Introduction
Immediate baptism (sometimes called spontaneous baptism) is the
practice of baptizing someone right on the spot when they come to believe in
Jesus. If someone accepts Jesus in a Sunday service and then the following week
you baptize them, that is not what is meant by immediate baptism. If someone
accepts Jesus in a Sunday service and right then, in that same service, you
baptize them, that is what is meant by immediate baptism.
The former president of the Southern Baptist Convention has
written about why they sometimes perform spontaneous baptisms at the church
where he serves as pastor (see his article here: Why We Sometimes Baptize on the Spot). Now, on “Baptism Sunday” (which is September
12th this year) the NC Baptist State Convention is encouraging us all to “Fill the Tank” on September 12th. Part of
the material promoting this initiative encourages church to be open to immediate
baptisms that day.
In light of this emphasis, it seems like a good time to ask the
question: Is immediate, spontaneous baptism of people who have believed in
Jesus biblical?
As you will see (if you keep reading), I think that immediate
baptism is indeed biblical. There are some precautions that need to be taken,
but it has the potential to bear good fruit.
The Close Connection Between Belief and Baptism
I do not believe that water baptism saves a person. I do not
believe that if someone has not been baptized that means that they are not saved.
However, I do see a close connection between baptism and salvation in the
Bible. Let’s look at some Bible verses:
CSB17 Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe
will be condemned.
The first half of this verse could be read to
mean that a person has to both believe and be baptized in order to be saved.
But the second half does not say that if a person is not baptized they will be
condemned, it only says that if they do not believe they will be condemned. So
what’s happening here?
When I look at all that the New Testament
teaches about baptism and all that it teaches about salvation, I notice a few
things. First, having faith in Jesus is consistently taught as the requirement
for salvation. There are whole books of the Bible that mention faith in Jesus
and do not mention baptism at all (2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 and 2
Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 1
John, Jude, and Revelation). That seems strange if baptism is required for
salvation. Still, it is closely connected to salvation as we see not only in
Mark, but also in Matthew, Acts, Galatians, and 1 Peter:
CSB17 Matthew
28:19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
CSB17 Acts 2:38
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
CSB17 1 Peter 3:21-22 Baptism, which corresponds to this,
now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a
good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has
gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and
powers subject to him.
So, what is the nature of this connection
between water baptism and salvation that is so close that sometimes a verse
taken by itself makes it sound like we are saved by baptism, when in fact the
overall, consistent teaching of the New Testament is that we are saved by faith
alone?
When a person believes in Jesus, God is able
to see into their heart and know that they have true, saving faith in Jesus. But
we cannot see into someone else’s heart. In fact, sometimes we are not sure
about what is in our own hearts. Therefore, it is helpful to have some outward
way of expressing our faith in Jesus. Throughout our Christian life, our faith
is expressed by learning to obey Jesus, and loving others (with a special love
for our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ), and loving God. But at the
very beginning of our Christian life it helps to have something specific that
we can see as an outward expression of that initial inward trust in Jesus as
our Lord and Savior.
We sometimes look towards a prayer that we
said where we confessed our sins and accepted Jesus as our Savior as that
initial outward sign of inner faith. Some people might look back at when they
walked down an isle in a church to make a public profession of faith. I think
it’s great to say a prayer like that (I think it would be strange if someone
didn’t) and I think that walking down an isle is good. And I do think that
those things, when sincere, are outward signs of an inner faith. But I think there
is something else that God commands us to do and that He especially designed
and intends to be the primary, initial, foundational outer sign of inner faith.
And that something is baptism by immersion in water after a person believes.
The other things (saying the prayer and possibly walking down an isle) are good
in themselves, but they should not be used as a substitute for baptism.
Now I think it makes sense why Peter could
say, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins . . . .” Peter had just spoken to them about the death
and resurrection of Jesus and had just boldly and clearly proclaimed that Jesus
is both “Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). If they believed this message, that is
what would save them. But their way of showing their heart belief was to “Repent
and be baptized.” So Peter’s statement is roughly the equivalent of a pastor at
the end of an evangelistic sermon inviting people to pray after him if they have
believed the message. Does the pastor think that repeating his words is what
saves the people? No, he (hopefully) understands that faith in Jesus is what
saves them. But if they truly believe the message, then repeating the words is
an expression of that faith. But here’s the catch. I do not believe it is wrong
at all to invite people to pray. I’ve done it myself. But if we do not also
invite them to be baptized, then we are not following the biblical example.
