Role of Baptism in the Christian Faith - Book Report/Review Example

Role of baptism in the Christian faith Introduction There have been various views and beliefs about baptism in the church. Some people believe that it is only through baptism that an individual can join a church and others believe that it is a symbol of the belief they have. However, we should critically evaluate the biblical perspective on the concept of baptism. This can be achieved by looking at the many verses in the bible that talk about baptism and the examples of people in the bible who were baptized and what it meant to them. The book of Acts is a good book which widely discusses about baptism and has various stories on persons converted to Christianity through baptism. Luke who is the Author of the Book of Acts takes us through the growth of the early and their practice of baptism. Luke also gives us examples of baptism that occurred to everyone and people from diverse cultures and beliefs. The diversity of baptism of people is seen by conversion of the rich and poor, high class and low class, the believers to the lost and from the Jews to the Gentiles. The book of acts shows the various incidences that believers were baptized by Apostles of the early church. The word baptism is seen to appear at around 21 times in this (Acts) book. Due to this, Acts plays an important role in baptism. It is the book that clearly tackles the issue about baptism by giving its teachings which were accompanied with practical and examples. The book of Acts talks more about baptism than any other book in the Bible. It also focuses on the baptism by total immersion into water for one to be fully born again. As we start the journey of baptism through the book of acts, we encounter the apostle of God peter who spoke for the followers of Christ during the Pentecost. Peter spoke to the people who were gathered in Jerusalem and they accepted to be sinners and lost people. They asked peter what it is that they could do for them to be forgiven of their sins and this is what Peter told them as written in Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (New International Version). From this verse, baptism is purposely for the remission and washing away of sins. From the words of Peter, we see that repentance and baptism go hand in hand. For an individual to be baptized, he or she must confess and repent of their sins. Without the repentance of sins, baptism would be of no meaning to an individual.1 Peter also shows that baptism plays a role in ones forgiveness of sins. If one is forgiven his or her sins by God, one must be baptized. As the word says that faith without action is dead, faith in Jesus Christ without being baptized is as good as dead.2 Acts 8:12-18 shows an example of a man who was baptized but had not repented of his sins. “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the spirit was given at laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money” (NIV). Here, we see that an individual who is baptized has not confessed and repented his or her sins will not change. To him or her, it will just be a physical immersion into water because his heart is not closer to God because he is not separated from sins. This explains the evil desire of Simon wanting to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from the apostles. The book of Acts 8: 26-39 describes the baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch in the river Jordan. For the Ethiopian eunuch, baptism is not just a symbol of being a believer of Christ Jesus but step in his walk of salvation. He knew the importance of baptism in his life and he stopped his chariot and asked for it by a river that was close to them. The eunuch did not have to have a large congregation of believers so that he would confess and repent his sins because he was baptized in the absence of believers apart from Philip who baptized him.3 To clear the various arguments about baptism in different churches, from this example, we understand that baptism is not used as a way of joining a church but as a sign of total surrender to God. From the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, we learn that baptism is for everyone from the Jews to the Gentiles. This is because the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by Philip and yet he was a gentile. God is not a respecter of persons and chooses whom he pleases. Another story that shows the power of baptism is the story of Saul who was later named as Paul. In a story in the in focus, that is Acts 9:17-19, there is another story. Luke tells us the story of how God changed the hardest heart of Saul to be his servant. Saul used to persecute Christians and on his way to persecute more Christians in Damascus he met Jesus. Jesus confronted him and after he left Saul was blind. Saul was taken by Ananias and was baptized immediately at that moment. From the story of Paul, Luke explains to us that no matter how evil a person is the confession and repentance of sin is enough for one to be baptized. This indicates that a person who repents his sin can immediately be baptized. It is not a must that a person is baptized after some time of being in the church. All sinners who repent their sins can immediately be baptized. At the time when the early church believed that salvation