Baptism by Baptism

Among those that profess Christianity and throughout the different denominations there has been, for hundreds of years, constant strife and debate throughout the different denominations over what mode of baptism is acceptable and proper. Some baptize by immersion, some by sprinkling and some by pouring. The bible declares that there is “one faith, one Lord and one baptism” so only one of these ways can be correct. Some time ago, a popular cliché was oft repeated amongst Christians “what would Jesus do?” The idea was that by imagining what Jesus would do in a certain situation, we could better guide our lives. It sounds good, but not really very helpful. The question should not be “what would Jesus do?” but rather “what DID Jesus do?” How do we know? By the authority and sufficiency of scripture. I people asked the question “how WAS Jesus baptized?” they would know the answer to the question “what would Jesus do.” But don’t stop there, search the Word of God and ask how were the apostles baptized and how did the apostles baptize? What was the New Testament understanding of baptism? Once you have answered these questions, you will know for a fact the proper mode of baptism.

Baptism doesn’t save, and baptism doesn’t wash away sins, but it is important. It is the first command after salvation for the believer to follow; repent and be baptized. There is specificity in baptism, yet the religious world differs so widely on baptism and false teachers have “muddied” the waters of baptism for many, obscuring the plain teaching, making the simple complex. Some sprinkle water, some pour water, some dip under the water. There are some for baptisms given for salvation, others only for believers, while some baptisms are given to confer privilege; some to adults only, some to newborn infants. So who is right?

When we come to this subject, and all subjects, we should go to the Word, and go to our Lord. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ was baptized, we are exhorted in scriptures to be baptized, Christ commanded baptism, so it only stands to reason that we should be baptized just as He was baptized. The imperative to be baptized is meaningless if we do not know HOW we are to be baptized. We should follow our Lord, as commanded, in the baptismal waters. By following the example of Jesus Christ and by examining the baptism of Jesus Christ, we will know what is the proper mode Christians are to be baptized, the pictures that baptism illustrate and the importance of the baptism of John and his authority to baptize.

Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. The mode of baptism has been a long discussed topic for churchmen. The idea was absurd in the days of the apostles. The idea of a mode of baptism itself is a misnomer because Jesus was baptized by baptism. I once heard a wonderful sermon by Joe Wilson he entitled baptism by baptism. This may seem illogical; however, few things can be so clear. John was baptized by baptism because the word baptize is a transliteration. It is an English word that was made to reflect the Greek word in the original text, not a translation of the word. The word βαπτίζω (baptizō) was transliterated “baptism” instead of translated. If baptizō was translated there would not even be a debate. Baptizō means to dip, to immerse, to submerge or to fully whelm. That is what I mean when I say that He was baptized by baptism, Jesus was immersed by immersion. The word itself means to go all the way under. Christ was not sprinkled, He was not poured upon but was put under the water.

“The Greek word baptize, which we borrow, was of very common use, as is seen in every period of Greek literature and was applied to a great variety of matters, including the most familiar acts of everyday life. It was thus a word which every Greek speaking hearer and reader in apostolic times would at once and clearly understand. It meant what we express by ‘immerse’ and kindred terms, and no on e could then have thought of attributing to it a wholly different sense, such as ‘sprinkle’ or ‘pour’ without distinct explanation to that effect…..Luther and Calvin both explicitly declared that the primitive baptism was immersion and the former said it ought to be restored; but they allowed the existing practice to remain undisturbed. In the course of time many Protestants came to perceive that it was very awkward to rest their practice in this respect on the authority of the Church of Rome, and being accustomed and attacked to the practice they very naturally sought countenance for it in scripture. Such are the unavoidable defects of language, that strongly biased and ingenious minds can always cast some apparent doubt over the mean of the plainest words.” John Broadus

There would have been no question in New Testament times what baptizo meant, dipping, immersing. JR Graves, in his study of the Greek word baptizo in his book John’s Baptism found that “sixty-two standard Greek Lexicons giving only to dip, to immerse, as the literal primary meaning, which is the real meaning, of the work in Greek, corroborating the declaration of Dr. Charles Anton (Episcopalian), [then] President of Columbia ‘The primary meaning of the word [baptizo] is to dip, to immerse; and its secondary meaning, if it ever had any, refers to the same leading idea. Sprinkling and pouring are entirely out of the question.” As Oscar Mink well said in his book The Baptist Bride

“Sprinkling is sprinkling, no matter how many people call it baptism. It is still what it was, and that is sprinkling. Rantizio (Greek word for sprinkling) will never become baptizio in any language.”

You do not have to be a Greek scholar to understand this; you don’t even have to know that the word baptize means immersion to understand this. Reading your Bible makes it abundantly clear. First, Jesus went into the water to be baptized in the river. Jesus was not baptized of the river Jordan, by the river Jordan but IN the river Jordan. Secondly, Jesus went up straight way out of the water. Christ was in the water and when He was baptized, He had to come up out of the water. This is baptism and if you did not go into the water, and if you did not come up out of the water, you were not baptized. Or, as J.R. Graves illustrated in John’s Baptism, you could replace the word baptism with your mode and see which one is even possible. “And Jesus, when He was Baptized” is the text, so let us put the modes to the test. And Jesus, when He was sprinkled. Was Jesus sprinkled? How can you sprinkle a man? If you sprinkle salt on your food, you take the salt and distribute it all over, the salt is sprinkled out. How can you “sprinkle a man?” No, if baptism were by sprinkling, he would have to had water sprinkled upon Him. And Jesus, when He was poured. Was Jesus poured out in the river? No, the river would have had to been poured upon Him. So the word poor cannot be synonymous with baptism. And Jesus, “when He was immersed” is the only possibility. Sprinkling and pouring are things you do upon a person; only immersion is something that you can do to someone.

Baptism can be understood to be by immersion by what it pictures. Christ’s baptism was a picture, and New Testament baptism is a picture. The baptism of Jesus was not for salvation, for He was the Saviour; nor was it to wash away sin, for He was sinless. It was to “fulfill all righteousness” Matthew 3:15, Jesus submitted to baptism because it was to do the Father’s will. Afterward, all God’s people are to be baptized upon repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:36-37). Had the eunuch needed baptism for salvation, Phillip erred in not sending him straight to the water. Examine every case of baptism in the New Testament, and you will find believers baptism.

Christ fulfilled all righteousness in type. Christ fulfilled the necessary work of salvation on the cross, He died and rose from the tomb, thus He showed what He would do on the cross and from the tomb in the water. Baptism pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-5). What great importance the mode of baptism brings picturing the death of Christ. Baptism by immersion shows the burial, under the water, and shows the resurrection, out of the water. For us, it shows and symbolizes our death to sin and our rising to walk in newness of life. Baptism is a burial (Romans 6:3-5) and it wound not take long for a funeral home to go out of business if they were in the practice of burying by sprinkling.

SO, I believe in baptism by baptism, since the word means immersion.





Douglas Newell IV