Buy research paper on Baptism – The Sacramental View

Along with traditional sacred views and historical views on baptism, the sacramental view on baptism is particularly noteworthy because it uncovers the essence of the rite of baptism and its symbolic meaning. In fact, specialists (Cullmann, 226) point out that baptism has a profound symbolic meaning which implies that through the rite of baptizing believers get the grace of God. To put it more precisely, when believers undergo the rite of baptizing they purify themselves, the God forgives their sins, which they have committed in the past, before the baptizing, and the God grants believers with a chance to start a new, virtuous life. In this regard, it is possible to refer to the Book of John, which interprets the meaning of baptism and uncovers its essence.
At the same time, the Catholic Church always viewed baptism from the sacramental standpoint. To put it more precisely, the Catholic Church viewed baptism as the transition from the sinful life toward the truly Christian life. The rite of baptizing implied that an individual is ready to abandon his or her sinful lifestyle and accepts the God’s blessing to the extent that he or she can start a new life. The change occurs due to the rite of baptism which is conducted in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost. As a result, people join other believers after baptizing as if they have passed through the rite of purification and as if they have received the God’s grace.

The Covenantal View
Some other Christian groups view baptism as a sign and a seal of God’s covenant, or God’s pledge to save mankind. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the Colossians, which reveals such a symbolic meaning of baptizing as the God’s pledge to save the mankind. In fact, the rite of baptizing, in terms of the sacramental view, implies that the rite implies that Jesus Christ as one of the manifestations of God has pledged and sacrificed his life for the sake of the mankind. When people pass through the rite of baptizing, the God forgives their sins, while Jesus Christ, according to Christian tradition, died for the salvation of the mankind. Therefore, when the formula “in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost” is used this implies not only God but also Jesus Christ and his self-sacrifice for the salvation of the mankind.

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The Dynamic View
Increasing numbers of Christians see the elements of truth on other viewpoints, but find their focus on the power inherent in the Holy Spirit’s presence at baptism. While repentance and faith precede the moment, and new birth has been experienced, water baptism is seen as a moment (1) at which a breaking of past bonds to sin may be severed, as Israel’s oppressors were defeated – 1 Cor.10:2; (2) when a commitment to separate from the past life of carnal indulgence is made, as circumcision symbolizes – Col 2:11-15; and (3) when the fullness or overflowing of the Holy Spirit’s power for witness and ministering (Acts 2:38,39). This position sees baptism as both a witness and as an encounter. It is symbolic (burial to the past – Romans6:3-4) but it is also releasing and empowering for the future.

The Believer’s Baptism
The believer’s baptism is quite a narrow view on baptism which is limited to the perception of baptism as an individual act of one’s faith. This approach excludes babies and infants, who could not possibly have such faith, but in many cases receives children. In such a way, believers should recognize their sins and be conscious of the necessity of undergoing through the rite of baptizing as symbolic purification and joining other believers, who lead a virtuous lifestyle.

Baptism of Jesus
The baptism of Jesus is one of the key points in the history of baptism. As it has been already mentioned above, Jesus Christ had played an important part in the development of baptism. In this respect, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that Jesus Christ performed the role of a Baptist and a person who was baptized. This fact is very important in the context of baptism of Jesus Christ and the role of Jesus in baptism. First of all, Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. In fact, this means that Jesus Christ considered baptism an essential step in his life which made him close to the Father (God). In such a way, Jesus Christ gave the model of behavior for true Christians, who wanted to become true believers and lead the virtuous life. Obviously, Jesus Christ stood on the ground that baptism was essential for him as a Christian and as Messiah who conveys the message of God and spread Christian teaching among all nations. His followers viewed the baptizing of Jesus Christ as a symbol of the importance of baptism for Christians. At the same time, baptism was the first step made by Jesus Christ toward the salvation of the mankind. To put it more precisely, through baptism, Jesus Christ showed that he was like other people and he should undergo the same rite as other Christians did. In this regard, he gained the greater authority in face of his follower and disciples because they understood that through baptism Jesus Christ had eliminated the frontier between him, the chosen, and other people, including his disciples. Through baptism Jesus Christ attempted to show people that they always have a chance to start a new life and no matter what a person is, i.e. whether he or she is good or bad, sinful or virtuous, any person should undergo through the rite of baptism. Thus, Jesus Christ stressed the importance of baptism for Christians and revealed its potential as a tool of conversion of all nations to Christianity because baptism implies that any person can be converted to Christianity and join the true faith as soon as he or she recognizes his or her errors in the past and wants to start a new, virtuous, Christian life.
On the other hand, being baptized, Jesus Christ became a Baptist himself. In fact, Jesus Christ started to teach his disciples how to baptize people. In this regard, it is important to remind the fact that Jesus Christ expanded the scope of baptizing. What is meant here is the fact that he insisted that his disciples as well as other Christians should baptize and, thus, convert people to Christianity regardless of their ethnic origin. In contrast to his precursors, who focused on baptizing Jews, Jesus Christ promoted the idea that baptism should overcome national frontiers and his followers should baptize all people of all nations. In such a way, Jesus Christ made baptism a tool with the help of which Christianity eliminated national frontiers. At the same time, the idea of baptizing people of all nations developed and promoted by Jesus Christ contained a deeper and even more significant idea – the idea of the Christianity as the universal religion. The elimination of national frontiers in the course of baptizing became probably the first step toward the elimination of national frontiers in terms of one religion – Christianity. In this regard, the role of Jesus Christ as the Baptist can hardly be underestimated, whereas his disciples carried on his work and spread his teaching and ideas concerning baptism throughout all nations, where they moved to.
Furthermore, the impact of Jesus Christ baptism was not limited by his lifetime and the early era of Christianity. In fact, the impact of his baptism can be traced even today, in the contemporary society and religion. To put it more precisely, some researchers (Dickson, 144) point out that baptism is crucial not only for the conversion of people to Christianity but it is also of the utmost importance for Christians on the Judgment Day because some specialists (Dickson, 152) stand on the ground that, according to Biblical texts, it is only baptized Christians that will join the kingdom of God on heavens. However, such a view on baptism and Jesus Christ’s views on baptism are not absolutely correct. It is not, of course, that the un-immersed are not buried with Christ, if believers. All believers died with Him, and rose with Him. But baptism is of course, the outward acknowledgement of this, “the likeness”. In other words, baptism is essential and important element or tool which makes true believers closer to Jesus Christ and God but the faith is still above all for true believers on the Judgment Day. Nevertheless, baptism is still an important element that makes believers closer to God and salvation on the Judgment, although this is not the determinant factor. Therefore, the idea of Jesus Christ concerning baptism is that baptism should be a tool that unites Christians and true believer, makes them closer to God and similar to Jesus Christ, who had passed through the rite of baptizing to show his respect to this rite and the importance of this rite for Christian religion and philosophy.