and baptism belonged only to them, Peter has an interaction with Cornelius who is a gentile to show that God is universal and every individual has the right to be baptized. The story comes from the book of Acts 10: 45-48. God’s spirit was poured on the gentiles and still Peter ordered for their baptism. This shows that the filling is not only enough since one cannot be separated from the redemptive purpose of God. God is concerned about every individual be it a Gentile or a Jew and baptism is for all of them. Baptism is necessary for ones salvation as seen in the story because it involves the participation in Christ’s life. When one is baptized, the old things that were not God such as sin is buried and one resurrects in Christ a new creation.4 The resurrection with Christ also signifies the washing away of one’s sins. The baptism of the Gentiles was an act of having faith in Christ and following his footsteps. The immediate ordering of the activity on gentiles by Peter shows the urgency of believers to be born again by baptism. This is because it is a way of securing the salvation of the children of God without hesitation. Cornelius the Gentile was a God fearing man and he believed in God, his son and in his word. However, his faith ensured his salvation together with that of his family. He needed more than faith which was the baptism in full immersion of water. This shows us that salvation is not only about belief and faith in God but must be accompanied by an action. From the story of Cornelius, it is evident that salvation involves the hearing of the word; believe in the word, confession and repentance of sins and baptism by full immersion of water. Chapter 16 of the Book of Acts also gives an example of baptism of Lydia and her household. The Book of Acts 16:13-15 gives the occurrences that led to the baptism of Lydia and her family. Lydia is seen to have opened her heart and she was convicted and was baptized together with the whole of her household. This shows that there is no need of keeping baptism to wait for weeks after one has believed in Jesus and has repented his or her sins. This is also another example of baptism that emphasizes on immediately baptism once an individual has believed and repented his or her sins. 5 Acts 16:29-34 gives us another insight of baptism in water. A jailer wanted to kill himself because of escapee prisoners. Paul gave him hope and the jailer felt the need of being saved. For the Jailer and his family to be saved, Silas and Paul spoke to them about ; they believed, repented and were immediately baptized them. Although the jailer said that he did not need a physical salvation to be saved, Paul and Silas emphasized to him the importance of baptism in acquiring salvation for him and his family. This explains that a spiritual salvation is not enough for a Christian to be saved from the world but also the physical which is baptism is a requirement. Even as the examples of people being converted to Christianity go on, it is clear that all the people who were converted were baptized for them to claim that they are saved. Chapter 18 verse 7-8 also shows another example of conversion of non believers to Christianity. Paul preaches and teaches the synagogue ruler known as Crispus about Jesus Christ and the salvation that he brought to the entire human kind which was God’s redemptive purpose. The ruler and his household believe in Jesus, they repent their sins and are baptized. Some other Corinthian’s who were at the area also believed in the word and in Jesus and were baptized. In addition chapter 19 of Acts involves Christians who had been baptized before.6 These believers were baptized by John the Baptist who baptized them out of repentance and not in their belief in God. The Christians did not know anything about the Holy Spirit and neither did they know about Jesus. They also did not understand the importance and meaning of the baptism they received. Paul took his time to explain to them the gospel, about Jesus, the Holy Spirit and about the meaning of baptism. Paul explained to them that repentance was not salvation but repentance through the knowledge of Christ and baptism was salvation to them. However, the disciples acted in accordance to the teachings of Jesus and in their walk of salvation through believing in him. This story explains that a Christian is only baptized once and baptism is not repeated in one’s lifetime. It also shows that baptism without understanding of what it entails is a death. Baptism should be accompanied by God’s spirit so that Christians should have knowledge of who the Holy Spirit is. Additionally, no one can claim baptism without the understanding and belief in Jesus. 7 Importance Baptism in view of Salvation Baptism is more or less an important aspect to human beings. Salvation has four major steps which include hearing , believing in Jesus, confessing and repenting of one’s sin and finally baptism through the complete immersion into water. To understand the importance of baptism to salvation, we will start with the words of Jesus to Nicodemus in the Book of John 3:3. Nicodemus inquired of Jesus on how heaven and Jesus answered him that one cannot see God’s kingdom unless he or she is born again. He went ahead to explain that being born again is being born of the water and the Spirit. The birth of water literally means being fully immersed into a pool of water. 