WATER BAPTISM
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
What is Baptism?
The word “Baptize” is a Greek word, meaning, “to immerse.” John baptized in the Jordan River and the disciples of Jesus baptized in bodies of water. Thus, proper baptism is to completely immerse into water. Sprinkling and other forms of baptism came along after the Bible was written. They are not Scriptural.
Water baptism is one of the most important Christian rituals every person has to undergo in order to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew3:15). Water baptism was a doctrine which was introduced on earth by John the Baptist where he baptized people unto repentance in the Jordan River where also our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized.
Why we baptize?
Like we discussed above, water baptism should only be done in deep waters, water baptism is a public declaration that someone has become a Christian. It proclaims the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we get baptized, we die to the old sinful-self and we become new creations in Christ Jesus obtaining the hope of resurrection.Colossians2:12 says; Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Below are some of the Essential benefits of Water Baptism;
1. We become new creations in Christ Jesus. Galatians3:27; For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
2. Hope for Eternal Life after Resurrection. Romans6:3-5; Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
3. Initiation of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Acts2:38; Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
4. Obtaining Spiritual Power and strength. Mark 16:16-17; He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.
4. To Enter into God’s Kingdom. John3:5; Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
5. Washing away of Sins. Acts22:16; And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
How to Baptize?
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Water baptism should only be done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this sounds like a new doctrine to the reader but it’s the truth of God’s word. You may ask and say, why did then Jesus command the disciples to baptize in the name of the father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit; right, I want also to ask you, what is the name of the Father? What is the name of the son? And what is the name of the Holy Spirit?, we rightly know that father, Son and Holy Spirit are not names but Titles of one GOD, Unless you want to separate the three and give each a Different name, but according to 1John5:7; For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are ONE. God has got a name and all baptisms should be done in His Holy name.
The Everlasting name of God is YHVH or YHWH which was given vowels for clear pronunciation for all men and now we call Him YAHWEH in Hebrew or JEHOVAH in English. God has obtained many other names because of His Holy attributes and because of what He has done for His Saints. The redemptive name of the Lord God Almighty is JESUS CHRIST, the Saviour of the world; because of the much Knowledge, wisdom and Revelations that the Apostles of Jesus Christ obtained by the Holy Spirit, they could not confuse the word of God and do contrary to His will, no one of them could ever baptize in the name of the father, son and of the Holy Spirit, They all with one consent baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ beginning with Peter at the Pentecostal day experience.
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
No apostle ever baptized in the name of the father, of son and of the Holy spirit because they knew and understood the word of God in depth, and therefore also this generation should get back to the original word of God and receive the true kind of Baptism, in our modern days many people have been baptized but few have been transformed and converted just because they received a wrong baptism. If you were baptized in the name of the father, son and of the Holy Spirit, you were ignorantly introduced into a pagan Roman Catholic doctrine of The Trinity which religiously means ‘’Three Gods’’ or else initiated into polytheism literally meaning the worship of many gods, but the True church of God has no such doctrines.
You will be surprised to know that even the modern Pentecostal church liken to the Catholics has left the Deity of Jesus Christ, I have heard many of them pray through the name of the father, son and of the Holy Spirit; instead of praying through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, no wonder the power of God has left the church because of false doctrines and blasphemies.
In conclusion; likened to the church of Ephesus, the disciples had been baptized in any other name other than the name of Jesus Christ and they were commanded by Apostle Paul to be Baptized again, therefore; whosoever was baptized in the name of the father, son, and of the Holy Spirit or in any other names, should be Re-baptized in the redemptive name of the Lord Jesus Christ by deeping or immersing in water.
Baptism at the Persian Gulf Sea - Dubai
Can a baby be baptized?
Absolutely No; no babies should ever be baptized because they are too young to discern what is good and bad. The only condition for baptism is that a person must first believe by himself within his heart that Jesus is the son of God and confess with his mouth that He rose from the dead, once someone has with his/her right conscious accepted the gift of salvation, then he can be Baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A parent cannot believe nor confess on behalf of their children, neither a husband for his wife, nor a friend for a friend, salvation is a personal choice; therefore if you think you were baptized in that way, you need to be re-baptized again in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is sprinkling a symbol for Baptism?
Well, the catholic church teaches the sacrament of Baptism where sprinkling is a true symbol of baptism, to my opinion, because they do child baptism, they couldn’t deep the little eight days baby into a river for baptism’s sake, it would sound not logical to the society, therefore they invented a reasonable way of child baptism and that is ‘’Sprinkling’’. Upon a false doctrine they spiced with deception and upon deception they spiced with blasphemies, Sprinkling is not another way of baptism and neither a symbol of baptism according to the Holy Scriptures, if it was so, show me where its written;
The only one way of Baptism is Immersion in deep water.
Who can baptize?
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
The ordination of Jesus Christ is for all believers, every one that has believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ has become a partaker of the heavenly gifts and powers through the Holy Spirit, therefore every True born Again Christian standing right with the word of God has the right to all the gifts of the Holy spirit, he can pray for the sick for healing, speak in other tongues, cast out evil spirits, preach the word of God and as well has full rights to baptize new converts.
