The Practice of Baptism within Churches of Christ
To exactly describe the practices and beliefs of all Churches of Christ is impossible, since each congregation is officially independent. No governing body tells other churches what to do or how to think. Strong circles of influence push churches and church leaders in directions that seem to compete with one another on many issues. Unifying ideas about baptism, though, still generally carry the day within all Churches of Christ.Here is the generally accepted belief: A person receives salvation and membership in the Lord’s body by baptism (immersion) into Christ. Many individual Christians have gravitated toward evangelical views on salvation (i.e., that baptism is purely symbolic and therefore unessential), but I know of no instance within our fellowship of churches where the practice of baptism has been replaced by the sinner's prayer or something similar.
We acknowledge that grace comes through faith, but the general moment of salvation is considered to be the moment of immersion under water. Physical baptism is like a spiritual bath. God chose this act to be an outward display of the inward transformation when He makes us into a follower of Jesus.
This practice is an ancient one, based on the apparent example of the earliest Christians as recorded in the book of Acts and by the church fathers. Once a person is baptized, it is not necessary to ever repeat it. A baptized believer is under the spiritual protection of God’s grace and thereby receives continual forgiveness and acceptance, as long as a person does not completely reject faith.
Although infants are not baptized in the churches of Christ, children growing up in the church will sometimes choose to be baptized even as young as nine or ten years old. This generally takes place only if the parents and/or preacher agree that the young person is aware of what is happening and if the decision is truly his/her own. The decision to be baptized and follow Christ must come from the individual being baptized, thus ruling out the baptism of infants.
We should always be cautious about accepting a belief or practice without understanding why it is done and studying it for ourselves. We should ask questions: “What is the meaning of baptism? How important was baptism to early Christians? How does God transform us through the baptismal act?”
Comments
Still...
I have a hard time believing that God will refuse to save those who don't share this view. To say that "a person receives salvation and membership in the Lord's body by baptism" is to concretely define the parameters of salvation. It is a dangerous prelude to right vs. wrong in this most volatile of subjects. Also, I think that declaring the general moment of salvation as the moment of immersion is a matter of opinion and interpretation. I've found that for every verse quoted as specifying the necessity for baptism there is another that seems to indicate it is only a part of the salvation process. Who are we to say at what point in that process God will set us apart?
Another problem I have with the hard line being taken on baptism is the fact that it obscures the importance of "the believer's prayer." I am not content, not will I teach others to be content with just "praying the prayer." But to say that salvation is all about baptism is to say that the prayer is not important. For every believer who has forgone baptism, there is at LEAST one who has forgone the prayer. We take confessions at the time of baptism...do we encourage the person being immersed to pray to God directly, asking Him into his or her heart?
Again, I'm not debating the Biblical importance of baptism. I'm simply reacting to my understanding that you find it necessary. It's a divisive issue and has driven countless people away from the church in general and the Church of Christ in specific. I hope, in love, you hear this the way it's intended. Let's teach the importance and the examples of this act of obedience without making it exclusionary and judgmental.
Jason~You have another reader here. I have gone back and read all of your posts over the last few days (I hadn't realized you had this link). I really enjoy getting to know you and your family and "hear" your opinions. Keep up the blogging :)
Still....
I believe asking or answering the question whether or not God will save us if we have not been baptized is not a question that we are entitled to ask or answer. Who are we to say who will get into heaven and who will not. The only thing that we can do is follow and teach what the Bible asks of us.
If we teach people that they do not need baptism or suggest that it would not be logical for God to prevent someone from getting into heaven who has not been baptized elevates us to a position of answering and asking questions which God did not give us the authority to ask or answer. Have we been told that we need to be baptized? Yes. Have we been told that we do not need to be baptized? No. Thus, I see the real danger not in drawing line around salvation but answering questions which we have not been given the authority to ask.
It's so important to do those things you listed...to try to do everything right and to live faithfully. Of course, we're not saved by what we do but by what He does and has done for us. My only problem with your comment is that it seems to indicate a works-dependent salvation.
I'm not going to say who's saved and who's not. I'm going to teach the Word as I understand it and encourage people to have a relationship with their Creator. Right vs. wrong conversations have gotten the church into a lot of trouble. Asking people to know and love Christ is a better way.
