Taking the Plunge
Why Baptism is an important part of faith in Christ - but ONLY if you're ready for it!
This week’s article is a departure from the politically-themed pieces I’ve written of late, and I appreciate the variation. I was spending a lot of time over the weekend thinking about baptism (for some reason!), so I began reflecting on not only my own baptism story, but the baptism story of many other people. My baptism tale is closely tied to my deconstruction journey through the Christian faith - how I viewed baptism was shaped by how both society and church viewed it, and I think there was a fundamental flaw there.
Today, I want to look at the Biblical reason for baptism, the importance of teaching this understanding to those who are seeking baptism, and the difference between infant baptism and believer’s baptism.
Baptism in General
I won’t pretend like I’m a great Bible scholar who went to seminary. I’m not. I am honest and open about my background when it comes to studying Scripture, because I believe it’s an integral part of my testimony to remain transparent. I am just one person who is reading the Bible and praying for wisdom to discern it as accurately as possible, and I have found that sharing my story about baptism has been a great experience. Sharing my previous misunderstandings about Christianity, I’ve found, is something that has drawn me closer to people. It’s shocking, really, how many people grew up just like me: a Christian who didn’t know enough about the Bible to really argue for its credibility. And yet there are so many people who have the same story, and I hope that my honesty about these subjects is relatable to anyone who reads my articles.
Baptism is something that I vastly misunderstood for most of my life - and I am willing to bet that most people misunderstand it, too. I know a lot of people who were baptized as children who don’t even know why they did it, other than the fact that “everybody else was getting baptized, too.”
I know people who got baptized and then grew up to completely reject Christ on every level - and that entire situation is one that is hotly debated when it comes to the concept of true conversion vs. false conversion.
Thankfully, that’s not what I’m discussing here today (controversy averted…for now!!).
For the Christian, I’m primarily talking about believer’s baptism - that is, the baptism in water that Jesus Himself demonstrated for us when He was here on Earth:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:13-17)
This passage has really set the standard for believer’s baptism. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells His disciples to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Baptism, to put it very simply, is a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ and a ceremonial dunking in water - just like John the Baptist did with Jesus - to signify this consummation between the believer and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:41 says:
“So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.”
Scripture really hammers the idea of baptism home for Bible-readers, making it clear that, whether we totally understand the full mystery of baptism’s importance or not, it’s something that new believers are called to do once they come to faith in Jesus Christ.
However, there is an alternate approach to believer’s baptism, and that is where the issue of infant baptism comes into play. Infant baptism is sometimes pedobaptism, because it refers to the baptism of children, while credobaptism refers to the baptism of believers.
Some people believe in one or the other, while some believe in both. For the sake of today’s baptism conversation, I’ll focus on believer’s baptism, because it involves a mature Christian (hopefully) who chooses to be baptized consciously and deliberately to solidify their relationship with the Lord.
The Baptism Club: Sink or Swim
When I’m talking about kids, I’m referring to children who are old enough to profess faith in Christ - I’m not talking about infants and toddlers here. I can remember when I was four-years-old and “asked Jesus into my heart,” but I have often debated whether I really understood what I was doing in that moment. Personally, I never understood what salvation really meant until I was in my 20s. Up to that point, I really believed that inviting Jesus to live inside my heart was pretty much all there was to it - which was a really weak foundation to rest my entire theological beliefs upon. It’s a nice place for a little kid to start out, but I never grew past that infantile understanding of the gospel.
In that realm of understanding, Jesus is little more than a helpful guru who lives in a hut inside your proverbial heart, and I spent most of my life terrified that if I didn’t repent of every single sin after I committed it immediately, my salvation would be negated. I very much viewed repentance through a Catholic lens, where a detailed list of my offenses needed to be delivered at the end of the day with military efficiency so that I could clear my name and maintain my good standing with God.
Unsurprisingly, I also had a really faulty understanding of baptism. My ideas about Jesus and the Bible came from what I learned at Sunday School, and I am by no means saying that what I was being taught at Sunday School was wrong. I just had a lot of questions that were never answered on the flannelgraph storyboard or during Vacation Bible School. I never felt that I truly grasped the undercurrent of knowledge that everyone else seemed to have tapped into - and I couldn’t understand why!
I watched a lot of kids get baptized on Sunday mornings and I always felt wholly uncomfortable with it. I was encouraged to get baptized by teachers and peers, but the concept mystified me. “I can’t get baptized when I don’t understand what it means,” I thought. And of the few things I’m glad I did in my life, holding off on baptism is one of those things. I intrinsically sensed that it would be wrong for me to get baptized without fully knowing what the ramifications of the ordinance itself meant.
“You’re a Christian, so you need to get baptized!” everyone told me.
I just wasn’t quite there yet.
