Church History on Water Baptism

Church History on Water Baptism

Introduction

Baptism can be traced back to the Old Testament era during the time when the wanted to identify themselves with the Israelites and become Jews. The word “Baptize” was coined from the Greek work “Bapto” which basically means to immerse down in water and then pull out. Christians have been practicing water baptism since time immemorial as a way of cleansing themselves of sins and getting closer to Jesus Christ. Some churches require that a person must have specific qualifications before one can perform a baptism.

However, in the Old Testament the act wasn’t actually practiced as a way of repenting but rather the Judaists saw it as a cleansing ritual. Such as when someone a person was ill they would be immersed in the water as a way of healing them. Christians have differing beliefs when it comes to water baptism. Some view it simply as symbolic rite of passage in the Christian religion and that there is no significance behind it. Others however view it as a way of purifying a person and hence giving them the right to enter the kingdom of heaven. Baptism is a practice that has always been there since the onset of Christianity as a way through which Christians would seek repentance for their sins and be purifies. After baptism, the Christian would be expected to try and lead a righteous life.

The New Testament Church

Baptism is first introduced in the New Testament through John the Baptist. During his baptism, John the Baptist is fully immersed under water in the River Jordan as a way of repenting and seeking forgiveness for his sins to God. This then later on becomes one of the major reasons for the practice of baptism in Christianity, but however not the sole purpose behind it.

The ...

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... For instance, when it comes to immersing, some churches will immerse the Christian thrice in the water while others will only do it once some churches will dip the Christian in the water forward others will do it backward.

Some churches will perform extra ceremonies after the baptism such as breathing on the Christian or putting salt in their mouth while others will not. The ideology of what true baptism ritual should be like gets corrupted each and every day and every day more new churches come up with their own beliefs and ways of doing things. And although there are no standard rules pertaining to how to perform the act, the Bible should act as a guide to Christians out there on what would be the right way to perform the practice. Additionally, Christians should not be confined to the churches beliefs on infant baptism and follow their own faith on the matter.