BAPTISM
Text: Romans 6:1-6
Scripture reading: Romans 10:5-17
INTRODUCTION:
1. I do not want to shy away from the issue of baptism.
2. Sometimes members of the church are criticized because we are said to place baptism as more important than other issues in the bible.
3. A so-called plan of salvation is often ridiculed by many saying that there is no such thing in the bible.
4. I think the scripture reading indicates something close to what we consider to be that gplan of salvationh that people like to criticize.
5. I want to look at what the bible means by baptism.
6. I want us to see why baptism is an important issue for people today.
TRANSITION: Is there a plan of salvation?
I. The plan of salvation
A. The bible never comes out and says, gHere is the plan of salvation.h
1. That does not mean that there is not one.
2. It just means that we have to look for it.
3. How do we do that?
a. What did Nicodemus do in John 3:4? HE ASKED JESUS
b. What did the Jews do in Acts 2:37? ASKED THE APOSTLES
c. The rich young ruler in Luke 18:18 asked Jesus.
d. Each of them wanted to know what they must do to be saved.
B. We must get our answer by the same means.
1. We must ask Jesus
2. That is done by reading what the apostles and inspired men wrote.
3. Paul was inspired when he wrote to the Romans
C. Paul wrote in Romans 10:5-17 the closest thing that we have to the plan of salvation outlined.
1. See a person is to confess that Jesus is the son of God and savior of the world.
a. Paul tells Timothy that this is the ggood confessionh he made in 1 Timothy 6:12.
b. That good confession is that Jesus is the son of God and savior of the world.
2. (V 10) Look at the phrase gthe heart of a righteous personh
a. The righteous heart requires repentance.
b. Penitence is essential to having that righteous heart.
3. Belief is then mentioned in this section
a. (V 11) gAnyone who believes on him will not be disappointed.h
b. Believing begins the personfs progression toward God.
4. And you cannot believe what you have not heard.
a. gFaith comes by hearingh the word of God.
b. We must hear the word of God in order to believe it
5. This puts emphasis on vv. 14-15
a. gHow can they call on him in whom they have not believed? How can they believe on him in whom they have not heard? And how will they believe without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? For as it is written, eHow beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good thingsf.h
b. We have to be preaching so that others can hear.
c. That belief that comes from the hearing should bring on repentance and confession in the name of the Lord as the son of God and savior of the world.
6. You may not be able to check these off of a list as they happen
a. He heard ã
b. He believes ã
c. But these take place over time as we teach and preach.
d. This is an ongoing process that leads somewhere.
7. These are the results in a personfs life as we set the example in our lives and they begin to study and grow.
D. Verse 10 becomes crucial again
1. The RSV renders this as ghe confesses with his mouth and so is saved.h
2. The NASB has gresulting in salvationh
3. The NKJV says gconfession is made to salvation.h
E. The NKJV comes closest to the accurate meaning of this verse.
1. The word in Greek is the word eis".
2. It means "to" as in progression toward.
3. It does not mean that it is necessarily the last step, but movement toward a goal.
F. It is the culmination of the preparation process that leads to salvation.
TRANSITION: Now the pump is primed, how does one get the water of life?
II. How does one come to salvation?
A. Revelation 21:27, "And nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the lamb’s book of life."
1. Nothing unclean will enter heaven.
a. Entering heaven is being saved.
b. Your name must be in the lambfs book of life to be saved.
2. You must be cleansed to be added to the lambfs book of life.
3. So how do you become clean?
B. Romans 6:4 talks about the gnewness of life.h
1. The idea is that you become a new person.
a. When something is new we consider it clean
b. I Peter 3:21 indicates that it is not washing of the body but the heart that saves.
c. Peter says that is done by baptism
d. Paul says that baptism creates that new man
2. That regeneration does not occur unless one has repented of his sin and confessed Jesus as Lord.
3. But the new man whose name is written in the lambfs book of life does not exist without baptism.
TRANSITION: What is baptism then? If it is so necessary, what in the world is it?
