Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001395A
01:30 ♪[Theme Music]♪
01:49 ♪[Music]♪ 01:56 >>John: I'm John Bradshaw. Thank's for joining me. 01:58 This is It Is Written. The year was 1527. 02:03 The event was an execution. The place was Zurich, 02:07 Switzerland, and the man in question 02:09 was Felix Mantz. His crime? 02:13 Well, Felix Mantz had been baptizing adults by immersion. 02:17 The Zurich city magistrates chose to execute him, 02:20 and not by burning at the stake, which was the common method 02:23 of execution in those days, not by beheading him. 02:26 The punishment that they thought fit the crime 02:28 of baptizing by immersion was death by drowning. 02:33 Now Ulrich Zwingli, a key figure in the Reformation 02:36 and the spiritual leader of Zurich, wrote to a friend 02:39 defending the action of the city leaders. 02:43 These city officials were supporters of Zwingli's Swiss 02:46 Protestant Reformation, and they believed that babies 02:49 should be baptized. Mantz had been baptizing adult 02:53 believers in defiance of the ruling of the Zurich 02:55 city council. They had forbidden 02:58 that practice. But why the death penalty 03:01 for baptizing someone? Today, if one church practices 03:04 infant baptism and another church practices baptism 03:07 by immersion, people would typically say, "Okay, you do 03:10 it your way, we do it our way, and we'll agree to disagree." 03:14 You wouldn't expect anybody to think that somebody should 03:17 die for having a different point of view on a subject like that! 03:21 So why did the Swiss reformers think Felix Mantz should die 03:26 for baptizing by immersion? And why did Mantz believe 03:30 so strongly in baptism by immersion that he was willing 03:33 to die for what he believed? Today, in free countries where 03:37 church and state are separate, it is hard to understand how 03:41 a city government could execute someone for a harmless 03:44 religious practice such as baptism. 03:46 In order to understand, let's go back in time, back 03:50 to the Europe of the early 1500's. Separation of church 03:52 and state didn't exist. In fact, infant baptism 03:56 was seen as essential to the union of church 04:01 and state. People were born as citizens 04:03 of the state, and soon after, became baptized members 04:08 of the church. Every person, without 04:11 exception, was a member of the state church before 04:15 he or she could even think. There was no choice 04:19 in the matter. And to a 16th century 04:21 European, that was just the way an orderly society 04:24 had to be. It was pretty much how 04:26 Christendom had been for hundreds of years. 04:30 When the Protestant Reformation came about, most 04:33 of the reformers didn't see a need to modify the union 04:35 of church and state. Lutherans simply wanted 04:37 a Lutheran state instead of a Catholic one. 04:40 Swiss reformers under Zwingli preferred their own Protestant 04:43 Swiss cantons. Later, in Geneva, Switzerland, 04:46 Calvin's reform movement was backed by the authority 04:49 of the city. In all these places, every 04:52 person became a member of the church through infant 04:55 baptism, just as in Catholic controlled regions. 04:58 No one could choose not to be in the church 05:00 or the state. It was as unthinkable 05:03 as it would be for us today to not be a citizen 05:06 of a country. A man outside the church 05:09 was about the same as a man without a country - only worse. 05:12 At least being without a country doesn't mean you'd 05:14 be lost for eternity, as it was believed being outside 05:18 the church meant back in those days. 05:20 Baptizing babies put everyone in the united church and state 05:24 and kept society nice and orderly with church leaders 05:27 and magistrates in an unchallenged position 05:30 of authority. To challenge infant baptism 05:33 was viewed as an attack on the order of society. 05:36 So why was it challenged? What was the problem? 05:39 The problem was the Bible. Felix Mantz, his friend Conrad 05:46 Grebel and several others believed that the Bible taught 05:49 that only repentant believers could decide to be baptized - 05:54 which made infant baptism a logical impossibility. 05:59 They believed that babies - who can neither believe 06:01 nor repent - couldn't possibly decide to be baptized. 