In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize and to teach the new believers. This should remove every doubt about the question, “Is baptism necessary”? Every command of our Lord, is our duty. Even if we do not understand anything about Baptism, we must still do it, because our Lord commanded it. His command ought to be a sufficient reason for us, to obey.
But then one might wonder, what is the significance of this ritual? What happens when someone takes Baptism? Is baptism required for forgiveness of sins? If faith saves you, then why Baptism? Should children be Baptised or only adults?
These are few of the many questions that we struggle with. Answer to these questions may not be necessary, after all obedience is what counts, but it definitely is important.
It is important because, it makes you stronger in your faith; it answers why you believe what you believe.
Before we start our investigation, something crucial to note:
Every time the word “baptism” is used in bible, we shouldn't always associate it with the rite of water baptism. The word baptism, in Greek, simply means – to immerse, to dip or to dye. Thus, whether or not the author used the word baptism as a rite, should be undersood from the context.
Example: in Septuagint Old Testament, 2 Kings 5:14, Joshua 3:15, Leviticus 11:32 and in New Testament Luke 11:38, Mark 7:4 etc, the word baptism is used and in these passages it clearly does not mean, the rite of water baptism. Romans 6:3-5; is another passage where we cannot be completely sure, whether Paul is using the word baptism as a rite or otherwise.
For our study today, I have chosen, Colossians 2:11-12.
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self, ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
I chose this passage because, in my understanding this is the clearest passage about the rite of water baptism.
Paul in this passage makes a clear analogy between circumcision and baptism. This connection is important, and understanding circumcision and what it meant for the Jews, will throw light on our understanding of Baptism.
We know clearly that circumcision did not save anyone (Paul talks about it in Romans 2); Jews circumcised their kids, thus Judas most likely was circumcised yet he was not saved, we know many Jews were apostate, we know that Israel’s disobedience was the reason for their exile. Circumcision had no salvific benefit however, it was a sign of covenant (Genesis 17:11, Romans 4:11), it brought the person into a covenantal relationship with God. Covenantal relationship is the key here, it means that the person is in God’s family and has access to all His oracles and promises.
When a man and a woman gets married, they enter a covenantal relationship with each other. Now love is the one which initially brought them together and keeps them together. But marriage is a covenantal rite, during which they bind themselves with each other; for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.
In the same way, faith is the one that brings us to God and keeps us with Him, but baptism is a covenantal rite which binds us with God. When this covenant is made, we become one with Christ (His body)
Now, one may argue that circumcision was done for infants, so baptism should be done for infants too!
Not really! first of all, Paul relates baptism to spiritual circumcision (a circumcision not performed by human hands); spiritual circumcision applies to adults (people who can understand its true meaning). More importantly, circumcision was ethnic in nature and therefore applies by birth, baptism is not ethnic.
What if someone is already baptised as infant, should he be re-baptised?
Again, the answer is NO. Once someone has entered a covenantal relationship with God, he need not enter the covenant again. God honours the covenant that He makes, even if man doesn’t. Consider someone who got married as a child. Once they grow up and want to continue with the marital covenant that they made unknowingly, they need not get married again.
So, to conclude, Baptism is a wonderful rite, that binds us with Christ. It is a sign that confirms to us that we belong to Christ and He to us. He is faithful to the covenant even when we are not. As Paul said, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord". We are one!
P.S. https://www.lexico.com/definition/covenant
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