Articles
Sprinkling
The New Testament word rendered baptize means to immerse. Baptism is immersion. Nevertheless, some insist on sprinkling as a “mode” of baptism. (By definition, that is as nonsensical as saying crawling is a mode of walking.) They say it is just as good.
If this assertion is valid, we should be able to substitute sprinkle for baptize in various passages. Let’s try it.
“John was also sprinkling in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there” (John 3:23a).
“And they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he sprinkled him” (Acts 3:38b).
“Having been buried with Him in sprinkling, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12).
“Corresponding to that, sprinkling 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” (1 Peter 3:21).
Those renderings don’t make much sense, do they? Now go back and plug in immerse instead of sprinkle. Everything fits perfectly.
