Christ when He died and arose. Thus, we legally died and arose in Christ the moment we trusted in Christ as our Savior. This passage speaks of salvation and only refers to baptism as it deals with the work of the second person of the trinity. (See the chart on page 1.)

The term "likeness" in Romans 6:5 does not point to water baptism, but simply means we do not physically die and physically arise from the dead when we are spiritually united with Christ in our spiritual baptism. This spiritual baptism into Christ in His death and resurrection is distinct from the baptism by the Spirit into the body of Christ -- the church. Yet both of these non-water baptisms occur the moment we trust in Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.

Some have used Romans 6:5 "in the likeness of His death," and John 19:30 "and He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit," to prove that forward action is Scripturally taught. However, Romans 6:5 is not dealing with water baptism, but spiritual baptism or union with Christ at our salvation. The Scriptural evidence is for trine immersion, but not for forward or backward action. Since forward action is much less awkward than backward action, it is the preferred method. The forward action also involves a bowing of the head, which is a fitting sign of reverence and submission to God.

Those who practice single immersion backwards go to Romans 6:3-5 for their Scriptural support. A single immersion backwards is thought to symbolize the burial and resurrection of Christ mentioned in Romans 6:4. As previously discussed, Romans 6 is not dealing with water baptism, but spiritual baptism. But even if one were to conclude that water baptism was taught in Romans 6, there would be an inconsistency with single backwards immersion. The verbal formula in Matthew 28:19 ("I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit") emphasizes the trinity and the Trinitarian work of God, while only the work of Christ is pictured by single backward immersion. In essence, one thing is said while another is symbolized. To be consistent, single immersionists should say, "I now baptize you in death, burial and resurrection of Christ." The form should be consistent with the formula. Only the form of trine immersion is consistent with the formula Christ gave in Matthew 28:19.

4. CHURCH HISTORY LENDS ITS SUPPORT TO TRINE IMMERSION.
The early records of baptismal teaching after completion of the New Testament support trine immersion. Notice the early dates on the following evidence of writings and writers who taught that trine immersion was the biblical method.

70-165 A.D. Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve
114-165 A.D. Justin Martyr
160-190 A.D. Tertullian
150-220 A.D. Clement of Alexandria
105-225 A.D. Origen
(Naturally the list continues)

Compare the above evidence with the earliest evidence for single immersion. Eunomius, Bishop of Cyzicium (330-381) (he was over a hundred years later than Origen and about 300 years later than the Didache), was the first to practice single immersion. It was a mode used to support an unorthodox theology by denying the necessity of the Trinitarian formula of Matthew 28:19. Single immersion was condemned by the "Apostolic Canons." Single immersion continued to be controversial for about three centuries. Finally, in 633 A.D., the Fourth Council of Toledo sanctioned it. Trine immersion was never officially sanctioned by any Council because it was considered the proper mode, and was in general practice. Single immersion came into prominence in the thirteenth century, but did not rival trine immersion in practice until after 1500 A.D.
A study of early baptistries also supports trine immersion and forward action. The earliest baptistries uncovered by archaeologists are so shallow that they would permit only a crouched forward action. Backward action was not introduced until 1522 A.D. by Thomas Munzer.

Martin Luther also supplies support for trine immersion. The following is a quote concerning a converted Jewess:

"as to the public act of baptism, let her be dressed in a garment usually worn by females in bath and be placed in a bathing tub up to her neck in water; then let the baptist dip her head three times in the water with the usual words, I baptize you in the name of the Father, etc."

Church history is not the cake of Bible doctrine on baptism, but only the icing of evidence. Church history is not inspired, but when it confirms the inspired record, it should be considered. Cakes with icing taste so much better!

III. THE MINISTER IN BAPTISM
Who should be the one doing the baptizing? Most Christians have never even considered the question. It is assumed that the baptizer can only be a pastor. While it is permissible and practical in many instances for the pastor to baptize new converts, the Bible does not insist on it. In fact, the Word opens the door for the laity to do this ministry. After all, every Christian is to be a minister, a servant of Christ in His body.

One dear saint told me that at her first baptism she "went down into the water a dry unbeliever and came up a wet unbeliever!" She then related how she later trusted in Christ and was baptized again after her conversion. Care should be taken to know the testimonies of baptismal candidates before they are baptized.

1. THE BIBLE TEACHES CHRISTIANS WHO ARE NOT PASTORS MAY BAPTIZE
The well-known passage in Matthew 28:19-20, known as the "Great Commission," Should be the marching order for every believer. Pastors commonly teach every believer is to be going and making disciples, yet when it comes to the baptizing part, they teach (at least by their own practice) that only pastors can baptize. This inconsistency is not necessary. Baptism is an inseparable part of our Lord's command. To lead one to faith in Christ and not to disciple that one to obedience in baptism and study of the Word is failure to obey the Great Commission. Does this mean the spiritual parent must baptize each of his spiritual children? Not necessarily, but it does insist upon the spiritual parent seeing to it that the new convert is baptized. The Great Commission does allow for baptism by those who make disciples. John said of his spiritual children in 3 John 4, "1 have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."

