LESSON 5

Why Water Baptism

Burying the Old Self in a Watery Grave

   Our bodies contain over 90 percent water.  Physical life itself cannot be sustained for long without ingesting water. All body organs require liquids composed of water for continued functioning. The smallest cell in the body contains water and the health of the individual depends directly upon the amount of water within cells.

   Blood circulating through the body (itself composed mostly of water) brings nutrients to the cells and carries off waste products. The supplying of food and elimination of waste through the bloodstream are much more efficient than a fleet of delivery trucks coming to the supermarkets, followed by the garbage pickup to maintain cleanliness. Certainly we are "fearfully and wonderfully made," Psalm 139:14.

   In countless ways, water gives life.

Consider the Role of Water in the Bible

   Yahweh used water to show His omnipotent power. One of the plagues brought upon the Egyptians turned the waters of the Nile river into blood, Exodus 7:17.

• At the marriage in Cana in John 2:1-10, Yahshua turned water into wine, His first recorded miracle.

• To escape the Egyptians, Yahweh caused the waters of the Red Sea to divide and become a wall, Exodus 14:21-22, so the Israelites could proceed on dry land.

• In the Israelite wanderings, they camped at Rephidim where there was no water. In response to their complaint, Yahweh caused water to gush forth from a rock, Exodus 17:1-6.

• After slaying a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass, Samson thirsted and Yahweh miraculously provided him drinking water from that jawbone, Judges 15:14-19.

• In the contest between Eliyah and the 450 prophets of Baal, Yahweh showed His power by consuming water with fire from heaven, 1 Kings 18:21-38.

• Elisha caused the metal axe head to float when one of his students dropped it into the Jordan River, 2 Kings 6:5-6.

Wonders of  Water	The uniqueness of water is manifest in its many uses. Water is essential for life; it provides power, recreation, refuge, cleansing and has many other uses--not the least being a medium for renewing spiritual life.

Water Heals Physically as Well as Spiritually

   The Bible also records accounts of the cleansing and healing power of water. Naaman the leper, dipping himself in the Jordan River seven times, was cured of his leprosy, 2 Kings 5:14. The healing of the lame man in the pool of Bethesda (John 5) and the blind man's washing the clay from his eyes in the pool of Siloam all suggest there is a truth Yahweh is teaching about water and what it symbolizes.

   Probably no message of the cleansing and healing properties of water are as important as the account of the Noachian flood. By the time of Noah the world had become so corrupt that there was no hope for mankind.

   Sparing Noah and his family, Yahweh destroyed the decadent and sinful people. He cleansed the earth of this cancer by drowning nearly every air-breathing creature, man and animal alike, Genesis 6:17. The same waters that destroyed life also lifted up the ark and preserved the lives of Noah and his family. It was the water that separated the sinner from the saved.

   From the time of Adam and Eve to the present, Satan has cause mankind to teach and believe many false doctrines, Mark 7:5-9. Many well-intentioned people worship in vain because they do not know the truth or have not investigated by "searching the Scriptures to see whether these things be true," Acts 17:11. Mankind has been deceived as to what Yahweh's plan of salvation really is. Yahweh desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Timothy 2:4. Just before ascending to the heavens, our Savior gave us the commission:

"Go into all the world and preach the Glad Tidings to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned," Mark 16:15-16.

   This passage is very important. The conditions are twofold: to believe and to be baptized. Is believing the only prerequisite for baptism? Notice what Yahshua said as He came into Galilee, preaching the glad tidings of the Kingdom of Yahweh: "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of Yahweh is at hand; repent and believe the Glad Tidings," Mark 1:14-15. Peter confirms this truth in Acts 2:38 in answer to the question, "What should be done?" He said, "Repent and be baptized."

   Physical immersion in water is incumbent upon all because the Savior Himself was actively baptized as an example for us to follow, Matthew 3:3-17. He was sinless yet still was immersed by John. Surely he had every reason to say baptism for Himself was unnecessary. But He didn't.

   We learn spiritual lessons through physical acts. Merely giving mental acquiescence to the necessity of baptism does not satisfy the requirement.

   Some ridicule the idea of baptism, being immersed under water and getting all wet, as being sort of ridiculous. They think nothing of it when their fraternal organizations mandate some sort of initiation rites. College sororities and fraternities often have a week of initiation activities. Lodges and charitable organizations have a ceremony as new members are inducted into their group. Even graduates from high school and college have a ceremony which calls attention to their work and activities.

   Man has learned that such activities are necessary to remember and commemorate the event. Physical participation helps us recall and remember the event much better. It gives meaning to the event. And so it is with Yahweh who teaches us spiritual truth through physical lessons. He wants His own to actively demonstrate their belief through immersion.

   John the Baptist did not come upon the scene with his own ideas of baptizing in the River Jordan for repentance of sins. His was a message of reconciliation of Israel to their Elohim--change of heart and mind so they would accept the message of the Redeemer of Israel. His baptism was a public acknowledgement that the person was penitent and willing to turn away from sin in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

Are You Worshipping in Vain?