06:06 A decision for a baby to be baptized is made FOR 06:09 the child, and not BY the child. So where in the Bible did 06:15 these men get the idea that baptism ought to be 06:17 by immersion - only? We'll find that out in just 06:21 a moment. ♪[Music]♪ 06:29 A news story during a recent winter told of a man who 06:32 attempted to remove heavy snow from the metal roof of his home. 06:35 In one heart-stopping moment, all the snow slid off 06:39 like an avalanche, and buried him alive. 06:42 Hours later, his wife returned from shopping and heard 06:45 his call for help. Thank God the story ended well! 06:48 Now baptism is a well-known symbol of dying to self, 06:52 burying the old life and rising to new life in Christ. 06:57 This new life can be yours. To learn more, let me send you 07:00 our FREE booklet called "Buried Alive" 07:03 Just call (800) 253-3000 and ask for your copy of 07:07 "Buried Alive" If the line's busy, 07:09 please try again, or write us at: 07:12 It Is Written, P.O. Box 6, Chattanooga, TN 37401. 07:18 We'll mail a free copy to you in North America. 07:20 Again, our toll-free number is, (800) 253-3000, and you'll find 07:26 us online at itiswritten.com. Thanks for joining me today 07:31 on It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 07:33 What would compel a man to be so committed to the idea 07:37 of baptism by immersion that he would give his life 07:40 in defense of his belief? Felix Mantz was executed 07:44 in the year 1526, drowned in Lake Zurich in Switzerland 07:49 because he disobeyed the civil and religious authorities who 07:52 said that only infants should be baptized. 07:55 So where was this man coming from? 07:57 In Mark's account of the gospel commission, Jesus says, 08:00 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." 08:04 That's Mark 16:16 NKJV. Which indicates that 08:09 baptism is for believers. Believing as a condition 08:14 for baptism is crystal clear in the Bible, especially 08:17 in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch 08:20 found in Acts 8. The Ethiopian man points 08:24 at a creek or pond near the road and asks Philip if he can 08:29 be baptized. "Then Philip said, 'If you 08:33 believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered 08:38 and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'... 08:44 And both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water, 08:47 and he baptized him." Acts 8:37, 38 NKJV. 08:54 There are several more places in the Bible where people who 08:56 chose to be baptized were asked to believe. 08:58 It is very clear that a person must believe he or she 09:01 is a sinner and that Jesus is his or her Savior before 09:05 baptism should take place. Even those who came to John 09:07 the Baptist to be baptized came "confessing their sins." 09:11 This is what Felix Mantz and others in the 1520s 09:14 understood. Only a person with conscious 09:16 self-awareness could intelligently see his or her 09:19 own sinfulness, experience repentance, then believe 09:22 in Jesus for salvation from sin and be baptized. 09:26 We can see this when the apostle Peter, in his sermon 09:29 on Pentecost, called for the people to "Repent and... 09:33 be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ 09:35 for the remission of sins." Acts 2:38 NKJV. 09:38 Mantz and Grebel and others realized babies can't possibly 09:42 believe, they can't confess their sins, and they cannot 09:44 repent. The two teachers pointed out 09:46 that Acts 5:14 says, "Believers were increasingly 09:50 added to the Lord" and to the church 09:53 - not babies who cannot consciously believe anything. 09:57 The reformer Ulrich Zwingli had the dubious challenge 10:00 of defending infant baptism against overwhelming 10:03 biblical evidence. Of course, he could appeal 10:06 to custom, tradition and to the regular order of society. 10:09 What had normally seemed right to the masses was 10:13 in his Zwingli's favor. Zwingli denounced those 10:15 promoting baptism by immersion as schismatics, as dividers, 10:19 as a threat to the order of society. 10:21 He also added a theological argument that played 10:25 tremendously on the fear of the common people. 10:28 Not baptizing babies was wrong and even fatal because, 10:33 well...what if a baby died without baptism? 10:37 Wouldn't that baby lose out on eternal life? 10:40 Mantz and others would point out that the Bible does 10:42 not have a single account of a baby being baptized. 