The Historical Baptist Position on Baptism. CHAPTER 3; WATER BAPTISM: PROPER ADMINISTRATOR.

The Historical Baptist Position on Baptism
By Berlin Hisel


CHAPTER 3
WATER BAPTISM: PROPER ADMINISTRATOR

"It is here where many would depart from us upon the truth of baptism. Some would accuse us of hatred for all other denominations. This, however, is not true. We feel that the Word of God gives authority only to a Baptist church for the administration of baptism. Please bear with us as we examine the Scriptures.

AUTHORITY

"For anyone to perform an action of the government, he must be given authority to do so by that government. Not just anyone can perform the action of the Secretary of Defense. This authority is given to someone by the President of the United States. Not just anyone has the right to arrest someone. This belongs to the law enforcement department.

"So it is with baptism. God appoints whom He would have to administer baptism. If you do not believe this you are forced to say that just anyone can baptize! The drunk on the street; the woman in the house of ill-repute; the Masonic Order; the Catholic Church; or just anyone who wishes to do so. Certainly, you do not believe this!

CHURCH AUTHORITY

"To find whom Christ gave this authority, turn with me in your Bible to Matthew 28:19-20 where we read these words, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

"Here then is the commandment given to baptize. To whom was it given? When we find this answer we have the authority of baptism. In verse 16 of Matthew 28, we see to whom Jesus was investing the authority of baptism. "Then the eleven went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them."

HISTORICAL ARGUMENT

"These eleven composed the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, organized in His ministry (Matthew 16:18 and 18:17).

"Let us for a minute lay aside prejudice and see which church this was that Jesus built. He did not build all the denominations existing today.

"They all teach different things and God is not the author of confusion.

" A mere look at history will give us the answer to this question.

"History gives a founder for every denomination existing today except a Baptist church.

"Let us look: (1) the Catholic Church founded in 313 by Constantine;
"(2) the Lutheran in 1520 by Martin Luther;
"(3) the Episcopal in 1534 by King Henry VIII;
"(4) the Presbyterian in 1536 by John Calvin;
"(5) the Methodist in 1740 by John Wesley;
"(6) the Christian (Church of Christ, Disciples) in 1827 by Alexander Campbell;
"(7) the Church of God in 1825 by John Winebrenner;
"(8) the First Church of God in 1880 within the churches of God existing and founded by John Winebrenner in 1825.

"We could go on with every other denomination but we do not have the space.

"Alexander Campbell, founder of the Christian Church says the following of the Baptists; "The Baptists can trace their origin to Apostolic times and can produce unequivocal testimony of their existence in every century down to the present time." So is the testimony of all honest historians of all denominations. The Baptist churches have no founder this side of Jesus Christ, therefore, it is the church to whom is given the ordinance of baptism.

WHO WAS COMMISSIONED?

"Many argue that Jesus was, in these verses we have just considered (Matthew 28:19-20), speaking to His Apostles and thus giving them as individuals the authority for the Great Commission. It needs to be observed that Christ promised..."lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Each of the individuals Christ spoke to died within a generation. If the commission was given only to them as individuals, it must have died with them which would prove the Saviour's words, "until the end of the world" to be false.

"What is the answer to this seeming difficulty? Jesus was speaking to His church as an institution. When the apostles died, the church as an institution kept on with the commission. With the Lord's churches today, His promise is being fulfilled.

EXAMPLE OF JESUS

"We will prove further now the necessity of proper authority. Jesus is our supreme example. Let us see His baptism and who performed it. In Mark's Gospel 1:9, we are told, "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazarath of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan."

"If anyone could baptize why did Jesus walk the sixty-odd miles from Nazareth of Galilee to where John was baptizing? The reason is simple. Jesus, Himself, sought out the proper authority.

"Think of all the bodies of water our Saviour passed on His way to where John was baptizing! Think of all the people He could have gotten to immerse Him in the water! But He did not. He proceeded to John. Why John? The Bible does not leave us in the dark about this question. In the Gospel of John 1:6, we read these words, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." John, then, was sent from God to administer baptism. Jesus sought him out. Jesus is our example and we are to follow in His steps (I Peter 2:21). We should do no less than our Master.


OTHER KINDS OF CHURCHES

"We, then, do not hate other denominations when we refuse to accept their members into our churches upon their baptism. We love them and their souls.

"We simply are convinced of God that their baptism does not meet the requirements of the Word of God.

"Consider this with an honest mind."