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Baptism in Water and Spirit 
04/10/2010
After coming around only with great difficulty to accept the placeof immersion baptism in becoming a disciple of Christ, imaginemy surprise at finding I was still holding to a minority viewregarding this act.In the Roman Catholic Church I had been taught that baptism, byany mode, conveyed salvation. Although in adults faith wasrequired in the form of assent to certain core doctrines, in childrenthis really didn’t matter. This was one of the doctrines I specifically rejected in leaving thatcommunion. My convictions were thoroughly evangelical.What do evangelicals believe? In general they hold that salvation occurs when someone trusts inChrist as Savior. Some call for a “sinner’s prayer” to be recited in one form or another, otherssay that even being able to believe is a gift of God’s grace that precedes faith. By far the majorityagree that whatever else, baptism has nothing to do directly with salvation. As the Baptists haveput it, paraphrasing Zwingli, “baptism is an outward sign of inward grace.” In other words,baptism shows that we are already saved, not that our salvation is beginning at that moment.While in Bible college a friend of mine read a book by Billy Graham on the Holy Spirit. In it,Rev. Graham explained that the baptism with the Holy Spirit took place at the moment of savingfaith. As a person accepts Christ, in Graham’s view, he or she is baptized with the Holy Spirit.Later this person may or may not be baptized in water, but this plays no role in salvation.The Assembly of God denomination has traditionally taken a different view of baptism. Whilethey agree that salvation is by “faith alone,” they then require baptism in water for churchmembership. Baptism in the Spirit is something that happens after salvation, separate from thatevent, which is evidenced by speaking in tongues.Through my personal study while attendingCentral Christian College of the BibleI came tounderstand that baptism in water is necessary to become a disciple. This is the moment in thebeliever’s life when sins are remitted and the gift of the Holy Spirit is given.
"Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that  your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
–
Acts 2:38
AtHarding University, an
a cappella
Church of Christ school, I fully expected to be at variancewith the disciples there in regards to a few matters, not least of which instruments in worship.For the most part I kept quiet, though, studying out any explanations that didn’t fit what I alreadybelieved. So, as I already mentioned, it more than surprising to learn that I didn’t agree with whatwas being taught about baptism in water and the Spirit.The professor, who will remain nameless, lectured one day about how the baptism in the Spirithappened on the day of Pentecost and never again. He held this perspective against the – as he
 
put it – majority view that held there were spirit baptisms first on the day of Pentecost, then atthe home of Cornelius. Rather than two separate events, he argued that the second was acontinuation of the first.My head was spinning. It got worse. As I began to research the topic I found that the commonbelief within Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (instrumental) were little different. One wayor the other, baptism in (or with) the Spirit was something strictly for the earliest days of thechurch, on two separate occasions.Fortunately, I slowly began to learn that there were a few scholars and preachers in both theabove-mentions branches of the Stone-Campbell Movement who held to a view similar to myown. One of these isJack Cottrell. Whatever else we might disagree about, there is harmonywhere baptism is concerned. There is only one baptism, consisting of water and Spirit. There arenot two baptisms, one of which is defunct.
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and inall."
–
Ephesians 4:4-6
 Off an on over the following weeks I studied the topic further, trying to examine all viewpoints.In the end I concluded that I had been right all along. It’s just as well that the topic came up, orelse I may never have examined the Scriptures more deeply on the topic and gotten blind-sidedlater.What follows are a few key passages that touch on the topic. Explaining what happens at baptismwas not the main point of any of these verses, but they do tell us what the accepted, apostolicteaching was on the topic.
"Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived!Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards,revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of youused to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord  Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."
–
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
 To me, this couldn’t be clearer. When one trusts in Jesus and confesses him as Lord, resolvingwith the help of God to turn away from sin, forgiveness is bestowed and a new life is given. Thishappens through the working of the Holy Spirit. On the outside a ceremonial washing takesplace, while inwardly the Spirit of God is making all things new. Since “baptism” is nowherespecifically mentioned, it can be argued that the “washing” is indeed baptism and the rest asimple description of what the Spirit does, without calling it “baptism with the Spirit.”
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, thoughmany, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into onebody—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
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1Corinthians 12:12-13
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