The many examples of believers being baptized in the Book of Acts do not emphasize the human agent baptizing, but rather the fact of the new convert's baptism. However, there are some notable examples of baptisms done by believers who were not apostles or pastors. Acts 2:41 implies 3000 being baptized on one day. It is far more feasible to explain the procedure by having the baptized converts helping baptize one another, than to believe that the twelve apostles each baptized 2501 Philip, possibly one of the first deacons (Acts 6:5), baptized his Ethiopian convert in Acts 8:38. In Acts 8:12, after many in Samaria believed Philip's preaching, "they were being baptized, men and women alike" The phrase does not even insist that Philip did all the baptizing himself, but quite possibly means the people were involved in baptizing each other. Acts 9:10 identifies Ananias as merely "a certain disciple at Damascus," yet in verse 18 Ananias baptized the new convert who would some day be the greatest church planter of all time -- Paul!

Paul preached at Corinth and many were his converts to Christ; yet he did not baptize many. In I Corinthians 1:14-17 he de-emphasized the human agent in baptism and emphasized the authority of Christ -- that it is in Christ's name. While Paul certainly made sure that his converts were baptized, he did not do it all for fear of loyalty to himself over that of Christ. Paul knew it was not by his authority, but by the authority of Christ that all converts were to be baptized.

2. THE PASTOR'S JOB DESCRIPTION ENCOURAGES BAPTIZING BY LAITY
The pastor-teacher's responsibility is to equip the saints for the work of service (Eph. 4:11-12). It is a pastor's delight to teach others how to baptize their new converts. Many times it is a special blessing to the spiritual parent to baptize his spiritual child in the Lord. A father may wish to baptize members in his own family who have received Christ even if he didn't lead them to Christ. Of course, the pastoral staff may frequently baptize converts and thus enjoy the blessing. But the Bible nowhere teaches that baptism is the sole responsibility for the pastor to perform.

The pastor-teacher is to be the overseer of the church (I Tim. 3:1). Any believer who wishes to baptize a new convert should do so under the supervision of the pastoral staff. As men of the Word, the pastors will be sure that certain Scriptural principles are honored. "All things" should be done "properly and in an orderly manner" (I Cot. 14:40).

One should also "...take care lest this liberty of yours somehow becomes a stumbling block to the weak" by performing a baptism. God is not nearly as concerned about who does the baptizing, as He is about why the baptizing is done. We should be baptized for Christ's sake alone in obedience to His Word.

IV. THE MOTIVATION FOR REBAPTISM
Rebaptism is a common occurrence in many churches today. There are many who have no difficulty in being rebaptized by trine immersion after hearing the Scriptural evidence. Those whose former baptism preceded their salvation experience often gladly accept their second baptism. Others, however, hesitate to be rebaptized because they still have questions regarding rebaptism by trine immersion. These questions should be answered to assure proper motivation in one's rebaptism.

1. REBAPTISM DOES NOT NECESSARILY INVALIDATE THE FORMER BAPTISM
Those baptized after conversion by some method other than trine immersion should not consider that rebaptism by trine immersion invalidates their former baptism. The first baptism was a legitimate testimony to a genuine conversion. The former baptism was clone in obedience to the knowledge one was given. In fact, it would have been wrong to have refused the former baptism (even though it was not trine immersion) if that is what one's local church taught and it was the only method one knew at the time. Neither should rebaptism by trine immersion remove any of the personal blessing of the former baptism. However, when one desires to symbolize more biblically his salvation by trine immersion, it becomes another blessing.

2. REBAPTISM SHOULD BE DONE PRIMARILY TO PLEASE CHRIST
Rebaptism should be a positive step of obedience to Christ. It should never be done only because it is expected by a church or pastor. Personal conviction should compel one to this decision. Only after one realizes that trine immersion more accurately depicts the work of the trine Godhead in salvation should the baptism occur. It should be an additional blessing in the Christian's experience, not a battle.

3. REBAPTISM ENHANCES OBSERVATION OF OTHER TRINE IMMERSION SERVICES
Since this church performs only trine immersion baptismal services, that will be the only kind observed by the people attending. Many who have never been trine immersed may feel a little incomplete in their own baptismal experience as they observe the baptismal service. When they reflect upon their own baptism, it is not the same. Baptismal service after baptismal service constantly teaches trine immersion as the biblical method. Rebaptism by trine immersion removes this subtle guilt, and the baptismal services become even more meaningful!

4. REBAPTISM ENHANCES DISCIPLESHIP OF NEW CONVERTS
In the process of discipling a new Christian, the discipler should teach baptism as one of the basic steps of obedience to Christ. When a person has not personally been baptized by trine immersion, it is extremely difficult to teach trine immersion to another with much conviction. It also becomes more difficult for the discipler to enjoy baptizing his convert by trine immersion. Rebaptism allows the discipler the freedom to say to his disciplee, "I did it this way; you can too!"

Rebaptism should be a joyous step of obedience, not an oppressive demand. Rebaptisms often take longer in the training process than first baptisms in order to allow for personal conviction through biblical teaching. The former baptism (if after conversion) can always be a precious memory, and the rebaptism another blessing to be treasured in the heart!

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