Believer's Baptism
Baptism should be administered to professing believers.
This doctrine is actively contested between major traditions. Faithful Christians disagree.
What the traditions say
Only professing believers should be baptized, by immersion. Baptism follows faith — it does not create it. This is the defining Baptist distinctive.
Believer's baptism by immersion, following personal conversion. Water baptism is distinguished from Spirit baptism.
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Baptism is the moment of salvation, not merely a testimony.
Infant baptism is the norm. Baptism regenerates and incorporates into the Church. Emergency baptism of infants is a serious pastoral concern.
Rejected as the normative practice. Infant baptism is the covenant sign, replacing circumcision. To deny baptism to covenant children is to deny their place in the covenant.
Who binds this
Every affiliated congregation inherits its denomination's position. Follow a chip to see the confession's language.
Key scriptures
- 1Cor 1:17 — For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
- 1Pet 3:21 — The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
- Acts 10:47 — Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
- Acts 16:31 — And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
- Acts 18:8 — And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
- Acts 2:38 — Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
- Acts 2:41 — Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
- Acts 8:12 — But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
- Acts 8:36 — And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
- Col 2:12 — Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
- Eph 4:5 — One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
- Gal 3:27 — For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- John 3:5 — Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
- Mark 16:16 — He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
- Matt 28:19 — Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
- Rom 6:3 — Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
- Rom 6:4 — Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
What the confessions say
Articles of the historic confessions that address this doctrine.
- Reformed Baptist 1689 London Baptist Confession 29.2 — Of Baptism
- Reformed Westminster Confession of Faith 28.4 — Of Baptism
- Roman Catholic Council of Trent (Canons) On Baptism · Canon 11 — On Baptism
- Lutheran Augsburg Confession Article 9 — Of Baptism
- Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion Article 27 — Of Baptism
- Ecumenical Apostles' Creed text — Apostles' Creed
The Church Fathers
The earliest Fathers who commented on the Scriptures above.
And concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if thou have not living water, baptize into other water; and if thou canst not in cold, in warm. But if thou have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head…
I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ; lest, if we omit this, we seem to be unfair in the explanation we are making. As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to…
Concurring with these statements, Paul, speaking to the Romans, declares: "Much more they who receive abundance of grace and righteousness for [eternal] life, shall reign by one, Christ Jesus." It follows from this, that he knew nothing of that Christ who flew away from Jesus; nor did he of the Saviour above, whom they hold to be…
"By the resurrection," it is said, "of Jesus Christ:" that, namely, which is effected in us by faith.
Every soul, then, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean all the while that it remains without this regeneration; and because unclean, it is actively sinful, and suffuses even the flesh (by reason of their conjunction) with its own shame. Now although the flesh is…
Thus, says (the Docetic), the only-begotten (and) eternal Child from above arrayed Himself in a form to correspond with each individual Aeon of the three Aeons; and while he was within the triacontad of Aeons, He entered into this world just as we have described Him, unnoticed, unknown, obscure, and disbelieved. In order, therefore,…