An outward sign of an inward change, the water of baptism cleanses the heart, mind and soul of sinful
old ways and brings rebirth and membership into the church. To receive this gift of God's forgiveness and acceptance requires
a decision to change, to belong to Christ and the church.
The New Testament never mentions the origin of the rite of baptism, but passages such as Acts
2:38, 41 suggest that it was a well known and common rite in the early church. It most likely arose from the Jewish
cleansing ritual of baptizing Gentile converts into Judaism after circumcision. Baptism was important in the foundation of
the early churches because it served as entry into the congregation. The first baptisms were immersions, like the one John
the Baptist held for Jesus, who spoke of coming "up from the water" (Mat. 3:16). John baptized
many people as a sign of their repentance. Although Jesus did not perform baptisms, the disciples baptized thousands in His
name (Acts 6:15-30).
John the Baptist baptized people during or after their confession of sins (Matt.
3:6). His baptism was called a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark
1:4; Matt. 3:2, 6) signifying that a spiritual change had to take place in recipients which in turn would result in
forgiveness of their sins.
Upon His ascension into heaven, Jesus commanded His apostles to baptize "in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). That people sometimes are baptized only in
the name of "Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38; 10:48) or of "the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:16; 19:5) rather than into the name of the triune God is probably due to Luke's emphasis on
baptism as the means of bringing Gentiles and Samaritans into the Church of Christ.
Baptism rituals vary by religious denominations. Some, like Baptists, immerse only adults, while others,
such as Roman Catholics, accept infant baptism. Some Protestants sprinkle water instead of performing complete immersion.
Although nearly all Christians accept the sacrament of baptism, they do not all agree on its interpretation. Baptists insist
on immersion as the proper form and stipulate that only adults may be baptized. Other Protestants have appealed to biblical
passages suggesting that sprinkling is adequate and, along with Roman Catholics, accept the administration of the rite to
infants. Protestants and Catholics are not agreed upon the issue of baptismal regeneration (rebirth), and charismatics claim
the necessity of baptism in the spirit. Unfortunately, the various viewpoints frequently stem from different biblical texts,
and the various denominations interpret key texts in different ways.
Infant baptism remains a controversial issue, the New Testament neither presents a clear case for
the practice nor commands its observance in any specific words. It cannot be established conclusively when the early church
began to baptize children. However, given the practices of circumcision and the baptism of proselytes, it is likely that the
children of converted Christians as well as those born within Christian families were baptized from the earliest times. The
New Testament does indicate that the apostles baptized households (Acts 16:15, 33; 1Cor.
1:16), a term which in Semitic usage would encompass children; in Old Testament times the Jews baptized not only adult
proselytes but their children as well (1Cor. 7:14 may be understood to include children). Paul
relates the Old Testerment rite of circumcision performed on children as a symbol of God's covenant with Abraham
(Acts 2:39; Gen. 17:7, 12); in Cor. 2:11-12 he interprets baptism as replacing circumcision
in New Testament practice. So infant baptism cannot be rejected without doing violence to the unity between the Old and New
Testaments.
For adults, baptism (in connection with profession of faith) signifies and seals the promise of the
gospel, that they are visibly incorporated into the church as a community of believers. At 1Cor. 12:12-13
Paul, who baptized only a few persons, links baptism with entrance into the one Church. At Tit. 3:5,
the apostle speaks of the "washing of regeneration" which urges believers to unburden themselves of sin and renew their lives;
at Rom. 6:3-4 he relates baptism to Christ's death; and in Gal. 3:26-27
he ties it to faith and to unity with others and with God.