   Yahshua said in Mark 7:7, "Howbeit in vain do they worship Me." Many will tell us that worship can never be valueless. If we worship Him, it cannot be in vain, they teach. "Worship at the church of your choice," the advertisement goes.

   But Messiah Yahshua Himself said that many are worshipping him in vain. How is this done? "Teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of Yahweh, you hold the tradition of men." How many don't even know whether their beliefs come from Scripture or from habitual tradition? They never bother to prove their beliefs from the Bible!

   If we are to be a True Follower of Yahshua the Messiah and be a part of the Body of believers, Scripture requires that we submit to physical water baptism. The sinless Messiah was willing to do so merely to set an example for us to follow in His footsteps. Therefore, we should not feel baptism in water is unnecessary for our salvation. We should not hang back and expect that a spiritual acquiescence is all we really need. To show our full consecration to Him, we must be physically immersed in water.

   In this lesson you will see the conditions required by the candidates for baptism. We will study some of the ancient analogies of baptism. We will come to know the real meaning of baptism. The physical act of baptism will also be examined, as well as the proper method.

Baptism in Only One Name for Salvation

   Many people have come to conclude that the formula in Matthew 28:19-20 is the proper way to baptize. They say aloud, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." But none of these is a name! They use this exact formula about using a name and then don't use any name. The word "Father" by itself can refer to many adult males. You and I have fathers. Many of you are fathers. But the name of the Father defines only one distinct being.

   Note the admonition of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13. He says that those baptized Corinthians were forming divisions among themselves by following various men. Some felt allegiance to Paul, some to Apollos, and some to Cephas, while others recognized their allegiance was to the Messiah. Paul wants no part of their divisive contentions. He shows that it is the Messiah who was impaled for us. It is the Messiah in whose name they were baptized, verse 13. Note Paul's words, "Was Paul impaled for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Because only the Messiah was impaled for sin, it is obvious that we should be immersed only into the name of Yahshua.

   Just as Matthew 28:19 uses the singular "name," Paul does the same in his treatise. Had it been a Trinitarian formula, certainly the reading would be "in the names of." In fact, the Greek words representing "in the name of" are eis onoma tinos and mean "to the account of" or "to the possession of." Clearly, when we are baptized it is into the singular Name of Yahshua. We then become a part of His Body and His possession, with Himself as the head, Ephesians 5:23 and Colossians 1:18. Every example of baptism given in the Book of Acts is in the name of Yahshua.

   Schaff Herzog's Religious Encyclopedia states under "baptism": "[Yahshua], however, cannot have given his disciples this Trinitarian order of baptism after His resurrection; for the New Testament knows only baptism in the name of [Yahshua] (Acts 2:39, 8:16, 19:5; Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3; 1 Corinthians 1:13-15), which still occurs even in the second and third centuries, while the Trinitarian formula occurs only in Matthew 28:19. It is unthinkable that the Apostolic Church thus disobeyed the expressed command of the [Master] which it otherwise considered the highest authority. Finally, the distinctly liturgical character of the formula in Matthew 28:19 is strange; it was not the way of [Yahshua] to make such formulas. Nevertheless, this baptismal command contains the elements which constitute Christian baptism; for the activity of the Son in baptism implies the immediate cooperation of the Father; and from the beginning Christian baptism has been considered the mediating agency of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, while the formal authenticity of Matthew 28:19 must be disputed, it must still be assumed that the latter congregations recognized as the will of their [Master] that which they experienced as the effect of baptism and traced it back to a direct word of [Yahshua]."

Conditions Necessary for Baptism

   Every case of baptism recorded in the New Testament followed a preaching of the Good News and a belief in the truths taught. The instance of Philip and the Ethiopian is a clear one.

   After Philip had preached Yahshua to him, they came to water and the eunuch said, "See here is water; what hinders me to be baptized?" Acts 8:36. Philip answered, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." The Ethiopian answered, "I believe that Yahshua the Messiah is the Son of Yahweh."

   Notice that first Philip preached the Good News, to which the man responded by expressing a desire to be baptized. But baptism was only administered after an expressed confession of a belief in the things which Philip had taught.

   Another instance is found in the same chapter, which records the work of Philip at Samaria. In verse 12 we read, "When they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of Yahweh, in the Name of Yahshua Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women."

   Later, when Paul and Silas were miraculously delivered from prison at Philippi, the jailer perceived the hand of Yahweh at work and asked them, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30. The record continues, "And they said, 'Believe on the Savior Yahshua the Messiah, and you shall be saved and your house.' And they spoke unto him the Word of Yahweh and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his straightway."

   In each of these cases, baptism was administered in response to a desire that had been aroused by a belief in the Good News preached by the apostles.

   From this it follows that baptism of infants is not agreeable with the Scriptures for two reasons:

• It is not preceded by an intelligent understanding and belief in the Good News.

• It is not carried out by total immersion in water. (More on infant baptism later in this lesson.)

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