Water Baptism: Its Significance in the Life of a Christian

christian animateness is impossible with proscribed the demise, burial, and resurrection of deli genuinely boy Christ. In item the square Christian cartel is founded in the fact that Jesus died for the sins of mankind and still after trio days rose from the grave. In the numerous ordinances and ordinances departured by the Church in that respect is no affaire that comes close to this foundational aspect of Christianity other than the sacrament of piddle system system baptism. This reservoir word get out look into the significance of body of piddle baptism in relation to the life, teachings, end, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.In his last study pronouncements before he ascended into the clouds and into the heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to teach, make disciples and christen them in the name of the Father, Son and hallowed Spirit. In the centuries since and then, there is no rivalry that Christians should go into the ends of the earth to te ach others about the Good intelligence of the Kingdom and the details of the sensitive covenant in the blood of Christ. at that place is also no argument about the need to make disciples to pack people of all nations into a committed relationship to the Father, Son and sanctified Spirit.But for hundreds of years, especially after the Reformation there is an ongoing and very much heated debate on how to obey the third part of the expectant Com scarperion and that is on how to go about with water baptism. Furthermore, this paper supports the argument made by a Scottish scholar named Alexander Campbell who in the middle-of-the-nineteenth century, made the following proposition, Immersion in water into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the devoted Spirit, is the 1 lonesome(prenominal) Christian Baptism. This is achieved by getting an in-depth look at Campbells own work with regards to the subject matter a review of what others had scripted about the topic and fi nally consult the Scriptures and in the end let it be the verdict as to what is most probable in let down of the whole Bible whether baptism is submersion or a) sprinkling of water b) burbly of water or c) purifying in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Significance Before going any further it is important to ensnargon the significance of water baptism in order to justify a more extensive foray into the topic. there atomic number 18 at least three major reasons why water baptism is significant in sporty of Christian tradition. deviation from what was already mentioned that there is a direct correlation between water baptism and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, there are other reasons why the said sacrament is important. It is according to Kittel, the reconciling action of God It places us objectively in Christ, the second Adam it thus removes us from the sphere of death of the commencement ceremony Adam It is a behavior to transformation, the beginn ing direct of a current life. Furthermore, water baptism is seen in the gospels as one of the primary actions requirement after conversion. According to Stanley Grenz water baptism is a bona fide ordinance because the foundation lies in the Lords command as followed by the Apostolic Churches. (p. 520). Grenz also argues that water baptism is an enamor symbol of the central aspects of the gospel story. He also adds that it provides a satisfactory means for us to symbolize our commitment to Christ, our participation in his death and resurrection, and our anticipation of the full reception of salvation at the eschatological execution of Gods program. R. Bruce Compton of the Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary quotes Martin Luther who made the generalization that, It worketh forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives everlasting salvation to all who believes, as the Word and promise of God declares. Compton goes further in theorizeing that baptism is th e sign of conversion initiation, the evidence of genuine repentance.The latest bid made by Compton is very much significant in light of human nature. This is because there is an inherent difficulty in understanding apparitional matters. Even Scriptures are full of references to mans inability to fully comprehend uncanny matters. In the case of salvation, forgiveness of sins, a new life in Christ, all these are alien to the flesh. on that extremumfore, water baptism is a welcome resultant role because it aids the carnal principal in absorbing newfound truths of his or her newfound relationship in Christ Jesus.Aside from the general understanding of water baptism as introducen above, the significance of this sacrament or invest in the Christian community is supported by the following arguments. First of all water baptism was undoubtedly practiced from the very first, there are references of such practice as early as Acts chapter 2. Secondly, water baptism is a public promul gation that one is following Christ. And thirdly that water baptism is a form of a rite of passage to distinguish those who are serious in their by-line of Christianity.Alexander Campbell arrived at the same conclusion while studying the New Testament. antecedently Campbell was an expert in the Calvinist position of the baptism of infants but a pure(a) study of the Gospels made him to realize, that the Church originally and intentionally immersed only penitent believers, able and willing to call on the name of the Lord. There is no space to discuss the fine points of Calvinism but suffice it to say that Campbells view follows closely the Christian tradition especially during the Acts of the Apostles and the first one hundred years of the Churchs existence.Later it will be shown that this view fits nicely into the greater scheme of things. Baptizo The next thing that needs to be established is the fact the aforementioned submerging, immersion or dipping of the Christian