Does Rom 6:3ff Refer To Holy Spirit Baptism?
Because Romans 6:3ff teaches one is “baptized into Christ” and “baptized into His death,” Baptists lately claim the text refers to Holy Spirit baptism instead of water baptism.Strangely, in disputing with Methodists, Baptists have historically used Rom 6:3ff to prove water baptism is a picture of the burial and resurrection of Christ and therefore should be an immersion (as opposed to just sprinkling). So it is contradictory and inconsistent for them to now turn around and say Rom 6:3ff is talking about Holy Spirit baptism when arguing against the necessity of water baptism to salvation. Either Rom 6:3 is referring to water baptism or Holy Spirit baptism; it can't be both depending upon which subject you are debating!Fact: Holy Spirit baptism doesn’t picture the burial and resurrection of Christ, but the baptism of Rom 6:3ff, and water baptism, certainly do.Point: Baptist teach Gal 4:6, Acts 8:17, Acts 2:38, and such are referring to Holy Spirit baptism, but those passages condition the Holy Spirit because/after one is saved, not in order to salvation like Rom 6:3ff does baptism. So Rom 6:3ff can’t be referring to Holy Spirit baptism.A cardinal rule in understanding the Bible (or anything else) is that we must take words in their primary and literal sense, unless the context or some other verse demands a secondary and/or figurative meaning. Therefore we must take Rom 6:3ff to be talking about a literal (water) baptism, not the figurative (Holy Spirit) baptism, since there is nothing in the context here dictating a figurative use of the word baptism.Question: If Rom 6:3ff is talking about the Holy Spirit as the element of the immersion, then what is the condition of the person when he is raised up out of that element (verse 5)? So a brand new Christian is raised up out of the Holy Spirit? Doesn't work, does it?Conclusion: Rom 6:3ff teaches one must be baptized in water in order to get “into (fellowship with) Christ,” in order to get “into (the benefits of) His death,” that is, to be saved!