Alien Immersion

Alien immersion means a strange or unusual act of immersion that does not follow the biblical pattern for baptism. It is an unscriptural form many congregations practice on a don't ask, don't tell basis. If the idea is to get them in any way you can, any form of immersion without a scriptural authority is all that is required in many Baptist congregations. Receiving alien immersion is the natural result of the universal church heresy that follows open communion and pulpit affiliation.
Scriptural baptism has four requisites: 1) the right authority, a NT church Matt. 28:16-20; 2) the right candidate, a child of God Matt. 3:6-9; Acts 8:37 (footnoted or absent in new "Bible" versions); 3) the right method, immersion in water Matt. 3:14-17; Rom. 6:4, 5; and 4) the right purpose, obedience to God's command and identification with Jesus, not for salvation Matt. 3:15; Rom. 6:16, 17; 1 Pet. 3:21.
Consider the logical results of alien immersion. If authority does not matter, then one denomination is as good as another. If the act does not matter, any method will do. Why not sprinkle or pour? If the candidate does not matter, why not offer it to babies? Then infant "baptism" will be acceptable. At this point, any doctrine may be accepted as good as the truth. Once a congregation goes down the road of receiving alien immersion, it is a road of no return.
Alien immersion is unusual because it has no scriptural authority. Only a New Testament church has authority from God to administer it. True churches have ever held two things dear about baptism: 1) Jesus gave His authority to New Testament churches and 2) His specific command given to churches concerning baptism forbids any other organization the right to administer it. Only a scriptural church may administer scriptural baptism.
When a scriptural church receives or grants letters to a congregation that practices alien immersion, they recognize it as a true church. Compromise on the truth about baptism should be rejected. Those who accept alien immersion have rejected the biblical pattern for baptism. Without scriptural baptism, there is no scriptural church, no authority for ordinations, or for the ordinances. Sound, solid churches will make inquiry concerning who baptized a new member and concerning whether the congregation they were a member of practices alien immersion. If they practice alien immersion, a sound church cannot and will not accept a letter from them. In such cases, truth rebukes error. When a person comes from a congregation that receives alien immersion, if their baptism is determined to be scriptural, they may be received by statement on their profession of faith and statement of having received scriptural baptism. If a person immersed by a congregation that receives alien immersion unites with a true church, then he must be willing to receive scriptural baptism. Scriptural baptism expresses the profession of faith of a believer, the picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and the things taught by the church administering the ordinance. Rom. 6:16, 17 How can scriptural churches become anything but unscriptural by receiving alien immersion?

Apostasy

Apostasy is turning away from or forsaking the truth. 1 Tim. 1:19, 20 Although false religion teaches it is losing one's salvation, God's Word teaches the security of the believer. John 3:16; 5:24; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39. Some even teach the impossibility for the saved to be guilty of apostasy. God's Word declares any believer can turn aside from the truth to false teachers, having "itching ears." One must be in the truth in order to apostasize. When God's people in the truth "put away" the faith they once held dear, that is apostasy! It is a willful, deliberate rejection of the clear teachings of the Bible by a child of God. Some have rejected church discipline, scriptural baptism, closed communion, the local nature of the church and the truth that the Bible is the all sufficient rule of faith and practice (speaking in tongues).
Israel's apostasy involved false worship. The nation went into repeated backslidings (means the same as apostasy). Jer. 5:1-9 God's prophet predicted God's judgment upon such disloyalty to God's truth in Israel. Jer. 2:19
When the Lord's people today in His churches turn away from the truth, God's judgment is no less sure! Rev. 2, 3 in the last days (our days), we are seeing the great falling away - a great time of apostasy. Like Paul, our desire should be to be able to say, "I have kept the faith."