8 Baptism is seen to be significant in salvation as Jesus commands his disciples in Mark from chapter 16 on the 15th verse through to 16. Jesus commands his disciples to preach the gospel all over the world. He also tells them of salvation which requires one to believe in the gospel and be baptized. Believing in Jesus and being baptized go hand in hand. Jesus further gives a warning that whoever does not believe and be baptized will be condemned and will not receive salvation from God. 9 In Acts 2:38, the importance of baptism to salvation is seen as he is talking to the people who had assembled. When they asked what they needed to go to heaven, Peter told them they should repent. This is because one’s sins must be forgiven by God through his Jesus. Forgiveness of sins comes from repentance which makes baptism an important aspect in life. The Acts 22:16, we see the importance of baptism in the salvation of mankind when Saul had regained his eyesight after having an encounter with Jesus. Ananias asks Saul why he is waiting and commands him to be baptized right away so as to wash his sins away. Here, baptism is important because it washes away the sins of individuals for them to have the opportunity of receiving salvation. Baptism is also seen to be important because Ananias does not want Saul to waste time on anything but to be baptized so that he can be saved. 10 Romans 6:1-7 emphasizes that the baptism into Christ was being baptized into the death of Christ. Baptism in the life of a Christian plays an important role because it connects one with the death of Christ. The full immersion into water symbolizes death with Christ which takes away as our sins and the resurrection with Christ symbolizes the newness of life. This shows a significant role of baptism in the salvation of human kind. It makes believers to share with the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ who lives forever more. Baptism also enables Christians to identify themselves with Jesus Christ who was the atonement of our sins. 11 When talking to their fellow believers, Apostles are seen to refer to baptism when talking about salvation that they received through Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1:12-13, Paul reaffirms the faith in the believers through questioning them on baptism. This means that baptism holds a great part in the salvation of the believers. As Paul says this, he is referring to the salvation of the believers. This means that before they were baptized, they had the knowledge of god, they believed in him and they repented for baptism to be done on them. 12 It is at the process of baptism that one’s sins are forgiven and washed away. The redemption is the most important phase of salvation because it gives a believer hope and a reason to surrender to God and to believe in him the more. The forgiveness of sins during baptism also gives believers an assurance of going to heaven. This shows that baptism plays a big role in fulfilling the redemptive purpose of God to save all mankind. It is after baptism that believers get an indication that God is in control of the lives of the believers. Baptism also brings together believers of the same faith and who are saved by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. 13 Conclusion By studying the Book of acts, Luke makes us to understand that baptism is not just a symbol of being a Christian as most people today believe. Believe in Jesus, repentance and baptism cannot be separated from each other and they go hand in hand for the attainment of salvation. One does not have to hesitate after repenting, he or she should immediately be baptized. This is a process of letting go of our sins by being buried with Christ during immersion in water and resurrection. Bibliography Bryan Woufmueller. Baptism and the Holy spirit in the Book of Acts. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.hope-aurora.org/docs/ActsbaptismandtheHolySpirit.pdf 2007 Dave Jenkins. Baptism within the book of Acts: Why Baptism is not just a symbol. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://voices.yahoo.com/baptisms-within-book-acts-why-baptism-not-908369.html David Russow. Baptism in the book of Acts. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.wlsessays.net/files/RussowBaptism.pdf Dunn James. Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1970. Edgar Lee. Baptism In The Holy Spirit And The Book Of Acts. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org-bapt-holy-spirit.ctm Jeremy Myers. Baptism in the book of Acts. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.tillhecomes.org/baptisms-in-book-of-acts/htm Roger Campbell. The book of Acts. What does it teach about water baptism? Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://www.valeroacoc.com/index-the-book-of-acts-what-does-it-teach-about-water-baptism.html 2012 Ron Hutchison. The place of Baptism in God’s plan of salvation. Retrieve May 10, 2014 from http://biblestudyweb.org/baptism.html 2007 Schlink Edmund. The doctrine of Baptism. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. 1972. Tony Johnson. What part does Baptism Play In Salvation? Retrieved May 10, 2014 from http://alivewithchrist.com/baptismsroleinsalvation.html Read More