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Transcript 197B — Immersion or Sprinkling for Baptisms?
CALLER: With reference to the subject of water baptism, the ordinance, I hear different opinions on this. The particular church I attend says that the correct way is to be immersed in water, because they believe that Christ Himself gave this example. There's a Scripture, I think, that says He came up out of the water, etc. Does this make any difference? Or what would be your thinking on that? Does the Bible teach that the local congregation should use this method? I know that some congregations sprinkle people. I know it doesn't have anything to do with the actual act of being saved, but that it's the commemoration of it, passing from death into life. What's your thinking on this?
HC: The question is raised concerning the mode of baptism, whether we are to be immersed or whether we are to be sprinkled, or whether water is to be poured on us. Actually, the Bible does not give us any instruction. First of all, when we examine the word baptism, we find that it means to wash or to cleanse, or to be purified. For example, in Hebrews 9:10, we find that it says, "According to this arrangement gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper, but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms." Now in our English Bibles that is translated "ablutions or washings." But the word is BAPTISM, the very same word that is used, for example, when God speaks about baptism in the Holy Spirit.
In Mark 7 we read, in verse 4, "And when they come from the marketplace [speaking of the Pharisees], they do not eat unless they baptize themselves [in other words, they purify themselves]. And there are many other traditions which they observe, the baptism of cups and pots and vessels of bronze." And that's translated washing.
The word baptism, the Greek word baptizo, if it isn't translated baptism, is translated washing or purifying or cleansing. And that of course is the figure that is repeatedly used when it is speaking of salvation. The Bible speaks of the washing with the word. The Bible speaks of the washing of regeneration. Or, "Arise, wash away your sins." This identifies totally with the idea of baptism.
Now that's the first important point, that the word baptism does not mean to immerse. It's used in the sense of washing or purification.
CALLER: In the Dictionary of New Testament Words it says that baptizo means immerse. That’s only the Greek definition, but we have to let the Bible define it.
HC: Yes, we first let the Bible be its own interpreter. Now there is a cousin word, bapto, that is used in a few places, or em bapto. It has the same root. And it means to dip. But interestingly enough, in every place where the word bapto or em bapto is used, it is never used in connection with salvation. It's used, for example, a number of times in connection with the Last Supper, where Jesus talked about the sop that He would dip in His cup, when He was referring to the one who was going to betray Him. That word dip there is bapto. But that has nothing to do with salvation, you see.
CALLER: But then when He was baptized, did He go under the water there?
HC: The Bible says that He was baptized, and He came up out of the water. Now we have to let the Bible again be its own interpreter. What does it mean to come up out of the water? Well, God helps us out.
In Acts 8 we have the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. And interestingly enough, we read: "As they went along [verse 36 of Acts 8] the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?' And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch. And he baptized him."
Now that's interesting. Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water. Now that isn't the end. "And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip." In other words, whatever the eunuch did, Philip did. Now if going down into the water and coming up out of the water means immersion, then we have the interesting picture of Philip going down under the water to baptize someone. And that doesn't make any sense at all. That would be fairly awkward.
And so God Himself is teaching that going down into the water and coming up out of the water, as Jesus did, is not signifying immersion. It simply means that they went down the bank of the river into the water. And Jesus was baptized. He may have been immersed. Water may have been poured on His head, or He may have been sprinkled. Then He went up out of the water.
Now the one place we do have a word that is used in connection with baptism, the word sprinkle is used, of all things. And it's not a surprising word, because sprinkling is a very common word in the Old Testament. The blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. The blood was sprinkled on the base of the altar. Sprinkling was very common.
And in Ezekiel 36:25 we read, where God is speaking now about what salvation is, "I [and this is God speaking] will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be cleaned from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I wi11 take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
Now this indicates the spiritual washing that takes place when we are saved. And God uses the figure of sprinkling. And on this basis, many churches today also use sprinkling as the mode of baptism, although immersion is a perfectly Biblical way to baptize also. The Bible is silent insofar as an expressed command concerning the mode.
CALLER: That’s clear. Thank you.