Churches in most Christian denominations practice baptism by sprinkling or pouring, and most candidates for this sort of baptism are infants. Moreover, most churches accept transfers of membership from other denominations without requiring them to be "re-baptized." But if someone, whether a child or an adult, wishes for the first time to join a Baptist church, that church will (almost always) insist that the person be dipped under the water. And for some reason, Baptists often think of infant baptism with contempt. Why is this the case?
The very name "Baptist" should be a clue that these folks have a few distinctive–some would say curious–beliefs about baptism. If your son or daughter is led to Christ in a Baptist setting, someone may come to talk with you about putting him or her under the water, and this may cause understandable concern. As a Baptist, I'd like to help explain in everyday language why we believe and practice as we do.
First, here is the Baptist view of baptism in capsule form: Baptism is an act of obedience to Christ's command and enters the person baptized as a full member of a local church. Baptism with water does not forgive or remove sins, because it is only for people who are already Christians (and who therefore are already forgiven). In baptism, new Christians profess their faith through a picture of their identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. As such, baptism involves a single, complete immersion of the person in water in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
To make my explanation easy to follow, I'm dividing it into four parts: (a) why we baptize at all, (b) whom we baptize, (c) what baptism means, and (d) how we baptize. I freely use the pronoun we simply because I am a Baptist by conviction.
Nearly all Christian churches baptize those who enter their fellowship, but sometimes they do not explain why they do so. There were a number of Jewish practices involving water that date back to the time of the New Testament, or close to it. Some of these resemble various modes of baptism. But it was John "the Baptist" who first baptized people as a one-time act for those who by repentance enter into a right relationship with God. When Jesus began His ministry, He came to John to be baptized. When John objected (since Jesus did not need to repent), Jesus told him, "In this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Jesus later had His disciples baptize (John 3:22-4:2). After Jesus' resurrection, He commissioned his followers to "make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). The Book of Acts records how the disciples began to carry out this mission. Baptism was a regular practice whenever believers were added to the church. Paul speaks of baptism as a basis for unity among believers (1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:4-6). Baptism seems never to have been a matter of controversy in the early church, but rather a universal practice, a rite that all Christians had in common.
It is for this reason that most denominations, including Baptists, believe that people join the church through baptism. However, it is also true that baptism is a one-time matter in all the biblical examples, and so we also believe that if you have been biblically baptized, you do not have to be re-baptized every time you move from one church to another. The reason Baptists may require baptism for those who were baptized in another church, is that Baptists might not view that baptism as having been biblical. What makes a baptism "biblical" is explained in the following points. (There are a few independent and Landmark Baptist churches that insist on baptizing all who join their local church, regardless of their previous church background. This is a rare practice by churches that just don't want to take the chance that someone might enter the church without having had a valid baptism.)
Baptists practice only what we call "believer's baptism." The repeated call in the Bible is to believe/repent and then be baptized. John baptized people who came to him to repent. The three thousand who repented at Pentecost were baptized after their conversion. The Samaritans who were baptized were said to have believed first, and the Ethiopian eunuch also understood the gospel before his baptism. The same pattern of conversion followed by baptism holds true for Saul, Cornelius, Lydia, and the Philippian jailer–all the remaining examples in Acts.
The only unconverted person known to be baptized in the Bible still supports the pattern. Simon the magician was baptized and later rebuked by Peter, but he had professed belief before being baptized (Acts 8:9-24). Furthermore, when Paul discusses baptism in his letters, he assumes that those who are baptized have been converted and have faith (Romans 6:1-7; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 4:4-7; Colossians 2:9-14).
Nevertheless, it is not proper to have a period of "probation" to prove the faith of a baptismal candidate. The baptisms recorded in the New Testament were practically immediate. The fact that Simon was baptized upon an apparently false profession supports the view that false baptisms are a possible–perhaps even inevitable–but acceptable risk. Those whose faith proves ingenuine can be dealt with according to principles of church discipline (e.g., 2 Corinthians 6). Baptists may ask a few questions to ensure that the baptismal candidate understands the basics of the gospel and what baptism means, but a profession of faith is all that is required for baptism in most Baptist churches in America. If you are baptized in a Baptist church, you will have full membership, including the Lord's supper, voting privileges, and ministry opportunities, unless discipline comes into play or you move your membership to another church. You may also observe the Lord's supper at any church whose members would be able to observe the Lord's supper at your own. (The Lord's supper is another issue, but what counts is a common understanding of baptism and the Lord's supper between the two churches.)
