Is Sprinkling Infants Scriptural Baptism

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080120P
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What Does the Bible Say?
Everyone agrees that Jesus commanded baptism
(Matt. 2819-20) Disagreements over WHY people
should be baptized Disagreements over HOW people
should be baptized Disagreements over WHO should
be baptized
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What Does the Bible Say?
Does the Bible teach that baptism must be by
immersion?
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What Does the Bible Say?
Does the Bible teach that babies should be
baptized?
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Common Practices

• Sprinkling
• Pouring
• Baptizing infants

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Church History
1. When does Church History record the first
account of any attempt to baptize by any action
other than by immersion? In about 250 A.D. there
lived a man named Novation, who was on his
deathbed. He had never been immersed. His friends
laid around him many bed sheets and poured water
all over him, trying to immerse him in his bed.
This was accepted by the populace as his baptism.
He later recovered, but was never immersed. He
then became a leader of a group called
Novationists, which other Christians considered
a heretical sect. This is the first account of
anyone substituting for immersion. This is
confirmed by numerous encyclopedias and ancient
authors.
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Church History
2. When did the Roman Catholic Church accept
sprinkling? (Edinburg Encyclopedia) in 753 the
Monks of Cressy, in Britany, consulted Pope
Stephen II whether in case of necessity, baptism
poured on the head of the infant would be lawful.
Stephen replied that it would, yet pouring and
sprinkling were not allowed except in cases of
necessity. It was not till the year 1311 that the
legislature in council held at Ravenna, declared
sprinkling or immersion to be indifferent.
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Does the Bible teach that baptism must be by
immersion?
I. Word Baptism Means Immersion
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Word Baptism Means Immersion
baptisma (noun) / baptizo (verb) 1. baptisma
NT908, baptism, consisting of the processes of
immersion, submersion and emergence (from bapto,
to dip), is used (a) of John's baptism, (b)
of Christian baptism, - Vines
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Word Baptism Means Immersion
baptisma (noun) / baptizo (verb) baptizo
NT907 1. properly, to dip repeatedly, to
immerge, submerge 2. to cleanse by dipping or
submerging, to wash, to make clean with water
Luke 1138 3. metaphorically, to overwhelm, -
Thayer
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Word Baptism Means Immersion
baptisma (noun) / baptizo (verb) baptizo
NT907, to baptize, primarily a frequentative
form of bapto, to dip, was used among the
Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment, or the
drawing of water by dipping a vessel into
another, etc. Plutarchus uses it of the drawing
of wine by dipping the cup into the bowl (Alexis,
67) and Plato, metaphorically, of being
overwhelmed with questions (Euthydemus, 277 D).
- Vines
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Word Baptism Means Immersion
baptizo (verb) 1) Bagster "to dip to
immerse" 2) Bloomfield "to immerse to sink" 3)
Bretschneider "to dip or wash repeatedly to
immerse" 4) Bullinger "to dip or dye
immerse" 5) Constantine "immerse, submerge" 6)
Cremer "immerse, submerge" 7) Dawson "to dip or
immerse in water" 8) Donnegan "to immerse
repeatedly into a liquid, to submerge" 9) Dunbar
"to dip, immerse, submerge, plunge, or sink" 10)
Ewing "to cover with water or some other
liquid" 11) Green "to dip, immerse" 12)
Greenfield "immerse immerge submerge
sink" 13) Grimm "dip repeatedly immerge
submerge" 14) Groves "to dip immerse cover
with water" 15) Hendricks "to plunge immerse
cover with water"
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Word Baptism Means Immersion
baptizo (verb) 16) Jones "plunge dip bury
overhelm" 17) Leigh "to dip into water, or to
plunge under" 18) Liddell and Scott "to dip in,
or underneath water" 19) Maltby "immerse to
plunge to immerse" 20) Norell "plunge immerse
cover with water" 21) Parkhurst "to dip,
immerse, or plunge in water" 22) Pickering "to
dip, immerse, submerge to plunge, sink" 23)
Robinson "to immerse, to sink" 24) Robson
"immerse sink" 25) Scapula "to dip, or
immerse" 26) Schleusner "properly, to immerse,
to dip in, to dip 27) Schrevelius "to dip,
immerse wash cleanse" 28) Sophocles "to dip
to immerse to sink" 29) Stockieus "it has the
notion of dipping in and immersing" 30) Thayer
"to dip repeatedly to immerge to submerge"
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Church History
Baptizo means immerse or dip In 1561 a
group of bishops of the Church of England
produced a translation of the Bible known as The
Bishops Bible. Infant baptism by sprinkling was
the common practice at that time. When confronted
with the Greek word baptizo they were forced
either to translate it or to transfer it,
untranslated, into English. Had they translated
it, they would have been obligated to use either
immerse or dip, and this would have brought
them into sharp contrast with their teaching. Had
they translated it sprinkle to fit their
practice, they would have been accused of
dishonesty. So they chose to transliterate it,
or simply transfer
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Church History
Baptizo means immerse or dip it into
English, substituting the English alphabet for
the Greek, and coming up with a new word
baptize. When King James authorized the
translation of a new version of the Bible in
1611, he laid down two rules 1) Old
ecclesiastical words must be kept, as the word
church must not be translated congregation,
etc. and 2) The ordinary Bible, read in the
church, commonly called the Bishops Bible, was
to be followed and altered as little as the
original will permit. Since the word baptism
had become an old ecclesiastical word" and was
in the Bishops Bible, it was retained in the
King James Version.
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Church History
The Greeks had a word for sprinkle (phantizo)
and it is used six times in the NT. If the Holy
Spirit wanted us to sprinkle water on people
instead of immerse them, He could have easily
communicated that to us.
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Does the Bible teach that baptism must be by
immersion?
I. Word Baptism Means Immersion II. Baptism is a
Burial
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Baptism is a Burial
Romans 63-4 3 Or do you not know that as many
of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life.
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Baptism is a Burial
Colossians 211-12 11 In Him you were also
circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried
with Him in baptism, in which you also were
raised with Him through faith in the working of
God, who raised Him from the dead.
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Baptism is a Burial
Bury To conceal by or as if by covering with
earth.To place (a dead body) in a grave, a tomb,
or the seaTo cover from view (AHD)
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Does the Bible teach that baptism must be by
immersion?
I. Word Baptism Means Immersion II. Baptism is
a Burial III. Examples of Baptism
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Examples of Baptism

