Why Do We
Baptize by Sprinkling/Pouring and not Immersion/Dunking?
1.
Ex. 24:8 Moses sprinkles
people with blood of covenant.
a.
Mt. 26:28; Mk. 14:24; Lk.
22:20, Christ says He “pours out” His blood of the New Covenant.
b.
Heb. 9:19-20; 10:29 connect
Moses to Christ, do not reject the blood of the new covenant by which you were
sanctified, and thereby outrage the Spirit of grace.
2.
Ezek. 36:25-26 “I will sprinkle
clean water on you.” Also says new hear and spirit is given, removes
heart of stone. Compare this to the new covenant as promised in Jeremiah
31:31ff.
3.
Baptism does not mean “immersion”.
It has a range of meaning of various washings/cleansings (you can bathe by
taking a shower or a bath, sponge bath, etc.).
a.
Acts 8:38-39, Philip and
the Ethiopian Eunuch go down into the water, but only after this is the
Ethiopian said to be baptized by Philip. They both then come up out of the water.
b.
If going in and coming out
meant immersion, then not only was the Ethiopian immersed, so was Philip, the
one doing the baptism! This is an absurd idea.
c.
Mk. 1:8-10, Jesus is
baptized by John, going into and coming out of the water. Again, as seen from
Acts 8 above, this does not mean He was immersed. It means he walked into the Jordan
river. The Ethiopian’s baptism likely didn’t even have enough water to immerse
his whole body.
4.
After Christ’s baptism, as
He comes back to dry ground, the Spirit “descends” upon Him.
a.
John the Baptist says he
baptizes with water, but Christ will baptize with the Holy Spirit. We see
Christ is now baptized/full of the Holy Spirit, and will soon, after He ascends
on High, baptize His people with the Holy Spirit, by pouring out His Spirit
upon them.
b.
Acts 1-2, Apostles must
wait for the Spirit to be “poured out” from Christ on high.
c.
Acts 1:5, Jesus says, “they
will be baptized with H.S. soon.
d.
Acts 2:3, Holy Spirit comes
upon/sits disciples/apostles like tongues of fire.
e.
Acts 8:14-16, H.S. had not
yet “fallen” upon the Samaritans.
f.
Acts 10:44, Peter is
preaching and the H.S. “falls upon” the Gentiles. The Jews are
astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit is “poured out” also
on the Gentiles.
5.
Peter then says in Acts
10:47-48, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have
received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
a.
We see baptism in the new
covenant/for us today is deeply connected to the blood of Christ and its sprinkling/pouring
out. And because Christ’s blood cleanses/covers His people, it is a baptism
that can also symbolize the Holy Spirit’s outpouring/being received by God’s
people.
b.
Christ’s blood cleanses us,
and makes us fit to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
c.
So baptism symbolizes
Christ’s blood and Spirit. So how does His blood and Spirit come upon us? Plainly,
Scripture shows it is by pouring or sprinkling, not immersing or dunking!
d.
This shows the Lord is
sovereign in covenanting and redeeming His people. He is the one who covers us
with Christ’s blood, and pours out His Spirit upon His people.
e.
But in immersion, the
water, which is meant to symbolize the blood and Spirit of Christ, is passive,
and the person is active. While this might be said to symbolize burial with Christ
and rising to new life akin to Romans 6, this is not the focus of the
Scriptures on baptism’s meaning.
f.
But since God is the
initiator and the one who promises Christ’s blood and indwelling Spirit to His
covenant people, we can see God’s sovereign grace, and that He can make this
covenant and its promises of Christ’s blood and Spirit to whomever He wishes.
g.
Since God has always
covenanted with believers and their children (Gen. 17:7; Acts 2:38-39), then
babies of believers also ought to be baptized, and as the child grows in age,
they should be taught that their baptism shows God has covenanted with them and
promised them the blood of His Son and the Spirit of His Son, to be received savingly
by faith and repentance.
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