Baptism by immersion?

Question

My church baptises by full body immersion, Jesus was baptised by full body immersion- the word baptism itself comes from the greek "to dip or immerse". So why do some christian churches baptise by other methods? sprinkling etc.... isn't this going against what Christ taught?

Shadow Boxer 78- lol. I'M a mormon!!! baptism for the dead is not pagan- you made an uninformed comment back there. the New Testament makes reference to it in 1Corinthians 15:29. just wanted to give you a biblical reference to that particular ordinance- hope you don't mind! Just sharin' the info! :D
Moose- I know that baptism was around long before Christ- and I'm not trying to challege the faith of others, more questioning the methods of the religious institutions & how they arrived at the decision to use that particular method (i am genuinely curious).
Napalm BBQ- love the "folks getting dunked"! that's awesome!!! Font or river- makes no nevermind to me!

Answer 1

You are correct, the Greek word means to immerse.

This can also be seen in Scripture.

John 3:23 says, "Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized." Only immersion requires "much water".

Baptism is described as going down into the water and coming up out of the water. (Matthew 3:16-17, Acts 8:38-39) Only immersion has the one being baptized going into the water.

Also, baptism is described as a burial. (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12) Only immersion buries the one being baptized.

It's funny that the only place that people have trouble understanding baptism is in religion. If someone were to say they were "baptized in debt", would you think they had just a sprinkling of debt (a few bills)? No, someone described in this way is figuratively "covered up" with debt.

I saw a sports article that said the freshmen on a football team had an "early baptism". Of course it mean they were plunged into full sudden participation in the program. They did not just see a sprinkling of activity, but they were fully involved.

If we can understand this everywhere else, why not in religion?

I believe, however, that you are mistaken about baptism for the dead.

Many of the early Christians had customs that were brought over from their varied past. This may have been one of those. We are not told in the Bible.

But we know some things it is NOT.

It is not so someone else can have remission of sins. The bible teaches that we are all responsible for our own obedience and our own relationship with God. Our own baptism is "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Jesus said, "HE that believes and is baptized shall be saved"! (Mark 16:16)

Notice, “He… shall be saved”! Not, he believes and is baptized and someone else is saved!

We will each be judged for what WE have done, not according to what someone else has done. (John 5:29, 2 Corinthians 5:10) "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." (Ezekiel 18:20)

We cannot be an intercessor, or mediator for someone else. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus!” (1 Timothy 2:5)

Notice also, baptism for the dead is not commanded in this verse or anywhere else in the Bible. Paul just comments on something others are doing. In fact, it says "what shall THEY do...", not "we" or even "you". Paul is simply making an application from the custom observed among others. (This is similar to how he noticed some had an alter "to the unknown God". He did not command, or even approve, the use of that type of worship, but he used it as an example.)

Also, baptism for the dead is not the main subject being addressed in this context. Paul is simply using this to show the contradiction between not believing in the resurrection and doing something that points to a resurrection. To address the subject of baptism for the dead in more detail here, he would have to leave the subject he is discussing.

There are plenty of other verses that teach the purpose of baptism and the fact that we will be judged on our own response to God's word. "Baptism for the dead" (as taught by the Mormons) does not fit these other verses.

Baptism for the dead is NOT the baptism of the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16), and it is not the baptism for remission of sins. In Acts 2:38, baptism for the remission of sins was addressed to "each one of you". Again, see the personal responsibility.

Answer 2

Jesus did not create baptism. It has been a part of God's faith for millennium. Jesus was baptized by John. John was a Jew (as was Jesus) encouraging a more devoted life in a world he felt was too materialistic. If you read those passages closely, you will find John had been doing this for a while before he baptized Jesus. The amazing part has LESS to do with HOW it was done and more to do with WHO it was done to. Three of the Gospels have miraculous events occurring and two have God uttering a decree after the event.

Oddly enough, baptism existed long before Jesus. Jews performed ritual bathing in a "mikveh." "Mikveh" is just the Hebrew word for bath. Men would immerse themselves before special prayer for a spiritual cleansing. Women would traditionally use the "mikveh" to purify themselves after their "unclean" time.

