A BRIEF LOOK AT SOME OF THE KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE
Bible Corner - No. 5 BAPTISM
Baptism comes from a Greek word meaning 'to plunge under water' or 'to swamp'. Some sort of ritual immersion was part of the ceremony initiating non-Jews into the Jewish faith. What made John the Baptist's preaching so revolutionary was his insistence that 'baptism as a sign of repentance' was equally necessary for Jews eager to be ready for God's Coming One.
Jesus was baptised by John not because he needed to repent but to identify himself with those in search of a relationship with God.
For a time Jesus' disciples carried out baptisms but Christian baptism as such began on the Day of Pentecost. From then on converts were baptised 'in the name of the Lord Jesus', i.e. into a new relationship with Jesus as Lord. And through him they were also united to the Father and the Holy Spirit.
There are various pictures connected with baptism in the New Testament: the washing away of a stain; a burial and resurrection; the leaving off one set of clothes and putting on another; a flood drowning the old life.
In New Testement times baptism seems to have followed conversion so quickly that it was virtually synonymous with it. In some instances whole 'households' were baptised at the same time, although whether these included infants we do not know. The practice of infant baptism rests on the belief that the children of Christian parents are within the covenant of grace and are thus privileged to be part of the Christian community.
Howard Rady
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