A correspondent inquired, “Can a non-Christian baptize a person?” Perhaps if we pose some questions, at least some of which may appear to be rhetorical, a logical or a reasonable answer will be apparent.
- Does the validity of one’s baptism depend upon the one doing the baptizing or upon the one being baptized?
- If there were no living Christians (worldwide or on a particular part of the planet) or no living Christian who was willing or able to baptize someone, would it, then, be impossible for one to be baptized for the remission of his or her sins (Acts 2:38)? Under such circumstances, would Christianity effectively come to an end?
- If the validity of one’s baptism depended upon the validity of the baptism of the one now doing the baptism—and before him into the infinite past—could anyone be assured that baptism saves (Mark 16:16)? Wouldn’t one need to be able to possess omniscience that he or she could apply to an unbroken succession of baptizers and the baptized all the way back to the first century? Yet, we neither possess omniscience nor have an unbroken succession list dating back to the beginning of the Lord’s church that we could scrutinize.
Most members of the Lord’s church doubtlessly realize that the Restoration Movement in the 19th century describes a widespread exodus from denominational churches by religiously sincere people who desired to be merely members of the church established by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Furthermore, generally, Christians understand those thousands of souls were not petitioning existing congregations of the Lord’s church for membership, but instead, they went about to reestablish the presence of the Church of Christ (Romans 16:16) in various communities, mainly in North America and in Europe. Almost universally if not altogether universally, there were no Christians or members of the Lord’s church to baptize those masses fleeing denominationalism and desiring to return to undenominational, pre-denominational, pure Christianity discernible upon the pages of the New Testament. Initially, they were baptized by non-Christians in the biblical sense. Usually respected as a leader in the Restoration Movement, Alexander Campbell was baptized by a Baptist minister named Matthias Luce, howbeit, according to New Testament teaching rather than according to Baptist doctrine.
It is true that Christians have the responsibility to herald the Gospel to “all the nations, baptizing them” (Matthew 28:19) or to “all the world…to every creature” (Mark 16:15). However, it is the responsibility of lost souls to submit to baptism (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16). Whether or not someone presents the Gospel to a person, it is the individual’s responsibility to obey the Gospel (Romans 6:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:8). Even without a Christian to baptize him, a penitent sinner still needs to imitate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in baptism (Romans 6:3-5) to be saved (1 Peter 3:21) from his past sins (Romans 3:25).
Though we would prefer to see baptized Christians baptizing penitent believers, circumstances may make what we prefer or habitually or customarily do impossible. The fuller question posed by a brother illustrates this.
Can a non-Christian baptize a person? I have a prisoner friend in a California prison, and it looks like it will be difficult to find a Christian to baptize him. It doesn’t appear that there is a congregation near that has a prison ministry, and I know it is not easy to get permission to even visit a prisoner. My friend is 76, disabled, in a wheelchair, has a pacemaker and is not in good health, but he is intelligent, understands the Scriptures and wants to be baptized.
