[Steve Myers] A question came in regarding baptism for the dead. Does the Bible teach it? Well most people will point to 1 Corinthians 15:29 where the Apostle Paul says something very interesting. It can seem confusing.

Here's what it says, "Otherwise what will they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead do not rise at all. Why then are they baptized for the dead?" And so some will say, "Well, Paul must be saying we should be baptized for the dead." And yet, is that possible? Well, let's think about it for just a moment. First of all, 1 Corinthians 15 is all about the resurrection, everything. Some of the people in Corinth had gotten a confused idea that perhaps there isn't a resurrection. So Paul is verifying this over and over and over again showing that there is a resurrection.

So that's the first thing to begin with. That's the context. There is a resurrection of the dead. Now, is he talking about we should be baptized for those who are already dead? Is that even possible? Well, first of all we have to step back and realize there are certain requirements before we're baptized. You know those requirements? There's two basic ones. One of them is to repent, that we have to repent of our sins.

That is a requirement. In Acts 2:38 the Apostle Peter said that very clearly, "Repent and be baptized." We have to change our way, change our thinking when it comes to sin.

There's also a second requirement when it comes to baptism and that is that we have to believe, or in other words we have to have faith. We have to have faith. That is a requirement for baptism.

Now, how would it be possible for the dead to repent or believe? They can't. They can't. They're dead. So why would it make sense to be baptized on somebody else's behalf? In fact if you look through the whole Bible, it's impossible. It's impossible to do that.

So what could Paul have been referring to here? Well, there's actually two explanations. I'll talk about one in today's daily. The first concept is when he says, "Why are they baptized for the dead?" The word for is an interesting word in the Greek. It's the word that comes from the Greek huper, or sometimes they'll say it with a y - hyper. And you know what? If you're to look that word up, the best definition in this case is to be the word beyond, beyond. So if you're baptized for what is beyond, what's beyond the grave?

What's beyond death? The resurrection. So we are baptized for what lies beyond, for the hope of the resurrection. We're baptized for that specific purpose. This word for huper can never mean instead of or in behalf of. So Paul is definitely not saying we should be baptized for the dead. We cannot follow what some denominations do because that is unbiblical. We are baptized for the hope of the dead, and the hope for the dead when we die is that we will be resurrected at the return of Jesus Christ. And so all of scripture verified that we are baptized for that purpose, that we can live and reign and rule with Christ when He returns. And that is so consistent with everything that the Bible teaches.

Now there's also another explanation and we'll talk about that next time on BT Daily. We'll see you then.

Bible FAQ: Why do some churches baptize for the dead?
Does Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 15:29 suggest people should be baptized for the dead? What does the rest of the Bible say about this belief?