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Basic doctrine of Baptism

We have this controversy over baptism because people don't study the Bible for themselves and believe some self-appointed religious authority instead of personally finding the truth.  People know of the Pharisees and others 'Bible authorities' who taught error.  They know that the Bible warns them that Satan's ministers  are liars who claim to be ministers of righteousness  (2Corinthians 11:12-14).  In addition, Peter getting fooled into preaching doctrinal error, even though he was a 'good godly Bible believing preacher', has already been mentioned.  Therefore, we are to verify what we are taught by looking into the Bible itself and taking what the Bible literally says.  We need tolook at what the Bible truly teaches about baptism in order to say how the Bible is using the true definition to teach us how to overcome sin in this chapter.

Baptism  is in Matthew 3:7, 20:22, 23; 21:25, Mark 1:4; 10:38, 39; 11:30, Luke 3:3; 7:29, 12:50, 20:4; Acts 1:22; 10:37, 13:24, 18:25, 19:3, 4; Romans 6:4, Ephesians 4:5; Colossians 2:12; 1Peter 3:21.

Baptisms  is in Hebrews 6:2.

Baptized  is in Matthew 3:6, 13-14, 16; 20:22-23, Mark 1:5, 8-9, 10:38-39, 16:16, Luke 3:7, 12, 21; 7:29-30, 12:50, John 3:22-23; 4:1-2, 10:40, Acts 1:5; 2:38, 41; 8:12-13, 16, 36, 38; 9:18, 10:47-48, 11:16; 16:15, 33; 18:8, 19:3-5, 22:16; this sentence; 1Corinthians 1:13-16; 10:2, 12:13, 15:29, Galatians 3:27.

Baptize  is in Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:4, 8; Luke 3:16; John 1:26, 33; 1Corinthians 1:17.

Baptist and Baptist's  are in Matthew 3:1, 11:11-12, 14:2, 8; 16:14, 17:13, Mark 6:14, 24-25, 8:28; Luke 7:20, 28, 33; 9:19.

There are lots of false doctrines about baptism and I will not try to dispute them here.  The Biblical definition of the word baptize  is: 'identified with'.  Please see the verses below for divisions, by application, of the verses which use some form of the word baptize. 

  1. John the Baptist
  2. The baptism of John the Baptist = 'identification with repentance' (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 13:24)
  3. The baptism of the disciples of Jesus  before His death = 'identification with repentance'
  4. The baptism of Jesus Christ  = 'identification with Jesus Christ  (dead to sin, alive to God's life) through the Holy Ghost' (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 10:47; 11:16)
  5. The baptism of Moses = 'identification with the Mosaic Law'
  6. The baptism of fire = 'identification with persecution and death'
  7. The baptism in Paul's (preachers) name = 'identification with false doctrine'
  8. The baptism unto the dead = 'identification with those who have died and need to be replaced in the ranks of living witnesses'

There are several verses in each of the four gospels that talk about John the Baptist.  The main note, with the address of all other verses, is under Luke 1:5.  The main thing that he is known for is preaching repent.  Yes, he did 'dunk' people but refused to 'dunk' those who did not have evidence that they truly had repented.  That is, the outward act only identified an inward change.  Repent  is another Biblical concept that religions teach doctrinal error about.  The true Biblical definition of repent  can be found in Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 where Jesus  said thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  John's baptism identified people with turning from religious 'self righteousness' to the God of the Bible and obedience to Him that gives true Biblical righteousness  that can be seen by the world in our physical life.  Acts 19:3-5 Tells us that the baptism of John did not save.  It is not enough to repent from sin but we must also receive the Lord Jesus.  We must agree to obey Jesus as our Lord in what we do in this life.  'What Did Jesus Do'.

Hebrews 6:1-2 is a single sentence (see the note associated with it in the Lord Jesus Christ Study.)   It says that  baptisms  (plural) and repentance from dead works  are only a couple of the principles of the doctrine of Christ  which are the basic spiritual principals involved in learning spiritual maturity and being identified with (acting like) Christ  is what Hebrews 6:1-2 means by baptisms.

1Corinthians 10:2 speaks of the Jews all baptized unto Moses.  They were identified with the Mosaic Law.

