Baptism As An Ancient Christian Tradition - Research Paper Example

Baptism As An Ancient Christian Tradition Introduction Baptism is a form of strengthen the membership for a specific religion which in general termed for the admission of being a member of the Christian Church. It is usually done through the use of water. It is seen as an important way of salvation that is identified by the church. Baptism is used to describe a ceremony in church that is done by the leader of the church. It is done to be purified and have a name blessed under the church. According to the bible, Jesus Christ is the main starter of baptism in the Holy Spirit as it is experienced by him. It is the stage when a person receives power and blessing of Jesus Christ through the holy water being prayed over by the priest; in the Catholic view (Burgess, 1984). The Catholic Church teaches that the Christian life depends on the Holy Baptism. It is important to undergo such process during infancy because the soul can be freed from the sins and is being renewed (Burgess, 1984). Also, it is believed that each of us are naturally born with God’s light in our soul but it should be baptized in order to enlighten through comprehending the real essence of the Word of the Holy Spirit. Life can just be enlightened through the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the light will shine in the darkness although it has not yet been fully comprehended by the darkness. Discussion It is said that all people are sons of light and day. Being baptized is a way of completing the sacraments that becomes the strong base of being a Christian. However, there are some critics who argued that baptism is not a sacrament and that it is just connected to a sacrament which is the sacrament of the Christian initiation. This suggests a renewal of the natural gift that is given by God upon the birth of a person. Through the baptism with the Holy Spirit, it can be regarded as a distinguishing experience of a Christian. It is different from and consequent to salvation because it a specific work of the Holy Spirit. In the bible, it is mentioned that the disciples of John the Baptist are converted to Christianity however, they are not aware of the Holy Spirit. And in the Bible, John primarily baptized his disciples (John 1:33). On the Pentecostal’s view, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is largely different from the experience of salvation while some Charismatics agree that the Gift of the Holy Spirit is naturally given to all the Christians with the consideration of the of the existence of experiencing salvation. But generally, the Pentecostals and the Charistamatics have the same beliefs. The Charismatics is just more into the belief of the gift of the Holy Spirit. In a more recent point of view, the similarity between the Pentecostal and the Charismatic followers is the belief that baptism of the Holy Spirit is the way of showering the blessing that is mentioned in the Old Testament books particularly. It is a matter of the natural gift and the gift which should be renewed first and initialized by an experience. But otherwise, both agree to the fact that it is a blessing from the Holy Spirit. Conversely, the two both require an evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. It needs speaking of tongues and gifts of the spirit which is according to the Pentecostals; the natural experience of each individual in the early Christian Church should posses such proofs. It primarily depicts that the measures that baptism sees is not enough and thus it needs to be spoken. Baptism in the Holy Spirit in the perspective of Evangelical church and non- Evangelical church, it is related with the acceptance of how the Pentecostal church view it. Considering the baptism of the Holy Spirit a different experience is the main point. Also, for those who perceive this point of view, the belief now is perplexed with the view of those who obtain the Holy Spirit baptism, obtain as well the gift of tongues. Another view of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is proposed by John Wesley which is according to him an expression of baptism is like crying out but it cannot be said. The belief that after a sin has been forgiven through baptism and commits a sin again, a Christian can still be freed from the sin; is debated by other Wesleyans because it is being contradicted by its own writer. A lot of writings have been present for the idea of baptism in the Holy Spirit but the Bible is still the basis of all these writings. However, different versions of the writings are revealed by various Churches and are believed in a different manner. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit is indeed stated in the writings as an experience of the gift of God. It is somehow the proof of being a believer of God. Some says that it serves as claiming the gift of God when an individual starts to believe in the power of God and the Holy Spirit. Other definitions of baptism in the Holy Spirit can be found in the New Testament that reveals as the way of filling or being showered and accept the Holy Spirit. In addition to, distinguishing the Holy Spirit that falls down from the Holy Spirit is included in the baptism. Being baptized can also be regarded in the Pentecostal church as having holiness. Speaking in tongues, as it is being mentioned earlier is how the scholars interpret the term of baptism on the Holy Spirit. There are various meanings conveyed by the definition of baptism in the Holy Spirit as ‘speaking in tongues’ such as the prophecy of Jesus that the disciples will be baptized which is actually mentioned in Acts 19:1-6. And this is related to the experience that is being described by what Peter referred to in the past. Today, baptism is regarded by the Catholic Church as a way of being a Christian. It is a way of putting the Spirit of God to an individual in order to be united with Jesus Christ and other believers of Him during the time of rescue (Gotquestions.org, 2009). Baptism unites the body of an individual with the body of Jesus Christ and in some way; it paves the way of showing to Him that people accompany Christ during His crucifixion. As He has been raised from death, baptism allows people to be renewed from the sins that have been committed and lift the Spirits to God as how He showered it (Gotquestions.org, 2009). Conclusion Most commonly, baptism in the Holy Spirit is the way of receiving God’s blessing of the Holy Spirit. This is the way of cleansing one’s soul from the sins that it had committed through being exposed in the environment. Baptism is said to be an experience of the Holy Spirit from God. Indeed, no argument is posted on this definition because naturally, Holy Spirit comes into an individual and it is just being renewed through the holiness of the Church and how an individual believes. It requires the faith of an individual to be showered by the Holy Spirit and obtain its power. Speaking of tongues is also mentioned as a definition of the Holy Spirit and it reveals the proof from Christ through the writings in the Bible. Many writings exist for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and are able to explain the meaning of baptism in a more Biblical way though. However, various churches have made their own versions of interpreting the meaning which sometimes lead to confusion of the believers. Some authors even contradict their own statement and tend to bring perplexities for their believers. But some churches agree on some points that the Holy Spirit is in the nature of an individual before anything else. People should be baptized though in order to receive Holiness from Christ and be able to be distinguished as a member of the Church. This can strengthen the belief of the individual and faith to God. Baptism enlightens an individual about what to believe in and to take the right path with the consideration of course of the other sacraments of the church. This however depends on the church an individual belongs to. But, whatever church an individual belong, it should always be remembered that there is only one God and only one fills the Holy Spirit to the people and that is Jesus Christ himself. Salvation of God should be accepted and thank Him for all the blessings that He showers upon baptism. References Acts 4:31: ."..they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." Acts 19:1-6: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit...?"; ."..the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied..." Burgess, Stanley M. (1984). “The Holy Spirit: Ancient Christian Traditions”, Hendrickson Publishers, Incorporated. Gotquestions.org. (2009) “What is Baptism?”. < http://www.gotquestions.org/Spirit-baptism.html> April 27, 2009. John 1:33: ."..the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." Read More