Christening, or baptism by sprinkling, or baptism by immersion and what about rebaptism?
For some people, whether religious or not, christening their baby can be a memorable milestone.
Though christening and baby baptism is usually associated with Christianity and Catholicism, some may still want to hold a ceremony to commemorate the birth of their child.
What does the Bible tell us about baptism?
Table of Contents:
1. Was baptism practiced in other civilisations B.C. (Before Christ)?
The Greek word “baptizo” as used in Mark 1:4 ( “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region . . .” ) was very common among Greek-speaking people; it is used in every period of Greek literature and was applied to a great variety of matters, including the most familiar acts of everyday life.”
‘Baptism: A Pre-Christian History’ By Ed Barnes from Expository Files 12. bible.ca 1
Baptism and ceremonial washings has been carried out around the world including native Americans 2 , Muslims, Sikhs 3 ancient Babylon, etc.
We will just look briefly at two ancient baptisms:
In ancient Egypt, purification rituals were carried out:
two of the most important purification rituals (considered vital preludes to engaging in spiritual activities or entering holy spaces like temples) were ritual washing and ritual bathing.
‘Ancient Purification Rituals: Exploring Cleansing and Spiritual Renewal’ By Robbie Mitchell. Ancient Origins. 4
Very often these rituals involved a purification process through immersion in the sacred Nile River.
Those seeking spiritual cleansing would undergo a ritual bath, symbolizing the washing away of physical impurities as well as negative energies.”
The Mikveh is a ritual bath used in Judaism for the purpose of immersion.
“The practice of immersion in a ritual bath is at least as old as the writing of Leviticus” 5
So water baptism was not a new practice brought in by John the Baptist – it had been around for centuries in one form or another.
2. Is Christian Baptism for babies or adults?
Christian Baptism is an act carried out with water, by sprinkling or immersion, to:
- anybody who believes in Jesus Christ as a sign of their conversion, or
- infants who have believing parents, or
- infants where it has become the social thing to have that ceremony.
One criticism against babies being baptised is that the baby cannot decide for themself.
But when we look in the Bible, there are times when others can extend their own faith onto someone else.
For example, at the start of the tenth plague in Egypt, where the firstborns were to be killed by the destroying angel, the Israelite parents spread the blood of a lamb on the door surrounds in faith that their own firstborn would not be killed. (Exodus 12:21-30).
Another example is of Jesus forgiving a paralytic and healing him because of the faith of those who were carrying him: “And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son…’ “ 6
In the Old Testament, and within religious Jewish families, circumcision is an act: “demonstrating his [the babies] submission to G‑d by marking the physical body with the sign of the covenant, Abraham revealed the intrinsic bond every Jew has with G‑d.” 7
This act of circumcision is carried out on a baby before that child can decide to follow God – in other words the parents extend their faith onto their child.
Pastor Kevin DeYoung shares how he takes a few minutes to explain why they practice infant baptism in his church. He expresses,
‘Should Babies Be Baptized?’ By Lesli White. Belief Net. 8
‘We do not believe that there is anything magical about the water we apply to the child. The water does not wash away original sin or save the child.
We do not presume that this child is regenerate (though he may be), nor do we believe that every child who gets baptized will automatically go to heaven.
We baptize infants not out of superstition or tradition or because we like cute babies.
We baptize infants because they are covenant children and should receive the sign of the covenant.’
Baptism is the initiation into the covenant community and the children of believers have always been included in the covenant community.
Some people who have been baptised as a baby decide to get ‘confirmed’ which is done at a special Confirmation service:
Confirmation is a special church service in which a person confirms the promises that were made when they were baptized.
‘Confirmation FAQs’ The Church of England. 9
If you were baptized at a christening when you were a child, your parents and godparents made these promises on your behalf.
As a young person or adult, you may be ready to affirm these promises for yourself and commit your life to following Jesus Christ.
At a confirmation service, you make these promises for yourself.
Your friends and family as well as the local Christian community will be there to promise to support and pray for you.
The local bishop will lay their hands on your head and ask God’s Holy Spirit to give you the strength and commitment to live God’s way for the rest of your life.”
Some people who have been baptised as a baby may prefer to get baptised as an adult when they have personally decided to follow Jesus.
All of these are an individuals response to faith and no one side should bully that person into a decision.
All the things we do should come from faith and that we believe that it is the right thing to do.
Remember, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” 10
As an alternative to baby baptism, some parents prefer to ‘dedicate’ their baby, either in a special service, or part of a worship service, which is where they can give thanks for the birth of that baby and offer him/her to God to be a follower of Jesus.
3. Sprinkling or immersion for Christian baptism?
To answer that, we need to look for the voice of authority.