I agree regarding your point about baptism skating the line of being a work. I do not, however, look at baptism as work because of the holy or spiritual elements that are involved. To give an example, I also believe that believing in God and repenting are also necessary for salvation. Are these acts also considered works? I would say no. What differentiates them is that there is a holy or spiritual element to them. When we have a faith in God, we have to believe that there is something else going on on the other end of the relationship. I believe God is coming at us from the opposite side of this relationship which makes believing in God and believing in Santa Clause different. There is a spiritual part to our belief.
When the bible says that we are not saved by works, I believe it is saying that we cannot earn our way into heaven or, in other words, it is not the things that we do that get give us salvation. Clearly baptism could fall into this category if you said that baptism was a way to earn something. I think this, however, confuses the purposes of baptism. I think that Baptism is much more about what God is doing, verses what we are doing. Which is why I have always said baptism is not about a public confession of faith. It is to be buried with our sin and risen clean. Although some would suggest otherwise, I do not think this is symbolic. I think there is a spiritual element to what goes on.
A work would be about what we do. I would say that baptism is about what God does or gives, depending on the way you look at it.
But, placing the necessity tag on it is tough. My thought is that we are not called to say what we can avoid and still get into heaven but rather to say what we should do to get to heaven. If someone were to come to me and say "how do I get to heaven", I am going to tell them to get baptized, among other things. If they come and ask if they can still get to heaven and not get baptized, I am going to say that it is not my call, which it is not.
In the end, whether the necessity tag is placed on baptism is moot to me. As I think you would agree, we are called to follow the bible or Christ's teachings. I would guess that God's equation for salvation is a bit more complicated than we could ever hope to understand.
I appreciate your viewpoints and the discussion
First, such passages as Acts 15 and Roman 4 is clear that no external act is necessary for salvation. Salvation is by divine grace thru faith alone(roman3:22,24,25,26,28,30:4:5, Gal 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Phillipian 3:9, etc)
If water baptism were necessary for salvation , we would expect to find it stressed whenever the gospel is presented in Scripture. That is not the case, however, Peter mentioned baptism in his seromon on the day of Pentecost (act 2:38). However, in his sermon from Solomon's portico in the Temple (Act3:12-26), Peter makes no reference to baptism , but links forgiveness of sin to repentance (3:19). If baptism is necessary for the forgivenss of sin, why didn't Peter say so in Act 3?
In 1Cor 15:1-4, Paul give a concise summary of the gospel message he preached. There is no mention of baptism. In 1cor 1:17, Paul states that Christ did not send me to baptized, but to preach the gospel thus clearly differentiating the gospel from baptism.
Those passages are difficult to understand if water baptism is necessary for salvation. But I wonder If baptism were part of the gospel itself, necessary for salvation, what good would it have done Paul to preach the gospel, but not baptize?? Did Paul understand water baptism to be separate for the gospel???
We have no record of the apostles' being baptized, yet Jesus pronounced them clean of their sins (John 15:3 - note that the WORD of GOD , not baptism , is what cleansed them)
the Bible also gives us an example of people who were saved before being baptized. In Acts 10:44-48, Cornelius and those with him were converted thru Peter's message. That they were saved before being baptized is evident from their reception of the Holy spirit (v44) and the gifts of the spirit (v46) before their baptism. Indeed, it is the fact that they had received the Holy spirit (and hence were saved) that led Peter to baptize them (v47)
It is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. In other words, when one spoke of baptism, he usually meant both ideas-the reality and the ritual. Peter is shown to make the strong connection between these two in Chapters 10 and 11 of Acts. In Act 11:15-16 he recounts the conversion of Cornelius and friends , pointing out that at the point of their conversions they were baptized by the Holy Spirit. After he had seen this, he declared, "surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the HOLY Spirit (10:47)
In Acts 22;16 Paul recounts the words of Ananias to him following his experience on the Damascus road. Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name, " Is it best to connect the phrase "wash away your sins" with "Calling on His name." If we connect it with be baptized, the Greek participle epikalesamenot ("calling")would have no antecedent. Is Paul's sins washed away by baptism or by calling on HIS NAME or by both??
Water Baptism is certainly important and required of every believer. Baptism is a beautiful time of testimony/acknowledgment of a inward heart. A HEART for GOD , having faith in Jesus Christ the one and only Savior. I will continue to study God's word on baptism and many other subjects. But the most important command of all is Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment great than these. Lets remember to love God and one another.