A man who belongs to another denomination said to me, “I’d really like to join your church, but it’s the dunking [baptism] business that gets me.”
That gets a lot of people! They don’t understand what we believe about baptism or why we do what we do. Let me explain:
First, the most important thing is to be a Christian. This is a matter of heart commitment. Without that you can be a Methodist, Baptist, or a member of any other “abomination.” And it won’t do you an ounce of good.
Second, you can be a Christian in any Bible-believing church. We don’t think we are the only ones who are Christians. There are followers of Christ in every Christian church. We don’t question that.
Third, when people become Christians, they should be baptized. Christ said that, not Baptists. We do not baptize people as Baptists. We baptize them as Christians in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus is the one who told us to baptize. We do it in obedience to his command.
There are three things that constitute baptism according to the scriptures:
1. Baptism is for believers only. A personal commitment to Christ should come before baptism. There is no record in the Bible of anyone being baptized when not first a believer. That’s why we never baptize babies. Babies don’t believe. Parents can’t decide for children about Christ. They can teach and train them, but the child must decide for himself. Parents may dedicate a child to God, but this should not be called, substituted for, or associated with baptism. If and when a person decides on his own to follow Christ, then he should be baptized.
2. Baptism is a symbol. There is no magic in the water we use. Its significance is in what it symbolizes. Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection. The water represents a grave. Lowering the person into the water symbolizes burial, and lifting him up out of the water symbolizes resurrection. It is a way of identifying with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, and it is a way of confessing that you have died to sin and have been given a new life through Christ.
3. Baptism should be by immersion. Some people go to great lengths arguing for or against this. But if words have meaning, immersion is the right way to baptize. That’s what the word meant in Jesus’ day. Besides, the only way to depict burial is to put someone under the water.
This is not intended to argue or condemn, but to state what we believe and why we baptize as we do.