Immersion vs. Pouring
The Bible clearly teaches that baptism is a burial in water, not a pouring of water
The English word baptism comes from the Greek word baptisma, meaning to immerse and to come up. Consider the act of baptism, which is indicative of Jesus’ baptism. Mark writes: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on him like a dove (Mark 1:9-10). Next, examine the manner in which the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized: He commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized the eunuch. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:38-39). The apostle Paul said: When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead (Col. 2:12). In Romans 6:4, Paul said: Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Consequently, it is quite clear that the baptism that God ordained is a burial or immersion in water. We ask ourselves a simple question here: Who gave the Catholic Church the authority to change what the Lord has ordained? God’s Word teaches us that we must follow the laws of the Lord without change or variation (Galatians 1:6-9; Revelation 22:18-19). When we follow the traditions and doctrines of men, our religion becomes vain (Matthew 15:9; Colossians 2:8; Titus 1:13-14).
Catholics consider baptism to be the means by which a person receives the Holy Spirit. The sacrament is called "the gateway to life in the Spirit."
CCC, 1213
The "bath of regeneration" in Titus 3:5 is interpreted as a literal washing with water and is associated with the rite of baptism. The same is true of Jesus' reference to being "born of water" in John 3:5. Even non-Catholics who have been baptized are considered "justified by faith in baptism" (CCC, 1271), because baptism includes everyone in Christ.
According to Catholicism, any hope of "salvation" is preceded by a long process.
Required: 1.The proclamation of the Lord 2. The reception of the Gospel combined with conversion 3. The profession of faith 4. Baptism itself 5. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and 6. Admission to Eucharistic communion - CCC, 1229. Baptism is necessary because, according to Catholicism: All sins are forgiven through Baptism, both original sin and every personal sin - CCC, 1263.
CCC 1274 teaches: The seal of the Lord (Dominicus character) is the seal with which the Holy Spirit marks us "for the day of redemption" (197) (Eph 4:30). Baptism is the seal of eternal life. The believer who keeps the seal until the end, that is, remains faithful to the demands of his baptism, will be able to die with the sign of faith, (2016) with the faith of his baptism, in anticipation of the beatific vision of God – which is the consummation of faith – and in the hope of the resurrection. Catholics practice infant baptism, which they consider a gift of God’s grace. Infants and young children are “baptized in the faith of the Church” (CCC, 1282). As for children who die without baptism, some Catholics believe that they go to Limbo, a place on the border between heaven and hell. However, Limbo has never been an official teaching of the Church. Officially, the Church can only entrust them to God’s mercy and hope that there is a way of salvation for children who die without baptism (CCC, 1261). Catholics use verses like Luke 18:15–16 and 1 Corinthians 1:16 to support the practice of infant baptism. However, these passages are misused. The Bible does not teach infant baptism. In Luke 18, parents bring their children for Jesus to touch them, and the disciples rebuke them for doing so. Christ said to his disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for of such is the kingdom of God.” The Lord did not say anything about baptizing little children here; He only said not to forbid them from following Him. To infer a teaching about baptism from this verse is wrong.
In 1 Corinthians 1:16, Paul speaks of a family (household) that was baptized: “I baptized also the household of Stephanas; I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.” Do we know whether there were infants or very young children in the household of Stephanas? No. We do not know the age of anyone in the household, and it is not wise to base doctrine on assumptions( Ephesians 4:30). So we have some key differences in the Catholic doctrine of baptism compared to Scripture. One is that the Bible says we are to be baptized when we believe and repent of our sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:15–17), no one should be baptized “in the faith of the Church,” in the faith of their parents, etc. The Bible says we receive the Holy Spirit when we have faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:13–14; Galatians 3:2–3). There is no other way to receive Him than by faith. Works, even the work of baptism, are not the reason for a person’s salvation (Titus 3:5). Catholics teach that the baptized person begins to participate in eternal life at the moment of baptism, but they also teach that they lose eternal life and the Holy Spirit when they sin. The Bible says that a Christian can grieve the Holy Spirit, but the "seal" that the Spirit gives us cannot be broken. In all instances of baptism in the New Testament, this act always followed the person's faith in Christ and his confession along with repentance (e.g., Acts 8:35–38; 16:14–15; 18:8 and 19:4–5). Baptism is not what gives us salvation. Baptism is an act of obedience after faith.
Is infant baptism biblical?
Infant baptism, although practiced in many churches, is not found in Scripture
Baptism is more than water. Just because a person eats a grape jelly and matzah sandwich for lunch does not mean that they are partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Only when they partake of the emblems in faith to remember Jesus’ sacrifice does they partake of the Supper. Likewise, getting wet does not mean that they are undergoing Christian baptism.
Baptism is a person’s faithful response to the preaching of the gospel, not the removal of dirt from the body but the request for a good conscience toward God (1 Pet. 3:21).
