BEN F. VICK, JR
By “valid,” I mean God-approved. I am not concerned with what man considers a valid baptism. By “baptism,” I mean immersion. The word is a transliterated word which means to dip, to plunge, to overwhelm. What the religious world considers baptism is not what concerns me. Each of us should desire a God-approved immersion.
A candidate for baptism must be a sinner. An infant or a child is not a sinner. It is innocent. A child is not born a sinner. One is a sinner when he transgresses God’s law. John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4.) Children do not inherit sin (Ezek. 18:20). Children are in a safe condition.
One who desires to be baptized must believe in Jesus Christ. As Philip, the evangelist, preached Jesus to the Ethiopian nobleman, they came to water. The nobleman asked, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Philip answered: “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” The Ethiopian said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:36-37.) Jesus said, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24.) To believe in Jesus is to believe the gospel (Mark 16:15-16). One cannot be baptized if he or she does not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Thus, no baby, infidel, atheist, nor agnostic can be a candidate for a valid baptism.
A subject of baptism must be one who has repented of his sins. On that first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, the apostles preached to devout Jews from all over the then-known world. Luke records the reaction of some of those present: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:37-38.) Repentance is a change of the mind brought about by godly sorrow, which leads to a change in life. There is no need for one to be baptized if he will not change his life. If one will not repent but is then immersed, he just got wet. His baptism would not be valid.
The candidate for baptism must confess Christ before men. The Ethiopian nobleman did. Timothy did. Paul encouraged Timothy: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1 Tim. 6:12.) The confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God cost him his life (Matt. 26: 63-64.) Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:10.) Some during Jesus' ministry believed in him but would not acknowledge him. John wrote, “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:42-43.)
Just how much a person must know before he is baptized is difficult to say. How much did the Jews on Pentecost understand when they requested to be baptized? They knew that they needed their sins forgiven. We know that Philip preached concerning the kingdom of God, the name of Jesus Christ, and baptism to the Samaritans because that is what they believed (Acts 8:12). I assume that he preached the same to the Ethiopian nobleman when he preached to him, Jesus. How much did Cornelius know before his baptism? He knew that he was lost because the angel told him to send men to Joppa for one Simon Peter who would tell him words whereby he could be saved.
If one is taught wrong, then he cannot be baptized right. A prime example of this is the twelve in Ephesus who it may be assumed had been baptized by Apollos (Acts 18:26-19:1-7); when Paul arrived, he desired to impart spiritual gifts to them; however, he learned their baptism was not valid. They had been baptized under John's baptism when it was no longer in force. They knew nothing of Great Commission baptism, which is in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20). Thus, Paul baptized them.
A valid baptism is not based on the administrator or his knowledge of the gospel. It is not based on his teaching or his life. He may teach the truth, and one can learn it from him. Those coming for baptism usually learn from a preacher or teacher of God’s word. However, studying for himself, one might learn that he needs to be baptized to be saved. He may understand the conditions which precede baptism, as mentioned earlier. Who baptizes the candidate is of no consequence. Though it would be better to be baptized by a gospel preacher, it is not necessary. The point is: What is in the mind of the candidate? Does he believe the gospel? Has he repented of his sins? Will he confess Christ?
It is sectarian to the core to say that one’s baptism has to be done by a “Church of Christ” preacher. If one wants to argue such, then answer a few questions. If one is baptized by a Church of Christ preacher of the Anti-persuasion who believes it is a sin for the church to help non-saints or children's homes, would his baptism be invalid? If one is baptized by one who believes that only one container is to be used in the Lord’s supper, would his baptism be invalid? If one is baptized by a preacher in the church of Christ who teaches that multiple classes are a sin, would his baptism be invalid? If one is baptized by a church of Christ preacher who does not believe that a woman can teach little children or other women, would his baptism be invalid? If the only way one’s baptism is valid is if the administrator agrees with you in every point of doctrine, would the subject’s baptism be valid?
Over forty years ago now, I slipped into a “gospel meeting” of an instrumental Church of Christ (really, it was a Christian Church. It is a contradiction to say “instrumental Church of Christ.) I sat in the back. I did not sing. But I heard the preacher give an excellent lesson on the conversion of the Ethiopian nobleman. I thought then and still do that if someone listened to that sermon, and that is all he knew but had obeyed what he heard, his baptism would have been valid. The Lord would have added him to the church, but he would have needed to come out of that denomination. The Christian Church is not the Lord’s church. It is not the church one reads of in the New Testament. But a valid baptism is not based on the administrator; it is based on the candidate's understanding.
It is dangerous to paint with such a broad brush and put all in the same category. Each case must be based on its own merits.