• Acts 838 both went down into the water and
  came up from the water
• John 323 John baptized where there was much
  water
• Matt. 36 Mk. 15 John baptized in the Jordan
  wouldnt be necessary for sprinkling
• Matt. 316 Jesus came up from the water

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Does the Bible teach that baptism must be by
immersion?
I. Baptism is a Burial II. Word Baptism Means
Immersion III. Examples of Baptism IV. Early
Church Practiced Immersion
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Does the Bible teach that babies should be
baptized?
Not Proper Candidates Penitent Believers

• Hear the Gospel (Heb. 116 Rom. 1017 John
  644-45 Acts 236, 41)
• Believe the Gospel (Mark 1615-16 Gal. 326-27
  Acts 812)
• Repent of Sins (Acts 238 1730-31 Lk 133
• Confess Christ (Rom. 109-10 Acts 836-37

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Candidates Penitent Believers
An Infant

• Cannot understand gospel
• Is not a believer
• Cannot repent
• Cannot confess Christ

In the NT there is not one single occasion of
infant baptism.
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Does the Bible teach that babies should be
baptized?
Do Not Meet the Biblical Reason for Baptism
Babies Do Not Need the Forgiveness of Sins
(Acts 238 2216 1 Pet. 321- baptism saves
us) The Augustinian doctrine of Original Sin and
the Calvinist doctrine of Total Hereditary
Depravity are both false doctrines.
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Babies Are Innocent

• 1 John 34 sin is transgression of the law
  babies dont know law
• The guilt of Adams sin is not inherited
• death passed to all men because all men sinned
  (Rom. 512)
• Contradicts Gods teaching on individual
  responsibility (Ezek. 1820)
• Children are innocent (Jer. 194-5 Matt. 1914
  183)

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Conclusion

• Unauthorized changes in Gods plan
• Leads many to think they have been scripturally
  baptized when they havent
• What should a person do who has been
  unscripturally baptized? (Acts 193-5 get
  baptized scripturally!)

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Will You Become A Christian?
Hear the Gospel (Rom. 1017) Believe that Jesus
is the Son of God (Mk. 1616) Repent of Your Sins
(Acts 1730) Confess Jesus as Lord (Rom.
109-10) Be Baptized for Forgiveness of Sins
(Acts 238) Live Faithfully until You Die (Rev.
210)