Written by Paul J Bucknell on September, 25, 2020

Questions on Baptism

I want to know; if a person is baptized by a woman, is it valid according to the scriptures?

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

There are several points of confusion in this question regarding baptism. Each aspect possesses its own issues: the ordinance of baptism, church polity, a woman in authority, and scriptural interpretation. I will discuss only a few issues regarding baptism (e.g., not the mode of baptism).

The Command to Baptize

The command to the eleven apostles and church in Matthew 28 becomes a charge passed on to succeeding authorities and leaders of the developing church. From this general command and a few isolated passages such as in 1 Corinthians 1:14-17, we gain glimpses into the authority of baptism. The specifics need to be drawn out.

For example, Jesus spoke on the need for baptism and discipleship but did not say who would baptize. Jesus delivered the exhortation to the eleven apostles as well as the authority to assure that this charge would happen in their generation. But they would die. The church somehow needed to oversee this responsibility.

Down through the ages, the church band its leaders have differently handled this authority. Some take this charge very seriously, limiting those who have the authority to baptize (appropriately so). There were not sufficient numbers of ordained pastors in China during the past decades partly due to persecution, so many Christians were not baptized. Others, however, look upon this ritual too lightly and allow any brother to baptize if there are willing candidates.

Baptism is rightly considered an ordinance of the church. Since the church’s leadership has separated into various fragments and denominations, they all have their way of handling such issues. The local church governments are responsible before the Lord to appoint qualified leaders and properly carry out this ordinance. The scriptures do not directly speak much on the qualifications of those who baptize except by inference (cf. on qualifications of leaders in general). The Bible does give us numerous examples of accepted men leaders baptizing starting with John the Baptist.

 

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Can Women Baptize?

The initial question asked if it is appropriate for women to baptize. But before we take on this question, we must look into other questions such as whether a person needs to be ordained to be baptized? Can an unordained brother baptize others? Is there some recognized leader by the congregation or designated by a leader in authority?

The Gospel, however, goes wherever the Lord’s witnesses go—throughout all the lands. When pioneering in new places, we would expect the rules not to be clearcut as churches branched into various groups and established leaders over much time. Paul faced this problem early on with the disorganized church in Crete by writing to Titus. Some churches under persecution, like the Chinese church in China, face peculiar problems. The military killed the men leaders. What are the sisters to do? Are they to stop teaching, baptizing, and discipling? Or is the mission to go on?

I have raised numerous questions but have not provided many answers. The scriptures do not provide clear answers in some cases. For example, can the unordained believer function as ordained in emergency or pioneering situations? Probably, but once the church grows and is settled, things should go back to normal. It is much like a wife whose husband has gone overseas for a while. She must step in to assist her husband, taking some of his responsibilities, but upon his return, the husband should again take up his tasks.

And so, those entrusted with the Gospel, must respectfully continue with the mission. But when leaders arise, the church should allow the process of recognized male leaders to step in. Peter in Acts 10 went to teach and baptize, but he did not stay. They would have to arrange for their leaders after Peter left.

Summary

Ordained men leaders should conduct baptism, but in emergencies and in pioneering situations, other respected Christians can take up those responsibilities. In such cases, they wait for outside designated leaders to assist them in this matter. The scriptures do not give any examples (or teaching) of sisters baptizing men or even women. In extreme cases, however, I think it is more proper to baptize than not to baptize new believers. The priority of acknowledging and welcoming believers into Christ’s family exceeds the importance of following prescribed leadership procedures.

If a baptism took place administered by a mature sister, whether ordained or not, it is proper to accept that baptism fully. This does not mean that the sister should continue to conduct baptisms because she baptized once. It would be better for an older and respectable man to oversee the baptism. (On the more humous side, I once baptized a brother whose head did not go completely under the water and wondered if the baptism was valid.)

There are reasons God has respected leaders conducting baptism. Christians tend to follow those who baptize them. We want the sheep to follow examples of godly men. Due to cults and false teaching, it is important that the right things are being taught (as said in Mat 28:18-20). Godly men leaders are responsible for passing that responsibility on to other qualified men. This protects the congregations from the self-willed and ambitious, which the scriptures speak (2 Peter 2). It also protects the church from false teaching.

Other Thoughts on Women in Ministry

The church is getting more worldly as they ordain women. Up to this point, the church as a whole cannot embrace the guidelines/roles for men and women rightly. The seminaries who granted the Divinity Degree to women exacerbated this problem. Many believers now consider the degree qualifies the person rather than the calling according to the scriptures.

This discussion raises the question of why women cannot be similarly ordained as men. We cannot go into this deep discussion here. This tension of women’s leadership over males is unfortunate. Jesus established the model, and the church should follow His guidelines. For example, Jesus chose twelve male apostles. There are reasons for His appointments. We do not depreciate sisters but affirm their honored calling to be beside their husbands (Gen 2:20; but not as an ordained woman pastor, which breaks other protocols given in the scriptures).

The Correction Process

How does the church appropriately respond to baptisms being conducted by the wrong people? Are they to be recognized?

If the baptisms were made under the proper authorities, then they should be respected. Let me provide a few real-life situations.
I was baptized (sprinkled) by a believing pastor after I believed, but the Baptist church I later joined would not acknowledge that baptism. I had to be re-baptized (though in their minds it was being baptized (immersed) the first time). Because an ordained believing pastor baptized me, and I was a believer at the time, I should not, in my understanding, have been asked to be re-baptized. However, for the sake of the church, I was willing to be baptized a second time.

• What if a pastor (male) baptizes a believer, but then that pastor later leaves the faith and denies Christ? Is the believer’s baptism considered invalid? No, it is valid because the pastor operated under the principles of the church. We need not cause doubt in the lives of the believers by reconsidering whether the baptism becomes illegitimate.
• If some genuine believers belonged to a cult with false teaching, they should be re-baptized, this time into Christ.
• If a woman pastor baptizes a believer, is this considered a valid baptism? Yes, if the woman pastor operates under the governance of a faithful church. She and the church should humble themselves under the scriptures. Yes, it is true, she should not be a pastor over men, but since she conducts herself under the Lord Jesus Christ’s umbrella with the congregation’s respect, then the baptism should be recognized as valid.
• If this woman leads a cult, however, and is not recognized by the church, then the baptism is not recognized as valid.

Summary

I have tried to deduct practical applications from the general principles of scripture including Matthew 28:18-20. We offer believers who are transferring to our church to be re-baptized if they were not sure they were believing believers at the time of baptism or baptized in a ‘non-Christian’ church. Overall, we want to work toward the unity of the body, however, we must also protect believers from false teaching.

Discussion Questions on Baptism

1. Who should be baptized according to Matthew 28:18-20?
2. Who does this Matthew passage or other biblical passages say about who should do the baptizing and discipling?
3. Do you think Jesus wanted people to be baptized in the generations after the time of the apostles? Why so?
4. Who can baptize people in your church? Why so?
5. Why are sisters not normally baptizing believers?
6. How should we think about “wrong” baptisms?