Hi friends, thank you for staying with us on this series. Let’s continue to look at the sacrament of baptism today.

The Christian faith requires that after believing in Jesus Christ, a person must be baptised, participate in church, serve and worship our God together alongside brothers and sisters. However, there are different opinions about the ritual of baptism – some think it is necessary to be fully immersed while others think it is fine with sprinkling. The Baptists use “baptizo” and “tabal” to affirm that baptism must be immersion.

The Method of Baptism: Immersion, Pouring or Sprinkling (part 2)

Acts 9:17-19 records that Paul was baptised by Ananias at home. At that time, it seemed unlikely to baptise at home because a pool is required. We come to the knowledge of this from the discovery of archaeologists. Additionally, in Acts 10:44-48 also records that the family of Cornelius were baptised, probably in a similar way. In other words, it is most likely that the whole family was baptised together, the elderly and the young, with a sprinkling ritual.

What is more important is that the Didache which is written in 120 AD recorded baptism is to be conferred “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” with triple immersion in “living water” (flowing water, probably in a stream). If that is not practical, cold or even warm water is acceptable (as in indoors). If the water is insufficient for immersion, it may be poured three times on the head (which is called affusion). Based on the Didache, we believe it addressed the practice of baptism by churches in the first century. These accounts are representative and authoritative. Since the apostle of the Lord was still alive in the first century, churches allowed different forms of baptism (including immersion and pouring), we should not insist on one form today.

If I am writing a letter to someone afar, it is not the form, the pen I use or the postman who delivers the letter that matters. What matters most is who signs the letter. Similarly, if baptism is not carried out in the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is meaningless, which we fall into the crisis of the Pharisees, who regarded human doctrine or tradition as an absolute truth.

Friends, getting baptised is the key point, not the form.

Can babies be baptised?

This is an interesting issue we should discuss. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved.” But how can babies be baptised when they have no faith yet? Accordingly, in Genesis 17:9-14, “Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Colossians 2:11-12 say, “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.” Therefore, according to the verses above, circumcision is a sign of a covenant with God. Does circumcision include babies? Yes, obviously; children and grandchildren, both young and old must be circumcised, and they are instructed to circumcise on the eighth day. In the New Testament, baptism has replaced circumcision in the Old Testament, hence it is reasonable for babies to get baptised as it is a sign of a covenant. Since baptism is a sign of the covenant, it establishes a covenant with God, and we become the covenant people.

John 15:16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last …” On the matter of salvation, it is obvious that God is the one who takes the initiative - He called us, and it is His calling that we accepted Christ, received salvation and become a person under grace. Therefore, receiving salvation is not based on  personal decisions and choices, but God’s call of grace. This is also true for babies. God’s grace first come to babies which indicates they have entered into His grace - not by human conduct - but God’s initiative.

Therefore, we do not have to wait until babies mature, then respond to God. Although they have yet to understand the relationship with God, they have been called to be covenant people of God, thus they are to be circumcised. In the same way, our children and grandchildren are not of this world or the devil. We believe that they are children of God and that they are to become God’s people, thus we can bring babies to God for baptism.

However, in the ritual of infant baptism, parents must declare that they will be responsible for educating their children in the future. The church recognizes that children are their “newborn lambs” and they are also to shoulder the responsibility of shepherding and teaching. If parents do not believe in the Lord, the church should not baptise their children. If the parents believe in the Lord and their children are baptised, the church should say to the parents, “You must agree that you have the responsibility to love each other and bring your children before God from a young age.” Then the church can baptise the children accordingly.

In these cases, when children grow up, they are required to receive a ritual of confirmation, which confirms that they fully agree with the faith and acknowledge the baptism they received earlier.

Can a person be baptised again after being baptised?

If someone has been baptised in the past without understanding the meaning of baptism, can he or she be baptised again? We call this re-baptism. How many times does the Bible indicate baptism? Ephesians 4:5-6, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” In other words, we believe in one God, and we receive only one gospel. Similarly, there should be only one baptism.

If I re-baptise, that indicates that I believe there is another gospel and there is another god. But Jesus Christ was crucified once. Hence, a person cannot be re-baptised, be it immersion or sprinkling in the past, that baptism is lawful.

What are the effects and lawfulness of baptism? Under what circumstances is it lawful? In the Christian faith, believing in Jesus should be made known to others. Similarly, baptism should be made known too. Baptism should not be a secret, not to conduct in private. If baptism is carried out in hospitals, in some cases, the church would invite elders or some brothers and sisters of the church to attend. They are the witnesses in a lawful ceremony.

The lawfulness of baptism also includes the need to baptise in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the effectiveness of baptism lies in the fact that the baptised holds onto true faith. Without faith, baptism is meaningless. This is the absolute factor. Therefore, seek the Father to help us, so that we can clearly understand that once we are baptised, we belong to God; and we openly express our faith in God.

Baptism is important, just like a wedding is important to a couple who are in love. You marry him/her because you love the person so much that you wish your relatives and friends know. Thus, you get baptised because you have established a relationship with God and acknowledge your faith in Him before men.

To get baptised is full of challenges, like a spiritual battle - some face all kinds of attack, including family opposition, physical discomfort and some cases, dangerous encounters. However, we should persist to get baptised. Evil will try to block people to get baptised but if we persevere until the end and baptise in the name of the Lord, we enter into the church of God.

We will be talking about the meaning of Holy Communion next Wednesday. Please stay tuned.