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(5) " Believers should be Baptised, it is a Badge of discipleship". Baptism is not a badge; a badge is something we wear all the time. Baptism is initiatory. It is something to be done once only. Rebaptising a person is like disinterring them and then reburying them; baptism itself being a symbol of burial (Romans 6:4).

(6) "Believers should be baptised, it marks a Break with the Old, and a start for a New and Better life". This may sound well, but in practice there is no change, because the change the writer is thinking of took place when the person concerned was converted. He had already changed before he was baptised. This the writer admits as he says: " ...when a man trusts Christ. He dies and is buried to his old sinful past. He arises in the strength of Christ , into a new and glorious life" (page 10). Effectively on this view baptism changes nothing; it is nothing more than a rather superfluous ritual, which possibly makes the one submitting to it feel better for having done so. In the beginning one submitting to baptism passed from Judaism or Heathendom into the sphere of Christian profession, but in practice today most of those who are baptised are already in that sphere by birth; positionally they are therefore as they were before they were baptised - their outward status has not changed. After all, baptism is an outward thing and any change effected is an outward one. The inward change is effected by faith.

(7) "Believers should be Baptised it is the Profession of a Creed". There is nothing in Scripture about the profession of a creed whether we are speaking of baptism or otherwise. Baptism is always connected with persons. Individuals were baptised to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). In other passages we are told that persons were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38) and to the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16). This set those baptised apart from those who did not recognise Christ and the Spirit he had sent from heaven. Unconverted Jews would not have done so, neither would the heathen who worshipped other gods. As to a creed it is doubtful whether all those baptised would have understood much of the meaning of baptism when they were baptised if they were new converts. It could well be that they would learn the meaning of it later. The writer of the booklet himself holds that a babe in Christ should be baptised and not just a mature, intelligent Christian (page 4).

As the writer of the booklet admits, our eternal salvation does not depend on whether we are baptised or not. As he rightly points out the believing thief on the cross was never baptised, though he went to paradise (page 12). In baptism we pass through death in figure; the thief went through it actually. Baptism is for those who are going to live here; not for those who are about to die. Baptising believers on their death beds is not something that needs to be done. Baptism is administered so that we may walk in newness of life here (Romans 6:4) It has nothing to do with our place in heaven. We shall not walk in this sense in heaven.

Christening is not a scriptural mode of baptism, though it is intended to be Christian baptism. It is not John's baptism, and the fact that those who had received John's baptism were baptised again is no reason for saying that those who have been christened, as the writer does, should be baptised again (page 14).

The writer points out that there are only three households mentioned in Scripture as having been baptised.

(1) That of the Jailer (Acts 16: 33). The writer claims that all those in the jailer's house were believing in God. That may have been so, but the evidence is not that strong. It was said to the jailer: " Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. The saving of the jailer's house was dependent on his faith, not on the individual faith of each member of his household. The baptism which subsequently took place was of the jailer and all his. It was himself and all those for whom he was responsible. I do not suppose anyone was forced to be baptised and maybe all were believing, but the nearest thing to a
statement that they were is the word in verse 34: "He... rejoiced with all his house (or rejoiced householdly), having believed in God. Being saved in the jailer's mind may have been from the wrath of the authorities (he had drawn a sword with the intention of killing himself), though no doubt when Paul spoke to him the word of the Lord with all that were in his house much more than temporal salvation was communicated by him.

(2) That of Stephanas (1 Corinthians 1:16). The writer points out that they "addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints" (1 Corinthians 16:15). However this was no doubt after they had been baptised and is not really proof that all those who had been baptised originally were of a responsible age at that time.

(3) That of Lydia (Acts 16:15). As the writer says we are not given any particulars of her household, but maybe it consisted of her assistants in the dyeing trade. We cannot prove or disprove that those in her household were all persons of a responsible age.