It is a representation of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-7). By baptism, a person is buried with Him in His death and raised to newness of life (Colossians 2:12). Baptism is a spiritual rebirth (John 3:1-8) that removes the old man from sin and creates a new man in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). To be baptized, a person must be aware of his sins and repent of his actions (Acts 2:36-38; Romans 3:23; 6:23). He must hear the word of God (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 1:16; 10:14-17) and believe His testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:30-31; Mark 16:16), who died on the cross and rose from the dead to provide redemption for mankind (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-10). He must publicly confess this faith (Romans 10:9 and Acts 8:26-40).
A child is not capable of doing these things. A child taken by his parents to be baptized is not a Christian child, but a wet child. True baptism has not taken place. Baptizing a child with the idea of making him a child of God reduces baptism to nothing more than a work. Works alone without faith cannot save. Moreover, it is a work performed on a physical person by a third party without his consent or even knowledge.
ORIGINAL SIN
Many who practice infant baptism believe in "original sin," that when Adam sinned in Eden, the guilt of sin stained the soul of every human being who would ever be born. Although a baby may be sweet to the eye, original sin teaches that its soul is as black as the soul of a criminal. Baptism is necessary to remove the stain of Adam's sin. If a baby dies unbaptized, it is lost. Since infants are born with a fallen human nature tainted by original sin, they too need rebirth in baptism to be delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of freedom of the children of God to which all people are called. Infant baptism in particular shows that the grace of salvation is a completely undeserved gift. (1996) The Church and parents would therefore be depriving a child of the priceless grace of becoming a child of God if they did not baptize him or her soon after birth - Catechism of the Catholic Church 1250
"Infants, unless they are reborn to God by the grace of baptism, whether their parents are Christians or unbelievers, are born into eternal misery and damnation" (Council of Trent).
This idea is contrary to Scripture. Jesus said that adults must "become like children" (Matthew 18:1-6), to whom "the kingdom of heaven belongs" (Matthew 19:14). Why would Jesus use children as a model of godly innocence if they are condemned instead? Children become sinners later, when they learn the difference between right and wrong and choose to do wrong (1 John 3:4). God made people upright, but they seek out only their own ways (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Every person shares in Adam’s condemnation because all have sinned (Romans 5:12), just as Adam did. Simply put, children do not have sin until they learn to practice it. Since the purpose of baptism is to wash away sin (Acts 2:38; 22:16), it makes no sense to baptize an innocent child. Sadly, few individuals who are baptized as children realize that they were never actually baptized in faith for the forgiveness of their sins. But even more compelling is the fact that there are simply no examples of infant baptism in Scripture. Everyone baptized is a repentant believer. The only exceptions are Acts 16:15 and 16:33, but the words household or household do not require the presence of children. Many families do not include children. Or In 1 Corinthians 1:16 Paul speaks of a family (household) that was baptized: I baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. Do we know if there were infants or very young children in the household of Stephanas? No. We don’t know the age of anyone in the household, and it is not wise to base doctrine on assumptions.
WHAT ABOUT CIRCUMCISION?
Advocates of infant baptism often point to the circumcision of infants in the Old Testament as support. It is true that the Law commanded Jewish males to be circumcised on the eighth day (Gen. 17:12; Luke 1:59) in order to be included in the Abrahamic covenant. But the Old Testament was replaced by the New Covenant in Christ (Gal. 3:24-25; Hebrews 8:13).
Many Christian traditions that support infant baptism do so because they see baptism as the New Testament equivalent of circumcision. Just as circumcision connected Old Testament Hebrews to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, baptism is believed to connect a person to the New Covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ. This view is based on the apostle Paul’s statement in Colossians 2:11–12: In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made not with hands, but with the circumcision of Christ, in the putting off of the flesh (Colossians 2:11). When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, not by physical surgery. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting off of your sinful nature: when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead (Colossians 2:12). Jews became Jews by birth, and Gentiles were “excluded from the commonwealth of Israel” by birth (Ephesians 2:12). Today, individuals enter into a covenant relationship with God by choice, not by birth.
THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE
Father Andres Arango of St. Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona, has resigned. His resignation comes after an investigation revealed that he had been using an incorrect formula for the past 20 years to perform baptisms. According to the Roman Catholic Church, the words to be repeated during the sacrament of baptism are:
"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
While the Trinitarian formula was still in use, Father Andres said:
We baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
After the Vatican was questioned about the validity of such a baptismal formula, the official Vatican response was negative. In other words, a baptismal formula that uses "we" instead of "I" is invalid and renders the baptism itself invalid. Simply changing the pronoun invalidates the baptism, according to the Vatican. Why is this such a big deal to the Roman Catholic Church that it is leading to Father Arango’s resignation? The answer is quite simple. Invalid baptism in the Roman Catholic Church makes a person’s salvation invalid. Father Arango issued the following statement:
It saddens me to learn that during my priestly ministry I performed invalid baptisms by regularly using the incorrect formula,” he said. “I deeply regret my mistake and how it has affected many people in our parish and elsewhere.