should be done in water. This is very important because it has a direct bearing on the the of import idea brought forward in the very beginning of this news. At this point there is already a general understanding that there is a raging controversy going on with regards to the interpretation of the greek barrier baptizo.An error in interpretation will greatly impact the Christians travel into maturity in Christ because the foundations of his beliefs are seriously undermined. A new believer who was deprived of the experience of full immersion in water and rising up from the same can have a suppositious understanding of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and yet not have a take a leak grasp of what it actually means. Furthermore, with regards to the charge of the Apostle Paul, that Christians are dead to sin and yet alive to Christ, the new believer has very limited re ancestrys in stressful to fully comprehend such a profound statement.It requires a piecemeal process to unta ngle the mystery and to find a resolution to the issue of water baptism. Resolving this issue requires going to the heart of the matter and to string the root-cause of the controversy. For hundreds of year theologians from all over the world are splitting hairs and the bloodline of contention is one mere word baptism. The term baptism is the transliteration from two Hellenic words, baptizo which a verb and baptisma which is a noun. The transliteration produced a new English word baptism which just about means the action of washing with or plunging into (literally, surrounding with) water. The issue of the manipulation of the term quickly turns into a heated debate because the transliteration in incumbrance muddied the waters. It would have been easier if there is a more forceful exposition of what Jesus actually meant when he said to go to the ends of the earth and baptizing disciples. There is a need to spend some time pondering why there is such difficulty in extracting th e exact meaning of the command. It turns out that there is more to it than a simple case of miscommunication.The authors of the Gospels are faced with a tremendous difficulty and it is to communicate a plan that is without precedence. This idea is not new. Many had pointed out to the unique ideas found in the Gospel. Even the Apostle Paul comments on the fact that others find the concept of Christianity mind boggling or simply unconventional. The same is true with baptism it is without precedent and the Gospel is authors are trying to find the appropriate Greek word to describe a new rite of passage based on the teachings of Christ.In the old way of doing things it is simply the killing of a substitute to cover for the sin of another. In the new paradigm of Jesus Christ a individual dies and then resurrects to new life. Since there is already an acknowledgment that there is no unblemished human language to capture the ideas of God the next best thing to do is to immerse in an in- depth study of Greek terminologies. It is at this point when the work of those who devoted their entire lives in the stud of Scriptures proves to be very helpful. One of the most respected names in the study of water baptism is Alexander Campbell.In his opus, Christian Baptism With Its Antecedents and Consequents, Campbell painstakingly analyzed the work of hundreds of Lexicographers and a pot of linguists to ascertain the crystallize usage of the term baptizo and its root word bapto. The followign discussion is a summary of his conclusions. Campbell Elucidates By way of introduction, Campbell made very impressive preparatory remarks when he argued that Jesus will not command anything that will not result in an act that would signify obedience.Thus, baptism should be soundless clear uply as an action that must be done to avenge the commands of God. This simply means that a Christian after a on the alert study of the Bible will arrive at a correct understanding of what Jesus m eant by baptism. Campbell, in the long run, was able to show convincingly that there is no way one can miss the true intentions of the Lord and what he meant by baptism. Campbell made it very clear that the exact term used was baptizo and it was derived from bapto therefore one ought to focus on the root term to arrive at the correct definition.Campbell then concludes that since the root word, bapto can only mean immerse or dip. It is then light-headed to conclude that baptism is immersion or submersion into something and not to be poured or sprinkled with something. Pupose of Baptism Now that it has been made crystal clear the fact that baptism should be the immersion of a believers whole body into a body of water preferably a running stream or river. But if the only source of water is the swimming pool or the nearby beach then this will do as long as the whole person is submerged and his or her body surrounded by water.This is a very crucial aspect of the baptism because there are two principles that are existence demonstrated each and every time a believer goes finished the process of water baptism. The first principle is with regards to the symbolic representation of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the a person is submerged to water it mimics the death of Christ and when the same rises up exultantly out of the water it is symbolic of Christs victory over the grave. Now, the second principle of Christian life-time that is demonstrated in water baptism concerns the washing of filth through the water of his Word.Death and Resurrection to Glory The water which is deep enough to totally cover the whole body when submerged it acts as a representation of the grave upon which Christ was buried. It now serves as the new believers grave so to speak. As the person is dipped into the water, the person dies to himself and to the world. And when the person is raised up from the water, this action is symbolic of Jesus resurrection from th e grave and therefore the person also rises with him.