Immersion Revisited

When Peter confessed to Jesus He was the Son of God, our Lord made this interesting statement to Peter and the rest of the apostles. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). The phrases “shall have been bound,” and “shall have been loosed” are a more accurate translation of the Greek text. The apostles didn’t have the authority to decide doctrine, but they did have the authority to declare doctrine, what God had bound and what He had loosed. When we read God’s commands in Scripture, it is not human interpretation or tradition, but God’s will for us.

This principle is important for us to understand, as there are those today who would have us believe the clear commands of Scripture are merely human tradition.  Baptism (βαπτίζω) is one doctrine being interpreted this way. The word baptize is what we call a transliteration, or a word invented using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or language, which in this instance is Koine Greek. It should be translated immerse, plunge, or submerge. While a dictionary definition may also include pour or sprinkle, such is inaccurate. This is why I, so there is no mistake as to its biblical meaning, prefer to translate it immerse.

“You don’t have to be baptized to be saved; it’s just a tradition,” many say.  It is tradition, in the sense it’s been handed down to us. Scripture, though, makes clear it’s divine tradition, not of human origin. Wasn’t it Jesus who said, “He who has believed and has been immersed shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16)? And what about His words in Matthew 28:19; “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  Of course, Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, states it plainly in 1 Peter 3:21. “Immersion now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

If we accept Scripture as the Word of God, the only logical conclusion one can reach is that immersion is essential for the forgiveness of sin. If, for the sake of appealing to modern culture, we can wave our hands and use the magical word “tradition” to eliminate the necessity of baptism, we can also discard anything else others might object to. However, that is faulty reasoning and won’t stand a genuine inspection of Scripture.  Just saying something doesn’t make it so.

Jesus makes it clear it is not those who offer lip service to Him that please Him, but those who obey His will (Matt. 7:21).  The teaching of Scripture on baptism is so clear, one well known denominational commentator wrote, “From this and other references to baptism in Paul’s writings, it is certain that he did not regard baptism as an ‘optional extra’ in the Christian life, and that he would not have contemplated the phenomenon of an ‘unbaptized believer.’  We may agree or disagree with Paul, but we must do him the justice of letting him hold and teach his own beliefs, and not distort his beliefs into conformity with what we should prefer him to have said” (F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Romans, chapter 6).  As Paul was inspired, I will agree with what I find in the word of God (1 Thess. 2:13).  Can anyone safely choose anything else, either on this or any other subject taught in Scripture? “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

μαράνα θᾶ

 Robert