I find it even more odd that a Christian would challenge the faith of his or her brothers over a subject that is explained so clearly in the Bible. All you have to do is open the book and read it for yourself. The old Testament is full of references to ritual bathing. Both for women and men, but only the women have a proscribed method spelled out.

When all is said and done, I am certain that I have no say in who will or will not be invited into God's holy presence. All I know that GOD is lord and it is HIS decision not any specific denomination's.

Answer 3

I'm sorry, but the LDS/Mormon church doesn't do everything exaclty like the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants or even the Pearl of Great price outline. Every church picks the things from the Bible that they are going to practice 100%, makes up some sort of excuse for not practicing the other stuff 100% and promotes that which they do follow 100% as the reason they are the true church.

Answer 4

Yes all baptisms mentioned on Scripture are done by immersion. I believe that sprinkling and pouring are traditions of the church in order to baptize small children and the infirm. The crux of the argument is about pedobaptism (baptizing children). I heard RC Sproul speak on this once. His point was that we shouldn't throw out church tradition before examining why it was done in the first place. The Scripture he used is out of I Corinthians. There are a few passages that speak of whole households being baptized so one might assume that children were baptized also. I know that's a stretch.

I'm a Southern Baptist so I believe in "folks gettin' dunked". I also don't hold to infant baptism. Also if you're not saved and you get in the baptistry then you're just taking a public bath.

Answer 5

I believe that full immersion is the way the Bible teaches. There is nothing in the Bible about infant baptism, although I grew up in a church that did this. However, in Biblical times, people were baptized in a river, or a lake, not a baptistry, so there you go. If you want to get technical, then, baptizing in a baptistry isn't right either. I think the main thing is that it is an act of obedience to God, and a public confession of your faith, and it represents rebirth. I now attend a Baptist church, so, naturally, we baptize in a baptistry, or we can be baptized in a body of water, etc. The real point is the meaning of it.

Answer 6

i just spent months on the study of baptism.
not one word,[when properly translated],in the new testament implies immerssion on its own.and none of the baptisms in the book of acts are from immersion.
the word translates...to dip a thing into an element or liquid..2 to put an element or liquid over or on it.nothing from the translation can be concluded from the mere word.
in the old testament it is used for ablution and baptisms required by mosaic law.these were effected by immersion,sprinkling,and affusion.it also is described as washings.
this comes out of my concordance,backed by scripture.
the water is supossed to be living water,but in the desert,living water was hard to come by.
i was baptized by full immersion.
god bless!

Answer 7

Good question. It is going against what Jesus taught. Is the same as people saying that baptism is your only way to salvation. Jesus never taught that. Baptism is an outward symbol of your faith in Jesus Christ.
It's good that you are questioning these things, keep reading your Bible so you can continue to discern what is right and what is wrong. Test everything against God's Word, it's the only sure thing we have in this world.

1. No one is good enough. "There is no one righteous, not even one;" - Romans 3:10 2. You are a sinner. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23 3. God loves us, even though we are sinners. "But God demonstrates His Love for us, in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 4. The provision - God's Gift. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23 "For it is by the grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 5. There must be repentance of sin (turning away from sin). "Repent and believe the Good News!" - Mark 1:15 6. The required action - believe and confess. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." - Romans 10:9-10 7. The result - Salvation. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED." - Romans 10:13 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12

Answer 8

Some churches don't want to follow what the Bible says. Catholics sprinkle babies. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But they also do other things like confess to a priest. Mormons like to do something totally pagan and baptize in the name of dead people in hopes that they will be saved and find mormonism after they are dead. The Bible says once death, comes the judgement. But of course Mormonism goes completely against anything Chirstian. I was baptized in a creek with witnesses after I confessed publicly that I believe Christ died for my sins. I was dipped fully just like Jesus.

Answer 9

Be baptized by immersion if possible.

It may be this is not possible so the other options are okay.

It is a public demonstration of accepting the discipleship of Christ.

It is of the heart.

Joy -JJ

Answer 10

The Baptist Church doesn't recognize your baptism in the Lutheran Church in regards to becoming a member of the Baptist Church. It only recognizes baptisms in the Baptist Church. That is not to say that your baptism in the Lutheran Church does not mean to you that you were baptized, it just means that the Baptists do not recognize it regarding membership in their church.