Matthew 20:22 and Mark 10:39 and Luke 12:50 all speak of the baptism of Jesus.  In Matthew and Mark, just before this verse, Jesus told the disciples He was going to Jerusalem to die.  Then in Matthew and Mark, Jesus linked His baptism to the cup that I shall drink of  which was His death in Matthew 26:39-42, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42 and John 18:11.  In Matthew and Luke, before these verses, Jesus was telling parables to teach His disciples to work in God's vineyard by faith and the teaching in Mark, before these verses, also was about working and trusting God for our reward.  So, the baptism of Jesus was His death in obedience to God for the joy that was set before him  (Hebrews 12:2).  His baptism identified Him with obedience and service to the God of the Bible, even unto death.

The other references to baptism in the gospels, and in Acts (with the exception of those listed in the next points), refer to John the Baptist's baptism, which we already saw is associated with repent  and refused to those who refused to change their way of living.  John's baptism identified people with the God of the Bible and with obedience to the God of the Bible.

Mark 16:16 says He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  In this verse, baptized  is added (and) onto He that believeth. This is not saying that being physically 'dunked' is required to be saved  because the thief on the cross was not physically 'dunked'.  However, it is saying that we must be 'identified with' our Lord  and Saviour  in a way that the lost world understands.  If the lost world doesn't understand that we are 'identified with' our Lord  and Saviour  (by the life we live) then our claim that we believeth  is an empty claim of a lie.  The God of the Bible believes in 'put up or shut up'.

Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12-13, 16, 36, 38; 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:15, 33; 18:8, 19:5, 22:16 all talk about people being baptized  to join the church.  Many of these people were endangering their lives and many were declared dead when they were baptized.  They were identified with the God they believed in ways that most of today's so-called 'Christians' are too wimpy to do.  Baptism is to be identified with Jesus Christ even if we lose everything in this world and our own family declare us dead and refuse to recognize us ever again.

Acts 1:5 and 11:16 promises ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.  When it happened they spoke in tongues and were identified with the Holy Spirit (God of the Bible).  They then went out and turned the world upside down  (Acts 17:6-7) to the point that they suffered persecution and death but kept doing what God commanded.

This sentence (and the rest of the chapter) uses baptism to identify people with Jesus Christ  and a changed life that shows true Biblical repentance and identification with the God of the Bible.

Galatians 3:27 says, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ  and the context is talking about identification with the God of the Bible by a changed life that shows true Biblical repentance.  Please see that chapter and associated notes.

Ephesians 4:5 uses baptism in the middle of a list of things which bring spiritual unity in the church and equates it to one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith...One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  This is obviously not talking about being physically dunked but being identified with the God of the Bible.

Colossians 2:12 is part of a sentence that goes from 2:10 through 2:12 and in it baptism is equated to 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.  So, we again see that baptism  is equated with true Biblical repentance.  It is separation (circumcised) from the temptations of this world and being identified with the God of the Bible.

1Peter 3:21 is where a lot of wrong doctrine comes from because people ignore Peter's definition of baptism contained within the verse which is (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God).  It is not being 'dunked' (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh).  It is equated with true Biblical repentance (but the answer of a good conscience toward God) and being identified with the God of the Bible.

1Corinthians 1:17 says For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.  Baptism doesn't save but preaching the gospel does.  All other references in 1Corinthians also downplay the importance of baptism while lifting up preaching the gospel.

In Matthew 28:18-20, we have the 'Great Commission'.  Within it we are told to be baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:.  We are to get them to be identified with the God of the entire Bible including all of the Old Testament except the religious part of the Mosaic Law which was replaced by the New Testament.  We are to identify them with the Son of God who gave us the New Testament and shows us how to act like God, which is a true son of God  (John 1:12-13).  Further, we are to identify them with the Holy Ghost who keeps us saved and in touch with God in spite of our sin and interprets the Bible for us.  'The Spirit of God uses the word of God to show the child of God what is the Will of God'. Finally, we are to identify them with the Trinity.  Otherwise, they will become Muslims or join some other cult.

