Q. I would like to know if it's true that anyone can baptize a person. I have heard that only those who are ordained to the ministry can baptize a person.

(Submitted by: A. J.)

A. There is no Biblical specification as to who baptizes whom. After Peter and the other eleven Apostles finished speaking to the crowds on the day of Pentecost, they baptized a large number of people.

"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. " ( Acts 2:41, NIV)

Peter started speaking at about 9:00 AM. ( Acts 2:15). If his sermon took about an hour, there were only about eight hours left in the daylight hours. They counted days as running from sunset to sunset. That’s more than SIX baptisms per minute. (3,000 people divided by 480 minutes (8 hours) = 6.25/minute). Even if all twelve Apostles were involved in the baptizing, it would have been essentially impossible for them to complete that process by themselves in that time frame.

In my humble opinion, the baptism of a believer should be done "in the name of Jesus", corresponding the Colossians 3:17 and all the other passages which use this term, including this one:

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. " (Acts 4:8-12, KJV)

So long as that scriptural mandate is followed, then there is apparently no other Biblical instruction as to how the baptizing is to be done or who does it.

Other Recommended Bible Study Materials:

• Ready to be baptized? Are you prepared?
• What does the Bible say about tattoos and body piercings?
• What does baptism represent or symbolize?

Answer Given By: Clay Willis

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