A Study on Baptism

I plan to write a little about my findings on this subject matter once a day for the next week. Below, you will find a summary of what I already believe going into this study. I have done countless hours of study prior to today on this subject which has lead me to the following conclusions. It is always possible that, over the course of my study, my opinion on this subject will change. If you agree or disagree and can express so respectfully, I encourage you to throw in your input. Obviously, I want you to stick with Biblical text, but historical accounts not recorded in the Bible are also valuable when tested against scripture.

Let me, first, explain my position. I was baptized as an infant. I had no choice in that matter. I did not receive the Holy Spirit at that point. If you've ever been to a baby dedication, you've been to what I call an infant baptism, though oil was likely used in place of water. Otherwise, they're exactly the same thing. Had I been able to find someone who would perform one, I would have had my son, Caspian, baptized as an infant as well.

I do not believe that anyone who has been baptized as an infant must be re-baptized of water. Likewise, I don't believe that someone who was not baptized as an infant must get baptized of water after being saved. I do not believe that baptism of water is a proclamation of one who is a Christian. No one can possibly be aware of one's baptism unless they were present for it, so what good does it do as a sign of one's salvation? In fact, my church leadership wasn't even aware that I had not been baptized as an adult Christian until I made them aware of it, yet none of them had once questioned my salvation. I don't suddenly become permanently drenched as a sign that I am set apart for Christ. There is no scripture supporting this idea that baptism is a sign of my salvation.

I believe that the baptism that Christ speaks of in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) is a baptism of the Holy Spirit. No command to use water is mentioned in His last words to His disciples. Jesus' own disciples did not rush out and receive a water baptism post receiving the Holy Spirit, and if they did, God could not be bothered to divinely inspire Luke to record that in Acts 2, so it must not have been all that important. The disciples received a baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I believe that that is what Christ was speaking of. I believe that every instance where Peter declares "Repent and be baptized!" that Peter is speaking of being baptized of the Holy Spirit. If he's not, then everyone who has not been baptized of water is in for a real shocker when Jesus tells them "I do not know you" and the casts them into the lake of fire.

I believe that baptism and circumcision are related, though I may not understand how exactly. Paul (Colossians 2) certainly thought so. I also want to point out Acts 2, where Peter specifically mentions that "the promise is you and your children". I don't fully understand what he meant by that, but the fact that Hebrews circumcised their infants as a sign that they were of God's chosen people probably ties up in all of that somehow.

In order to join CenterPoint Church as a member, I was required to be baptized post salvation. I did so out of respect and submission to the authority of my church leadership. No one that was present at my second water baptism had questioned my salvation prior to witnessing this. If my second water baptism was a sign to those people of my salvation but they already knew me to be saved, what the heck did I do it for? This makes as much sense to me as printing "t-shirt" on my t-shirt as a sign to others that it is, indeed, a t-shirt.

These are the things I believe prior to engaging in my umpteenth study of this subject matter, as requested by one of my church elders.

So, I decided I will concede that my view of baptism is wrong if I can find evidence that Jesus' disciples were baptized AFTER His death and resurrection (John's baptism of forgiveness does not count, which, by the way, the Bible never says they received either). I have, thus far, found no evidence of it, though I have been told it is safe to assume they were, in which case it is also safe to assume that each instance of someone and "all of his household were baptized" means that there were children and other people who did not believe who were present but were also baptized, which is, of course, ridiculous.

I also decided that finding an example of someone commanding that someone be baptized of water after receiving the Holy Spirit would also mean I'm wrong. There are many instances of it happening, as well as many instances of the disciples saying that there is no reason for someone not to be, but no command that it must happen.

Other points of interest:

Phillip does not command the Eunuch to be baptized, of water or otherwise. The Eunuch asks why he should not be and then Phillip baptizes him. Acts 8

Jesus does not command people to be baptized. The command is for the disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Also, there is no mention of water being used in this command. Matthew 28

Baptism, post Christ, is not defined in the Bible. The only definition of baptism in the Bible is for John's baptism, which is a baptism of repentance and was likely modeled after the practice that the Jewish priest had of cleansing themselves (not by immersion, just to throw that out there) before entering the Holy place. I have no proof of this though, so feel free to treat this like the argument that the disciples were baptized and that infants were present in the household examples.

Baptism is not merely a New Testament idea. 1 Peter 3, 1 Corinthians 10, and various other passages explicitly point to baptism's Old Testaments roots.

All that is to say, if you believe far one way (infant baptism is a Biblical practice that we should all practice today) or the other (baptism is strictly post salvation and we are commanded by the Word to be baptized), you're probably reading something into it that just isn't there.

Your input is greatly appreciated. I will be struggling with this over the next seven days, longer if need be. No one likes struggling alone. As I said, if you can be respectful, please feel free to share with me and others in the comments section.