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Baptism The word baptize is a word that is particular to New Testament writings and comes to us in the English language from the Greek word baptize which means “to dip repeatedly, to immerge, submerge.” As was noted in the previous studies of God’s Plan of Salvation, after an individual has heard God’s Word preached, an opportunity is then given for the individual to believe God’s Word, to repent of sins, and make the good confession. At this point, a decision must be made by the individual whether to be baptized or not. Whether the individual is baptized or not, the necessity of baptism for our eternal salvation is clearly taught in the Scriptures. The need for water baptism is first taught by Jesus. Mark records this teaching of Jesus for us in Mark 16:15-16 when Jesus says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Peter expands on this teaching in I Peter 3:21, “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” These verses plainly and simply teach us the need for baptism for eternal salvation; without baptism, we are eternally lost. But why would we be eternally lost if we are not baptized? Baptism provides the avenue to be cleansed of our sins. Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentacost is recorded in Acts chapter two, and he tells us why we need to be baptized. Peter said in Acts 2:38, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” If we are not baptized, we still have our sins with us, and we cannot be eternally saved. Another important point to notice is in every example of baptism in the New Testament, the individual being baptized was immersed in water. In many instances God’s Word provides further details to help us understand this point. Jesus provides us the perfect example of water baptism by immersion through His own baptism as is recorded in Matthew 3:16, “Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water…” Another example is the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch as recorded in Acts 8:38-39, “...And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water…” These verses easily demonstrate both Jesus and the Ethiopian eunuch were immersed in water by the texts indicating they had to come up from the water. God’s Word tells us simply we must be baptized to be saved. Baptism is so vital to our eternal salvation that God’s Word tells us without being baptized we will be lost. However, once we decide to be baptized, all of our sins are washed away and we can begin living righteously for God with heaven as our goal! |
1) The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo and means:
to sprinkle
to dip repeatedly, to immerge, submerge
to speak 2) Jesus teaches that water baptism is ___________ for our salvation (Mark 16:15-16).
necessary
optional
nice to have 3)
Jesus said those who are not baptized will be condemned.
4) What does Peter say saves us (I Peter 3:21)?
our good works
baptism 5) Peter says baptism is (I Peter 3:21):
just getting wet
like taking a bath 6) Peter stated on the day of Pentacost that baptism is for the ____________ of sins (Acts 2:38).
remembrance
remission
7)
The water baptism spoken of in the New Testament is a baptism of immersion.
8) Jesus' baptism was an ____________ in water (Matthew 3:16).
immersion
pouring 9)
Does an individual need to be baptized to be saved? 10) What will happen to those who choose not to be baptized?
They will be saved for a short time.
They will be eternally lost.
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