Baptism: The History and Doctrine of Christian Baptism

By John W. Schoenheit

Most Christians are blissfully unaware of the bloody history of water baptism, and that Christians have murdered other Christians for baptizing people the “wrong” way. But is there a “right” way to baptize?

In this book, John Schoenheit examines the historic roots of baptism, and shows why, by the time of John the Baptist, baptism was an accepted practice in ancient Israel. He also examines the history of baptism in the Church, and shows the reasons why some people believe immersion is the correct method of baptism, while other people believe pouring or sprinkling is the preferred method.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9780985367442

Book preview

Note: Most Scriptures quoted in this book are from The New International Version (NIV). References taken from other translations or versions are noted as such, e.g., King James Version = (KJV), New American Standard Bible = (NASB), etc. In verses or quotations from other authors, words in bold print indicate our own emphasis and words inside [brackets] from Scripture or from other authors are ours.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible New International Version®. NIV®. © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™. © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org All rights reserved.

John W. Schoenheit, Revised English Version® (REV®) and The REV Commentary of the New Testament (Spirit & Truth Fellowship International, Inc., Martinsville, IN, 2009). Available online for free at STFonline.org/rev

The sacred name of God, Yahweh, is indicated by LORD.

ISBN# 978-0-9853674-4-2

Second Edition © 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, academic papers, and other non-commercial uses. For more information contact us at the address below.

To receive our magazine, The Sower, and a complete listing of our materials contact us at:

Spirit & Truth Fellowship International®

180 Robert Curry Drive

Martinsville, IN 46151

888.255.6189, M-F 9 to 5

[e-mail]

STFonline.org

Printed in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Copyright Information

cknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One: Baptism and Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Two Types of Baptism

Salvation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit

When is a Person Baptized in Holy Spirit?

Chapter Two: The Meaning of Baptism

The Word Baptism in the New Testament

Baptism Does Not Always Refer to Water

Does Water Baptism Have to be Immersion?

Chapter Three: Water Baptism as a Symbol

Water Baptism was Symbolic of the Greater Baptism

The Parallel Between Sacrifice and Water Baptism

Chapter Four: The Historic Roots of Water Baptism

Early Baptism Rites

Water Baptism After the Babylonian Captivity

Baptism as an Initiation

Chapter Five: The Baptisms of John and Jesus

The Baptism of John the Baptist

Jesus Baptizes Disciples

Chapter Six: From Symbol to Reality

Baptism Changes from Symbol to Reality on the Day of Pentecost

Evidence of the Symbolic Nature of Water Baptism

Chapter Seven: Water Baptism in the Early Church

Why the Early Church Baptized in Water

Jesus Leaves Many Old Testament Practices Unchanged

Water Baptism in Acts and the Epistles

Water Baptism: Dividing the In from the Out

Chapter Eight: New Revelation about Baptism

Ignoring Pentecost and Paul

New Testament Chronology and Water Baptism

Paul (and Jesus) are Unable to Reverse 1500 Years of Tradition

The One Baptism for the Church

Chapter Nine: Right Doctrine and Practice

Should the Church Baptize in Water?

Epilogue

Appendix A: Understanding Acts 8 - Baptism and Receiving the Holy Spirit

Appendix B: Baptism and Salvation: Mark 16:16

Appendix C: The Baptism of Jesus Christ

Appendix D: Infant Baptism

What is Spirit & Truth Fellowship International®?

Endnotes

Acknowledgments

This book started as an answer to a question about water baptism that someone wrote to Spirit & Truth Fellowship International. A really good question deserves a really good answer, and my short answer about water baptism kept growing in order to better answer every aspect of the question. Eventually, it grew into this book. There is very little progress in our understanding of spiritual truth and the Bible without inquisitive people asking good questions, and so much credit for an increasing knowledge of God and the Christian faith needs to be given to people who ask good questions.

