A Study of Biblical Baptism

By Brian Mitchell       The following is taken from an article that appeared in the Boston Globe on August 14, 1983. “The Natick police yesterday ruled as accidental, the drowning of an unemployed man who lost his balance and fell into deep water, while being baptized in a nearby lake. John E Blue was pronounced dead at the local hospital shortly after the accident at 11:30 A.M. Harold Branch of the church, said he was baptizing Mr. Blue in waist deep water when the two men lost their balance and fell backward where the lake falls off sharply.”     Was this accident really even necessary? This is the question that needs to be asked and answered. I mean apparently Mr. Blue wanted to do the right thing in the eyes of God, and thus he submitted to the command to be baptized for the forgiveness of his sins. But wouldn’t it have been easier and far less dangerous for Mr. Blue to have said a prayer, asking for the Lord to save him. The truth is that it would have been easier for Mr. Blue to have done that and that in fact is what man Christian denominations teach needs to be done for one to be saved. The question though is; what does God teach in His Word, that man must do to be saved.     What is all the fuss about baptism? Why is it such a controversial subject? Roy Lanier, writing in the Spiritual Sword said, “Just as both sowing and reaping are prior to eating bread, so belief and baptism are prior to, essential to baptism.” On the other hand, Frank Stagg, a Baptist scholar writes, “water baptism is not saving. Many passages which are concerned with salvation make no mention of salvation.”     Here is the BIG question, which one of these writers is correct? Is Lanier right when he says baptism is essential to salvation or is Stagg right when he says it isn’t. In the end, it doesn’t really matter which one is wrong and which one is right, and in truth they could both be wrong. What does matter is, what does God, have to say about the connection of baptism to salvation. Because “only those who do the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Mt.7:21).     So, for the next 3 weeks we are going to be taking a more in depth look at the subject of baptism, specifically as it relates to salvation. In the end, I hope that we have accomplished 2 primary goals. To enable all who have been baptized into Christ to defend what the Bible teaches about salvation. To encourage those who have not put on Christ in baptism to understand the importance and urgency of doing so.

- Brian Mitchell serves as a minister with the Jackson Church of Christ in Jackson, MO. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at https://www.jacksonchurchofchrist.net