As a pastor of a Friends Church[1] I am asked the usual questions. Today i was asked, what is my stance and understanding of baptism?
In Acts 8, the believers in Samaria not yet received the Holy Spirit, “Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8:14-16) Philip’s ministry in Samaria was blessed and made fruitful by Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4:27-42). After listening to His words, the woman had gone to the men of the city, saying, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They went with her, heard Jesus, and believed on Him. Anxious to hear more, they begged Him to remain. For two days He stayed with them, "and many more believed because of His own word." In response to the great success in Samaria, Peter and John came down to witness the incredible work.
Doctrines
The Bible is full of controversial passages because people seeking to understanding these have made so many doctrines. Still, doctrines are necessary. The early churches Apostles’ doctrine is fundamental in teaching church of Jesus’ and His ministry. However, in many cases, we have taken doctrines a step too far into minutia and impugning motives, separating the belief from the believer. Just like the Pharisees, we preach against; we are turning into legalistic megalomaniacs.
In the scripture passage above, the Samaritans were washed with water baptism,[2] but not yet dry-cleaned by the Holy Spirit. Many Doctrines were created by varies denominations to answer three questions of why this was so: Do we have the Spirit during our initial conversion (when we are saved)? Do we receive the Spirit during baptism? Do we receive the Spirit separately from our initial conversion through the second work of grace[3]?
We should be careful to not confuse the Holy Spirit baptism with the various other ministries of the Spirit:
When I meet a person who disagrees and sees baptism as two or even three separate events in one’s life, I have no reason to argue. A person can point to this passage as evidence of that conviction. In the following passage, it appears that the Ethiopian was baptized and filled with the Spirit at the same time (Acts 8:39-39). In a later passage Peter preaches to Gentiles, and they are filled with the Spirit before they are baptized (Acts 11:15-16). The important thing is that we seek to be with the Spirit daily! Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” this is imperative, a “do now” command.
Confession of Faith
Philip baptized the converts in the name of Jesus. Greek legal documents in that time give us some insight into the meaning. For something to go “into the name” of another meant ownership was transferred to that person. We (believers) understand others are believers by their fruit of the Spirit and most importantly by their verbal confession of faith - Matthew 16:13-20 “The Great Confession” and John 20:28 “My Lord and my God.” When a person gives a confession of Christ, it is the movement of the heart and the submission of life to Him.
Relationships
I confessed to Jack Holiday during a Saturday morning breakfast,[5] “The more I study scripture, the more convinced I am that I know nothing at all.”
My confession came that morning after the discussions turned to the Levitical holiness code: “be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 19:2; 11:44-45; 20:7; 20:26; 21:8 (compare 1 Peter 1:15-16; Deuteronomy 23:14).
The Holiness Code (from the repeated use of the word Holy) is a term used in biblical criticism to refer to Leviticus chapters 17–27. The “code” concerns holy living on the part of the people rather than a concern with sacrificial systems or ritualistic purity. The Holiness Code calls people to holy living in all areas of life: economic, social, sexual, familial - notice this list pertains predominately to relationships with others.
When we understand the call to be holy, life becomes more of what can we do for God, instead of what God can do for us. Jack Holiday was reminded of this during a private devotion a few weeks ago at his sacred place. Jack always started with his holiness prayer, “Lord protect me from myself...” Until one morning, God said to Jack, “I want you to pray for someone other than yourself.” The Spirit directed Jack towards focusing on relationships rather than on our selfish desire to “do this and get that.”
Live by Grace
So often we fall into the legal trap: the best way to avoid sin is by knowing and keeping the rules. Even though Paul asserts, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). Two thousand years later, we are still uncomfortable with Paul’s law-free gospel. Our rules do nothing but suppress our freedom and restrict our relationships. To change the world, we must learn to identify when the Bible is prioritizing relationship instead of rules or laws. Our relationship in community is more important than the religiosity of obedience apart from faith. Debbie, my better half explains, “Baptism with water is an outward expression of an inward conviction.”
I think a public display of confession via water baptism declares to the world, the community, and the church, “I give my life to the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!” I bind no person or meeting in prohibiting baptism with water.
[1] Westland Friends Monthly Meeting, Greenfield, Indiana. Our mission statement is simple, “Honor God.” The Christian values of Truth and Community uphold and support our mission.
[2] For this Minute, the definition of baptism means “immersion.”
[3] Also known as Second Blessing (repenting and being filled with the Holy Spirit) as part of Progressive Sanctification which is the life-long process of breaking sinful habits (regeneration) and developing godly habits. Until glorification, we seek to imitate the moral character of Jesus (to be pure as he is pure, 1 John 3:1-3) in our relationship with God (James 4:7-8).
[4]Baptism in the Holy Spirit can be defined as: at the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit places a believer into permanent union with Christ (indwell) and with other believers in the Body of Christ (the church). Two central passages in the Bible where we find this doctrine. 1 Corinthians 12:13 states, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit" Romans 6:1-4 (paraphrased), "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? All of us have been baptized into Him and His death so that we might walk in the newness of life.”
[5] The Holiday Breakfast Fellowship meets on Saturday mornings.
