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form of baptism, significance of the baptizer
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:04 pm
by email
Hello, I've read thru your article on baptism and have found it to be very helpful. Our family is not affiliated with any church organization right now. As believers, can we be baptized by each other, according to scripture? We were all baptized before by sprinkling but I have recently been convicted that the only proper way is immersion. So many say baptism is merely a sort of a public confession of faith and that is what we were told at the time. Thanks
faith of the immersed not the immerser
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2011 9:52 am
by m273p15c
I'm glad to hear that the article was helpful to you. Your encouragement and good questions are much appreciated.
I am unaware of any emphasis in Scripture on the faith of the immerser. The Scriptures always place emphasis on the faith of the person being baptized and Christ's death, burial, and resurrection (I Peter 3:21; Romans 6:1-6; 10:10-17; Acts 22:16; 19:1-5). Furthermore, if the faith of the baptizer was critical, then it would be impossible for people to be converted by just the "seed" (Luke 8:11; Matthew 13:18-23; I Peter 1:23). What would happen if people found a Bible and wanted to be baptized? Who would baptize them? What if the original baptizer became an apostate? Again, the emphasis is always on the gospel, the message of the cross, and the believer's faith. The other leads to misplaced emphasis and hopeless scenarios.
May God help us to have a sincere love of truth,
m273p15c