Question submitted via the Ask a Question page. When answered, this subject will be reposted under the Ask Mike category.

QUESTION:  Tell me about WATER BAPTISM.  Is it really necessary?  What happens if I don’t get baptized?  What happens if I do?

STATUS: INCOMPLETE.  Study in progress…

WHAT I THINK I KNOW RIGHT NOW:

Most discussions on this subject revolve around whether water baptism is required for salvation or not.  What do I think?  I don’t think it’s a matter of salvation or damnation.  Why?  Well, because there are plenty of examples in scripture of people getting saved, being filled with the manifest power of the Holy Spirit, and THEN getting baptized in water.  If you can get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit before getting baptized, then water baptism is not a requirement of salvation.  That’s not to say that it isn’t connected with Salvation, clearly it is.  But the question is how it relates to our redemption that needs our attention.

The more I study this subject, the more I realize that water baptism is more functional than it is pageantry.  It’s more practical than it is symbolic.  It’s more of a relationship than it is a commandment.  In scripture, people who were filled with the manifest power of the Holy Spirit couldn’t hardly wait to be baptized in water.  Think about that for a moment.  They were already saved.  They already had power.  If you were filled with, or baptized into, the power and glory of God, what would you need water baptism for?  What was it about water baptism that excited them so much?  What did they understand about water baptism that we have forgotten today?

That is the focus of my study.  I want to know what the value and purpose of water baptism was, and why it was a commandment that accompanied the great commission.

WHY AREN’T YOU DONE YET?

When teaching law, things are simple.  You quote the law, and you’re done.  But when teaching the spirit behind the law, you aren’t dealing with simple commandments, but spiritual interaction with God.  The nature of a relationship is more difficult to define and “prove” than a command in the law.  For example, what does God do when you fail to please Him?  The answer varies depending upon the person involved.  There is no verse that explains exactly what will happen for everyone.  Consequences vary.

And so it is with water baptism.  What does God do when someone refuses to be water baptized?  If it’s not a matter of salvation or damnation, then what is the consequence?   How will God respond in YOUR relationship with Him?  That’s the difficulty.  There is a relationship involved in the act that cannot be defined and explained by a few proof texts.  So it’s harder to establish in scripture.  Harder, but not impossible.   I’ll keep you posted.