Those who defend the baptism of infants usually have three responses, all of which Baptists dismiss:
Many churches teach that baptism in water has a spiritual effect on the person baptized that is critical to the salvation experience. Either baptism removes the curse of original sin, brings forgiveness and cleansing from actual sin, or regenerates the person (i.e., makes him born again). This view of baptism is commonly called "baptismal regeneration." Baptists reject this view, not because baptism is unimportant, but because the Bible teaches that forgiveness comes only through saving faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism of an unconverted person has no saving or sanctifying effect, as illustrated in the case of Simon (Acts 8:12ff.) and of the Ephesians who knew only the baptism of John (Acts 19:1ff.). And one who believes already shares exclusively Christian spiritual blessings, even before baptism, as in the case of Cornelius's household (Acts 10:44ff.). Without question, the thief on the cross to whom Jesus promised, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," was forgiven without being baptized (Luke 23:39-43).
The "baptism" that has to do with regeneration is baptism with (or in) the Holy Spirit, which is an internal act of cleansing and renewal for which baptism is a metaphor. This "Spirit baptism" is the unseen reality that water baptism symbolizes (1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 Peter 4:21). The Holy Spirit was not given before Pentecost (John 7:39; Acts 1:5), and His impartation to believers expanded as the gospel spread to different kinds of people. Because of the transitional nature of Acts, this took place in a number of different ways; Spirit-baptism or Spirit-filling came sometimes before water-baptism (Acts 10), sometimes a while after (Acts 8), and sometimes immediately after (Acts 19). In the Baptist view, today's believers are baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion, and should soon after present themselves to a church to be baptized in water as a public profession of their faith.
This does not mean that baptism is just a symbol or an initiation rite. It was personally commanded by Jesus Christ, which is why we call it an "ordinance" and an act of obedience. Obeying Christ in baptism and in other ways is an important part of the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification–making us more like Jesus in our character. And by its symbolism, baptism is a proclamation of God's word.
The water of baptism most immediately symbolizes cleansing and purification (e.g., Acts 22:16; Ephesians 5:25-26; Titus 3:5). Just as importantly, baptism is a picture of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection; and of the fact that we have died to sin and been raised to new life (Romans 6.1-9; Colossians 2:12). Thus baptism is both a personal testimony and a visual telling of the gospel story.
Baptists baptize by immersion: a minister stands in the water with the believer and leans that person back completely into the water for a second or two. The believer is then brought back up to a standing position. (A few baptistic groups stoop down into the water rather than lean back.) There are several reasons Baptists have adopted this practice.
One objection I have heard is that such large numbers as the three thousand converted at Pentecost could not possibly have been baptized by immersion, since there was not enough water. Even if all the believers were baptized that day (which is not absolutely demanded by the text), Jerusalem had several large pools, such as the pool of Bethesda. And baptismal water doesn't run down the drain; the amount "used up" by each convert would only be the amount that clung to his body and clothes. As far as time is concerned, the 120 disciples would only have had to baptize 25 converts each, and the baptisms need not have been done one at a time.
There are a few smaller denominations that practice "trine immersion," dipping the person three times (once each for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). But lacking any biblical precedent for this, Baptists believe one immersion is sufficient. We do believe it is important to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, reflecting a commitment to the doctrine of the Trinity and to the wording of Matthew 28:19. The minister and the person being baptized usually wear white robes as an additional symbol of purification.
Some non-Baptists, along with inquisitive Baptists, may acknowledge that the above arguments are strong and, yes, non-regenerative believer's baptism by immersion is the most biblical way to baptize. But why does this mean that other methods don't count? The biblical precedent for "re-baptizing"–or more properly, baptizing biblically for the first time–is in Acts 19. Paul encounters some Ephesians who had been baptized, but who had not embraced the gospel of Christ or heard of the Holy Spirit. They knew only the "baptism of John." After Paul set them straight, he baptized them again. The Holy Spirit endorsed this move by filling the Ephesians at that moment. It is evident from this passage that people who were baptized before having a genuine conversion experience–whether they were infants or adults at the time–need to be baptized biblically after their true conversion.
