Where Do They All Come From<\/a>” sermon, and I just didn’t understand very well what this baptism is about.<\/p>\n\tAnswer:<\/h2>\n
Successionism is the belief that there has to be an unbroken chain of individuals back to some starting point. Thus, successionist baptism is the idea that only Christians can baptize people into Christ because they were baptized by Christians when they were converted. This then supposedly makes an unbroken chain back to the Apostles. For the Baptists who claim this doctrine, they want the chain to go all the way back to John the Baptist.<\/p>\n
A consequence of this doctrine is that if someone picks up the Scriptures and learns what they need to do to become a Christian, they cannot until they find a Christian to baptize them. This isn’t a problem for many denominations because they believe people are saved at the point of belief. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how much time passes before they are baptized — if they are ever baptized. Thus, one problem with this doctrine is a lack of urgency to be baptized. This is different from what we see in the New Testament. “And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”<\/em> ” (II Corinthians 6:1-2). It is at the point of baptism that salvation comes. “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ<\/em>” (I Peter 3:21). Therefore, you find a sense of urgency in the message preached. “And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls<\/em>” (Acts 2:40-41).<\/p>\nChristians should baptize those wanting to become Christians because they truly understand what is needed for a person to commit his life to Christ. However, nothing in the Scriptures lists requirements for those doing the baptism. What is consistently emphasized is what the one wanting to be baptized must do. There certainly is no mention of a need for an unbroken chain of baptizers back to the Apostles or John the Baptist. As Paul noted, “So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth<\/em>” (I Corinthians 3:7).<\/p>\nOne of the things that has made the church impossible to destroy is its ability to restart anywhere in the world. All that is necessary is for someone to read the Bible and realize that they need to change. Thus, the church is like a seed that grows whenever it finds good soil, no matter how long the interruption might be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Thank you brother for responding. I had another question after looking at the example of John Smith. Was it wrong for him to baptize himself or do you have to be baptized by someone else? I know baptism means submersion. Would what Naaman did in the Old Testament be also considered baptism?<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
John Smith (also spelled at times as John Smyth) was an ordained preacher in the Church of England. He also held Calvinist beliefs and so became a puritan preacher in Lincoln, England, within the Church of England from 1603 to 1605 [Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Churches<\/em>].<\/p>\nIn a manuscript that states it is the minutes of the Church of Church at Epworth and Crowle, there is a mention that John Smith inquired about baptism on February 4, 1604. In 1605, Smith changed his title from “City Preacher of Lincoln” to “Minister and Preacher of the Word of God.” He left Lincoln and moved to Gainsborough where he denounced his beliefs in Calvinism.<\/p>\n
In an entry dated March 24, 1606, you can read in the minutes:<\/p>\n
“This night at midnight elder John Morton baptised John Smyth, vicar of Gainsborough, in the River Don. It was so dark we were obliged to have torch lights. Elder Brewster prayed, Mister Smith made a good confession; walked to Epworth in his cold clothes, but received no harm. The distance was over two miles. All of our friends were present. To the triune God be praise.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Later there is mention on April 1609 that “John Smith, John Morton (who immersed him), Henry Helwise and others held a meeting in regarding to removing the church to Holland.” It was while in Amsterdam that John Smith denounced his baptism. He was still convinced that a believer’s baptism was necessary but he also started insisting on successionism. As a former preacher in the Church of England, which also holds to the ideas of successionism but not of a believer’s baptism, Smith probably was convinced that as a former Vicar in the Church of England, he had the connection to the past to validate a baptism. Having no one else to baptize him, he did it himself. These beliefs caused him to be withdrawn from the church he was a part of. John Smith later tried to join the Mennonites, but he was rejected after much discussion. John Smith then died in 1612. [Much of this information was pulled from Traces of the Kingdom<\/em> by Keith Sisman.]<\/p>\nThus, while John Smith preached successionist baptism, technically he was not baptized by a prior Christian who believed in successionist baptism. His dunking himself was not a baptism. The commands and examples in the New Testament are to be baptized, which means someone else is doing the baptism. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit<\/em>” (Matthew 28:19).<\/p>\nNaaman’s cleansing was not a baptism. He immersed himself in water, and it was for the healing of his leprosy, not for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
I see. Thank you very much.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hello brother, I had a question about John Smith. Can you please explain to me what successionist baptism is? I saw it in your “Where Do They All Come From” sermon, and I just didn’t understand very well what this baptism is about. Answer: Successionism is the belief that there has to be an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[52,1388,279],"class_list":["post-31297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-baptism","tag-baptist-church","tag-history"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7433,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-was-the-purpose-of-johns-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":31297,"position":0},"title":"What was the purpose of John’s baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As part of our mid-week bible study, we have been discussing John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Christ. I understand John's mission and the importance of baptism, but was it also used to prepare the people for the conversion (burial) into Christ? What was the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2450,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-a-baptist-be-rebaptized-even-though-he-says-he-was-baptized-for-the-right-reason\/","url_meta":{"origin":31297,"position":1},"title":"Must a Baptist be rebaptized even though he says he was baptized for the right reason?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was raised in the church of Christ. I am married to someone who was raised in the Baptist church. She has no problem with going to church with me. But she doesn't think that she should be baptized again. She says that she was baptized for the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2447,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-be-baptized-correctly-while-being-in-a-denomination-that-doesnt-believe-in-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":31297,"position":2},"title":"Can a person be baptized correctly while being in a denomination that doesn’t believe in baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about baptism, I thought that one could not be taught wrong and baptized right. I recently got re-baptized, because I was young (12) years old when I obeyed the gospel. I just could not remember if I understood what the gospel was about at that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24859,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-teach-that-you-can-be-saved-without-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":31297,"position":3},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible teach that you can be saved without baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article, \"Why I Am Not a Nazarene,\" as I have been researching the\u00a0Wesleyan Nazarenes and was considering attending there as a member but I am having doubts. However, I read your article and where it says\u00a0\"No one is saved without being baptized with water\" is\u00a0not biblical.\u00a0\u00a0One\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37779,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-baptism-commanded-in-the-old-testament-at-the-time-of-john-the-baptist\/","url_meta":{"origin":31297,"position":4},"title":"Was baptism commanded in the Old Testament at the time of John the Baptist?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was baptism commanded in the Old Covenant at the time of John the Baptist? I thought baptism was not commanded in the Old Testament for salvation. I have always heard that baptism was not commanded in the Old Testament. Am I missing something here? Mark 1:4 mentions John's baptism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25588,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-john-the-baptist-associated-with-the-baptist-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":31297,"position":5},"title":"Was John the Baptist associated with the Baptist church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I love your site. It is very helpful and is the truth. Why was John called \"John the Baptist?\" I know there is no other religion mentioned in the Bible. Is this where the Baptist organization get its name? 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