Elements of proper baptism

Acts 16:13-15 is only one of the several examples in Acts of people believing the word and being baptized into Christ. Churches of Christ have insisted that immersion to a penitent believer is essential to salvation from past sins. When people begin to hold to the idea that we can go back to the biblical pattern and reproduce scriptural teaching and practice today, one of the characteristics of biblical teaching will be baptism for the remission of sins. Through a brief investigation, we can see that there are several proper elements of baptism.

The first element of proper baptism is the proper name. Baptizing someone in the name of Jesus means that we recognize His authority (Ephesians 1:22-23). So it is not what we say (like a specific formula), it is what we do (Acts 4:12). The "name" equals authority (Esther 8:8-11; 1 Samuel 24:5, 9; Philippians 2:5-11).

The second element of proper baptism is the proper medium. There is only "one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5), and that baptism must be water baptism. This is the only baptism that had a universal application (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:16). The baptism of John and Holy Spirit baptism did not apply to everyone, whereas water baptism is intended for every person who will accept the gospel until the end of the world.

The third element of proper baptism is the proper action. The word for baptism means to "immerse, dip, or plunge." No respectable biblical scholar will agree that baptism means sprinkle or pour. The two ideas are in juxtaposition in Leviticus 4:6 in the ideas of "dip" and "sprinkle." There's a distinct difference between the two. Baptism requires "much water" (John 3:23), "going to the water" (Acts 8:36), "going down into the water" (Acts 8:38), and a "coming up out of the water" (Matthew 3:16). It is furthermore described as a burial or an immersion in water (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12).

The fourth element of proper baptism is the proper subject. Only believers are to be baptized (Acts 8:37-38). Baptism is not for infants (Romans 7:9). Every instance of people being baptized in the book of Acts shows that they believed and had the capacity to repent and confess before they were baptized.

The fifth element of proper baptism is the proper reason. Baptism is for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 22:16). The word "remission" means "a dismissal or release." Many claim that baptism is simply "an outward sign of an inward grace." They say it is merely a token to others of what has already happened in the heart.

In light of this overwhelming evidence, who among us can deny that baptism is essential for our salvation? The pattern for salvation and conversion was the same in each instance relative to the matter of baptism. Baptism was required of each individual who wanted to move spiritually from an unsaved state to a saved state.

Kyle Campbell