Baptism

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Q. I'm a pastor, doing some baptism studies at the moment, & one person wants to know when & why sprinkling became so popular. any thoughts? [Peter Quinn]

A. In the first two centuries A.D. the sprinkling started with the idea of "Baptismal Regeneration". If you aren't familiar with this term it is widely used today in another form by those that say that baptism is necessary for salvation. Such an idea is not backed by scripture. If it were the thief would have had to leave the cross and be baptized before the Lord could have taken him to paradise. Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The method arose out of conveince also in these same centuries and seems to be retroactive to the baptism of infants. Also it was said that sprinkling could be used for those who were bed ridden and couldn't step into a pool of water to be baptized. And some historians don't place this until later centuries. Here is a quote from a short paragraph from Robinson's Ecclesiastical Researches. "During the first three centuries, congregations all over the East subsisted in separate independent bodies, unsupported by government and consequently without any secular power over one another. All this time they were baptized churches, and though all the fathers of the first four ages, down to Jerome (A.D. 370), were of Greece, Syria and Africa, and though they give great numbers of histories of the baptism of adults, yet there is not one of the baptism of a child till the year 370." (Compendium of Baptist History, Shackelford, p. 43; Vedder, p. 50; Christian, p, 31; Orchard, p. 50, etc.)

Whenever it came about the method is just not backed by scripture and those that practice this usually also admit this fact.

[Timothy]

Q. Please tell me the meaning of baptized and body in 1 Corinthians 12:13 [anon]

A. There are two Baptisms, the Believers Baptism & the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The (believers) baptism is the act of showing the world in good conscience that we have died with Christ and have been buried and ressurected with Him by immersion into water. The (baptism of the Holy Spirit) is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and leading us in the path we should be headed for the Lord. In fact placing us into the Body of Christ. Acts 11:16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

The verses you are mentioning "1st Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." are telling us that we are members of the same Body doing different tasks for the Lord.

Reading the following verses you'll see exactly what is meant. 1st Corinthians 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many. 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 12:19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

The letter to the Romans makes this even clearer! Romans 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Therefore the meaning or definition of the "Body" is the Church and the Church is made up of Born Again & Baptized Believers in Christ Jesus. Does this answer your question?

[Timothy]

Q. Hi, God Bless you ! I would like to know if I can get Spiritually baptized without necessary becoming a member: I am a catholic who needs time to find the right church but wants to be obedient to Jesus and get Scriptural Baptism [Ken]

A. Thanks for writing in. So you want to be Baptized? If you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, what hinders you? Have you ever read in the scriptures about Philip preaching Jesus to the Eunich? Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Baptism by emersion is simply a showing of obiediance to the Savior. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the wonderful thing that takes place when you receive the Comforter. The Holy Ghost comes to dwell in you. Acts 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. 19:4 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.19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Baptism by emersion was never in any way meant to be a precursor to church membership though. It is simply the symbol of burying the Old Sin Nature and arising a New Creature in Christ Jesus.

When having the chance to lead someone to the Lord, it is totally wrong to tell them that they can be baptized only if they are going to join a particular church body. The facts are that this was never said in the scriptures at all. What we are told though is that we are not to forsake going to Church assembly. Hebrews10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 10:24: And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Go to a man of God who you believe to truly be a man of God and ask him to baptise you according to the scriptures. If you can't find one, let me know! I'll either help you find one or find a way to get to you to do it myself.

It's interesting to look at the history of Baptism. The people who are called Baptists have a long history of wanting to follow the ordinances of the Lord and being persicuted for their beliefs. We were even at one time called Ana-Baptists because we believed in Baptism by emersion and Baptism of the Holy Spirit. There was even disputations about how many times one should be Baptized. Below is an excerpt from one of the legal documents from Zurich around the time of the reformation.

• "At Zurich, after many disputations between Zuinglius and the Ana-Baptists, the Senate made an Act, that if any presume to re-baptize those who were baptized before (i.e. as infants) they should be drowned. At Vienna many Ana-Baptists were tied together in chains that one drew the other after him into the river, wherein they were all suffocated (drowned)." (Vida Supra, p. 61)

Those who believed that Baptism was needed after someone accepted the Lord as Savior were going directly against the teachings of the Catholic Church teachings.

• Cardinal Hosius (Catholic, 1524), President of the Council of Trent:  "Were it not that the baptists have been grievously tormented and cut off with the knife during the past twelve hundred years, they would swarm in greater number than all the Reformers." (Hosius, Letters, Apud Opera, pp. 112, 113.)

Isn't it interesting that the President of the Council of Trent acknowledged that the Baptists were around even before the establishment of the Catholic Church? There must be something to this Baptism, Huh?

[Timothy]