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Baptism
What baptism is, what it is not, and what Baptists in particular hold about it.
What baptism is, what it is not, and what Baptists in particular hold about it. That last part is named as a Baptist position throughout, because it is one.
What you’ll explore
- 01 John baptising at the Jordan
- 02 Jesus baptised, and why
- 03 The command in Matthew 28
- 04 What Romans 6 pictures
- 05 The Ethiopian official on the road
- 06 What baptism does not do
- 07 Being baptised at Mt. Pleasant
John baptising at the Jordan
Read Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:4-5
John’s baptism was for repentance, in a river, for people who came confessing their sins. The word itself means to dip or immerse. The practice arrives in the gospels already understood by its first audience, which is why nobody explains it.
Jesus baptised, and why
Read Matthew 3:13-17
John objects, since Jesus has nothing to repent of, and Jesus answers that it is to fulfil all righteousness. The Father speaks and the Spirit descends. Christians have read this as Jesus identifying with the people he came to save rather than as needing what John offered.
The command in Matthew 28
Read Matthew 28:18-20
Making disciples is spelled out as baptising and teaching. Baptism is not presented as optional or as a later refinement; it belongs to the commission itself. It is done in the name of Father, Son and Spirit.
What Romans 6 pictures
Read Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12
Paul reads baptism as being buried with Christ and raised with him to walk in newness of life. This is the passage Baptists point to for immersion, since going under and coming up enacts exactly what Paul describes. The image is death and resurrection, not washing.
The Ethiopian official on the road
Read Acts 8:26-39
He hears the gospel explained from Isaiah, sees water, and asks what prevents him from being baptised — and it happens immediately. The pattern through Acts is believing and then being baptised, without a long delay. It also shows how little ceremony was thought necessary.
What baptism does not do
Read Ephesians 2:8-9; Luke 23:39-43; 1 Peter 3:21
The thief on the cross is promised paradise without being baptised. Baptists hold that baptism does not save — salvation is by grace through faith — and that it is an obedient public sign of a salvation already received. 1 Peter’s "baptism now saves you" is read by Baptists in light of the clause Peter adds, "as an appeal to God for a good conscience", and other traditions read it more directly.
Being baptised at Mt. Pleasant
Read Acts 2:41; Acts 8:36
Baptists baptise believers who profess faith for themselves, by immersion, on the understanding that they are old enough to make that profession. Other Christians — Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and more — baptise the infant children of believers, reading the household baptisms of Acts and the covenant sign of circumcision differently. Mt. Pleasant holds the Baptist position; if you want to be baptised, speak to Bro. Austin.
Questions to sit with
- Have you been baptised? If not, what has held you back?
- Did you know the disagreement between traditions ran this deep?
- What does Romans 6 add to how you understand it?
Every passage in this study
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Where this connects
This study sits inside a larger story. Read the passages above in their own books, and follow the thread back through Scripture as a whole.