What is Baptism ?
The Roman Catholic Church, as well as many of the denominations that came out of it believe in a concept called “baptismal regeneration.” This is the belief that you are regenerated, and saved from the penalty of your sins at the moment that the Pastor performs the ceremony. These Churches commonly baptize infants, because they believe their children ‘s eternal destination is dependent on this ritual.
This is based on a misunderstanding of what the word “baptism” really means. The most commonly used Bible for the past 400 years has been the King James translation. King James was the “Head” of the Church of England, which is essentially the Anglican Church, or the equivalent of England’s Roman Catholic Church. At the time of the translation, the Roman Church, as well as the Anglican Church were threatened by separatist and reform movements, and many of their false doctrines were being threatened with being exposed. One of these was the idea of baptismal regeneration. In order to mislead the masses, the translators used a transliteration of the Greek word “baptizo” as baptism. To this day, that word has remained untranslated in most of the subsequent English translations.
The important first step in understanding any concept, is to first properly define your terms. If you begin with a false pretext, your conclusion will automatically be wrong, even if your logic is sound. By translating “baptizo” as baptism rather than “immersion” which would have given the English reader a clearer understanding of what was being referred to, the Anglican Church was able to cause confusion as to what these verses were actually teaching. To this day, millions of professing Christians are still confused by this word, and end up with the works based gospel of baptismal regeneration as a result, because they fail to properly define what Baptism is. Many of the denominational Churches still promote this “sacramental Gospel” which assures that people place their faith in themselves rather than Jesus Christ, and therefore followers of these religions are never truly baptized into Christ or “born again.” We shall now look at some of the verses that use the word “baptizo” so that we can see by the context, what the word means.John 13:26
Jesus therefore answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip (baptize, Gk.) the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped (baptized, Gk.) the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.Here, the same Greek word, “baptizo” is used, but is translated dipped. We therefore can now see that it had a common usage in the Greek, and is not specific to the ceremony of water baptism.
This is another example of the word “baptizo” in common usage.
Revelation 19:13
And He is clothed in a robe dipped (baptized in Greek.) in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.Here we have Jesus Christ’s robe baptized in blood, and again it is translated “dipped.” As we see from the context here, the word baptized simply means that something has been immersed into something else. That is how the word was commonly used in the Greek language, and therefore we must think in those terms when we interpret the other verses that use this word.
Here are some verses that are often misapplied to water baptism.
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."The baptismal regeneration crowd believes that this is commanding us to water baptize people while saying the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s not what the text says however; It is expressly saying to Baptize (immerse) people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This verse is telling us to preach the gospel to all nations by saturating them with God’s Word.
Ephesians 1:13
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,"This is the baptism that saves us from the eternity in hell that we have all earned. By being in Him , after being immersed in His Word, through faith, are immersed with the Holy Spirit eternally.
We are immersed into His death and resurrection in order to receive His substitutiary atonement for sin, and are “born again“ with a new heart by His regeneration.Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.John 17:20-26
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."Romans 12:4-5
For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.John 15:7
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.Romans 8:1
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.God says we must be immersed into Him so that we become one body with Him in order that we do not suffer condemnation for our transgressions of His law. This can only occur once we have had our heart renewed by Him. Then we can go into the world and share this message so that others can also be baptized into Christ’s body, and escape the condemnation for their sins also.
Mark 16:15-16 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.If you believe, you ARE baptized (immersed) in Him, and therefore will be born again (baptized in His Spirit). That's why it says lack of belief will condemn you. If you don't believe, you won't be baptized (immersed) in Him.
John 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is Born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus *said to Him, "How can man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and Be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Do not beamazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
It is spiritual rebirth that saves you, not the water ceremony. That’s what it means to be born again. It literally means to be immersed with the Holy Spirit of God, who will help you with your Christian walk.
You are born of water at your carnal birth when your mothers water breaks, and you are born of Spirit through faith in Christ. You must have a second birth by being baptized with God’s Spirit through faith in Christ.
Act 22:16 'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'
It says that it is being immersed in Him (Jesus Christ) by calling on His name that causes us to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. We perform the water ceremony because it is symbolic of our rebirth, and our sins being washed away. The water itself has no power to save us, but He does.