  1. There are several verses in each of the four gospels that talk about John the Baptist.  The main note, with the address of all other verses, is under Luke 1:5.  The main thing that he is known for is preaching repent'.  Yes, he did dunk  people but refused to dunk  those who did not have evidence that they truly had repented.  That is, the outward act only identified an inward change.  Repent  is another Biblical concept that religions teach doctrinal error about.  The true Biblical definition of repent  can be found in Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 where Jesus  said 'thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  John's baptism  identified people with turning from religious 'self righteousness' to the God of the Bible and obedience to Him that gives true Biblical righteousness  that can be seen by the world in our physical life.
  2. Matthew 20:22 and Mark 10:39 and Luke 12:50 all speak of the baptism  of Jesus.  In Matthew and Mark, just before this verse, Jesus told the disciples He was going to Jerusalem to die.  Then in Matthew and Mark, Jesus linked His baptism  to the cup that I shall drink of  which was His death in Matthew 26:39-42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42 and John 18:11.  In Matthew and Luke, before these verses, Jesus was telling parables to teach His disciples to work in God's vineyard by faith and the teaching in Mark, before these verses, also was about working and trusting God for our reward.  So the baptism  of Jesus was His death in obedience to God for the joy that was set before him  (Hebrews 12:2).  His baptism  identified Him with obedience and service to the God of the Bible, even unto death.'
  3. The other references to baptism  in the gospels, and in Acts (with the exception of those listed in the next points), refer to John the Baptist's baptism, which we already saw is associated with repent  and refused to those who refused to change their way of living.  John's baptism  identified people with the God of the Bible in obedience to Him.  However, 19:1-6 shows us that John's is not enough for today and not enough for salvation.  John's baptism  shows that repentance from sin and turning to self-righteous good works is not enough for salvation.  We must also accept the Lordship of Jesus.'
  4. Mark 16:16 says He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  In this verse, baptized  is added (and) onto He that believeth.  That is: the person must believeth.  before they can add on the being baptized.  If you think about it, they are two separate events.  Our verse is not saying that being physically 'dunked' is required to be saved  because the thief on the cross was not physically 'dunked'.  However, it is saying that we must be 'identified with' our Lord  and Saviour  in a way that the lost world understands.  If the lost world doesn't understand that we are 'identified with' our Lord  and Saviour  (by the life we live) then our claim that we believeth  is an empty claim of a lie.  The God of the Bible believes in 'put up or shut up'.  This verse does not say what happens to the people who claim to believeth.  but refuse to be baptized.  They are dealt with elsewhere like where Revelation calls them lukewarm  and peter calls them unjust.  Our verse shows that we must have physical action in our life to match the belief that we claim.'
  5. Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12-13, 16, 36, 38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16 all talk about people being baptized  to join the church.  Many of these people were endangering their lives and many were declared dead,  by their family and friends, when they were baptized.  They were identified with the God they believed in ways that most of today's so-called 'Christians' will not do.  The so-called 'Christians' of today do not have the power of first century Christians,  who met the Bible definition.  And when people of today see that, they make excuses instead of following the example of people who had God's power on their life.  Our sections of the Bible show us that we must have a to match the belief that we claim if we want the power of God on our life.'
  6. Acts 1:5 and 11:16 promises ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.  When it happened, they spoke in tongues and were identified with the Holy Spirit (God of the Bible).  They then went out and 'turned the world upside down  (Acts 17:6-7) to the point that they suffered persecution and death but kept doing what God commanded. Baptism is symbolic of starting a new life which displays the power of God that comes through having received the Holy Ghost.  Baptism is to be identified with Jesus Christ even if we lose everything in this world and our own family declare us dead and refuse to recognize us ever again.'
  7. 1Corinthians 1:17 says For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the  gospel.  Baptism  doesn't save but preaching the gospel  does.  All references in 1Corinthians downplay the importance of baptism  while lifting up preaching the gospel when it comes to getting lost people to become saved.'
  8. 1Corinthians 10:2 tells us that the Jews were all baptized unto Moses.  Among other things, this verse lets us know that baptism does not save.  Judas was baptized unto Moses  but definitely went to Hell.  The fact is that the Jews were 'identified with' Moses and the Mosaic Law.  The main use of baptism, within the Bible, is to identify one person with the with the power, authority and message of another person.'
