The Meaning of Baptism

This is part of a short pamphlet that I recently authored to prepare new believers for baptism. It helps answer the question, “What do I need to know to prepare for Christian baptism?” Whether you are already baptized or preparing for baptism, I hope that it reminds you of the deep symbolism and preciousness of this Christian ordinance.

Baptism is an Ordinance

Christian churches have two practices that they commonly perform. These practices are known as ‘ordinances’ – they are practices that Jesus ‘ordained’ for us to perform. Churches that center everything on what the Bible teaches generally perform two of these practices: ‘baptism’ and ‘the Lord’s supper.’

These practices are sometimes called ‘sacraments,’ but this is not the best term. Over time, the word ‘sacrament’ has gained the idea of ‘a practice that gives you God’s grace.’ The two ‘ordinances’ of baptism and the Lord’s supper do not give you grace. Rather, they are symbols and pictures of spiritual truths and realities. These two ordinances function like ‘gospel theater’ to remind God’s people of what God has done.

Baptism is a Christian Duty

The Bible teaches that all Christians should be baptized. This is both implied and stated in the Bible.

Baptism is the implied duty of all Christians because we see that in the Bible, Christ’s followers were baptized. Jesus himself went around baptizing (technically, his disciples did it on his behalf) in John 4:1-2. Those who accepted the message of John the Baptist were baptized, demonstrating their repentance and their acceptance, in advance, of Jesus who was to come (Acts 19:4).

Baptism is also the stated duty of all Christians. Peter commanded people to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission – the duty of the church for this age! – he told them to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19). This means that baptism is commanded for all disciples, in all nations.

Baptism is Immersion

Today there is confusion about what baptism refers to. Some people ‘baptize’ infants by sprinkling water on their heads. However, ‘baptism’ refers to being ‘immersed’ in water. The word ‘baptize’ in the original Greek that the New Testament was written in, means just this: immersion. Even people who sprinkle water on babies agree that this is the meaning of the word. The meaning of ‘immersion’ is also clear by looking at how the word is used in the New Testament. People are often baptized when they ‘go into’ the water, and they end their baptism by coming ‘out of’ the water (see Matthew 3:16, Acts 8:38). In fact, archaeology has even demonstrated that the Jews who lived in the time of Jesus had special pools created for the very purpose being ‘immersed’ in them!

Baptism is an Act of Discipleship-Obedience

Baptism is for those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and desire to obey him by taking the first public step of obedience. What this means is that you need to be a disciple of Jesus Christ before you are baptized. A disciple is one who is committed to following Jesus Christ – not one who is thinking about committing, or one who plans to commit in the future. Rather, a disciple has already come to this monumental point in life where he or she places all hope in Jesus Christ, abandoning the previous life, and submitting everything to Jesus Christ as the Lord.

Many people are baptized for the wrong reason. One of the worst reasons to get baptized is simply because other people want you to, or because you are trying to impress people, or because you want others to think well of you. If you are baptized for those reasons, you are simply mocking something that is very serious.

Many people are baptized because they think that baptism will save them. They view baptism as the step that actually makes them right with God. While baptism is very important – and it certainly shows that a person is committed to following Jesus – baptism never makes a person into a disciple. Rather, the command for all people everywhere is to “repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Other people think that baptism will prepare them for salvation, as if it is a checkbox that they need to mark before they can really ‘get saved.’ But the Bible always describes baptism as happening after someone believes.

Finally, some people think that baptism makes them more holy. I already mentioned that baptism is not a ‘sacrament’ – it does not provide you with grace. It is only a picture. Getting baptized to somehow be on ‘better terms’ with God is simply vending machine theology: the idea that if you do certain things, you will get certain things – and God never acts like that! Because baptism is a symbol, the only reason why you should be baptized again is if (1) you were not a believer when you were baptized in the past, or (2) your previous baptism did not adequately symbolize what it should have. To be baptized for any other reason actually destroys the symbolism of baptism!

Baptism is a Sign and Symbol

As I mentioned earlier, baptism is rich with deep biblical meaning and symbolism. There are at least six ways in which baptism functions as a symbol and symbol.

Baptism is a sign of public profession of faith and repentance

When people believe on Jesus and trust him as their savior, they also obey him as their Lord. This means that, since Jesus commanded baptism, they obey him and get baptized. Baptism becomes the first public step to say, “I have faith in Jesus and I’ve repented of my sins.” This follows the Biblical pattern. Jesus said to ‘make disciples,’ and then to ‘baptize them.’ Because repentance, faith, and baptism are so closely tied, they are sometimes substituted, the one for the other. Peter said to ‘repent and be baptized’ (Acts 2:38) because baptism is the logical next step if you really have faith that Jesus is Lord.

