Baptism: Part 1 Born Again the Biblical Way

There is a lot of ground to cover about Baptism. Instead of one extremely long article, I have broken this topic down into three articles in order to focus on certain areas.

Note: For the purposes of this article, those who subscribe to the same or similar beliefs to Catholics will be identified as Catholics and those who do not share the same belief will be identified as Protestants to simplify the argument.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode′mus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicode′mus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” Nicode′mus said to him, “How can this be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:1-15

The above quoted passage seems rather straight forward right? First we are born, then we need to become born again but not through reentry into our mother’s womb but instead by water and Spirit. Both Catholics and Protestants agree that by being “Born Again” is how we enter into a covenantal relationship with God but some Protestants believe that instead of entry into the New Covenant with God, Baptism is merely symbolic. We also know the context of this Baptism refers to water Baptism by reading the following verses in John 3 since Jesus and his disciples went out and baptized immediately afterward and “there was much water there” according to John 3:22-23. There would be no purpose in mentioning water if water was not necessary for Baptism.

The Protestant Argument:

Premise 1: Being born again is to become a new creation, regenerated, in Christ.

Premise 2: When one is born again one becomes a Christian.

Premise 3: Being born again is not by water Baptism but by accepting Jesus as our savior which is a spiritual salvation.

Premise 4: Baptism is merely a symbol of one’s profession of faith to our Lord.

Conclusion: One becomes a Christian when one is baptized by the Holy Spirit and one’s Baptism is a way to profess their faith.

Premise 1 and 2 are congruent with Catholic theology therefore; Premise 3 and Premise 4 will be the topic for the first part of this article.

We read of the Baptism of Jesus directly in Matthew 3:13–17, Mark 1:9–11, Luke 3:21–23. Each account tells us a few things specific about the Baptism. First, that John the Baptist was the mediator in the Baptism. Second, that the Holy Spirit descended. Third, that God the Father calls Jesus His beloved Son and that He, the Father, is well pleased. Fourth, we see, most likely the most important part for man, that the heavens were opened. The importance of this is twofold. Firstly, prior to the Baptism of Jesus, the dead resided in either hell or Abraham’s bosom, not in heaven (with a couple of exceptions Elijah, Enoch and possibly others that the Bible does not mention). Secondly, this opening of heaven for those who had passed on before is also seen as opening heaven for those who are baptized. This is much more than a symbol.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Baptism is merely a symbol however it does say that it can save us (1 Peter 3:21), remit our sins/receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and share in the death of Jesus to walk in a newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). This passage in Romans sounds an awful lot like the passage from John above. It is pretty much the same sequence: we are born, then die in Baptism, then born again in Christ. Unsurprisingly, they both deal with Baptism as well.

Romans 6:3-4: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Being buried in Christ is often referred to being in Christ, in a covenantal relationship, by both Protestants and Catholics. Both see this as the reception of the Holy Spirit (Ghost). Protestants see the reception as when they accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Catholics on the other hand believe that it is through water Baptism that the reception of the Holy Spirit happens.

It would be remiss of Protestants to exclude what Peter tells us in Acts 2:38 in that the Holy Spirit is given by water Baptism, “And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”. This was prefigured in Ezekiel 36:25-27:

“I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”

The passage from Ezekiel sounds almost exactly identical to the passage in Acts. We see Baptism written by Luke and in the sprinkling mentioned by Ezekiel, then explicitly in both a remission of sins, and reception of the Holy Spirit all resulting from Baptism. There are just too many similarities between Acts 2:38 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 to ignore the meaning behind the words, that through water Baptism is how these things all happen.

Taking any verse of Scripture out of context can prove just about anything, that is why it is important to show that Scripture is talking about water being used in Baptism and at the time of spiritual renewal (being born again), not merely a spiritual Baptism. In doing this we also refute the belief that the water is referred to the amniotic fluid in child birth as some Protestants like to assert. In doing so this confirms the Catholic position of Baptism being more than a mere symbol and being born again through water Baptism.

The concluding argument is as follows:

Premise 1: To be baptized into Christ one needs to receive the Holy Spirit.

Premise 2: One receives the Holy Spirit through water Baptism.

Conclusion: Therefore, one who is water baptized is in Christ.

If you have a suggestion for an apologetic article please leave me a comment and I will do my best to get to it or a similar topic. I will also credit you with the question.