Baptism In The Vineyard

The following text contains some of what we feel is important regarding the Bible's teaching on the event of baptism . . .

1. It is important to understand that baptism is  NOT  necessary for salvation.

The Bible clearly teaches that the only thing that is necessary for salvation is faith alone in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus' death on the cross provides the full payment of our sins. We, in the Vineyard, believe in the doctrine called "justification by faith in Christ alone."   That means if you trust in Jesus as your only way to heaven, you will be saved from God's judgment. And this is true regardless of whether you have been baptized or not.   A good scriptural example of a man who was saved never having been baptized is the thief who died on a cross next to Jesus (Luke 23).

1. Baptism is necessary, however, to be obedient to Jesus. Jesus commands his followers to be baptized (Matthew 28:18). We also practice baptism to give people an opportunity to make a public profession of their faith. Baptism provides believers with an opportunity to stand before a gathered audience and boldly say that they trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and that they want to follow Him as their Lord and Savior.

       Another reason why people are to be baptized is the symbolism involved in the act of baptism. Just as water is often used to wash our physical bodies, the Bible teaches that baptism symbolizes the cleansing of sin from our souls. Just as water cleanses our bodies from dirt, so baptism symbolizes the cleansing that a believer has received by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.  Baptism is an outward sign of the inward washing of the Holy Spirit.
   
       A final reason why people get baptized is that baptism symbolizes something that has occurred in the life of the Christian.   To use a well-known phrase:  "Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward reality".   In other words, the event of batptism expresses outwardly the amazing change and transformation that God has accomplished in the heart of a believer through the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.   Therefore, as one of our members has stated so succinctly:  "Being baptized without a change of heart is nothing more than taking a bath in public!"

       Romans 6 teaches that baptism is a picture of a believer's union with Jesus Christ. When a believer is immersed under water, it represents dying to sin and to one's old way of life. When the believer is raised up out of the water, this represents being raised to a new life with Christ. In both death to sin and resurrection to new life, the believer is joined to Jesus. Just as Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead, the believer has died, been buried, and raised from the dead to a new life!

2. How should people be baptized?

   baptizo" actually means "to immerse or to dip". Baptism by immersion gives the best picture of dying, being buried, and coming up to a new life. Being immersed completely under water provides a picture of dying to self and to sin. When a believer is raised up out of the water, that symbolizes rising to a new life to be lived for Jesus. We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit according to the command of Jesus in Matthew 28.
   
   
   3.  Who should be baptized?
   
   The Bible states that people who come to put their trust in Jesus and can make a credible profession of faith ought to be baptized. The Bible says in Acts 2:41 that those who believed the message of Jesus were baptized. In Acts 8:12 it says that Philip preached "the good news about the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, and they were baptized, both men and women.
   
   Biblically, people who come to faith in Jesus and show some evidence that they have made Christ their Savior and Lord ought to be baptized. The very controversial issue that has risen in the church over twenty centuries is the issue of baptizing the infant children of Christians. Should the infant children of Christians be baptized? Many people object to baptizing the infant children of Christians. Their objection centers on the fact that there is no direct New Testament evidence of infants ever being baptized. You cannot find one verse in the New Testament that clearly says that an infant was baptized. In fact, just the opposite is the case when we study baptism in the New Testament.
   
   Baptism is most often linked to an individual's prior faith and repentance. Certainly, in the case of babies, there is no possibility of prior faith or repentance. For that reason, many churches believe that babies should not be baptized.
   
   One reason people believe that infants can be baptized is that the Bible sometimes talks about the members of whole families being baptized (in Acts 16, for example). The Bible doesn't say that infants were part of the family, but it doesn't say that infants weren't part of the family either. In the culture of the early church, when the adult head of the household made a decision for the family, it was considered to be a decision that would naturally be followed by the entire family without disagreement. So, when the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16 made a decision for Christ, his entire family and servants naturally followed his decision to be baptized.

   We believe adults and older children ought to be baptized by immersion, by actually going under water and then coming up from the water. Why immersion?  The meaning of the Greek word "

3. The point is that the New Testament doesn't explicitly forbid baptizing infants. It may even offer some indirect evidence regarding the baptism of an entire household, including infants. In the Raleigh Vineyard, we recommend that people dedicate their children as infants. Later, when children are older (certainly above age eight), people may have their children baptized. The reason we would recommend that parents wait for their children to be baptized until age eight (and preferably much older) is because we want the child to be able to make an intelligible profession of faith that is their own. We also want children to look back on their baptism and have some sense of remembrance about it so that it is a significant event in their life. Since baptism is not necessary for salvation, there is no reason not to wait until a child is old enough to really understand what they are doing. We also want them to understand basic Bible doctrines regarding how they are saved before being baptized. We, in the Raleigh Vineyard, believe that little ones can be saved and that God is active much earlier than age eight. However, because of the importance of public profession and the importance of baptism in general, we would ask parents to wait to have their children baptized until they are old enough to understand and remember this important event.

4. What if you were baptized as an infant?

   Perhaps you were baptized as an infant. You are older now and as an older child, a teenager, or an adult you have placed your faith in Christ for salvation. What happened to you when you were baptized as a baby? Frankly, we don't know. Should you be re-baptized? We would suggest to adults looking back on their past and the church rituals they engaged in, that they show great respect to their parents. Be grateful that they did their best and raised you in the church. We would suggest that there may have been some benefit from the church ritual that you participated in, but we would encourage you to be baptized as soon as possible as a believing, born-again adult.

5. What if you were baptized by another church?  Do you need to be  baptized at the Vineyard?

   Definitely not. As long as you believed in Jesus Christ when you were baptized in a Christian church we do not want to baptize you again. If, when you were baptized, you were clearly born-again, we do not want to baptize you again. We do not believe in two baptisms or re-baptizing. We believe in one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).

   Unfortunately, many people in our culture have simply gone through nothing more than a religious ritual in another church. If you look back on your life and say:   "You know, I am not sure I was born again when I underwent that baptism ritual and I am certain that I am born again now," then we would encourage you to undergo an authentic baptism and not merely a church ritual.

6. How should believers prepare for baptism?

   Before you are baptized, we would encourage you to spend some time praying. You may even want to fast for a time. Allow God to impress upon you how special this event is for you! You might want to read through some of the passages of the Bible that speak about baptism such as Matthew 3, Matthew 28:16, Acts 8:26f, and Romans 6.
      
   We would also encourage you to invite as many friends and relatives as possible to watch you or your children being baptized.   Baptism is a rare opportunity to bear witness to your friends and relatives that you want to love and follow Jesus! It is often the case that friends and relatives who would otherwise never come to church, will come to watch a relative or a friend get baptized.

   God bless you as you choose to follow
   Jesus in this very important ordinance
   that He's given to the church!

   If you are desiring to be baptized at the Raleigh Vineyard or you would like to speak with a pastor about baptism, please contact our church office @ 790.0001