10:45 Only people old enough to believe and repent and make 10:48 their own choice were baptized. In spite of the fact 10:52 that the Bible writers didn't have a problem 10:54 with babies not being baptized, this fear of babies 10:57 being lost if they weren't was a strong motivator 11:00 against believer's baptism. So what does the Bible mandate 11:05 for babies if it isn't appropriate for them 11:08 to be baptized? It's actually very simple. 11:11 Mary and Joseph took Baby Jesus to the temple 11:14 to be dedicated. Jesus wasn't baptized until He 11:18 was an adult many years later. There is also an account 11:21 in the gospels of mothers bringing their little ones 11:24 to Jesus so He could bless them. Baptism was well known 11:28 at that time, but neither the mothers nor Jesus 11:31 even mention baptism for the babies 11:34 or the young children. God simply asks parents to 11:38 dedicate their children to Him, and then do all they can, with 11:41 God's help, to give their children the best possible 11:45 chance to live their lives for God, and grow to understand God 11:48 as they grow through each stage of life. 11:51 The Bible teaches that baptism is only effective if a person 11:55 believes and repents. Without belief and repentance, 11:59 baptism is simply a form. Baptism cannot create 12:04 salvation, and baptism doesn't earn salvation. 12:07 Without belief, baptism is meaningless. 12:11 But when somebody believes and understands, baptism 12:15 has great meaning. So where did infant baptism 12:20 come from? It was fear of babies 12:22 and young children dying and losing eternal life 12:25 that brought infant baptism into the early church 12:27 in the first place. I remember my own father 12:30 urging one of my brothers to make sure that my brother's 12:32 new daughter was baptized - well, christened actually - 12:35 because my dad believed that if she wasn't - 12:38 and if something tragic were to happen - then his 12:41 granddaughter wouldn't go to heaven. 12:44 Now the first clear reference to infant baptism was written 12:46 by an early church writer named Tertullian, who wrote 12:49 around AD 200 - and he was against it. 12:53 Not long after, Origen, the famous teacher from 12:55 Alexandria, wrote that, "Infants are baptized 12:58 for the forgiveness of sins." According to the historian, 13:01 Adolph Harnack, Origen believed that sins could 13:04 be committed in a former life, necessitating infant baptism 13:08 for forgiveness of sins. Origen also claimed 13:11 "The church had from the apostles a tradition to give 13:15 baptism even to infants." Of course he gave no evidence 13:18 for those claims from the Bible... 13:21 because there isn't any. There IS evidence that infant 13:24 baptism became common in the region of Carthage 13:26 in North Africa between 250 AD and early in the 5th Century. 13:32 Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage from 249-258 AD, 13:36 decided baptism should be carried out as soon 13:39 as a baby is born. There were 66 bishops of North 13:43 Africa present when he made that decision and there's no 13:46 record that a single one of them objected. 13:48 Augustine, also a bishop in North Africa, wrote in favor 13:52 of infant baptism several times. In about 400 AD, Augustine 13:56 expressed the fear of the people. 13:58 He said that an infant who dies before being baptized cannot 14:02 "obtain remission of original sin," that they could 14:06 "not possibly be vivified in Christ." 14:10 In other words, he said, without baptism a baby who 14:12 dies is lost. And the Sixteenth Council 14:16 of Carthage in AD 418 decreed, "If any man says that newborn 14:21 children need not be baptized ...let him be anathema," 14:26 or, let him be damned forever. The writings of early church 14:30 leaders up to AD 500 make it clear that baptism 14:33 by immersion was the norm throughout Christendom. 14:36 Even in the Middle Ages, the renowned Roman Catholic 14:39 theologian Thomas Aquinas, who allowed for sprinkling, 14:42 wrote in the 13th Century that "the safer way to baptize" 14:46 was "by immersion, because that, is the most common 14:50 custom." Sprinkling first came into 14:53 common use in France, then in the German regions, 14:56 including Austria and part of Switzerland. 14:59 Historians tell us that some groups, such as the Albigenses 15:02 and the Waldensians opposed the practice in the Middle 15:05 Ages, but as a result they faced severe persecution. 