How Important is Baptism for a Believer?
Like observing the Lord’s Supper, baptism is an ordinance given to the Church by the Lord Jesus himself. In Matthew 28, the Lord Jesus commanded his disciples and us to “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I commanded you . . . .” It should be clear to us that baptism is part of the “all that I have commanded.”
As you read through the book of Acts, it is clear that baptism followed a person’s confession of faith in Christ. Once a person had expressed belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, he or she was baptized. This practice came to be known later in church history as believer’s baptism. The reason it was called believers baptism is due to the fact that some in the Early Church, especially the Catholic Church, began to practice infant baptism. Infant baptism grew out of the association of baptism with the Old Testament practice of circumcising Hebrew boys eight days after their birth as required under the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:1-14). Some early Christians taught that just as circumcision was a sign of being part of the Abrahamic covenant, baptism is a sign of being part of the New Covenant of grace through Christ.
Other Christian groups such as Baptists believe that baptism is for those who have made a personal decision to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Since infants cannot make such a profession of faith, they do not believe in baptizing infants. Basing their conclusions on the incidents of baptism in the New Testament, they only baptize people after a confession of faith, hence it is called believer’s baptism.
It is important to note that the Bible does not teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. A person is not saved because he or she is baptized. The thief on the cross next to Jesus was told he would be in paradise that day, yet he was not baptized. It was his faith in Christ alone that brought him salvation, not baptism. Baptism, according to Paul in Romans 6, is a public testimonial of one’s belief in Christ. It is a public identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and as such it is a meaningful confession before men that one belongs to God. In this sense, baptism is not only necessary to be obedient to Christ, but it is an important step of faith in one’s spiritual growth.
