“And Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I Am with you always, to the end of the age.”--Matt. 28:18-20. What is Baptism? What does it do? Do I have to do it? Does it have to be done by immersion? Why would an infant be baptized? Did I receive the Holy Spirit when I was baptized? These are but a few questions that are asked about this Sacrament that will be briefly addressed.
As you open up your Bible to the New Testament and begin reading, you are immediately confronted with Baptism—well, almost, if you skip to Mark. In Mark’s gospel, (perhaps the earliest) Baptism begins “immediately” (pun intended) as John Mark introduces John the Baptist and his prophetic ministry as forerunner to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We read, “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”--Mark 1:4. Shortly thereafter, our Lord Himself likewise appeared before John to be baptized; not because He needed to repent and be cleansed from unrighteousness, rather as Jesus said, “Allow for it now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.”--Matthew 3:15B. John’s Baptism of Jesus was necessary for the fulfillment of God’s righteous plan of salvation, and an inauguration of the Kingdom of God. But this raises the question, is there a difference between John the Baptist’s baptism and the Baptism of the believer? Yes, there is! This is a fairly simple question to answer and doesn’t require a whole lot of exegesis, because John himself tells us that Jesus’s Baptism is different. In Luke 3:16 John says, “I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” While Baptism of water is essential and we’ll visit that shortly; the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire that Jesus delivers is both the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; and the fire that declares Christ’s righteous judgment by which the faithless will suffer. So the Baptism of the new covenant (Jesus’s Baptism) differs from the old covenant (John’s baptism) in two ways. First, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Second, Baptism is a means by which we enter the Kingdom of God or His eternal presence. Jesus said, “I assure you: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. --John 3:5. (NASB, ESV, RSV). I do get somewhat frustrated at dynamic Bible translations which approach this verse with a very contemporary Evangelical slant; twisting the language to better fit their theology by saying, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]” (NIV, HCSB). Yes, Jesus does tell Nicodemus that one must be born again, (anew or from above verses 3,7) but that is not at all what Jesus said in (v.5). From the inception of the Church, it has always been taught that “water” represents the cleansing (washing away of sins and new birth), and the “Spirit” to be the Holy Spirit—both which are requisites for believers. So the “new birth” consists of being joined to Christ in the water of Baptism and the receiving of the Holy Spirit--this is called “chrismation” in the Orthodox Church. So when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, I can assure you that Nicodemus was not thinking like the typical twenty-first century American Christian whose only concern at times seems to be about attaining salvation and the forgiveness of sins—because being born again is so much richer and deeper than that. This is where as believers that love Jesus Christ we must together stop splashing around on the surface and dive deep into the riches of Jesus Christ and what the “new birth” life with Him means. As the Orthodox Church teaches, in salvation we are given “union” with God through Christ, and a right and full relationship with the Holy Trinity. That is the restoration of our full humanity. Think about that for just a moment. When you profess faith in Christ, are Baptized by the immersion of water (death, burial, resurrection, new birth and washing away of sins) and the receiving of the Spirit, you become as God intended you to be prior to the fall-- having communion with Him. Baptism is not an option, it is a command. Through Baptism you are cleansed, justified and sanctified (Titus 3:5). So does Baptism save me? Yes, it does. Throughout the epistles and the gospels cited above, new birth is necessary for salvation. As the Orthodox Church teaches, we die to sin; then we are buried with Christ and risen with Him. At that point we are united to Christ and His body the Church. Of course without repentance and faith in Christ, Baptism becomes nothing more than a mere water sport and the immersion of water has zero bearing on our lives. In the ancient Church, Baptism was in many cases a death sentence as they were saying no to Caesar and yes to Christ. How is Baptism to be performed and why are infants Baptized? The basic formula for Baptism is simple. It is and has always been performed by means of full immersion (death, burial and resurrection). The person to be born again, is immersed three time in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19). If for some reason the person cannot be immersed, then the pouring of water over the head is performed. The first-century writing Didache also adds that if you don’t have running water use whatever is available. What about infant Baptism? Many Evangelicals are repulsed by this act, but frankly I’m not quite sure why. The common misconception and argument levied against Catholics, Orthodox Christian’s and a few other denominations is that infant Baptism does nothing for the child because they don’t even know what’s happening. Try telling that to Jesus or Peter or Paul. Remember when the disciples tried stopping the children from coming to Jesus? What did Jesus say? “But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God--Mark 10:14. So the Kingdom of God belongs to children. Does Scripture say they have to have complete requisite knowledge to partake in Baptism or Holy Communion, no! I want my children to know they are indeed part of the covenant community and body Christ, and so did Peter and Paul. In Acts 10 after the conversion of Cornelius (a Gentile convert) we are told that his entire family which must have included children were Baptized. Later in Acts 16 after the Philippian jailer believed, again we are told that he and his entire household were baptized. So when some try to mitigate Sola Scriptura, they do so in vain, because nowhere is the Baptism of infants and children seen as unbiblical—this is simply a matter of church ecclesiology. Do I receive the Holy Spirit when I get Baptized? This has caused confusion for some—myself included. There are couple of somewhat tricky passage in the Acts of the Apostles that seem to indicate some were Baptized but didn’t receive the Holy Spirit. The first Passage is found in Acts 8 when Philip visited a certain town in Samaria where some of the local people believed the message and were baptized. Upon hearing the good news, the Jerusalem Church dispatched Peter and John to check things out. This must have been good news as Peter and John then proceeded to pray for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because He had not yet fallen upon them (sometimes referred to as the Samaritan Pentecost) until the laying on of hands. The Orthodox Church believes that after Baptism takes place, the Priest, Presbyter or Bishop administers the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirt—again this is part of christmation. In a different context found in Acts 19 Paul discovers some converts who were Baptized but their baptism was different in that it was John’s baptism. And because it was John’s baptism, the Holy Spirit had not come upon them. This of course prompted Paul to perform the Baptism of a Christian and the laying on of hands thus receiving the Holy Spirit. Finally, there is Pentecost in Acts 2. After Peter demonstrates from Scripture (Old Testament) that Jesus is indeed the Messiah; and that God truly raised Him from the grave, the people were cut to the heart saying, “Men and brethren what shall we do?”--Acts 2:37. Peter’s response is, “Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”--Acts 2:38. Of course if everyone was being Baptized by means of immersion for the remission of sins, then one could certainly assume that the laying on of hands was administered as well to receive the Holy Spirit—thus being born again and partakers of the Divine. So what are the results from Baptism? This seems like a very important question to answer. First and foremost, Baptism is the death of oneself. In the fourth century St Cyril of Jerusalem said, “when you were led by the hand to the Holy pool of Divine Baptism. . .each of you made a confession, you descended into the water three times and when you came up in the very same moment you died and were born again.” Secondly, Baptism is ongoing and continual, it is not static and it is certainly not a legal fiction given to us by a Divine Judge. So our life after a profession of faith in Christ and Baptism should be seen as dynamic and fruitful. Lastly, it is intimate communion with God. When we were raised out of that water, we were raised with a purpose. It has been rightly stated, Baptism is the beginning of eternal life. Saint Peter writes, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you—it is not the mere removal of dirt from our bodies but provides us with a good conscience toward God.” --1 Peter 3:21. As Timothy Ware has rightly stated, “Through Baptism we receive a full forgiveness of sins, whether original or actual; we ‘put on Christ’, becoming members of His Body the Church.
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