How does this apply to the mode and meaning? Baptists also insist on baptizing those who were baptized with an understanding of baptismal regeneration, or who were sprinkled or poured. Since these problems were not present when the Bible was written, we have no examples to help us. The Didache's allowances for pouring are not applicable to the current situation and might not reflect true apostolic teaching. I believe that a principle is at stake: the preservation of the biblical mode and meaning of baptism. Churches ought not be unnecessarily divisive, but the only way that Baptists could revive and maintain this declining biblical practice was to make it a requirement for membership. As important as baptism was for the church in the New Testament, the members of any particular church ought to be as united in it as they are in other basic doctrines.
An analogy might help to understand the importance of mode. Imagine that a church is observing the Lord's supper. The people take the bread and the cup, and the event in the upper room is recounted from the Bible. Then, instead of eating the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine, the people put it in their navels, or step on it, or set it on fire. They argue that this is simply their traditional method of observing the Lord's supper, and the difference doesn't really matter. But we would answer that they are not merely practicing the ordinance differently; they are not practicing it at all. They are doing something else and calling it the Lord's supper. Just as consuming the bread and the cup is essential to the significance of the Lord's supper, immersion is essential to the significance of baptism.
I cite these statements of faith not for defense, but as a resource for any who would like to compare the many different ways Baptists have chosen to express their doctrine about baptism. For these excerpts, great credit should be given to William Lumpkin, who has compiled and reproduced these and other statements in their entirety in Baptist Confessions of Faith, published by Judson Press. Spelling and grammar are retained from the original confessions.
adopted by John Smyth's congregation in 1609; the first confession of faith by Baptists
We believe with the heart and with the mouth confess...that baptism is the external sign of the remission of sins, of dying and of being made alive, and therefore does not belong to infants.
adopted by Thomas Helwys's congregation in 1610
The Holy Baptism is given unto these in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, which hear, believe, and with penitent heart receive the doctrines of the Holy Gospel. For such hath the Lord Jesus commanded to be baptized, and no unspeaking children.
The whole dealing in the outward visible baptism of water, setteth before the eyes, witnesseth and signifieth, the Lord Jesus doth inwardly baptize the repentant, faithful man, in the laver of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, washing the soul from all pollution and sin, by the virtue and merit of his bloodshed; and by the power and working of the Holy Ghost, the true, heavenly, and spiritual, living Water, cleanseth the inward evil of the soul, and maketh it heavenly, spiritual, and living, in true righteousness or goodness. Therefore, the baptism of water leadeth us to Christ, to his holy office in glory and majesty; and admonisheth us not to hang only upon the outward, but with holy prayer to mount upward, and to beg of Christ the good thing signified.
adopted by English General Baptists in Amsterdam in 1611
Wee beleeve and confesse...that Baptisme or washing with Water, is the outward manifestacion off dieing vnto sinn, and walkeing in newnes off life. Roman. 6.2, 3, 4. And therefore in no wise apperteyneth to infants.
adopted by followers of John Smyth in 1614
We believe...that the outward baptism of water, is to be administered only upon such penitent and faithful persons as are (aforesaid), and not upon innocent infants, or wicked persons (Matt. iii. 2, 3, compared with Matt. xxviii. 19, 20, and John iv. 1).
...that in Baptism to the penitent person, and believer, there is presented, and figured, the spiritual baptism of Christ, (that is) the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and fire: the baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ: even the promise of the Spirit, which he shall assuredly be made partaker of, if he continue to the end (Gal. iii. 14; Matt. iii. 11; 1 Cor. xii. 13; Rom. vi. 3, 6; Col. ii. 10).
adopted by English Particular Baptists in London in 1644
That baptisme is an Ordinance of the new Testament, given by Christ, to be dispensed onely upon persons professing faith, or that are Disciples, or taught, who upon a profession of faith, ought to be baptized.