Act 2:36-41 "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?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
Three thousand Jews were convicted of their sin, repented, and were immersed in the name of the Messiah. Again it says being immersed into His Name that causes their sins to be forgiven, not water. Then it says they received (were baptized in) the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ.Romans 6:3-11 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, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
This is the Biblical gospel. We receive the substitutive payment for our transgressions by being immersed into His death and resurrection who is perfect. He paid our sin debt, and we receive the benefit by being baptized (immersed) into Him. There is no mention of water anywhere here.
1Corinthians 12:12-14 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.
Here it says that by being baptized with God’s Holy Spirit, we are immersed into the Body of Christ. All believers are immersed together with our Lord and Savior for all eternity through faith in Him.
Galatians 3:26-27 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
We are immersed into the family of God through faith in Christ, and are clothed with His righteousness. Just as Adam and Eve tried to cloth themselves with fig leaves to "cover themselves" and God found their covering to be unacceptable, and covered them with animal skins (shed blood) so we are also clothed with His covering through the shedding of His blood, by being immersed into Him.
Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
Some try to claim that this is a water baptism passage, but that interpretation is grammatically incorrect. It says that it is the Word that does the washing, not water. What it literally means is that we are bathed in God’s Word so that we are completely clean through His cleansing.
Colossians 2:9-14 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Virtually the entire Book of Galatians is used to refute the idea that circumcision has anything to do with salvation, and the same is true of baptism. It's saying here that the circumcision was symbolic of the circumcision of the heart, not the works of men, just as water baptism is symbolic of our sins being washed away by being immersed into Christ, and not the water ceremony itself which is also a work of men’s hands.
Titus 3:5-7 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It specifically says that our works can’t save us, but that it is God’s grace alone that saves us eternally. It also says that it is God’s regeneration that does the washing, not the other way around, as baptismal regeneration people claim. Again they twist the grammar of the sentence to try to make it say the opposite of what it actually says.
1Peter 3:21-22 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
“Baptism now saves us,” but the question is; baptism into what or Who? It’s not water baptism which removes dirt from the flesh, but rather receiving a good conscience by being immersed into Christ. That’s the baptism that saves us.The apostle Paul puts the ceremony of water baptism in it’s proper context. He tells us that water baptism is not part of the gospel of salvation, and that’s why he concentrated his efforts on the preaching of the good news instead of water baptizing people.
I Corinthians 1:13-17
Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void.If baptismal regeneration is true, then Paul is a heretic, because he downplayed it’s importance in the scripture. Obviously Paul is not, and we therefore know that water baptism is not a requirement for salvation.
Water baptism was intended to symbolize the real baptism which was to come through Christ.
Matthew 3:11 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.Luke 3:16 John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John’s baptism in water was to prepare the way for the real baptism which was with the Holy Spirit. That’s the baptism that saves us. Anyone who has not been baptized with the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ, will be baptized in fire for their transgressions against our Lord.
What makes the idea of baptismal regeneration so dangerous is, that those who put their faith in water to save them, have essentially rejected Christ. When we try to work our way into Heaven by our own efforts, we are essentially telling Christ that his atonement wasn’t sufficient to save us. You’re cheapening His free gift by trying to add to it with your good works. You’re stealing his glory, and trying to attribute it to yourself. He saves us by His grace alone, which means we can’t earn it and don’t deserve it.
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been SAVED through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of GOD; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."Romans 4:5
"But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness."Many people in the various Denominational Churches don’t even realize that their Church is teaching a false gospel. These are some quotes from the Catholic Church, and the so-called Reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther, that prove that these religions do in fact trust in their own sacramental works to save them , rather than Christ’s free grace.
These statements are quoted form the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, Liguori Publications, 1997
“Outside the Church there is no salvation”
846 ...all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is His Body: ...the church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: ...Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
I. ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
997 Our Lord ties the forgiveness of sins to faith and baptism: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that “we too might walk in newness of life.”
980 It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church: Penance has rightly been called by the holy fathers “a laborious kind of baptism.” This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after baptism, just as baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn.
VII. THE GRACE OF BAPTISM
1263 By baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.
1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with Him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.
1274 ...”Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life.” The faithful Christian who has “kept the seal” until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his baptism, will be able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith”...
1275 Christian initiation is accomplished by three sacraments together: Baptism which is the beginning of new life; Confirmation which is its strengthening; and the Eucharist which nourishes the disciple with Christ’s Body and Blood for his transformation in Christ.
1277 Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord’s will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.
1279 The fruit of baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that includes forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, ...
1283 With respect to children who have died without baptism, the liturgy of the Church invites us to trust in God’s mercy and to pray for their salvation.
