The person (supposedly) baptized today in the Catholic or Protestant Church usually simply got wet on the head as a toddler. However, this custom has nothing to do with biblical baptism, and proper baptism plays an extremely important role in that.
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Baptism is symbol of the death and resurrection of Jesus
Baptism is one of the elementary things in Christianity. Jesus Christ instructed His disciples to go out into the world to baptize people “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (see Matthew 28:19). For whoever is not born of water and the Spirit, the kingdom of God is closed to him (see John 3:5). Baptism still symbolizes going into death together with Jesus Christ. Death is the wages of sin and since every human being is a sinner without exception, every human being also faces death. But Jesus Christ, the living Word of God and our Creator, took all our sins upon Himself and paid for them on our behalf with His blood and His life. Human baptism thus represents death in Jesus Christ.
Likewise, the reappearance symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The person being baptized returns to life together with Jesus Christ—rebirth. This also makes it clear at this point that there can be no salvation without Jesus Christ. Only He, with His own sacrifice, has purchased the right to pardon us for our sins and thereby uphold justice. Anyone who is not in Jesus Christ (e.g., through unbelief or rejection) is thus excluded and thereby rejects the grace of Jesus. Such a person must answer for the sins they have committed. There is only one consequence of sin: death.
Proper baptism is important
Since this connection, symbolized by baptism, is of essential importance, it is of course superfluous not to simply modify the process of baptism. In the New Testament of the Bible, the Greek word “baptizo” stands for the word “baptize”. This is a literal immersion. Now, the Catholic and Protestant churches do not practice immersion, but sprinkling of water on the head or forehead. For this purpose, this (pseudo) baptism is also carried out for small children or infants.
Not only does the Catholic Church, based on its canon law, incorporate the person as a person after his (pseudo-)baptism, but also completely deviates from the biblical specification of baptism. Small children and infants are not of age and baptism is the free decision of each individual human being (see Acts 8:37). With baptism, the prospective Christian also gives a public witness to Jesus Christ and the gospel. An infant is not capable of this testimony.
Churches practice pagan custom
The practice of sprinkling as a baptism is an entirely pagan custom. This has nothing to do with Christianity at all. Rather, the spraying of water can also be found in other religions, including in the Buddhism. There are certainly congregations that carry out the biblical (once!) immersion at baptism. These include, for example, the Baptists and the Free Church of the Seventh-day Adventists.
A drizzle cannot possibly symbolize the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is not what the Catholic Church wants at all, because the “Lord” it serves is quite another. The Protestant churches have simply retained this pagan custom and will probably never change it, since already hopelessly fallen.
The default “baptismal formula”
Before the person to be baptized dives underwater, the pastor pronounces the “baptismal formula” given by Jesus Christ, as in Matthew 28:19:
I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Important NOTE! The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) describes a baptism formula with the following wording: “I baptize you in the name of God of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost“. A fourth instance can definitely be interpreted here, which would stand above the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – More info.
A selection of verses about baptism
Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
John 3:5: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Acts 8:37: “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
The verse Acts 8:37 has been mutilated and shortened along with verse 36 in the new Bible versions. The reference to the faith requirement for baptism was simply removed. Just one example from many other counterfeits – Info.
Romans 6:3: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”
Ephesians 4:5: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”
Bible verses from King James Version
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