In Acts 8, the believers in Samaria not yet received the Holy Spirit, “Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8:14-16) Philip’s ministry in Samaria was blessed and made fruitful by Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4:27-42). After listening to His words, the woman had gone to the men of the city, saying, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They went with her, heard Jesus, and believed on Him. Anxious to hear more, they begged Him to remain. For two days He stayed with them, "and many more believed because of His own word." In response to the great success in Samaria, Peter and John came down to witness the incredible work.
Doctrines
The Bible is full of controversial passages because people seeking to understanding these have made so many doctrines. Still, doctrines are necessary. The early churches Apostles’ doctrine is fundamental in teaching church of Jesus’ and His ministry. However, in many cases, we have taken doctrines a step too far into minutia and impugning motives, separating the belief from the believer. Just like the Pharisees, we preach against; we are turning into legalistic megalomaniacs.
In the scripture passage above, the Samaritans were washed with water baptism,[2] but not yet dry-cleaned by the Holy Spirit. Many Doctrines were created by varies denominations to answer three questions of why this was so: Do we have the Spirit during our initial conversion (when we are saved)? Do we receive the Spirit during baptism? Do we receive the Spirit separately from our initial conversion through the second work of grace[3]?
We should be careful to not confuse the Holy Spirit baptism with the various other ministries of the Spirit:
- The indwelling is taking up permanent residence in our lives (John 14:17; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 1 John 4:4).
- The sealing is marking us as His (Eph. 1:13-14).
- The filling is how He empowers and regenerates us (Acts 4:31; Eph. 5:18).
- The baptism in the Holy Spirit[4] is first and of foremost importance.
When I meet a person who disagrees and sees baptism as two or even three separate events in one’s life, I have no reason to argue. A person can point to this passage as evidence of that conviction. In the following passage, it appears that the Ethiopian was baptized and filled with the Spirit at the same time (Acts 8:39-39). In a later passage Peter preaches to Gentiles, and they are filled with the Spirit before they are baptized (Acts 11:15-16). The important thing is that we seek to be with the Spirit daily! Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” this is imperative, a “do now” command.
Confession of Faith
Philip baptized the converts in the name of Jesus. Greek legal documents in that time give us some insight into the meaning. For something to go “into the name” of another meant ownership was transferred to that person. We (believers) understand others are believers by their fruit of the Spirit and most importantly by their verbal confession of faith - Matthew 16:13-20 “The Great Confession” and John 20:28 “My Lord and my God.” When a person gives a confession of Christ, it is the movement of the heart and the submission of life to Him.
Relationships
I confessed to Jack Holiday during a Saturday morning breakfast,[5] “The more I study scripture, the more convinced I am that I know nothing at all.”
My confession came that morning after the discussions turned to the Levitical holiness code: “be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 19:2; 11:44-45; 20:7; 20:26; 21:8 (compare 1 Peter 1:15-16; Deuteronomy 23:14).
The Holiness Code (from the repeated use of the word Holy) is a term used in biblical criticism to refer to Leviticus chapters 17–27. The “code” concerns holy living on the part of the people rather than a concern with sacrificial systems or ritualistic purity. The Holiness Code calls people to holy living in all areas of life: economic, social, sexual, familial - notice this list pertains predominately to relationships with others.
When we understand the call to be holy, life becomes more of what can we do for God, instead of what God can do for us. Jack Holiday was reminded of this during a private devotion a few weeks ago at his sacred place. Jack always started with his holiness prayer, “Lord protect me from myself...” Until one morning, God said to Jack, “I want you to pray for someone other than yourself.” The Spirit directed Jack towards focusing on relationships rather than on our selfish desire to “do this and get that.”
Live by Grace
So often we fall into the legal trap: the best way to avoid sin is by knowing and keeping the rules. Even though Paul asserts, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). Two thousand years later, we are still uncomfortable with Paul’s law-free gospel. Our rules do nothing but suppress our freedom and restrict our relationships. To change the world, we must learn to identify when the Bible is prioritizing relationship instead of rules or laws. Our relationship in community is more important than the religiosity of obedience apart from faith. Debbie, my better half explains, “Baptism with water is an outward expression of an inward conviction.”
I think a public display of confession via water baptism declares to the world, the community, and the church, “I give my life to the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!” I bind no person or meeting in prohibiting baptism with water.
[1] Westland Friends Monthly Meeting, Greenfield, Indiana. Our mission statement is simple, “Honor God.” The Christian values of Truth and Community uphold and support our mission.
[2] For this Minute, the definition of baptism means “immersion.”
[3] Also known as Second Blessing (repenting and being filled with the Holy Spirit) as part of Progressive Sanctification which is the life-long process of breaking sinful habits (regeneration) and developing godly habits. Until glorification, we seek to imitate the moral character of Jesus (to be pure as he is pure, 1 John 3:1-3) in our relationship with God (James 4:7-8).
[4]Baptism in the Holy Spirit can be defined as: at the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit places a believer into permanent union with Christ (indwell) and with other believers in the Body of Christ (the church). Two central passages in the Bible where we find this doctrine. 1 Corinthians 12:13 states, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit" Romans 6:1-4 (paraphrased), "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? All of us have been baptized into Him and His death so that we might walk in the newness of life.”
[5] The Holiday Breakfast Fellowship meets on Saturday mornings.
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