  9. This chapter uses baptism  to identify people with Jesus Christ  and a changed life that shows true Biblical repentance from sin and identification with a life which displays the changes brought by a personal relationship the God of the Bible.  This chapter has the word now  in it for four (4) times and three (3) of those times Paul is telling us what to do based upon the doctrinal truths that he just explained before using the word now.  The first now  is in Romans 6:8 and all of the chapter up to that verse is giving a single doctrinal truth which is the basis for what is said in Romans 6:8.  Our current sentence is part of this initial group and must be understood in context of all of the sentences within this group.  The conclusion of this section of doctrine is given in the next sentence, which starts with Therefore,  and tells us: even so we also should walk in newness of life.'
  10. Galatians 3:27 says For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  The context is talking about identification with the God of the Bible by a changed life after our initial profession which shows true Biblical repentance from sin and a turning toward God in an ongoing personal relationship.'  please see that chapter and associated notes for more details.
  11. Ephesians 4:5 uses baptism  in the middle of a list of things which bring spiritual unity in the church and equates it to one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith...One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  This is obviously not talking about being physically dunked but being identified with the God of the Bible.  The church will not have unity unless all of the church follow One Lord.  Someone who will not obey in baptism will not obey in other matters and should not be considered to be part of the church.'
  12. Colossians 2:12 is part of a sentence that goes from 2:10 through 2:12 and in it baptism  is equated to 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.  So we again see baptism  equated with true Biblical repentance and being identified with the God of the Bible.  It is separation (circumcised) from the temptations of this world and being identified with the God of the Bible.'
  13. Hebrews 6:1-2 is a single sentence (see the note associated with it in the Lord Jesus Christ Study.)   It says that baptisms (plural) and repentance from dead works  are only a couple of the principles of the doctrine of Christ  which are the basic spiritual principles involved in learning spiritual maturity and being identified with (acting like) Christ  is what Hebrews 6:1-2 means by baptisms.  This verse teaches us that there is much more to receive after our baptism and that baptism is not the end.'
  14. 1Peter 3:21 is where a lot of wrong doctrine comes from because people ignore Peter's definition of baptism  contained within the verse which is (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,).  It is not being 'dunked' (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh).  This section teaches that baptism  is equated with true Biblical repentance (but the answer of a good conscience toward God) and being identified with the God of the Bible.'
  15. Matthew 28:19 is part of the 'Great Commission' and gives us the personal command to baptize  along with God exact command on how we are to do it.  Our current section in Romans teaches us the doctrine in a very literal way while all other references in the Bible teach results and other related things.  Thus, our current section, with the basic doctrine literally stated, and the command within the 'Great Commission' are probably the two most important sections of scripture that deal with the doctrine of baptism.  Since we have dealt with all of the doctrine and supporting verses within the Bible, we are not ready to look at the command and, hopefully, not get the objections that people receive when they preach a command without first presenting God's reasons for that command (present doctrine first).

So, every reference of baptism is identification with the God of the Bible by a changed life that shows true Biblical repentance.  Yes, every case (where possible) the people were physically 'dunked' but that was done as an outward declaration of an inward change that they planned upon continuing to live for the rest of their lives.

All of this brings us back to Romans 6.  In our chapter, the phrase so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death  is identifying so many of us  with the death  of Jesus Christ  and, by implication, His resurrection.  It is identifying so many of us  with a changed life that shows true Biblical repentance and identification with the God of the Bible.  In addition, that is followed with a sentence which starts with the word Therefore  and tells us: even so we also should walk in newness of life.  The verb walk  can not be properly interpreted as a one-time religious action but is an ongoing repeated steps.  Since that verse says even so,  our current action verb of: baptized  means that it is not a one-time event but is the start of an ongoing life-long activity.  Our walk in newness of life  means we are to keep doing these ongoing repeated steps for the rest of our life.  Therefore, our being identified with Jesus Christ  through baptism  must also require ongoing repeated acts of identification.  Please see the Romans 6:2 which has links to sentences within Romans which deal with death.

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