Baptism is a Sign of Forgiveness and Cleansing from Sin

When you get baptized, the picture of being immersed in water visualizes what God has done to you spiritually: he has forgiven you and cleaned you up from all your sins. You are no longer polluted by shame, guilt, and evil. When Ananias, an early Christian, told Paul to get baptized, he said, “be baptized and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). Did this mean that Ananias really believed that Paul could scrub in the water long enough that his sins would float away? No – the meaning is that this was a symbol of his sins being washed away. Similarly, when John the Baptist preached and baptized, he preached a baptism of ‘repentance.’

Baptism is a Sign of Union with Christ in His Death, Burial, and Resurrection

When you become a ‘new creation’ in Christ, you are just that – “in Christ”! Something happens spiritually to unite you, mystically, with Jesus. Your old identity is gone – you have a new identity, the identity of Jesus! Baptism symbolizes that.

As you are immersed in the water, it is a picture of Jesus dying and getting buried in the ground. As you stand up from the water, it reflects back to Jesus being resurrected from the tomb. The Bible talks about this in many places. In Romans 6:3-4 it says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

But what does it mean that you are united with Christ in his death? It refers, very practically, to your own death to sin. Sin is no longer your master. You have died, and sin lost a servant. When you were spiritually raised – resurrected with Christ and made into a new creature – God received a new servant. Your life is no longer yours for sinning, it is God’s for obedience. “For,” as Paul reminds us, “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

Baptism is a Sign of the Gift of the Holy Spirit

In the book of Acts, the gift of the Holy Spirit is often associated with baptism. In Acts 2:38, Peter promises it to those who are baptized. In Acts 10:47 the order is reversed, and those who have the Spirit are baptized. In Acts 8:14-17, certain believers are baptized in the name of ‘Jesus,’ but they are not baptized in the name of ‘the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’ Perhaps because of this, they do not receive the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit is somewhat mysterious – we can’t always predict how He will work – it is clear that the gift of the Holy Spirit is associated with baptism.

Baptism is a Sign of Identification with Christ’s Body

We already noticed that baptism is a sign of union with Jesus Christ. However, as the Bible so often teaches, the church is Christ’s body. If we are united to Christ, the head, then we will be part of the church, the body! Baptism is not an isolated, individual experience; it is a sort of ‘passport’ into the body. Those who are immersed in water give the picture of being united and submerged into the body of Christ, the church. This is particular: while Christ purchased the entire body of believers (the ‘universal church’), baptism provides us with a ‘passport’ into the specific local church. This is clear from Acts 2:41, where 3,000 Jews joined the church of Jerusalem in one day, following baptism. Paul also makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where he says that we were all baptized “into one body.” The context of this passage shows that Paul is not referring to the mystical ‘universal’ body of Christ, but the local church congregation.

Baptism is a Sign of Initiation into the New Covenant

The Bible contains a framework or backbone of covenants. These covenants link the story of redemption together, and they demonstrate God’s progressive revelation of Himself. When Jesus died on the cross, He inaugurated the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15), a time of special relationship between God and His people. When believers give the sign of dying with Christ, they are identifying with the covenant that Jesus formed. Also, since the church is a New Covenant institution, those who are baptized ‘into’ Christ’s body (of the local church) have a passport to the New Covenant institution, and hence, they are initiated into the New Covenant.

Baptism is a Church Ordinance

You have already seen that baptism is baptism ‘into’ the body of Christ, the local church. This has some ramifications for how baptism is performed.

The Bible does not say who can perform a baptism. However, because it is so closely associated with the church, it seems wise to say that only someone who is in the church should perform a baptism. The fact that the Great Commission – including the command to baptize – was given to the church bears this out. In fact, the near-unanimous example of the New Testament is that church leaders perform baptism. However, this cannot be considered a ‘rule’ since Ananias baptized Paul. What this does mean, though, is that no one who is outside the church (least of all the one being baptized himself) should perform a baptism. Can women perform baptisms? The Bible does not say. What it does teach about women not taking leadership roles – along with the fact that women never baptize in the New Testament – means that we are probably safe to say ‘no’: it is not ideal for women to baptize.

There is no geography where the Bible says you should be baptized. However, since baptism is a sort of ‘gospel theater,’ it makes sense that we would want others to observe and benefit from the experience. So feel free to invite your family and friends to observe! What is clear is that baptism occurs in connection with the local church (though not necessarily in the local church building). The one exception to this is when there is no local church, such as when Paul was sharing the gospel with those who weren’t believers, or when Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch were in the wilderness.

Because baptism is rich in symbolism, it is wise for baptism to occur as soon as practically possible. In the New Testament, people were baptized immediately after their profession of faith. There are some contexts in the world today where that is still wise. However, because we live in a culture that contains many ‘cultural Christians’ – and because we live in a culture where counterfeit Christianity is very common (unlike the first century) – there is wisdom in moving a little slower. We want to baptize you quickly, but we need to baptize you once we know that you confess the Jesus of the New Testament, not a false Jesus.