There actually aren’t any examples in the New Testament of new believers being
invited to pray a “sinner’s prayer.” There are examples of new believers
being invited to immediately be baptized by immersion in water in Jesus’ Name.
I’m not saying we have to choose between the sinner’s prayer and baptism (that
would be a false dichotomy), I’m saying don’t leave out baptism!
In light of the role of baptism as a symbolic
way of outwardly expressing a new inner faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, it
makes good sense if baptism is done as soon a person believes so that it is closely
connected with their new faith (or as soon as possible if a person accepts
Jesus when they are alone or if an appropriate location for baptism is not
immediately available).
If this analysis is correct, we should expect
to see examples of people being immediately baptized when they believe in Jesus
when we look at the New Testament. And that is exactly what we do see . . .
Biblical Examples of Immediate Baptism
The only book in the Bible that contains accounts
of people hearing the gospel, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and being
baptized in water, is the book of Acts. In the book of Acts we find a very
consistent pattern. New believers are always immediately baptized (in a couple
of cases we can’t say for sure that there was no delay, but no delay is ever
mentioned and in a number of accounts the immediate nature of the baptism is
explicitly made clear). Let’s look at each example:
Example #1: Three thousand new believers are baptized “that day”
CSB17 Acts 2:37 When they heard this, they were pierced
to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: "Brothers,
what should we do?"
38 Peter replied, "Repent
and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise
is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the
Lord our God will call."
40 With many other
words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, "Be saved from this
corrupt generation!"
41 So those who
accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people
were added to them.
42 They devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of
bread, and to prayer.
It is important to note that the people who
are baptized are “those who accepted his message.” So, I think it is wise to
have some way of checking this. At the same time, the check must have been very
simple since there would have been no time for detailed instruction or long
conversations with each of the three thousand new believers. The bare minimum
might be something like asking “(Their name), do accept Jesus as your Lord and
Savior?” right before dunking them. But it might be best to have a short time
of discussion, some simple questions, and a prayer with a mature Christian
counselor before the baptism. This could be done in as little as ten minutes,
maybe less (remember, they somehow baptized 3,000 in one day!)
With immediate baptism, in some cases we may
later see that some of the people baptized were not sincere. But that is also
true even if we have detailed classes, weeks of instruction, and long delays
before baptism. We cannot see into people’s hearts. That is not our job. Our
job does include baptizing those who give a simple confession of faith.
Example #2: Philip baptizes new believers
CSB17 Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip, as he
proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,
both men and women were baptized.
13 Even Simon himself believed. And after he
was baptized, he followed Philip everywhere and was amazed as he observed the
signs and great miracles that were being performed.
We can’t say for sure in this example that
the baptisms were immediate, but the phrase “when they believed Philip” indicates
that they probably were. Another interesting point is that Philip is not listed
as an apostle, nor is he ever said to be an elder or pastor. The Bible never
lists any requirements for the person performing a baptism and the only
requirement for the one being baptized is that they believe the simple gospel
message. While it is common, and not wrong, for pastors to perform most
baptisms, I see no reason at all that any Christian cannot baptize a new
believer. Let’s not make up rules that are not in the Bible.
Example #3: Philip baptizes the Ethiopian Eunuch
CSB17 Acts 8:35 Philip proceeded to tell him the good
news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.
36 As they were
traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, "Look,
there's water. What would keep me from being baptized?"
38 So he ordered
the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
Philip shares the gospel with someone he just
met on the road. The person believes it. Philip immediately baptizes him in
some water they see near the road (probably a river or pond). There was only a
short time for instruction before the baptism. There was no opportunity for
Philip himself to follow up with teaching later (although this is normally a
good thing to do when possible and is part of “making disciples,” see Matthew
28:19-20). They don’t even wait until the next Christian gathering. He believes
and is immediately baptized. And I can’t think of a single biblical reason that
the same thing cannot or should not be done today.