The way and manner of the dispensing of this Ordinance the Scripture holds out to be dipping or plunging the whole body under water: it being a signe, must answer the thing signified, which are these: first, the washing the whole soule in the bloud of Christ: Secondly, that interest the Saints have in the death, buriall, and resurrection; thirdly, together with a confirmation of our faith, that as certainly as the body is buried under water, and riseth againe, so certainly shall the bodies of the Saints be raised by the power of Christ, in the day of the resurrection, to reigne with Christ.
[marginal note:] The word Baptizo, signifying to dip under water, yet so as with convenient garments both upon the administrator and subject, with all modestie.
adopted by English General Baptists in the Midlands in 1651
That the Baptisme which the Lord Jesus commanded his disciples to teach, ought to be known by every one, before they submit themselves, or obey it; Acts. 2. 38. 41..
That the way and manner of baptising, both before the death of Christ, and since his resurrection and ascension, was to go into the water, and to be baptised; Math. 3. 6. Math, 1. 5. and 8. 9.
adopted by English General Baptists in London in 1654
I believe...That they that believe the things so preached ought to be dipped in water, Acts 10.47. Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized (which in English is Dipped) which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? Acts 10.43; Acts 2.33; Acts 2.41; Acts 8.12.
adopted by English Particular Baptists in the Midlands in 1655
We believe and profess...that all those who profess faith in Christ, and make the same appear by their fruits, are the proper subjects of Baptism. Matthew xxviii.18,19.
...that this baptizing is not by sprinkling, but dipping of the persons in the water, representing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Romans vi.3,4; Colossians ii.12; Acts viii.38,39.
adopted by English Particular Baptists in Bridgewater in 1656
We believe...that it is the duty of every man and woman, that have repented from dead works, and have faith towards God, to be baptized (Acts 2:38; 8:12, 37, 38.), that is, dipped or buried under the water (Rom. 6:3, 4; Col. 2:12.), in the name of our Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16), or in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19.), therein to signify and represent a washing away of sin (Acts 22:16), and their death, burial, and resurrection with Christ (Rom. 6:5; Col. 2:12.), and being thus planted in the visible church or body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:3.).
adopted by English General Baptists in London in 1660
We believe and are verily confident...that the right and only way, of gathering Churches, (according to Christs appointment, Mat. 28. 19, 20.) is first to teach, or preach the Gospel, Mark 16.16. to the Sons and Daughters of men; and then to Baptise (that is in English to Dip) in the name of the Father, Son, and holy Spirit, or in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; such only of them, as profess repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, Acts. 2.38. Acts 8.12. Acts 18.8. And as for all such who preach not this Doctrine, but instead thereof, that Scriptureless thing of Sprinkling of Infants (falsly called Baptisme) whereby the pure word of God is made of no effect, and the new Testament-way of bringing in Members, into the Church by regeneration, cast out; when as the bond-woman & her son, that is to say, the old Testament-way of bringing in Children into the Church by generation, is cast out, as saith the Scripture, Gal. 4.30, 22, 23, 24. Mat. 3. 8, 9. all such we utterly deny, forasmuch as we are commanded to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather to reprove them, Ephes. 5.11.
adopted by English Particular Baptists in London in 1677
BAptism [sic] is an Ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party Baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him, in his death, and resurrection; of his being engrafted into him; of remission of sins; and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of Life.
Those who do actually profess repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience, to our Lord Jesus, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.
The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, wherein the party is to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Immersion, or dipping of the person in water, is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance.
adopted by English General Baptists in the Midlands in 1678
Baptism is an ordinance of the new testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptized, or dipped, a sign of our entrance into the covenant of grace, and ingrafting into Christ, and into the body of Christ, which is his church; and of remission of sin in the blood of Christ, and of our fellowship with Christ, in his death and resurrection, and of our living, or rising to newness of life. And orderly none ought to be admitted into the visible church of Christ, without being first baptized; and those which do really profess repentance towards God, and faith in, and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance, according to our Lord's holy institution, and primitive practice; and ought by the minister, or administrator, to be done in a solemn manner, in the name of the father, son, and holy ghost, by immersion or dipping of the person in the element of water; this being necessary to the due administration of this holy sacrament, as holy scripture sheweth and the first and best antiquity witnesseth for some centuries of years.
