“Mr. Baptist?”

Thursday, April 16, 2020

     I was wondering; why does "John the Baptist" have the title of "the Baptist" because if I understand it right, the denomination of Baptists didn't come to be until around the Reformation.  And another question: is that where Baptists got the name for their denomination?  Thank you!  And God bless you!

Sincerely,
Troubled by a Title

Dear Troubled by a Title,

The word ‘baptist’ means ‘immerser’ because it comes from the same root word as ‘baptism’, which means ‘to immerse’.  John the Baptist went everywhere preaching that people should repent and prepare for the kingdom of heaven (Matt 3:1-2).  Those who obeyed John’s preaching were baptized by him (Matt 3:5-6).  That is where John got his name.

The Baptist denomination got its name because they have the unique teaching that baptism is necessary to become a member of their church, but it isn’t necessary for salvation.  This isn’t a Bible teaching because the Bible teaches that baptism is a requirement for salvation (1 Pet 3:21).  Ironically, the thing the Baptist church is most known for is something that is biblically wrong.

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