My baptism
Like I said before, my experience with baptism was that most of the people who got dunked in Sunday’s holy water hot tubs were the same folks who ended up walking away from Christ completely as they grew up. As I got older, I definitely noticed that baptism didn’t seem to save anyone’s faith, and that disturbed me. At that time, I understood baptism to be a spiritual experience whereby you received the Holy Spirit into yourself - so it baffled me that many people (not all, but many) who went through the baptismal rite appeared to be completely unchanged. I even knew someone who had been baptized as a young kid, but later grew up to engage in literal idol worship, building altars to small gods around their house, completely rejecting every single vestige of Scripture and Jesus Christ.
For this reason, I didn’t think it made any difference for me to get baptized, because it clearly made no difference for anyone else! Baptism didn’t appear to offer any protection against straying from the straight and narrow path. And yet, I was also torn about whether the fact that I wasn’t baptized would remove me from heaven’s waitlist. I just didn’t know.
When I was roughly 20-years-old, I decided to take a baptism class at my local church at the encouragement of my then-boyfriend (now husband!), who wanted me to become a member. The pre-requisite for church membership, of course, was baptism. So, ever the people-pleaser, I went through the entire baptism class and was scheduled to be baptized in the fall.
Just a few days before the scheduled event, I felt overwhelmed with guilt and confusion, because I realized that I still did not understand nor did I want to get baptized. It wasn’t about having stage fright - I had already shared my testimony in front of the church, and that was a mild anxiety-inducing experience that came and went quickly. No, I just felt wrong about it, and I couldn’t explain why. A small but firm voice in the back of my head seemed to whisper, “Not yet.”
This continued for seven more years.
I adamantly refused to get baptized, but funnily enough…no one ever asked me why.
Baptism is something YOU have to want, too
What’s so fascinating about baptism is that in and of itself, baptism does not denote salvation. Rather, baptism is an outward profession of faith in Christ, who freely gave you salvation through no work of your own. Baptism is kind of like good works - good works will not earn your salvation, but a Christian without good works is also “dead” (James 2:17). Baptism is a natural next step for a Christian who is filled with love and gratitude toward a Savior who snatched them from the flames of Hell.
When I finally got baptized seven years after my initial first try, I realized what I had been missing: personal responsibility and personal relationship with the Lord. Based on my previous experiences, baptism was little more than a Segway to reach church membership. It was the expected “next step,” and I thought of it as such, as if it were a chore, or worse, some kind of competition in perceived holiness. And perhaps, in my early twenties, that’s exactly what it was - a fear of being left out and left behind seemingly much better-educated Christian congregants who appeared to have it all together (spoiler alert: they didn’t!).
Baptism, really, is about a personal decision. It’s also about being willing to be a little bit uncomfortable and step in front of people and say, “Yes, I believe that Jesus is Lord! I’m proud to say it!” But what can happen in modern-day churches is that kids are funneled toward baptism on a conveyer belt, because it’s the next thing - the expected additional rite of Christian passage.
A lot of kids get baptized when they are too young to understand what they’re doing, and it’s not uncommon to have these same kids get baptized again later in life as adults. Sometimes (oftentimes), it takes life experience and pain to get to a point where people understand the value of baptism. I’m not saying that all kids who get baptized are not genuine about it - I’m just saying that a lot of kids go into baptism without being properly equipped to understand its meaning.
Christianity.Com relates baptism in this way:
1. It means we have turned from the old life of sin to a new life in Jesus Christ,
2. It means we are publicly identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ,
3. It means we are openly joining the ranks of those who believe in Christ.
Baptism is actually quite simple! This was a huge relief to me when I finally put this together. Additionally, genuine gratitude and a love for Jesus prompted me to push through my trepidation about giving my testimony (again!), because I kept thinking that it was the least I could do. Jesus, after all, died for my eternal salvation.
Baptism is a simple of act of going into the water and coming out of the water, but it signifies something wholly life-changing. Acts 2:28 says, “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized everyone one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
When it comes to baptism, I personally think it is wise to give your kids some time to process the full ramifications of such a decision! Your kid needs to really understand what they are doing before they do it - and they should never do it just because their friends are. Baptism is personal and it’s powerful, and it should not be taken lightly.
Parents, I encourage you to equip your children with the knowledge of the Bible when you are speaking with them about baptism, so that your kids will know exactly what it means - and they’ll be ready for it when the time is right for them.
Resources:
What is Baptism? Its meaning and importance in Christianity by Dr. Ray Pritchard
John MacArthur explains the Importance of Believer’s Baptism
What is Baptism and Does it Save? by John Piper
Summer, thank you for 'taking the plunge' and writing this article. I believe you are spot-on in helping to unravel the mystery of baptism while underscoring the importance of baptism in the life of a "Child of God". God bless you!