God has a plan outlined in His word to us, the Bible. One of the foundations of this plan is baptism. Throughout history, men have tried to make sense of this act of obedience God has required of us. And it is an act of obedience. God, the creator of all things, asks us to be immersed in water. For whatever reason, human wisdom simply cannot understand this commandment. Perhaps it is the strange nature of the act itself. On the face of it, the physical act seems silly and of no import. The story of the healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19) is a perfect example of this trait in mankind. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, had leprosy. He sought after the prophet Elisha for healing and was instructed by him to dip seven times in the Jordan River to be healed by the Lord. He was puzzled and upset that the prophet did not instruct him to do something great. Furthermore, Naaman decided if he had to dip he would rather not dip in the waters of Jordan which were usually muddy. But the Lord had simply commanded that he dip seven times in the Jordan River. And, Naaman was healed ONLY after he had dipped seven times. He was not healed on the first, second or even sixth dip. It was only after he had dipped seven and only seven times that he was healed by God. And, it was only because he had obeyed God that he was healed.
This Old Testament story typifies man's approach to baptism. Simply put, God commands that we be baptized. If we want to be a child of God, we need to obey what He says and only what He says. Anything else is obeying man instead of God (Matthew 15:1-9) and is in reality nothing more than dead faith (James 2:26). Not that there is anything magical about the waters of baptism. Physically, you simply get wet when you are baptized. The water itself has no more healing power than the muddy Jordan River had for Naaman. But just like Naaman had to dip in order to cleansed of his leprosy, God commands that we be baptized in order to receive His salvation by grace. This fact cannot be denied. Let us examine a list of this commandment as found in the bible:
For whatever reason, men have attempted to rewrite the scriptural commandment of God to be baptized in the manner found in the Bible. Mankind has attempted to state that baptism is not essential, that infants should be baptized, that the act of immersion is not what is required, or simply that baptism is unneeded. Let us examine one example of the non-biblical approach of those who practice these traditions of mankind. Roman Catholicism states that the "sacrament" of baptism is administered to infants as a preventative measure to remove the stain of original sin, another idea not found in scripture. However, it is not essential that infants be baptized because, as they state, God is a God of justice and will not let infants who die suffer eternal punishment. If baptism is not essential, why did Jesus, our Lord and savior, repeat baptism as essential throughout the bible? Also, belief and repentance are both scriptural requirements prior to the act of baptism (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38). Are infants capable of this? And can infants be baptized as the answer of a good conscience towards God (1 Peter 3:20-21)? Moreover, baptism of infants is most often accomplished via sprinkling. The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo, which means to immerse. The entire denominational world, including Catholics, agrees that immersion is what is stated in the bible concerning the act of baptism. Immersion is the only act that meets the description of baptism given in the New Testament passages such as Romans 6:1-4 and Galatians 3:26-27. However, according to their manmade doctrines, most simply state that immersion is unnecessary with no scriptural authority or basis. 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " (Matthew 15:8-9). Given the overwhelming biblical basis for baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, no person with a good and honest heart can question its validity.
Above all, we must remember that God Himself commanded that we be baptized in order to saved (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16). Like Namaan, there is a disposition in man to question the commandments of God and set aside that which they do not like or cannot understand the reason for. But it is our duty and our honor to be baptized as He commanded and only as He commanded. There is no other way that we can point to if we are truly to follow the Lord as He would have us follow Him. We have no other record of God's word than what is found in the bible. God's word is complete, perfect, and inspired (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If you believe in Him in good conscience, you must follow what he states to do in the manner he states to do it and for the reason that He said do it. I once heard a preacher state that our Lord's grace is God’s riches at Christ's expense. Let us all remember that Christ’s sacrifice satisfies God’s judicial anger (1 John 2:2). We need to be worthy of that sacrifice in the eyes of our Father in Heaven through our obedience to His word. God commands that you be fully immersed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Honor Jesus' sacrifice for your salvation with your obedience to God's commandments and receive the gift of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9).