Be Ye Doers. . . Of The Word!

"And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." (Acts 22:16)

Think upon a stone arch. One stone upon another to form an arch. If one decided to tear down the arch, which stone would be removed that would cause the whole arch to fall? Remove the top center stone, also known as the keystone, and the whole arch falls.

The keystone of the arch of salvation is baptism. And the devil knows if he can remove the keystone, the whole arch of salvation falls.

This ONE verse (Acts 22:16) refutes these three points.

"Get Thyself Baptized"

J.B. Rotherham translates Acts 22:16, "Get thyself immersed." Vine's also agrees giving this comment, "get thyself baptized."

Baptism is a command of Christ. Rotherham correctly translates this verse as a requirement. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."

Rotherham brings out also the true voice of the Greek language. It is in the middle voice, and that means the action is something one does for himself: thus, "get thyself immersed." Salvation is active, not passive. It is a personal decision. Therefore, baptism does not apply to infants, for they have no power of choice. Infants are "sprinkled" against their will. They cry in disagreement.

The same Greek construction can be found in Peter's sermon in Acts 2:40: "And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward (perverse) generation."

Baptism Is a Burial

Colossians 2:12. "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

Romans 6:4, "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

Greek Lexicons (dictionaries)

"Bapto, dip; baptizo, dip, immerse, washing; baptisma baptism." In secular Greek bapto means (a) dip, (b) dip into a dye, and so dye, and (c) draw (water). Baptizo is an intensive form of bapto and means (a) dip, and (b) cause to perish (as by drowning a man or sinking a ship).
In the LXX (Septuagint, the Greek translation of the O.T.) bapto usually translates the O.T. Heb. tabal, dip . . . in 2 Kings 5:14 it is used in the middle voice of Naaman's sevenfold immersion in the Jordan . . . Despite assertions to the contrary, it seems that baptizo, both in Jewish and Christian contexts, normally meant "immerse," and that even when it became a technical term for baptism, the thought of immersion remains" (The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1 page 144).

The expositor's Greek Testament by William Robertson Nicoll is his discussion of Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore we were buried with Him (in the act of immersion) through that baptism into His death — burial being regarded as the natural sequence of death."

"Baptizo, to immerse, submerge, to baptize" (George Ricker Berry, Greek-English New Testament Lexicon).

"Bapto, to dip. Baptizo, to dip, immerse, to cleanse or purify by washing. . . In the middle voice to procure baptism for oneself, to undergo baptism, Acts 22:16. Baptismos, an act of dipping or immersion. . ." (The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised, Harold K. Moulton).

"Baptizo; 1. Prop. To dip. . ., to immerse, submerge, (of vessels sunk. . .). 2. to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water; ll. In the N.T. is used particularly of the rite of sacred ablution by Christ's command received by Christians and adjusted to the contents and nature of their religion. . ., viz. and immersion in water, performed as a sign of the removal of sin, and administered to those who, impelled by a desire for salvation, sought admission to the benefits of the Messiah's kingdom; baptisma, immersion, submersion. 3. Of Christian baptism; this, according to the view of the apostles, is a rite of sacred immersion, commanded by Christ, by which men confessing their sins and professing their faith in Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit unto a new life, come into fellowship of Christ and the church (1 Cor. 12:13), and are made partakers of eternal salvation." (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, translated by Joseph Henry Thayer).

"BAPTISMA, consisting of the process of immersion, submersion and emergence (from bapto, to dip)." (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).

What Others Say

Martin Luther (founder of Lutherism): "Baptism is a Greek word and may be translated immerse. I would have those who are to be baptized to be altogether dipped."

Church of England Dictionary, edited by Hook: "Immersion — the proper mode of administering the sacrament of baptism."

Bishop Coxe (translator of the Ante-Nicean Fathers): "Immersion. The word means to dip. I wish that all Christians would restore the primitive practice."

W.D. Powell wrote, "I have found that all churches in Greece, the Presbyterians included, are compelled to immerse the candidates for baptism; for, as one of the professors remarked, the commonest day laborer understands nothing else for baptism but immersion."

Baptism Washes Away Sins

Acts 2:38, "And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Baptism is FOR the forgiveness of sins.

Revelation 1:5, "To Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." The blood of Christ washes away our sins. What did Ananias say to Saul? "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins." (Acts 22:16) It is in baptism that one's sins are WASHED away by the blood of Christ.

For any religious teacher to belittle the necessity of baptism is to remove the place where SINS are washed away by the blood of Christ! No baptism, no forgiveness! No forgiveness, no salvation.

Conclusion

To some these facts may not be new. To others they may be the best news you will ever hear. You CAN have your past sins washed away and forgiven. You can be saved from the guilt and punishment of your sins. And YOU can KNOW your sins are forgiven and you are on the way to heaven because you did exactly what the Bible said to do. If you are unsure about your salvation, find a preacher who believes what the Bible says about baptism and "get thyself immersed."