15:11 Baptism was never by sprinkling in Scotland "until after 15:15 the Reformation, about the year 1550." 15:19 It wasn't until the Protestant Reformation that baptism 15:21 by immersion became more widespread, but it did 15:24 so at a terrible cost. Felix Mantz was just the first 15:28 martyr of thousands of martyrs that would follow 15:31 in his footsteps. The sad fact of history 15:33 is that both Protestant and Catholic authorities hunted 15:36 down and tried to wipe out the Anabaptists 15:40 - the group that Mantz was aligned with, a group 15:42 who practiced baptism by immersion. 15:46 The late Cardinal Gibbons wrote in his book Faith of our 15:49 Fathers, "For several centuries after the establishment 15:52 of Christianity, baptism was usually conferred 15:55 by immersion; but since the twelfth century the practice 16:00 of baptizing by infusion has prevailed in the Catholic 16:03 Church, as this manner is attended with less 16:06 inconvenience than baptism by immersion." 16:10 Convenience. But there's a better reason 16:12 than that for Christians to do what they do - and that would 16:16 be love for God, and respect for His word. 16:19 Not convenience! Most people are aware that 16:23 not all Christians baptize the same way. 16:25 So, is there a right way and a wrong way to baptize? 16:29 Or does it even matter? Those associated 16:32 with Felix Mantz and Conrad Grebel 16:34 performed baptisms using a bucket and pouring a small 16:38 amount of water on the candidates' heads. 16:41 Many churches today baptize by sprinkling or pouring a little 16:44 water on a person's head. But other churches baptize 16:47 by complete immersion, by submerging a person entirely 16:51 under water: sometimes in a baptistery in a church, 16:53 or maybe, maybe in a river or a lake, or the ocean. 16:56 How does the Bible shed light on the proper method 17:00 of baptism? That's just ahead. 17:04 ♪[Music]♪ 17:09 Every Word is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 17:13 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially 17:16 for busy people like you. Look for Every Word on selected 17:20 networks or watch it on-line everyday on our website, 17:23 itiswritten.com. 17:26 ♪[Music]♪ It was in 1517 that Martin 17:33 Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation, but one historian 17:36 wrote that the event which “symbolized a complete break 17:39 with Rome” like no other happened eight years later. 17:43 So what event could that be? What could be so radical? 17:46 It happened on January 21 of that year, near the Grossmünster 17:49 Church in Zurich, when a dozen men entered the home of Felix 17:52 Mantz, prayed together to God for courage, and... 17:55 This has got to be good, right? and they baptized one another. 17:59 They were “Anabaptists,” or “re-baptizers.” 18:01 They said they weren't “re-baptizers,” but “baptizers,” 18:04 seeing as infant baptism isn't baptism at all. 18:07 Five months later, one of them was martyred. 18:08 Then more, including Mantz himself. 18:11 It was Jesus who said, “Go therefore and make 18:13 disciples of all nations, baptizing them.” 18:16 Matthew 28:19. The Reformers were only 18:18 following Christ's words. That's something all believers 18:21 are called to do. I'm John Bradshaw 18:22 for It Is Written. Let's live today by Every Word. 18:26 If something in today's program has sparked your interest 18:29 in deeper Bible Study, visit our website: 18:31 itiswritten.com where you'll find a host of 18:34 spiritual resources and free Bible study guides. 18:38 You'll find a complete archive of past It Is Written programs 18:40 available in script form so you can read or download them. 18:44 Plus, you can watch a program you've missed via streaming 18:47 video. Pay a visit to itiswritten.com, 18:51 today. And be sure to follow us on 18:53 Facebook and Twitter. 18:57 What does the Bible say about the way a person should be 18:59 baptized? Here's what we know about Jesus' baptism. 19:03 It says this in Matthew 3:16, "When He had been baptized, 19:08 Jesus came up immediately from the water." 19:14 He "came up." Now that sounds like He 19:19 had been immersed, doesn't it? One comes up after being down 19:23 under. So Jesus was baptized 19:26 by immersion in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. 19:30 Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch by immersion, as well. 19:33 Notice the wording in Acts 8:38 & 39. 