Don’t wait to be ordained by some seminary institution or by prophet or apostle, pastor so and so; Your calling is not from man but from above from God, He has ordained you and sent you already; the fact that you have the power to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, you too have the right to baptize in His name.
Is the Baptism Card Necessary?
Not Applicable, different Christian religious denominations have it as a requirement paying for a baptism card fee, but the True church of God has no such doctrines. A baptism card has no significance on the life of a believer, it helps nothing to have it, and baptism is not just a show off, neither a celebration, nor a graduation where one is awarded a certificate of accomplishment. Some folks go on boasting in ignorance saying; ‘’I was baptism by priest so and so, prophet so and so, Bishop so and so, reverend so and so, etc, and here is my baptism certificate as proof’’!!!. Baptism has to do with the change of life from dead works to a spirit filled life. The only seal of water Baptism is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the reward of it is eternal life.
When should a Christian be re-baptized?
Unfortunately, there are many in today’s world of Christendom that practice a form of what they call “baptism.” When we compare what is practiced and taught by many with what the Bible teaches, we can see that a variety of doctrinal errors have developed that are not found in God’s word. Those corruptions invalidate a baptism and make it of none effect.
Therefore, many who have been administered what was called “baptism” but, in fact is not true biblical baptism, need to be baptized again — this time with a more accurate understanding that precedes the event, just like the case in Acts 19:1-5.
While on his third missionary campaign, the apostle Paul came to the city of Ephesus. There, he encountered twelve men who formerly had been baptized with the type of baptism administered by John the Baptist. One might be inclined to conclude, therefore, that the apostle would have accepted these men as they were and merely organized them into a church.
But such was not the case. After questioning them as to the nature of their earlier baptism and determining that their pre-baptism instruction on the previous occasion had been lacking in essential details, Paul immersed these men into Christ (see Acts 19:1-5). A simple understanding of the text reveals that their first baptism was deficient in some way.
And here is an extremely important implication of this case of re-baptism. The case clearly demonstrates that in order for one’s baptism to be valid, accurate teaching and understanding must precede the rite. Otherwise, the act of baptism is a meaningless exercise and not based on faith (Romans 10:17).
Here are some situations in which re-baptism would be warranted;-
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Baptism without understanding
If one was “baptized” as an infant, thus was lacking personal faith (Mark 16:16; Acts 11:21), he should repudiate the meaningless earlier rite in which he had no decision-making power, even though his parents were sincere in subjecting him to the procedure. In genuine faith, he should submit to the command in the proper way. Infants have neither the need nor the ability to respond to the gospel of Christ. The same would be true for young children too young or immature to understand their accountability to the plan of salvation.
It is a tender thing to observe young children who want to please God. But many times, their desire precedes their understanding and accountability for personal sin. If an adult concludes that they need to be re-baptized because they were baptized as an infant or as a sincere but immature child, we would encourage them to be immersed in faith and obedience. Thus, they can be assured of the forgiveness of their sins. Their decision will bring peace of mind and confidence by knowing they are obeying God from the heart with full understanding.
2. Baptism without immersion
If one was “baptized” in some fashion other than by immersion, then he needs to be baptized with the proper form. The word “baptism” literally translated means immersion, not sprinkling or pouring.
True baptism pictures the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sinner is buried in water and raised from this symbolic grave (cf. Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12) just as the Lord was buried and then raised from the dead.
True baptism validates and proclaims one’s faith in the death and resurrection events. Being sprinkled with water or having water poured upon the head is no baptism at all. Such substitutes are without sanction in the New Testament. They are post-apostolic innovations.
3. Baptism without repentance
Baptism without true repentance is also ineffectual. I once heard about a man who emerged from the baptismal pool, turned to his wife, and said: “I hope you’re satisfied!”
No one baptized without proper motive can have validity in the divine scheme of things. Even John warned those who came to be baptized for a show without repentance. Only God’s wrath awaited those who were baptized with such false pretenses (Matthew 3:7).
4. Baptism without faith
If one is “baptized” without a sound faith, the ritual would be of no benefit.
One might feel, for instance, that Jesus was a good man, perhaps even a “perfect man” — as the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” allege. As sincere as these may be, they deny that Christ is the Son of God, crucified, died, buried and resurrected on the third day from the grave.
And yet, for various other reasons, they might desire to be baptized. But baptism grounded on false faith cannot be accounted as genuine.
How many times can a person be Baptized?
Genuine baptism is needed only one time in a person’s life. Once a person has been baptized according to the full complement of scriptural instructions, he or she never has the need to repeat this new-birth process (cf. John 3:3-5).
After a person has entered the family of Christ through baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13; cf. Galatians 3:26-27), he is a part of the church, the household (family) of God (1 Timothy 3:15; cf. Ephesians 2:19-22). The new Christian has access to all of the spiritual benefits of the in-Christ relationship (Ephesians 1:3).
SHALOM