Hello, Brother Stephanos and others!
First of all, I would like to let everyone know that I am a Baptist and I baptize by immersion for Biblical reasons. Also, one thing I learned in my 11 young years of ministry, I don't have to force every passage to fit the doctrine and practice of the present age.
One example is on the issue of baptism. As a Baptist, I've been trained to believe that water baptism is by immersion, not because there is a verse that directly teaches that, but because the Greek word
baptizo means "immersion" and that it is a picture of the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ
.
As a KJB believer, I'm a little cautious of going back to the "Greek". As a dispensationalist, I am aware of the other "extreme" that water baptism ought not be practiced in this age. As a Bible student, I heard someone who practiced baptism yet said that John the Baptist poured. The teaching was not clear to me, and of course, I disagreed! When I made my own investigations, I found it has some truth.
I noticed I have too many posts in this thread, but my purpose is to share the little that I learned.
And, no, this is not one of my "pet" doctrines; this is just something that opened up a lot of Scriptures for me.
In rightly dividing the word of truth, one principle in Bible interpretation that I've learned and I found to work all the time is that "Context (not the word) determine the meaning."
For example:
What is the baptism WITH the Holy Ghost?
1. It's not baptism BY one Spirit.
2. It's not baptism INTO the body of Christ.
3. It's
defined in the context (of Acts 2, 10, and 11) as the POURING of the Holy Ghost (fulfillment of Joel 2 and other OT passages).
Here is a baptism, which is
not immersion, but a
pouring. No doubt about it.
What is the baptism WITH fire?
I jumped into the conclusion that it is being cast INTO fire (Rev. 20:14; 21:8).
However, I saw that:
1. It's not baptism INTO fire (Rev. 20:14).
2. It is baptism WITH fire.
Reading Old Testament history and prophecies and the book of Revelation, I saw that God will one day:
1. POUR out his wrath upon the earth, and
2. POUR out fire upon the earth.
3. This is not people being put INTO his wrath.
4. This is not people being submerged into fire.
5. This is not yet lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).
6. This is not in eternity.
7. This is upon the earth.
8. That will be before eternity (Rev. 20:9).
What then baptism WITH water would mean?'
1. I guess it could not mean baptism INTO water.
2. I guess it is baptizing someone WITH water.
3. If baptism WITH the Holy Ghost is POURING, and baptism WITH fire is POURING, I guess both baptisms are best pictured ("figure", 1 Pet. 3:21) by baptism WITH water - and that has to be POURING.
Note also:
For Christ to be "baptized WITH":
Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be
baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Is to have something LAID ON him:
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all.
Why I water baptize:
1. Paul did water baptize (1 Cor. 1).
2. Paul mentions "ordinances" (1 Cor. 11) and one of them has to be water baptism.
Why I baptize by immersion:
1. Immersion pictures our Salvation ("baptized
BY one Spirit INTO the body of Christ", 1 Cor. 12:13)
2. Immersion pictures our Identification/Position ("
buried INTO Christ by baptism
INTO his death", Rom 6:1-4)
3. Immersion picture the Gospel of Grace ("death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ", 1 Cor. 15:1-4)
4. We may also add, immersion also pictures the Judgment for those who reject the Gospel in the Age of Grace. Fire is not "poured" on them, but they're going to be "
CAST INTO" the lake of fire. That is, if they don't get "baptized INTO Christ", they're going to be baptized "INTO the lake of fire".
I hope this makes sense.