Baptism Verses

By Vic Scaravilli

Mt. 3:11 I (John the Baptist) am baptizing you with water, . . . He (Christ) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Mt. 3:16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him

Mt. 28:19 Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, ands of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit

Mk. 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved

Jn. 1:33 I (John the Baptist) did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit

Jn. 3:5 Amen, amen, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit

Jn. 3:7 You must be born from above

Acts 1:5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit

Acts 2:38 Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

Acts 2:39 For the promise is made to you and your children

Acts 2:41 Those who accepted this message (gospel message) were baptized

Acts 8:12 But once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized

Acts 9:18 Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He (Paul) got up and was baptized

Acts 16:15 After she and her household had been baptized

Acts 16:33 Then he and all his family were baptized at once

Acts 18:8 Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized

Acts 22:16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name

Rom. 6:4 We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life

1Cor. 6:11 That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God

1Cor. 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit

Gal. 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ

Eph. 4:5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism

Col. 2:12-14 You were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life in him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross

Titus 3:5-7 Not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life

1Pet. 3:20-21 Who had been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigures baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Heb. 10:22 Let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water

Components that are associated with Baptism

Water The matter or outward sign necessary in administrating Baptism.

Holy Spirit Many verses state that the Holy Spirit is made present at Baptism. The best one is Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

This is the sanctifying grace that is given that allows us to restore the relationship with God that was lost due to Original Sin.

Forgiveness Baptism is a means of forgiving sin. This mainly deals with forgiving of sin Original Sin that is inherited by every human after Adam and Eve. However, it also forgives all other sins of an adult.

Necessity Baptism is regarded as necessary in the life of a Christian. It is not implied that it is only symbolic. Rather, it actually does something spiritually to a person that allows him or her to be touched spiritually.

Salvation Baptism is a necessary part of the salvation process.

Conversion Both conversion and baptism are required to complete the process. They and Baptism are both essential and needed.

Born again Baptism allows a person to be reborn as children of God. There is a new spiritual birth that occurs in a person’s soul that takes a person out of Adam’s Family and places them in God’s Family.

Adults Adults can receive Baptism. This was the main way how pagans became Christians in the very early Church. They underwent a conversion process and then were Baptized. The apostles preached mainly to adults in the very early Church. This is how the Church initially grew.

Children The promise of Baptism was also made to children (Acts 2:39). Whole families and households were Baptized implying that children also were Baptized.

Members We become part of God’s Family. Baptism takes us out of Adam’s of God’s Family and allows us to enter God’s Family.

Family

One Baptism Baptism is administered only once. There are also not several different types of Baptism.

These are components that we can learn about Baptism from the Scriptures. All verses need to be considered when coming to a better understanding of a matter of our faith – not just one! The cumulative understanding of all the verses allows to better understand a topic.

One should not use just one verse to develop a theology. Rather, examine all verses. Since the entire Bible is God’s infallible and inspired written Word, then all of it must be true. Also, go to the other sources of authority, Tradition, and the Magisterium, to further define a topic of our faith.

Use all three sources of authority because they cannot contradict one another. This is how Catholics come to the fullness in understanding our faith that it reliable.