By Owen Carson | Broadcast Reporter
Baptism has been an important tradition for many Christians since Jesus himself practiced it while on earth.
The man who was perfect participated in what washes away someone’s sins as shown in Matthew 3:13-17.
Jesus paved the way for baptism, but with the different denominations of Christianity, the question of when to be baptized and how one should participate in a church based on baptism still seems to be debated.
Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Lutherans all believe in infant baptism or baptizing someone when they are an infant. Pentecostals and Baptists believe in baptizing someone when they can make that decision for themselves.
Both these arguments have many valid reasons, and the answer is not definitively stated in the Bible. However, in Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul writes a letter to the church in Ephesus discussing the importance of “one faith, one church, one baptism.”
Those two words, “one baptism,” are the important ones. As Christians, we are only supposed to be baptized once. Baptism is not how you get into heaven, and it’s not supposed to be for theatrics. Baptism is designed to make one new in Christ Jesus, being washed away from sin.
If someone was baptized as an infant, they have been washed away from the sin of this world. An issue arises when a church requires a believer’s baptism to become a member.
For example, a great opportunity to serve is within a church community. In 1 Peter 4:10, Christians are called to “serve others.” But if a church says “no, you cannot serve because you have to take part in a believer’s baptism,” then some may lose a chance to carry out the very thing they are called to do.
Furthermore, if someone said, “I want to be baptized again so I can become a member and serve at this church.” Well, that goes against Ephesians 4:4-6 and the importance of “one baptism.”
The self-imposed limitations that different Christian denominations have put on themselves can lead to issues such as this. Paul, in Titus 3:9, encourages us to refrain from pointless arguments.
Paul writes, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”
This discussion of when someone should be baptized or even how someone should be baptized is, in my opinion, “unprofitable and useless.”
I see no issue with different denominations of Christianity; the differences provide people the opportunity to find what they believe to be true. However, I do feel strongly that membership of a church should not be denied to a God-fearing and loving individual just due to their actions in baptism.