19:37 "And both Philip and the eunuch went down into 19:42 the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out 19:47 of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away." 19:51 Acts 8:38, 39 NKJV "Down into the water;" 19:54 "up out of the water." That's immersion, 19:58 without a doubt. As a matter of fact, the Greek 20:00 word for baptize, baptizo, means "to immerse." 20:03 John the Baptist's name meant "John the Immerser." 20:07 Clearly, baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. 20:11 A fascinating study has been done on the baptisteries found 20:15 in the ancient ruins of Christian churches 20:17 and in the basilicas and cathedrals 20:19 of the Middle Ages. Among the ancient ruins, 20:22 stone-laid baptisteries have been found. 20:24 Some even have steps going down into them, allowing 20:27 individuals to walk down into the water. 20:31 All of them were large enough for people to get in to 20:33 and to be baptized by immersion. Baptisteries carved from huge 20:38 blocks of marble or built into the floor can be found 20:41 in basilicas and cathedrals in many places in Europe. 20:44 In many locations large baptisteries have since been 20:47 filled in, with a font for pouring built over the spot 20:50 where the baptistery used to be. 20:52 Perhaps the most interesting adaptation of a baptistery 20:55 is the one found in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. 20:59 An ornate bronze baptismal font holds a small amount 21:04 of water in the front part, but the whole thing stands 21:07 in a large depression in the floor. 21:10 That large depression indicates an earlier form 21:12 of baptism was performed there. Records reveal that Benedict 21:17 XIII, elected the Pope in 1724, anxious to conform 21:21 to the ancient rite of administering baptism 21:23 by immersion "ordered the construction ... 21:28 forming a large basin." And this was after thousands 21:30 of Anabaptists perished for practicing believer's 21:33 baptism by immersion. Of course, succeeding popes 21:36 didn't agree with Benedict XIII, and soon 21:39 the depression was filled in by the baptismal font 21:41 that can now be seen in St Peter's today. 21:44 Well, does the form of baptism really matter? 21:47 If you want to be true to the Bible, you've got 21:51 to believe that it does. But why does the Bible teach 21:54 baptism by immersion? Since the word baptize 21:57 in the Greek means "to immerse," has a person been baptized 22:01 if they were not immersed? What does it really mean 22:05 to be baptized? Baptism has been understood 22:08 as a way to join with the Christian church 22:10 as a follower of Christ - which is a very Biblical idea. 22:14 In Acts chapter 2, 3000 people were baptized and they were 22:18 "added to the church." (You see that 22:20 in verse 47). And in Romans 6, Paul says 22:24 that people who are baptized are baptized into the death 22:28 of Christ. And then just as Christ 22:31 was raised up from the dead, we begin to walk in a new life. 22:35 Listen to this. "Do you not know that as many 22:39 of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 22:44 into His death? Therefore we were buried 22:47 with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ 22:50 was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so 22:54 we also should walk in newness of life." 22:58 Romans 6:3, 4 NKJV. So what exactly 23:03 does Paul mean? He explains. 23:06 "For if we have been united together in the likeness 23:08 of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness 23:12 of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man 23:16 was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might 23:20 be done away with, that we should no longer 23:23 be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been 23:27 freed from sin." Romans 6:5-7 NKJV. 23:32 Paul is saying that baptism represents the death of our 23:35 old nature of sin and selfishness, 23:38 and a transformation to a new life in Christ. 23:41 In verse 6, he describes the death of our old nature 23:44 as "our old man" who "was crucified with Him." 23:48 What part of baptism represents being crucified 23:51 with Christ; the death to sin and self? 23:54 Well, that would be GOING UNDER WATER. 