Every student of the Bible stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before, and that is certainly the case with me. As the text and footnotes reveal, many people have contributed, knowingly or unknowingly, to this book. Also, there are unsung heroes, many whose names only God knows, who boldly stood, sometimes at the cost of their lives, for the truth that is set forth in this book and the religious freedom to make it available. Most of them were never rewarded for their stand on the truth; in fact, they suffered for it. They, like every committed Christian, got strength and hope from the promise of God spoken in Corinthians: you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Much thanks is due to a large group of people who helped produce this book. People who read and re-read the book in its development and made edits and suggestions, including Dan Gallagher, Jerry Gragg, Jonathon Hollandsworth, Todd Masters, John Truitt, Andy Trimble, and John VanDerAue. Rachel Darr, Janet Speakes and Renee Speakes faithfully read many renditions of the final manuscript, helping with editing and format. Ryan Maher, Caleb Power, and Dustin Williams, worked on layout, cover design, picture placement, and did other things to make sure the book was aesthetically pleasing. Ryan Maher made sure it is available to the world via the Internet. My heartfelt thanks to all these tireless workers who want to see the truth of God’s Word available to the world as much as I do.

My prayer is that the truth presented in this book will be an honor to God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and that it will be a blessing to the people of God.

John Schoenheit

October 2011

Introduction

Baptism in water has been a ritual in the Christian Church since it began some two thousand years ago. In spite of that, there are many differences of opinion about it. Some denominations teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation. Others teach that it is not necessary for salvation, but make it a requirement for becoming a member of their church. Still others will perform the ceremony only if someone requests it. When it comes to how a person is water baptized, some denominations immerse in water, some sprinkle the water, some pour water over the person, and some focus on baptism in the holy spirit and downplay water altogether. In this book we will examine baptism with the goal of determining the biblical doctrine and practice concerning it.

When it comes to spiritual matters, the Bible is to be the Christian’s only rule of faith and practice. Traditions may or may not be based on the truth of Scripture, and human feelings are not a reliable guide to truth. Diligent study, proper translation, and understanding the Bible in its historical context, are needed to determine what the Bible says about any spiritual subject, including baptism.

In this book we will begin by briefly explaining baptism and baptism in the holy spirit.¹ Then we will examine the relationship between salvation and baptism in the holy spirit and study when a person is baptized in the holy spirit. Then we will discuss the Greek words for baptism and whether they always refer to water and to immersion. Next, we will cover the symbolic nature of water baptism and point out the relationship between animal sacrifice and water baptism. After that, we will cover the historic roots of baptism, including how the ceremonies changed during and after the Babylonian Captivity. We will see that baptism ceremonies developed two distinct purposes: cleansing from sin and initiation. Then we will cover the baptism of John, then Jesus, and see how baptism dramatically changed on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Following that, we will see that some people began to become aware of the symbolic nature of water baptism, but the practice continued in the early Church, and one reason for that was it nicely delineated who was in the Church and who was out. Next, we will cover Paul's clear revelation that baptism in holy spirit superseded water baptism. Despite this, he was unable to overturn some 1500 years of practice, which explains why water baptism is a firmly embedded tradition in the Christian Church to this day. We will then look at the one baptism for the Church (Eph. 4:5). The concluding sections will cover whether we ought to water baptize people today as well as the proper doctrine and practice for the Church. The appendices cover the records in Acts 8, Mark 16:16, what happened when Jesus himself was baptized, and infant baptism.

What we will see by the conclusion of this book is that water baptism was always symbolic of the greater baptism of holy spirit. When the greater baptism of holy spirit came on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), the symbol of water baptism was no longer necessary. Unfortunately, the Christian Church did not stop emphasizing water baptism. There were various reasons for this: water baptism was a well-entrenched tradition; John and Jesus had water baptized; Jesus instructed his disciples to water baptize; and water baptism neatly delineated who was in and who was out of the Church. Also, the true knowledge about baptism in holy spirit did not come