Can Baptism Be Sprinkling, Pouring, or Dipping?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, baptism is “a Christian sacrament marked by ritual use of water and admitting the recipient to the Christian community.”

Most denominations teach that baptism may be administered either by sprinkling water on one’s head, by pouring water over one’s head, or by dipping one’s entire body in water. Some denominations allow the one being baptized to select which mode of baptism he would like to experience, with the understanding that it really does not matter how one is baptized, in the first place.

But, is it really the case that the mode of baptism does not matter?

• What does the Bible have to say about this issue?
• How were people baptized in the ancient church?
• Did the apostles give people a choice?

The New Testament tells us all about baptism

The fact of the matter is that the Scriptures teach that there is only “one baptism,” which is recognized by the Lord, as valid (Ephesians 4:5). The New Testament tells us all about baptism, but it only speaks of one form of baptism. In Matthew 3:13-17, we find that, in the account of Jesus’ own baptism, the Lord, “when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.” For Jesus to come up out of the water, He must have gone down into the water. This account depicts Jesus’ baptism as being by immersion in water. In Acts 8:27-40, in the account of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, we find that “they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” The text goes on to say that they both came back up out of the water, and the eunuch went on his way. Again, baptism is depicted as immersion in water.

Buried with him in baptism

Also, it is worth noticing that, in Romans 6:4 and in Colossians 2:12, the text says that we are “buried with him in baptism.” The concept of baptism as a burial in water shows that baptism is done by dipping, plunging, or submerging someone in water. Just as you cannot bury someone with a sprinkling of dirt, or with a handful of dirt, you cannot baptize someone with a sprinkling or a handful of water.

There are many other proofs, which show that baptism is immersion in water. If you have been baptized, was it by immersion in water, or by some other means? According to the Scriptures, there is only one way to be baptized under the Law of Christ. Have you really been baptized?

Baptism: the Gateway into the Church

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…” – Mark 16:16