WHAT IS THE REAL BAPTISM AS JOHN THE BAPTIST PREACHED IN MATTHEW 3:11?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2 BAPTISMS?
II. BAPTISM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
There is no hint in the questions posed
to John the Baptist (John 1:19,25) that the
ceremony being performed by him was in
any way different from what was already
prescribed in the Old Testament. The Pharisees did not ask what he was doing, they
asked why he was doing it. And the answer
is clear. John fulfilled prophecy as the forerunner of the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3; John
1:23). To receive the Messiah, Israel was in
need of repentance and cleansing from sin
(Matthew 3:2; 4:17,23), and John preached
“the baptism of repentance for the remission
of sins” (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3). Therefore,
came Jerusalem and all Judea to John “and
were baptized by him in Jordan, confessing
their sins” (Matthew 3:5,6). So to prepare
Israel for their Messiah and entrance into
the promised Kingdom, this purifying and
cleansing ceremony of the Mosaic Law became especially important.
John himself summarizes these points
in John 1:31 where he stated the general
purpose of his baptism: “That He [Messiah
or Christ] should be made manifest to Israel,
therefore am I come baptizing with water.”
Is the baptism practiced in the Book of
Acts in obedience to Matthew 28:19,20 and
Mark 16:15-18 any different? That a negative answer is required can be seen for several
reasons. (1) Jesus was still being presented
to Israel as their Messiah (Acts 2:16-40, esp.
22,36; 3:12-26, esp. 12,25,26; 5:29-32, esp. 31).
(2) As did John the Baptist,Peter commanded
Israel to “repent and be baptized...for the
remission of sins” (Acts 2:37,38; 3:19). (3) It
was in Acts that the prophesied Kingdom was
actually offered to Israel (Acts 3:19-21).
III. IS WATER BAPTISM FOR TODAY?
The answer is no for the following reasons.
1. Baptism was part of the Mosaic Law.
The Christian today is strictly admonished
not to place himself under the Law or any
part of it. See Romans 6:14,15; Galatians
3:2,3; 4:9; 5:1-4,18; et al. The ordinances
of the Law have been taken out of the way
and nailed to the Cross of Christ (Colossians
2:14; Hebrews 8:13; 10:1-18).
2. There occurred after the early chapters
of the Book of Acts a change in God’s dealings
with Israel. Israel rejected Peter’s offer of
the Kingdom in Acts 3:19-21 and as a result
was, as a nation, temporarily cast aside (Acts
10:1-48; 13:44-49; 18:4-6; 28:25-28; Romans
11:1-25, esp. 11,12,15,25). Therefore, the
whole basis for water baptism in the New Testament as traced in this tract is removed.
3. As another result of Israel’s rejection,
God began the Church of today, the Body
of Christ mentioned in Ephesians 1:22,23.
The student of Scripture must carefully distinguish between Israel and the Church.
It was the Apostle Paul that God raised up
to dispense the new, previously unrevealed
message concerning the origin, doctrine,
position, walk, and destiny of this Church
(Romans 16:25-27; Ephesians 2:11-3:12;
Colossians 1:24-29). This Apostle clearly
states that “Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel” (I Corinthians
1:17). Thus he was not laboring under the
commission of Matthew 28 and Mark 16
as were Peter and the Eleven in the early
chapters of Acts. That commission does
not direct the dissemination of the gospel
today. For the Church today there is only
“one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5), the baptism
of the Holy Spirit which unites the believer
with Christ and fuses him into the Body of
Christ (Romans 6:1-10; I Corinthians 12:13;
Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:10-12).
Kenneth J. Mo
J.
2