23:56 Paul calls it "being buried with Him through baptism 24:00 into death" in Romans 6:4. What part of baptism 24:04 represents being resurrected like Christ; changed to a new 24:08 life in Christ? That would be COMING UP OUT 24:11 OF THE WATER. So baptism is a symbol 24:14 of change from spiritual deadness-sin in control 24:19 of the life-to a new spiritual life. 24:22 That is why baptism means "to immerse." 24:25 Only immersion can symbolize the change that comes through 24:28 true conversion. Jesus described true baptism 24:31 as being born all over again. He said these words 24:35 to Nicodemus in John 3. "Except a man be born of water 24:40 and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom 24:43 of God." John 3:5 KJV. 24:47 Sprinkling or pouring simply cannot symbolize the dramatic 24:51 transformation Christ brings about in our lives through 24:54 the Holy Spirit. You see, God is in the business 24:57 of transforming people. Like the prodigal son in the 25:00 parable, those who are lost become found, and those who 25:05 are dead are made alive. And if you've given your life 25:09 to Jesus Christ, He calls you to demonstrate that through 25:12 baptism: a person goes down into what essentially 25:16 is a watery grave - and when you come out of that water to walk 25:20 in newness of life... that's when you're 25:23 really living! 25:29 ♪[ethereal music]♪ Baptism is a well-known symbol 26:04 of dying to self, burying the old life and rising to 26:09 a new life in Christ. This new life can be yours. 26:11 To learn more, let me send you our FREE booklet called 26:14 "Buried Alive" Just call (800) 253-3000 26:19 and ask for your copy of "Buried Alive" 26:22 If the line's busy, please try again, 26:24 or write us at It Is Written, P.O. Box 6, 26:27 Chattanooga, TN 37401. We'll mail a free copy to you 26:32 in North America. It Is Written is a faith-based 26:36 ministry and your support makes it possible for us to share 26:39 God's good news with the world. Your tax-deductible gift can be 26:43 sent to the address on your screen, or through our website 26:46 at itiswritten.com. Thank you for your continued 26:49 prayerful support. Again, our toll-free number is, 26:53 (800) 253-3000, and our web address is 26:57 itiswritten.com. 27:01 Today, we have been talking about baptism. 27:03 What the Bible teaches about being baptized 27:06 by immersion. And the reason that 27:08 is so powerfully important is because baptism by immersion 27:11 represents a life that is being given fully 27:14 and completely to Jesus Christ. When a person is baptized 27:17 by immersion, they are signifying something. 27:19 My life is given to Jesus and I have come up out of that 27:22 water and I am now walking in newness of life. 27:26 Have you made that decision to be baptized? 27:30 And if you haven't, what are you waiting for? 27:33 Perhaps now is the time for you to make a decision 27:35 that says: "Jesus, I'm giving you my life. 27:38 Jesus, I'm serious about it. I want to enter into 27:42 that commitment ceremony with you. 27:44 I'd like to be baptized, have my sins washed away, 27:48 buried in that watery grave. I want to walk in newness 27:53 of life." To learn more about this, 27:55 visit out website itiswritten.com. 28:02 You'll find information there that will help you 28:04 in your journey with Jesus. And I want to encourage 28:06 you today not to wait, but to make that decision 28:08 that sees you follow Jesus' example of being baptized 28:10 by immersion. Let me pray with you 28:12 about that. Our Father in heaven, we thank 28:16 you today for the wonderful gift, really, it's a gift 28:19 of baptism by immersion, which is all to do with that great 28:23 gift of salvation that you gave to us. 28:26 I know that now there are people who are making a decision. 28:28 It's time for me to be baptized. I shouldn't be waiting 28:32 any longer. I need to do what Jesus 28:34 has asked me to do and I need to give Him my heart 28:36 and my life. So take that heart now, Lord, 28:39 and make it yours. Father, I pray that you 28:42 would lead all of us, those who need to be baptized, 28:46 to be baptized and those who have been, to recommit 28:49 their lives to you right now, to walk with Jesus 28:54 living His life in us. We thank you today and we pray 28:59 in Jesus' name, Amen. 29:06 ♪[Music]♪ 29:22 Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to seeing 29:24 you again next time. Until then, remember: 29:29 It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, 29:32 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 29:37 ♪[Music]♪ |
Revised 2018-01-23