All Wet

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16

I thank God that I baptized none of you ... 1st Corinthian
1:14

The two verses quoted above are two of the reasons I resisted baptism until well into my adult life. The main reason had more to do with the question "Why bother?" But more about that later.

"He that believes and is baptized will be saved ..." seems pretty straightforward. Belief plus baptism equals salvation. However, "He that believes not shall be damned." It doesn't say he who is not baptized shall be damned, simply he who does not believe. This creates an unbalanced equation.

If belief plus baptism equals salvation, and removing belief from the equation equals damnation, then is baptism really necessary? If salvation is the opposite of damnation, and if belief and baptism are required for salvation, then the removal of either would result in "not" salvation, which is damnation. The logic is unavoidable. Therefore, baptism is optional to salvation.

Add to this the apostle Paul telling the Corinthians that he's glad he didn't baptize any of them. If it wasn't important for Paul to baptize his converts, then how important can baptism be? You would think that a teacher of Paul's stature would be quite emphatic if baptism were necessary.

So, from what I could see baptism may be a good thing, but it was not necessary and could be ignored.

Now, what sealed this view was what I was taught about baptism. I was taught that baptism was an outward sign of an inward change. Baptism was a symbol that said I am a Christian.

Back when Christianity started and baptisms were public affairs the idea that one should publicly identify with Christ seems like a reasonable idea. However, in my lifetime baptisms are typically done in church in front of people who already either know or assume you're a Christian; it seems rather empty.

Without a clear scriptural command such as, "Go get yourself baptized" and non-scriptural reasoning that was non-persuasive, I resisted baptism until I had passed my 30th birthday. As a matter of fact, I had already been ordained and pastoring before I decided to be baptized.

What changed? My understanding of sacraments (which I explained a couple posts ago) and my understanding of baptism specifically.

I wish I could find the book I was reading when I found this information. Unfortunately, I cannot, but trust me, I'm not making this up. The missing book was an interesting history of baptism and how it was used outside Christianity.

The fact that baptism was not a Christian invention was quite profound to me because it meant that when people were told to be baptized, they already had an idea of what was being talked about. Baptism was not an uncommon practice.

For the Jews, there were three types of baptisms (washings); sprinkling, pouring and immersion. Each had a specific meaning and purpose ranging from preparing a sacrifice to consecrating a priest to initiating a convert. To Jews who became followers of Christ, baptism was nothing new.

Outside of Christians and Jews, baptism was, in effect, a public signature. I found it fascinating that certain contracts were sealed with baptism. And even more profound was when I read that it was not unusual for some of Rome's high ranking soldiers to be baptized in the name of Caesar.

In a contractual context, baptism publicly stated that the person being baptized formally submitted to the terms of the contract. In the case of the Roman soldier, he was publicly affirming that through this baptism he became the property of Caesar.

Learning that a sacrament was an oath of allegiance and that baptism was a public signature of submission made the rite something I wanted to do rather than something I had to do. Through baptism I could publicly sign an oath of allegiance to God. Rather than confirm what was already assumed, I could willingly give myself to what I knew was good and right.

The equation is not as unbalanced as it looks. A person who believes and understands that belief will naturally get baptized. How could they not? Belief and baptism are two sides of the same coin and the commitment of baptism confirms the salvation which is why he who believes not is damned. And he who is baptized and doesn't believe is all wet.