The Apostle Paul explains: “You were bought at a price…”(1 Corinthians 6:20), and Peter specifies that price: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…. but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19, NIV).
Jesus regarded the ceremony of baptism to be so important He commissioned His Church to go into the world baptizing those who believe the Gospel message. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you….” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Baptism is rooted in the Old Testament. God required the priests to ritually bathe themselves before offering sacrifices (Exodus 30:17-20 ), and the Jews properly viewed ritual bathing as representing cleansing from sin. (See the The Holman Bible Dictionary article on ‘Baptism’.) The Apostles also compared baptism to Old Testament events, with Peter likening Noah’s protection in ark (1 Peter 3:20-21) and Paul relating Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:2) as types, or forerunners, of baptism.
Baptism represents a serious, life-altering commitment for those mature enough to understand the importance of their decision. In examples of baptism mentioned in the Bible, those being baptized were mature enough to understand repentance, baptism and the gravity of their decision. There is no example of an infant or child being baptized. As Bible dictionaries show, the word translated into English as ‘baptism’ is from the Greek word baptizo, meaning “to dip into” or “immerse.” In Greek different words express sprinkling or pouring, none of which ever refers to baptism. The New Testament reveals baptism was usually performed in a river, with those who were baptized coming out of the water after being immersed.
Coming out of the grave (rising out of the baptismal waters) symbolizes our new, converted, Spirit-led life. Paul refers to baptism as a call to walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4), and that rather than facing death, we are now “alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11). This powerful picture of a new life committed to obedience and faith is so important it is also discussed in 1 Peter 1:3 and 22-23; Ephesians 4:22; and Colossians 3:10. Baptism is not the conclusion of the conversion process. It marks a beginning. In Romans 6:11 Paul states that, rather than facing death, we become “alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Isaiah tells us, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be [white] as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
Isaiah 53:4-5 refers to the future sacrificial death of the Messiah: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering… he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” Our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2), but through Christ’s death God opens the door so we can be reconciled to Him. The waters of baptism symbolize the washing away of the sin in our lives (Acts 22:16) so we may go forward with a clear conscience.
Paul explains the connection between Christ’s death and our baptism: “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:3-4, NIV). He continues: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6, NIV).