How were people baptised in the Bible?
- John the Baptist baptised Jesus in a river. (Matthew 3:13)
- The eunuch was baptised in some water beside the road. (Acts 8:36)
- Paul and Silas baptised their jailer in his house. (Acts 16:33)
So it was not a highly organised event, for some, there were a lot of onlookers and for others, just a few people were there.
Some were baptised with a lot of water around, for others, like Paul and Silas, there would have been only some water in a jug.
We do not know the technique and I reckon that God wanted it that way.
If someone wants to be baptised to show their decision to follow Jesus, then who are we to stop that because there isn’t a baptismal pool, a bath, a river or the sea nearby?
There does not have to be a special baptismal service, which has been set in stone after many years of tradition.
But having said that, it may well cause too much of an upset if a special service is not held.
4. Why is Christian baptism important?
Firstly, Jesus wanted to be baptised so it must be important:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
Matthew 3:13-17 ESV
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.’ ”
Secondly, as the Bible narrative goes on we see the new converts getting baptised as the normal and proper thing to do:
…they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women.”
Acts 8:12 NIV
And there are many examples like this in the New Testament.
Thirdly, the Apostle Peter tells us to:
Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Acts 2:38 NIV
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
We are told to be baptised so the Lord expects us to be baptised.
5. Baptism meaning – problematic in practice:
Different church groups have different ways of baptising people and it seems like it is written in stone!
This subject has caused a lot of conflict between different denominations and groups.
Let’s now look at this dilemma:
I had to learn a lesson many years ago involving water baptism and I want to pass this on to you.
In the image, you can see me involved in a baptism at a nearby river (Peter Reason on the right!) and I was fully committed to ‘believers baptism’.
But then I met someone who had come via the Anglican route of infant baptism and then ‘Confirmation’.
Initially, I saw them as not being baptised – well it wasn’t a believer’s baptism was it?
But they truly saw themselves as being baptised, so why would they want to be baptised again?
And if they went through with this new act of baptism it would be just performing some kind of rite or ritual.
They felt baptised, but another Christian group wanted them to be baptised according to their custom.
They believed that they were baptised, so what right had I, or anybody else, to force a ceremony onto them?
6. Should Christians be rebaptised if forced to do so?
I’ve seen this the other way around as well, where someone had been baptised as a believer and then had joined an Anglican church and they had to get baptised and confirmed their way, according to their tradition.
So no one side is to blame, both camps can push people to get re-baptised.
I see ‘believers baptism’ as being the ideal, in that someone comes to faith and then they can be baptised as an act of obedience and as an outward sign of that confession.
But for someone who believes in their heart that they are truly baptised by complying to a denomination’s teaching, I can see that it would be wrong to not accept them and wrong to force them to redo it.
Surely this whole baptism thing should NOT be a legalistic act – complying with the law, but rather the spirit of the act.
I am sure Jesus is much more accepting of people and their baptisms than many Christians are.
What gives meaning to life? Perhaps surprisingly the Bible does still speak to millions of people.
At the crossroads, decisions to make. Some ‘routes’ will shout louder than others.
Can we rely on our ‘goodness,’ to get us to heaven?
Spiritual health and spiritual bankruptcy.
How to feel happy and just feel better.
Does God put us in difficult situations?
Temptation comes through these different things…
Life is a journey, do you know where you are going?
Kids bully an old lady but things turn out for good.
Read about John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3 on-line
References and credits – open in new tabs:
‘Baptism: A Pre-Christian History’ By Ed Barnes from Expository Files 12. bible.ca October 2005 ↩
‘Discover the Sacred Native American Baptism Ceremony: Embrace Spiritual Renewal & Cultural Traditions!’ By Justo. Native Tribe. 6 December 2023 ↩
‘Types of Baptism in Christianity and Other Religions’ By Beverley Byer. Owlcation. 19 November 2023. ↩
‘Ancient Purification Rituals: Exploring Cleansing and Spiritual Renewal’ By Robbie Mitchell. Ancient Origins. 25 August 2023. ↩
‘A Brief History Of Mikveh Pool’ By Jennifer Strauss. Culture Trip. 24 November 2016. ↩
Matthew 9:2 ESV ↩
‘Why Circumcise? The importance of the brit milah’ By Dovid Zaklikowski. Chabad. ↩
‘Should Babies Be Baptized?’ By Lesli White. Belief Net. ↩
‘Confirmation FAQs’ The Church of England. ↩
Romans 14:23 ESV ↩
2 responses to “[5] Baptism meaning – Problematic in practice”
Thanks.
I do think the believer’s baptism is the way to go, but you are right…someone who believes in their hear that they were baptized should not have to do so again. Good post.