Expert: Mr. McClellan - 8/23/2004

Question
Hello Mr. McClellan, I was babtized as a baby child in the Methodist church. My parents have assured me that this is a church sanctified practice of Baptism. My question:
Does my Babtism as a child apply to my adult life as a Christian. What do the scriptures say about being Baptized as an adult vs as a child. Do I need to be Baptized again as an adult. I have asked Jesus into my heart both in private and in the presence of others and my prayers are always in Jesus name.
I have a Christian friend who claims that my Baptism did not count since I was not fully immersed in water. Is this true ?
I have not found an exact passage in the Bible that "Specifically" states that a person be completely dunked "under water" in order to be Baptized properly. There is scripture that says "he came out of the water", Perhaps the person went into the water only up to their shoulders/neck and were sprinkled over the head with water. Surely this would be an acceptable way to be Baptized in the name of Jesus and of the holy spirit. Am I right ?

Thank You !! for taking time to clear up this very important subject.
Ron

Answer
Hello Ron, I will be happy to answer your questions.
I am going to make this as simple and straight forward as I can in order to be clear but brief. Be sure that you let me know if I have confused you in any way or have not given sufficent proof for the correctness of my answers. OK?
First, the Greek word for baptism literally means to immerse, or bury, or overwhelm with. It does not refer to sprinkling or pouring water on a person. There are other Greek words for sprinkling and for pouring and they are never used to refer to the same action that baptism refers to. If God had intended for water to be sprinkled on a person or for it to be poured over them instead of immersing a person completely as a kind of burial in water, he would have seen that they were used by the writers of the New Testament. Either God said what he meant and meant what he said, or he lied and you can do as you please.
Second, only people old enough to understand the message of salvation and obey it are ever told to be baptized in the New Testament. That this is correct is made even more clear by the fact that the doctrine that teaches that babies are sinners in need of salvation is not in the Bible. That doctrine was developed by people that did not understand the Bible very well and it has been passed on as if it was true. It isn't. The Bible actually teaches that babies are innocent of sin and that people do not become sinners until they are old enough and mature enough to recognize the seriousness of right and wrong and then refuse to do right. God, who is perfectly just (though loving) does not punish people for the sins of others nor for doing things that they cannot avoid or help doing. For example, would it be just of a parent to command a new born infant not to soil its diaper and then punish it when it does? Answer Yes, or No. What about a ten year old child that has been correctly using the bathroom since the age of two? Would it be just of a parent to punish a ten year old for messing his clothes just because he wanted to embarrass his parents? Answer Yes, or No. Simple common sense should tell you that justice does not include punishing people that cannot know right from wrong or that cannot obey your commands.
Should God be any less just than human parents? I use this example because the Bible does not teach that people are born sinners or that they will be punished for things done by others. Every individual will give an account for his own sins that he/she has knowingly done and could have avoided.
So, if you want to become a legitimate Christian, knowing that you are doing what God actually wants you to do, go to Acts, chapter two, and read what the people did that were the first to become Christians (after Jesus' early disciples) on the day of Pentecost. Do what they did, and if you do it because you sincerely trust God and want Jesus to be the Lord and master of your life, you will be an authentic Christian with the right to believe that your sins have been forgiven and that you are as clean of sin as if you had been born again, as pure as a new creation, as clean as if your sins were like dirt and the water had washed them off, because you will have actually put your faith in Jesus by obeying his command. Continue to obey his instruction, all of which are written in the New Testament, and you will be assured of eternal life. Be aware that only people that have done what I have just told you about are authentic Christians. All others may think that they are Christians but they are not because they have only obeyed the false teachings of people that have twisted the scriptures to make them say what they want them to say. No one was ever saved, no one ever became a true Christian, by obeying a false doctrine about how to be saved.
Note, that the apostle Paul first met Jesus on his way to the city of Damascus to arrest some Christians. There, on the way to Damascus, Paul believed that Jesus was the savior but it was in Damascus that he was told to get up and be baptized (immersed in water) and "wash away" his sins. You see, he was clearly still accountable for his sins until he had been baptized as Jesus commanded. Jesus was not his Lord until Paul began to do what Jesus said to do. When Paul began to obey Jesus, his sins were forgiven (Acts 22:16). It says that sins are forgiven after a person is baptized in Acts 2:38, not before. In Acts 8:26-39, is where it speaks of going down into the water and coming up out of the water. However, in all honesty, here it could simply be meaning that the water was in nearby wadi, a seasonal water runoff ravine, and that they had to go down to get into the water and then had to climb back up the bank after the man was baptized. Paul is the one that more clearly describes the act of baptism in Romans, chapter six, where he speifically describes it as a burial and just as clearly states that it is when a person has been baptized that they are united with Jesus, it is where we crucify our old way of life having repented of our sins and bury it, leaving it behind as we pass through that grave of water. Being baptized is faith in action and an active faith is the only kind of faith that can save you. See James, chapter two, verses 14-26 for example.
When Paul made the statement that we are saved by faith apart from works, he was not saying that all a person had to do was "believe," or just mentally accept the fact that Jesus was who he said he was and thinking that we have let Jesus into our hearts by doing that. What Paul meant by works there, was things that people do in an effort to put God in their debt so that he owes them salvation. God cannot be indebted to anyone because he already owns everything and because he made salvation available before the world was created. What God expects is for people to simply obey him, demonstrating their faith, or trust, in him. When they do, he forgives them according to his promise. Faith that is not accompanied by appropriate actions is called hypocrisy. It is "dead," as James said. It does nothing for us but condemn us of being hypocrites because no one has the right to call Jesus Lord and not do what he says. James said that demons believe. See James 2:14-26. Jesus plainly said that the way to begin a life of faith in him was to repent and be baptized. And, be sure to note that Jesus did not command people to be baptized until after he had been raised from his tomb. Before that time, he made it clear that he could forgive people based on any active demonstration of their faith that he chose. That is why he could forgive the "thief on the cross" simply based on the man's indication of repentence and recognizing that Jesus was really the Christ. However, he only authorized his apostles and other future disciples to tell people that their sins would be initially forgiven when they had repented and had been baptized in water. After a person became a real Christian by doing that, all they had to do to be forgiven of sins that they might do was to ask for it.
I hope that this has been helpful. I know that it is not what you have been taught, but it is perfectly correct. It is what the Bible actually teaches.

Please let me know if I need to make something more clear or if I need to help you find the scriptures that prove that what I have said is actually true.

Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan