Believers Baptism

In our previous article we discuss the general doctrine of Baptism. Now that we have discussed the general view of baptism, let us now look at the position of the Baptist Church on baptism. Let us start with the forms of baptism. As mentioned in the previous article on baptism, the two main form of baptism are the water baptism and Holy Spirit baptism. The Baptist Church believes and practice both forms of baptism.

Holy Spirit Baptism

The Baptist Church do believe in the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit and also accept the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Baptist believes God promised to pour out His spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28-29 'And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. NKJV). This message was repeated by John the Baptist in the book of Luke (Luke 3:16: John answered, saying to all, 'I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to lose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. NKJV). Finally our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ further emphasized on the pouring of the Holy Spirit on us in the book of John and Acts.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. NKJV

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'NKJV.

This message came to pass in the days of the apostle Acts 1:4-16, 2:1-5. Based on these biblical text the Baptist believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. However, they believe that tongue speaking is not the only sign that prove the baptism of the Holy Spirit on a believer.

Water Baptism

The Baptist Church also believes in water baptism. This practice started during the days of the John the Baptist. They practice this baptism because our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ received water baptism from John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8 and Luke 3:1-18) and our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ commanded us to baptized new members who come to join the faith.

Approach practice by the Baptist

The Baptist believes in the baptism of the believer. Thus they practice believer’s baptism. That is, a person who have accepted that he or she is a sinner; believes the Lord Jesus Christ alone can save him or her; have confessed their sins, committed his or her life to Jesus Christ and is willing to live by the principles and commandment of God (Holy Living) can be baptized. The Baptist Church do not baptize Infant because, an infant cannot understand the salvation message as well as accept Jesus Christ. Salvation is a personal encounter. The Church rather dedicates infants into the hands of God. Evidence of this practice is in the book of Luke 2:21-28. In this verse the baby, Jesus Christ was sent to the temple to be dedicated to God. This was done to obey the law of God (Luke 2:21-24). Please don't confuse this event as baptism of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized at the age of 30 years by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13, Luke 3:21-23). The Baptist Church also do not practice adult baptism. Being old does not mean we have to force him or her to be baptized. As explain earlier baptism must be a personal encounter or the person must do so out of his or her freewill and not forced on him or her based on the age of the person. The bases for baptism should be by faith of the person in our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

Method use by the Baptist Church

The Baptist church believes that baptism must be done by immersion. That is, by immersing the person in water as seen in the gospels (Matthew 3:1-17, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18 thus when Jesus Christ the Lord was baptized).

Water and Holy Spirit Baptism which one will come first

There is no specific order for these two forms of baptism. The Holy Spirit baptism may come before one is baptized with water or vice versa. Whichever one comes first in your life, you are still on the right track. In the book of Acts, Cornelius and the believers in his house received the Holy Spirit baptism before they received water baptizm (Acts 10:47). So there is no specific order for the two forms of baptism, you can receive any one first.

Why should I be baptized?

It a command from Jesus Christ: They believe that baptism has been ordained by Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus Christ told His disciples to go into the world and make more disciples from all nations, after that they are to baptized them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and finally they should teach them all the things He has taught them. Simply put, they practice baptism because Jesus Christ our saviour and the one the Church follows commanded the Church to baptized new members. It shows our union with Christ: baptism shows our death to sin and the beginning of a new life with Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-4)

Who can be baptized?

Only those who believe in Christ can be baptized (Matthew 28:18-20). Thus people above the age of understanding, it is this group of people the Church Baptize because they can hear, understand the message and make a decision for themselves. Salvation is individual based.

What will happen to a child if he or she dies?

This is an important question. Let first look at baptism; does baptism guarantee that a person will make it to heaven. The answer is no, it does not. Baptism is as explain above serve as a sign to the world that you have started a new life in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and you are going to follow His ways all your life. In addition, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ told us in the book of Matthew 18:10: in that verse Jesus Christ made us to understand that the angels of children always see the face of God and as such we should not look down on them. I believe that we have to worry about us (the adult) so that we do not miss heaven.

After Baptism what next

Baptism is not the end of the salvation of the believer. The next thing to do is to avail yourself for teachings and prayer. Our Lord Jesus Christ told us (the Church) to continue to teach the new believer the entire commandment that He taught us. After baptism you have to participate in bible studies, prayers and also have a personal bible studies. It is also important to fellowship with other believers. This will help you have a deeper understanding of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Summary and Conclusion

Baptism is an important ordinance in the Baptist Church. The Baptist believes in water baptism as well as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They also believe that a person's baptism should be based on his or her faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ alone and not age. Finally, we discussed that, the Baptist use the immersion method to baptized members into the Church. Be blessed SHALOM.