Example #4 The baptism of Saul (aka Paul)
CSB17 Acts 9:17 Ananias went and entered the house. He
placed his hands on him and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who
appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may
regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 At once
something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he
got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his
strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time.
and
CSB17 Acts 22:12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man
according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,
13 came and stood
by me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And in that very hour I
looked up and saw him.
14 And he said,
'The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the
Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth,
15 since you will
be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.
16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and
be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'
Paul had not eaten or drank anything for
three days. Yet, when Ananias arrives and prays for Paul and Paul regains his
sight, he does not immediately get something to eat. Instead, he is immediately
baptized and then eats. Oh! how I wish more people felt the same sense urgency
of obeying Christ in baptism!
Example #5: Cornelius and his household are baptized
CSB17 Acts 10:45 The circumcised believers who had come
with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out
even on the Gentiles.
46 For they heard them speaking in other
tongues and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded,
47 "Can anyone withhold water and prevent these
people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we
have?"
48 He commanded them to be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.
Notice that Peter is invited to stay for a few days after
the baptism. It appears that Cornelius and his household were immediately
baptized! In their case, there was visible evidence that their faith was true
(they were speaking in other tongues), but this type of evidence is not
mentioned in some of the other cases. This evidence may have been given partly
to overcome the reluctance of some of the Jewish Christians to believe that the
gospel was equally meant for the gentiles.
Example #6: Lydia and her household are baptized
CSB17 Acts 16:13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the
city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat
down and spoke to the women gathered there.
14 A God-fearing
woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was
listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.
15 After she and her household were baptized,
she urged us, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at
my house." And she persuaded us.
It appears that Lydia and her household were
also baptized the same day that they heard and believed the good news about
Jesus!
Example #7: The jailer and his household are
baptized right away in the middle of the night
CSB17 Acts 16:31 They said, "Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved-- you and your household."
32 And they spoke
the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house.
33 He took them
the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his
family were baptized.
34 He brought them
into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe
in God with his entire household.
35 When daylight came, the chief magistrates
sent the police to say, "Release those men."
The jailer and his family are baptized “right
away” when the believe the gospel message! The only (short) delay is to allow
for washing the wounds on Paul and Silas from where they had been beaten as a
result of faithfully sharing the gospel.
Example #8 Crispus, his household, and “Many
of the Corinthians” who believed the gospel are baptized
CSB17 Acts 18:7 So he left there and went to the house of
a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the
synagogue.
8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue,
believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians,
when they heard, believed and were baptized.
We can’t say for sure if these people were
baptized the very same day that they believed. But no delay is mentioned in
between them believing in the Lord and being baptized.
Example #9 Some disciples in Ephesus are baptized
CSB17 Acts 19:4 Paul said, "John baptized with a baptism
of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would
come after him, that is, in Jesus."
5 When they heard
this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
These disciples had been baptized with John
the Baptist’s baptism before they knew about being baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus. As soon as they hear about baptism in the name of Jesus, they are
baptized in Jesus’ Name.
Conclusions:
The meaning and purpose of baptism, which is to serve as an outward
symbolic expression of faith and salvation, supports the concept of immediate
baptism when a person believes in Jesus. The examples of baptism in the book of
Acts support the practice of immediate baptism. I thank God for the example set
by J.D. Greear of immediate baptism in his church and also for the North
American Mission Board’s “Baptism Sunday,” and the related NC State Convention’s
“Fill the Tank” initiative, which encourages us to be open to immediate
baptisms.
I do not believe a person’s baptism is somehow invalid if there is
a delay. Often there are short delays to allow family and others to witness and
celebrate the happy event or for other practical reasons. I don’t think that is
wrong. I don’t think it is wrong to allow a delay if there is already a
scheduled baptism soon. There is not a command to baptize within a certain
timeframe. Still, I hope that immediate baptism (or at least, as soon as
practically possible baptisms) become much more common.
May God bless us with many more people who hear the gospel,
believe in Jesus our Lord, and are baptized!