But the popish doctrine which they teach and believe, that those infants that die without baptism, or have it not actually, or in desire, are not, nor cannot be saved, we do not believe. Nor yet their practice of admitting persons only upon an implicit faith of the church, nor their superstitious and popish ceremonies of salt, and spittle, and breathing on the face of the party baptized, together with their chrisoms and hallowed lights. Neither do we believe, that infants dying in infancy, without baptism, go to purgatory or limbus infantum, as they erroneously teach. Nor do we believe, that the Pope of Rome, or any other persons whomsoever, have power to alter, or change, this ordinance of Christ, as they have done by this superstitious, and such like idolatrous inventions and practices of the Romish church. All which superstitions of theirs, are contrary to Christ's institution, or the apostles practice of holy baptism.
adopted by the Kehukee Primitive Baptist Association in North Carolina in 1777
We believe baptism and the Lord's Supper are gospel ordinances both belonging to the converted or true believers; and that persons who are sprinkled or dipped while in unbelief are not regularly baptized according to God's word, and that such ought to be baptized after they are savingly converted into the faith of Christ.
adopted by the Sandy Creek Association in North Carolina in 1816
We believe...that true believers are the only fit subjects of baptism, and that immersion is the only mode.
adopted by the Baptist Convention of New Hampshire in 1833
We believe...that Christian Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, with its purifying power; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord's Supper....
as revised in 1853 by J. Newton Brown
We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father and Son, and Holy Ghost, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord's Supper....
adopted by the General Conference of Free Will Baptists in the US in 1834
Christian Baptism. This is the immersion of believers in water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in which are represented the burial and resurrection of Christ, the death of Christians to the world, the washing of their souls from the pollution of sin, their rising to newness of life, their engagement to serve God, and their resurrection at the last day.
drafted for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1859
Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to church fellowship, and to participation in the Lord's Supper.
adopted by the Confession of Swedish Baptist Churches in Stockholm in 1861
We believe that baptism ought to be administered only to such as have personally by a trustworthy confession given evidence of possessing a living faith in Christ; that it is properly administered only through the immersion of the whole person in water; and that it should precede admittance into the fellowship of the church and participation in the Lord's Supper.
adopted by the Evangelical Association of French-speaking Baptist Churches in Chauny in 1879, as revised in 1924
We believe that immersion is for the regenerated man the divinely chosen symbol of the purification of his sins, of his burial and resurrection with Christ. We believe that, according to the order of Christ, the immersion of believers is perpetually obligatory and that, according to the apostolic practice, admission to the local church necessarily implies it.
adopted by Baptists in New Zealand in 1882
The immersion of believers as the only scriptural form of baptism.
adopted by Baptists in Victoria in 1888
...Baptism being the immersion of believers upon the profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a symbol of the fellowship of the regenerate in His death, burial and resurrection....
adopted by conservative Baptists in Canada in 1925
Immersion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the only gospel baptism.
adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1925
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The act is a symbol of our faith in a crucified, buried and risen Saviour. It is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord's Supper....
as revised and adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1963 and 2000
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
adopted by Baptists in Germany in 1944
We believe that the baptism which Christ has ordained should be given to those who have come to believe in the Lord Jesus and who desire in obedience towards Him to witness to their faith before many witnesses. According to primitive Christian example the baptismal candidate is buried in the watery grave of baptism, because he is being baptized into the death of Christ. Then he is raised again because he will have a full share in Christ's resurrection. Baptism, therefore, is a gracious pledge of God to the believer that because he has thus died with the Crucified unto sin, he is also permitted to walk with the Risen One in newness of life.
In baptism we pledge ourselves to the Lord and confess our faith in Him. Hence, the testing in our conduct cannot be absent from our lives. And we baptize publicly before the congregation, because it takes notice both of our conduct and our confession.
adopted by Landmark Baptists in Little Rock in 1950
Water baptism (immersion) to be administered to believers only and by Divine authority as given to Missionary Baptist churches.
adopted by Northern Baptist fundamentalists in Des Moines in 1953
[note: the wording is drawn from the 1853 New Hampshire Confession]
We believe that Christian Baptism is (a) the immersion in water of a believer; (b) into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; (c) to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; (d) that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and the the Lord's Supper.
For a concise statement of my beliefs about baptism, see my Declaration of Faith.
