It’s interesting to know that Jesus commanded baptism for all who believed, that His apostles did baptize such believers, and that this was done two centuries before sprinkling was introduced by the Catholic Church.

Actually, sprinkling and baptism are different actions. Baptism means: “to immerse, submerge, bury, or to cover up.” In no way can the original word (baptidzo) be translated into the idea of something less than a burial.

Sprinkling, then, is altogether an unscriptural concept. That word is never used relative to the command to be baptized and cannot substitute for it.

One who is sprinkled has not been Biblically baptized. Sprinkling is one act; baptism is another. If a believer is not immersed in water, he is not baptized with the Lord’s baptism. If the Lord’s command to be baptized / immersed (Mark 16:16) is not strictly held to, then we do not have to hold firmly to any of His commands.

Romans 6:3-10 teaches us that baptism is a burial in water, and that this burial unites a believer with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. The word itself means a burial (Colossians 2:12), and the actions of the apostles show it to be a burial (Acts 8:26-40). That being the case, all the decrees, councils and synods in the world cannot rewrite the Scriptures of God or substitute a practice of their own choosing. All who do so are cursed by God (Galatians 1:8-9).

Do you have questions about baptism? The Bible has the answers. –Toby Miller

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