PreachingHelp.org The headlines read, “Thousands of Baptisms Invalidated.” Apparently, a Catholic priest in Arizona has been using the wrong words while performing baptism ceremonies. Allegedly, thousands of baptisms have been invalidated because this priest used the word “we” instead of “I” in his ceremony.
According to the Catholic church, this priest was obligated to say, “I baptize you…,” but instead, he was saying, “We baptized you…”. According to the Catholic church, those who have been baptized with the incorrect words spoken over them must be “re-baptized” properly for their baptism to have any efficacy.
This news story raises a couple of questions that I have heard many Christians ask?
Are there specific words that must be spoken at the time of one’s baptism? Typically, you will hear a preacher say that he is baptizing a person, “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Others contend that this is unscriptural and one must say he is baptizing “in the name of Jesus.”
The truth of the matter is that there is no formula that must be stated when one is baptized. Actually, nothing has to be said. God’s word instructs us to baptize “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19-20) and to baptize “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38), but note carefully — this is what we are to do, not what we are to say! There is not a single verse in the Bible that gives instruction concerning what the one administering the baptism must say. The important thing is what the person is doing, not what is being said over him. For example, Paul stated that we are to “do all in the name of the Lord” (Colossians 3:17). Now, does that require we must say, “in the name of the Lord” every time we do anything? Imagine, one picks up a cup of water and must say, “in the name of the Lord;” swallows and must say, “in the name of the Lord;” puts the cup down and must say, “in the name of the Lord” etc. Surely you see the difference in what one must “do” and one must “say.”
The Bible contains no formula that must be stated upon one’s baptism. Then why do we say anything while baptizing a person? Because it is a good teaching opportunity. It’s a perfect time to tell others what this person is doing.
Can the administrator invalidate one’s baptism? For instance, “What if he says something wrong, as in the news story?” or “What if he is secretly a charlatan and not a genuine disciple of Jesus?” Again, the Bible places no importance on the administrator of baptism, but upon the understanding of the one being baptized. Imagine what it would require to have security in one’s own salvation if the character of the baptizer was essential. If this were true, I would need to know the genuine character of the person who baptized me, as well as the person who baptized him, and follow that line all the way back to Pentecost! Consider this line of reasoning…
It is possible for one to know he is saved (1 John 5:13).
It is impossible for the one being baptized to know the genuineness of the one doing the baptizing. We can’t know what is hidden in another man’s heart (1 Corinthians 2:11).
Therefore, the genuineness of the one doing the baptizing is not essential for one to know that he is saved.
The important thing in baptism is what the one being baptized understands. He must have “faith in the operation of God” (Colossians 2:12) and “obey from the heart” (Romans 6:17). As for the administrator, God’s word gives no instructions as to who this is to be and what he must say or know.