The following statements are quoted from INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, John Calvin, Eerdmans Publishing, 1994
BOOK IV
Chap XV.
1. Baptism is the sign by which we are admitted to the fellowship of the Church, that being engrafted into Christ we may be accounted children of God. ...for it is His will that all who have believed, be baptized for the remission of sins. Hence those [Anabaptists] who have thought that [water] baptism is nothing else than the badge and mark by which we profess our religion before men, in the same way as soldiers attest their profession by bearing the insignia of their commander, having not attended to what was the principal thing in baptism; and this is, that we are to receive it in connection with the promise, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”
3. ...We ought to consider that at whatever time we are baptized, we are washed and purified once for the whole of life. Wherefore, as often as we fall, we must recall to remembrance of our baptism, and thus fortify our minds, so as to feel certain and secure of the remission of sins...
5. ...that Christ by [water] baptism has made us partakers of his death, in grafting us into it.
10. ...Believers become assured by baptism, that this condemnation is entirely withdrawn from them, since (as has been said) the Lord by this sign promises that a full and entire remission has been made, both of the guilt which was imputed to us, and the penalty incurred by his guilt. ...
15. ... in baptism, the Lord promises forgiveness of sins; receive it, and be secure.
16. ... but if baptism was of God, it certainly included in it the promise of forgiveness of sin, mortification of the flesh, quickening of the Spirit, and communion with Christ. ...
Chap XVI.
3. ... now, the first access to God, the first entrance to immortal life, is the remission of sins. Hence it follows, that this corresponds to the promise of our cleansing in baptism. ...
4. ... for just as circumcision, (which was a kind of badge to the Jews, assuring them that they were adopted as the people and family of God,) was their first entrance into the Church, while they, in their turn, professed their allegiance to God, so now we are initiated by baptism, so as to be enrolled among His people, and at the same time swear unto His name. Hence it is incontrovertible, that baptism has been substituted for circumcision, and performs the same office.
17. ... but how they ask, are infants regenerated, when not possessing a knowledge of either good or evil? We answer, that the work of God, though beyond the reach of our capacity, is not therefore null. Moreover, infants who are to be saved ( and that some are saved at this age is certain), must, without question, be previously regenerated by the Lord. For if they bring innate corruption with them from their mothers womb, they must be purified before they can be admitted into the kingdom of God, into which shall not enter anything that defileth (Rev. xxi. 27).
22. ... for Paul comprehends the whole Church when he says that it is cleansed by the washing of water. In like manner, from his expression in another place, that by baptism we are engrafted into the body of Christ ( 1Cor. xii. 13 ), we infer, that infants, whom he enumerates among his members, are to be baptized, in order that they may not be disserved from His body. ...
23. ... hence they [Anabaptists] think they can make out that baptism cannot be lawfully given to anyone without previous faith and repentance.
The following declarations are quoted from LUTHER’S SMALL CATECHISM, Concordia publishing, 1971
I. THE NATURE OF BAPTISM
(p.170)251. Infants, too are to be baptized--
B. Because Holy baptism is the only means whereby infants, who, too, must be born again, can ordinarily be regenerated and brought to faith;
C. Because infants, also, can believe.
II. BLESSINGS OF BAPTISM (p.174)
What does Baptism give or profit? It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.
254. ...By His suffering and death Christ has indeed earned these blessings for us; baptism, however, is a means by which the Holy Ghost makes these blessings our own. (baptism is a means of grace.)
257. ...The word of God places great blessings into baptism; and through faith, which trusts this word of promise, we accept the forgiveness, life, and salvation offered in baptism and make these blessings our own.
The following statements are quoted from LUTHER’S WORKS, Vol. 35, Word and Sacrament, l, Fortress Press, 1981:
HOLY SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
11. Now if this covenant did not exist, and God were not so merciful as to wink at our sins, there could be no sin so small but it would condemn us. For the judgment of God can endure no sin. Therefore there is no greater comfort on earth than baptism. For it is through baptism that we come under the judgment of grace and mercy, which does not condemn our sins but drives them out by many trials. There is a fine sentence of St. Augustine which says, “Sin is altogether forgiven in baptism ; not in such manner that it is no longer present, but such a manner that it is not imputed.” It is as if he were to say, “Sin remains in our flesh until death and works without ceasing. But so long as we do not give our consent to it or desire to remain in it, sin is so overruled by our baptism that it does not condemn us and is not harmful to us. Rather it is daily being more and more destroyed in us until our death.”
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