Water baptism indispensable
AS THE world of Christianity continues to expand, it is a reason worth celebrating as we have meaningfully executed the great commission as directed by Jesus. While we celebrate this growth of one of the world’s most popular religions, it is also important that we uphold some fundamentals that weave the fibre of the religion.
This week we take a journey to remind each other of one of the fundamentals that seem to be slowly fading away, water baptism. It is not a secret that growth comes with its own demerits.
Let us revisit the great commission as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19 which reads: “Go yee therefore and teach all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe things whatsoever I have commanded you . . .” This is the great commission in its whole sense.
It is beyond any reasonable doubt that ministers, pastors, evangelists and all clergymen have done a fantastic job in propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My area of concern lies in our partial fulfilment of the command. The command is crafted with a couple of verbs within it and to point just a few: “Go, teach, baptise,” all these are words that demands action. We have gone I agree and we have preached why is it that we are erasing part of the command that we baptise.
John 3:13: “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptised of him”.
This is a clear example of the master himself taking a journey to be baptised. This shows the importance of the act that we are speaking about today.
The account goes to give us the conversation that ensued between John the Baptist and Jesus. The master pointed something of significance to our topic today that: “It should be done to fulfil all righteousness.”
I would then infer that according to Jesus there was going to be no righteousness without baptism. While it may be bitter to take, it does not require a doctorate to interpret the above passage. Total allegiance to the Lordship of Jesus is undoubtedly confirmed by observation of all His commandments. When we speak about the word baptism which is a Greek word “baptizo” literally translated as submerge, immense, bury will then take us to another misunderstood element of baptism.
As long as there is absence of submerging I will be hesitant calling the act baptism. There has to be plenty of water sufficient enough to submerge the whole body. This is the reason why John would always find places where there was plenty of water to do his ordained responsibility.
“And John also was baptising at Aenon near Salim because there was much water there . . . ” This is evidence enough that for baptism to take place there should be plenty of water. I am not sure if water from a bowl can be regarded as plenty?
While spiritual baptism has of late been upheld ahead of the water baptism, it will be detri- mental to liberalise specifics.
Many would argue about the fact of the feasibility of undertaking water baptism with thousands of people accepting Jesus. I would hasten to point to the incident in the book of Acts 2:41: “Then they that gladly received His word were baptised and the same day they were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
This is one unique text that nullifies any technicality of evading baptism citing numbers because if the early apostles managed to baptise three thousand people at one go, there is certainly no excuse in us hiding behind the finger of multitudes.
Jesus himself challenged Nicodemus that unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot inherit the kingdom of God. This is explicit enough that water baptism should be undertaken by anyone who entertains inheriting the kingdom of God.
Unless you are destined somewhere else it will be impossible for you to enter the kingdom of God without the prerequisite of water baptism that can of course be interwoven with spiritual baptism, but cannot be replaced.
Having pointed out the significance of the act of water baptism, simple as it is, it is a commitment that whosoever claims to be a child of God should make sure they obey. It is the great commission to the last aspect. It is not a crime that you ask your pastor to facilitate that you are born into a relationship with Jesus from the metaphoric pregnancy of the waters of baptism. Do not be blinded by colourful teachings, purse the fundamentals and find rest for your soul.