The Blue Waters Of Baptism Series

I think every preacher has at least one funny baptism story they can share. Here’s mine. When Elizabeth was 7 years old, she convinced us that she was ready to commit her life to Jesus and be baptized. We knew she understood what she was doing when she told us she was praying for God to give her a new heart. When the time came for her baptism, we got into the baptistry at the front of the church. As I went to put her under the water, she panicked and froze, so I couldn’t get her head under. She was pretty small at that age, so I picked her up off her feet and plunged her into the water, then stood her back up. To the church, it looked like I had immersed her twice, earning her the nickname Double Dunk.

We have been preaching about the colors of faith, based on the witness bracelet. Each color tells a part of the gospel story and how we respond to Jesus Christ. Black reminds us that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Red represents the blood of Christ that was given so that we might be saved. Blue is for the waters of baptism, depicting our response to Christ. White is for purity- our sin is no longer held against us. Green is because we continue to grow in our faith throughout our lives. Yellow is the reminder that we look for word to eternity in heaven.

Today, we’re going to focus on blue, explore the idea of baptism and what it’s all about. I believe this topic is so important because too many have watered down the concept over the years. There are a lot of man-made traditions surrounding the idea of baptism, so let’s dive in.

What is baptism? (read Romans 6:3-5) Paul explains that it is at baptism that we join with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. He died on the cross, was buried in a tomb, and arose from the dead- conquering sin and death. When we are baptized, we die to our old selves, are buried in a watery grave, and are brought back up as a new creation.

Jeff has often likened this idea to buying a house. You find the house you like, you negotiate the terms, and you come to an agreement. Is the house now yours? No, you have to sign the paperwork and seal the deal. That’s what baptism does- it seals the deal. You see, there are some out there who will teach people to say a sinner’s prayer- repeat these words and you are now saved. But look at what Peter says about that (read 1 Peter 3:21). Baptism is our appeal to God so that we can have a clear conscience- our sin is now gone.

How do we baptize? Many years ago when the Bible was translated from Greek to English, the translators made the decision to transliterate, rather than translate, the word for baptism. This means they took the Greek letters- BAPTIZO, and replaced them with the English letters- BAPTISM. If the word were translated, it would literally read immerse.

Even the early church fathers acknowledge the truth that baptism is immersion. Tertullian wrote in “On Baptism” that “Baptism itself is a bodily act, because we are immersed in water. Basil of Caesarea wrote in “On the Holy Spirit” that “We imitate the burial of Christ through baptism. For the bodies of those being baptized are as it were buried in water.”

But over time, the concept of baptism began to evolve. Eusebius was a historian who wrote around 253 AD about a man named Novatian who was unable to leave his bed due to illness, but wanted to commit to Christ. A bishop gave permission for water to be poured over his body and count it as baptism. This was accepted as an exception at first, but slowly became the norm. This is part of the reason we are known as the Restoration Movement- we seek to restore things like baptism to the way they were originally done.

Who gets baptized? Those who have come to believe in Jesus Christ. (Read Mark 16:16). Notice that in this verse, belief precedes baptism- someone who hasn’t expressed belief in Jesus Christ, is merely getting wet.

Yet there are denominations today that baptize infants. This practice began in the 160s as a reaction to the Antonine Plague. With the high level of infant mortality, churches began to baptize infants to reassure parents that their children would be in heaven if they got sick and died. They point to the stories Lydia (Acts 16:15), the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:33), and Stephanas (1 Corinthians 1:16), where the passages mention their entire households were baptized. Their stance is that surely there were some infants involved since it was the entire household, but we really don’t know.