Baptism: This is one of the major topics we’ve studied over the past few months. I’d like to close this summary of scriptural issues and the Catholic Church with a review of baptism. Peter told the Jews on the day of Pentecost that baptism was for the remission of sins. Acts 2:38 says, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Since baptism is for the remission of sins, the one being baptized must be in sin in order for baptism to be of any use to them. However, we also have the coordinating conjunction “and” used in Acts 2:38. Here, “and” connects repentance and baptism, making them of equal value. So the one being baptized must be in sin, and they must also repent of their sin in order for baptism to be of any use to them. I’d like to consider the scriptures as they reveal to us who is to be baptized, how one is to be baptized, and then compare these requirements with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Who is to be baptized? As you know, the Catholic Church practices infant baptism. So, in order for this baptism to be valid, two questions must be answered “yes”. I’d like to address each of these questions next.
Question 1: Is an infant in sin? In order for infant baptism to be valid, the infant must be in sin, since the purpose of baptism is for the remission of sins.
Romans 7:8,9: “But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Paul wrote the book of Romans, and he lived under the OT when the Law of Moses was in effect, and he lived during the time when the OT was abolished and Christ’s law came into effect. The point is that Paul never lived a day in his life when some religious law was not in effect, either the law of Moses or the law of Christ. But Paul says that he was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and he died. When was Paul alive without the law? Consider what he says in Romans 5:13: “For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” What was the purpose of the law? Romans 7:7 says, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Galatians 3:19 says, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” In these two verses we see the purpose of the old law. Sin was being committed by mankind prior to the law, but God didn’t hold men accountable for something they couldn’t understand or know about Him. However, when the law came (the example Paul uses is coveting in Romans 7:7), mankind was now held accountable for something they could understand. It is not possible for an infant to understand the law of Christ (under which we live today). Do infants and children lie? Of course they do. Is it ever not wrong to lie? No, it’s not. John tells us the fate of all liars in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Are infants and children held accountable for the things they do that are contrary to God’s law? No, they’re not, because as Paul said in Romans 5, sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Paul was alive without the law once. This was the period of time in his life when he could not understand the commandment that had been given. But, as he matured, “the commandment came”, sin revived and he died a spiritual death. However, before this time he was spiritually alive because God didn’t hold him accountable for the things he could not understand. So we see that if an infant is in sin, it’s not his/her own sin. It must be the sin of another. God doesn’t hold one accountable for something they cannot understand.
So if an infant is in sin and in need of baptism for the remission of sins, it must be the sin of another. Is an infant bearing the guilt of another’s sin? Ezekiel 18:20 answers this question: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” This verse lies to rest the concept of original sin. Ezekiel plainly states that the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The soul that sins is the one that shall die. We aren’t held accountable for the sins of our parents. Original sin is a doctrine that is of human origin, not divine.
We’ve seen in the two points above that the answer to the first question must be “no”. Infants are not held accountable for things they do wrong but cannot understand, and they do not inherit the sins of their parents. So, infant baptism must be a doctrine of men since infants are not in sin and therefore have no need of baptism for the remission of sins.
Question 2: Can an infant fulfill the requirements for baptism as outlined in the New Testament? To answer this question we looked for the word “and” in the verses that address baptism, to see what else is of equal importance.
Mark 16:16: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” In this verse Jesus tells us two things are necessary for salvation: belief and baptism. One who believes but isn’t baptized cannot be saved, just as the one who is baptized but doesn’t believe. Paul tells us how one develops faith: by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). An infant is incapable of belief, since understanding language is required for belief and infants cannot understand language.
Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Peter makes repentance just as important as baptism for the forgiveness of sins. In order to repent one must be in sin, and one must have godly sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” Anyone who has observed an infant after the infant has committed some wrong knows that they don’t experience sorrow. An understanding of sin and the moral consequence of sin (one’s spiritual death and the requirement for Jesus’ physical death for one to have any hope of salvation) is required for one to have godly sorrow. Infants are incapable of understanding the moral consequence of sin. Therefore, they are incapable of godly sorrow and repentance (since godly sorrow works repentance). Since they are incapable of repentance they cannot fulfill the requirements Peter establishes in Acts 2:38 for the forgiveness of sins.
Just as with question 1, the answer to question 2 must be “no”. An infant is incapable of fulfilling the requirements for baptism as outlined in the New Testament.
As we saw in our studies regarding baptism, the Catholic Church’s practice regarding infant baptism is contrary to scripture. Infants are not in sin and they cannot fulfill the requirements for baptism as outlined in the New Testament.
The manner of baptism. The Catholic Church practices sprinkling or pouring in their “baptism” of infants. Next, let’s consider the NT scriptures regarding manner of baptism.
Acts 8:35-38: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 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? 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. 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.” In this passage we learn the manner of baptism: both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. A body of water large enough for the one being baptized to be completely immersed is required for NT baptism to take place. One who believes, has repented of their sins and has confessed their belief in Jesus as the Son of God is a candidate for baptism. Any body of water large enough for them to be completely immersed is sufficient for them to satisfy this command. This could be a bathtub where the one baptizing stands to the side and immerses the one being baptized or a body of water large enough for both the baptizer and the one being baptized to enter.
Romans 6:3-6: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Paul tells us that baptism is a burial (Greek sunthapto, to bury together with), that this burial takes place with Jesus by baptism into death, that we are to walk in newness of life after be raised from the grave of baptism, and that this planting together with Jesus is required in order for us to be raised with Him in the likeness of His resurrection.
Colossians 2:10-12: “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” I once read a Catholic commentator use this verse to de-emphasize the importance of baptism, saying that baptism is a symbolic circumcision like the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham. However, this fails to justify the act of sprinkling or pouring in place of immersion. Paul says that we are “buried with Him in baptism”. In Romans 6 he uses the phrase “buried with Him by baptism”. So, we see in these two passages how we are buried together with Jesus into death: by baptism.
I’d like to ask a few questions about Jesus’ experience as we close this section on the manner of baptism:
Death
Did Jesus die? Yes.
Are we to die? Yes. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Just as Jesus was crucified, we are to be crucified with Him (self must die daily). Luke 9:23,24 says, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
Burial
Was Jesus buried? Yes. In what was He buried? A tomb. Was any part of His body exposed to the world outside of the tomb after His burial? No. A large stone was placed over the opening and His body was completely encased in earth.
After our spiritual death, are we to be buried? Yes. With whom are we to be buried? Jesus. (See Romans 6 and Colossians 2 above.) If we are buried with Jesus, will any part of our bodies remain exposed to the outside world during our burial? No. His entire body was entombed, and if we are buried with Him, our entire body will be entombed as well.
Resurrection
Was Jesus’ body resurrected after His burial? Yes.
Will our bodies be resurrected after our burial? Yes. We will emerge from the watery grave of baptism just as Jesus emerged from the earthly grave of His tomb.
Change
Was Jesus different after His resurrection? Yes. His body was now alive, when it had been dead prior to His resurrection.
Will we be different after our “resurrection” from the grave of baptism? Yes. Our sins are forgiven and we are to walk in newness of life, as Paul stated in Romans 6.
As we see in these verses, only the act of baptism by immersion fulfills the requirements one must meet in order to be raised in the likeness of Jesus’ resurrection when He comes again. The manner of “baptism” practiced by the Catholic Church is contrary to the NT scriptures.
As one can see from this brief study, the teachings of the Catholic Church with regards to original sin, infant baptism and sprinkling rather than immersion are contrary to the teachings of the New Testament. Since Peter said that baptism is for the remission of sins and Jesus said that one must be baptized in order to be saved, failure to follow the commandments the Lord has given us regarding baptism will result in our eternal damnation.
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