Baptism

Luke 15:31-32 " `My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and
everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this
brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
But there are others who were born in a Christian home, brought up in
Christian heritage and faith that they have no specific event called second
birth. They must have erred away from their father’s faith. But returned to it
with renewed strength based on life experience and evidences. A baptism do
not harm them, but it has no relevance to them. Such erring and return are
common in every believer’s life. If we are to follow the Jewish tradition,
mikvah was a daily routine ritual purification for them as in the Indian
Brahminical tradition. One goes through the ritual immersion every day;
probably more than once every day. Mikvah here simply denotes baptism of
repentance. Each repentance is also a change of status from impure to pure.
What I am trying to point out is that it will be stretching the point too far to
require a baptism every day. In fact repentance and renewal and change of
status in life should be an everyday experience in the spiritual life of the
believer. The question is whether we need to do it by a visible symbolic water
baptism, whether immersion or sprinkling? We are instructed to walk by faith
and not by sight. I am not against use of visible symbols. They are indeed
powerful in internalizing and transmitting deep spiritual messages. I would
certainly employ them if it brings about Christian growth.
Some churches requires that every member be baptized by total immersion. It
is a condition for membership. Each church has their own conditions for
membership. If you want to be a member of that church, you better follow the
rules of that church. It should not be tied with salvation. I don’t think one of
the questions at the immigration counter by Peter at the pearly gate include
“Are you baptized?” It certainly include, “Do you believe in Jesus?”
Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending
with the flesh?
But any baptism undertaken to absolve one from sin and bring in salvation is
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