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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 16 |
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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 16 |
Louis Rushmore, Editor
When one is baptized, I believe it is important to baptize someone in accordance with Matthew 28:19. However, I have heard two ministers of local churches of Christ baptize “in the name of Jesus,” and that bothered me tremendously. In both occasions, I was informed that Matthew 28:19 was before Jesus died. For after Jesus’ death, both referred to Acts 2:38 as their reason for baptizing in the name of Jesus. I am confused as to which is correct when baptizing someone – Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38 – either/or?
In the first place, the Bible represents “the sum” of divine revelation. “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:17 NKJV). For people living today, the New Testament is the portion of the Bible to which we turn (Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14; Romans 7:6-7), by which we must govern our lives (Ephesians 5:8; 2 John 4; 3 John 4) and by which we will be judged (Romans 2:16; John 12:48).
Matthew 28:19 – often called the Great Commission – pertains to salvation available under Christianity. It reads, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 is an example of the application of the Great Commission, which pertains to salvation available under Christianity. This Scripture reads, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
In the second place, the Bible does not contradict itself. Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 are equally inspired, and they equally pertain to salvation available under Christianity. The key to understanding how these two passages teach the same plan of salvation lies with the phrase “in the name of,” which equates to “by the authority of.” If police bang on the door of one’s house and say, “Open up in the name of the law,” immediately and without any uncertainty, a person realizes that essentially, the command is, “Open up by the authority of the law.”
Hence, both Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 divinely authorize baptism (immersion, Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12) as the action at which point a person receives forgiveness or remission of his or her past sins (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21). However, being instructed in the Word of God to produce faith (Romans 10:17), faith that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah (John 8:24), repentance (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30) and a willingness to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah (Romans 10:10) precede baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 22:16).
Both Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 reflect the same divine authorization for New Testament baptism, and there is no difference in teaching or doctrine between them. Incidentally, both references instruct what unsaved souls are to do rather than what the one baptizing them is to say; historically, we announce to the candidate for conversion and to any onlookers who may be present what is about to occur. Yet, we are neither instructed in Scripture to say anything nor would it, therefore, be biblically wrong to say nothing as long as all who may be present were aware of the significance of the act of baptism. Nevertheless, it is a good practice – an expedient instead of a scriptural requirement – to describe the act of baptism.
In addition, historically, we have adopted the phrase from Matthew 28:19 as part of a formula to be expressed at the time of baptisms. This is a tradition rather than something derived from the New Testament. As easily and as biblically correct, we could have adopted the phrase from Acts 2:38 instead. In a similar way, we could have popularized reference to our congregations as “the church of God” (1 Corinthians 1:2) – or some other New Testament description of the church of the Bible – instead of as “the churches of Christ” (Romans 16:16). The church of God is the church of Christ; the church of Christ is the church of God. Likewise, Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38 are interchangeable and refer to divine authorization for Christian baptism for the forgiveness or the remission of one’s sins.
To avoid confusion, we generally specify publicly that we immerse sinners in the name of or by the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet, we need to understand that baptizing sinners in the name of or by the authority of Jesus Christ represents the same divine authority. In like manner, though we could inscribe on our meetinghouses and the signs before them, “Church of God,” to avoid confusion, we will continue to identify such properties with “Church of Christ.”