III. Baptism
A. The verb form is ƒÀƒ¿ƒÎƒÑƒÇƒÄƒÖ
1. It means dip, submerge, cleanse by dipping
2. It means literally to completely cover up with water.
3. It was transliterated not translated
a. By the time the bible was put into English in 1609 sprinkling was the norm.
b. People were sprinkled as babies making them both catholic and citizens of a nation
c. Translating this word as immersion would result in a beheading for heresy
d. Therefore the word became baptize instead of immerse
4. Another meaning is to be totally overwhelmed by something.
a. This definition is brought out in Thayerfs Lexicon.
b. It is not in Arndt-Gingrich
c. So what?
d. Thayer used more modern (to his time) definitions as part of his Lexicon.
e. Arndt-Gingrich tried to follow the Koine Greek and show how it derived from the classical Greek types.
5. The word actually meant dip, immerse, or plunge at the writing of the New Testament.
B. What about Holy Spirit baptism?
1. Ephesians 4:5 tells us that there is but one baptism that brings us to unity of spirit.
2. In Early Acts there were 2 baptisms
a. Baptism of the spirit
i. Acts 2:1-4 was for the apostles
ii. It was promised to them specifically in Acts 1:7-8
b. Cornelius in Acts 10:44-47
i. This happened for a specific purpose
ii. To show acceptance of the Gentiles by God
c. Paul in Acts 9
i. To empower him for his work
ii. Was chosen for him by God
3. And there was water baptism
a. Acts 2:38, gcrepent and be baptizedch
b. This baptism was administered by others
c. In Matthew 28:18-20 water baptism is to be administered by others, gbaptizing themh
d. It is also to last forever according to verse 20
4. Holy Spirit baptism was enacted by God at his choosing
5. Water baptism was commanded by God and administered by others
6. This activity was to last forever
7. By the writing of Ephesians 4:5 in AD 64 there was only one baptism left.
a. Water baptism was to last forever
b. Therefore Holy Spirit baptism is no more
C. It was promised to the apostles only and measured out as God willed. We are commanded to comply with the one baptism that lasts forever, water baptism for remission of sins
TRANSITION: So why is baptism important today?
IV. Importance of baptism
A. Plain and simple, we cannot go to heaven unless we have been baptized.
B. Acts 2:37-38
1. What is the question asked in Acts 2:37?
a. gWhat must we do to be saved?h
b. What do we do to get forgiven of sin and placed in the good grace of God?
2. What is the answer?
a. gRepent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin.h
b. When are your sins forgiven?
c. When was Naaman cleansed of his leprosy?
d. After complete compliance with the command given to him
e. We are cleansed of our spiritual leprosy when we are in complete compliance with the will of God
C. I talked about this to someone this summer
1. He asked, gWhat about someone who repented and confessed, and died on his way to be baptized?h
2. I said, gWhy did he have to repent and confess?h
3. He said, gBecause the bible says to.h
4. I said, gIsnft Acts 2:38 in the bible?h
D. You see we canft just arbitrarily decide when to stop following Godfs word.
E. Baptism is commanded and all Godfs commands must be obeyed
TRANSITION: Does the act save me by itself?
V. What does baptism do?
A. Baptism, dipping in water, does not save you by itself.
1. Everyone who takes a bath or goes swimming can claim immersion
2. Remember the process, the gplanh we outlined earlier.
B. The grace of God saves us.
1. Acts 15:11, gWe are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they also were.h
2. The grace of our Lord saves us (PERIOD)
C. Grace is not given to just anyone
1. Matthew 7:21 says that not even everyone who tries to call on the name of Christ will receive grace
2. Those who do the will of the Father will enter heaven
3. Remember heaven is salvation and comes through grace
D. What is the will of God?
1. That people hear and believe
2. That this belief brings on repentance and confession
3. That through that confession we are baptized to have our
sins forgiven.
(See repentance is our part, forgiveness is Godfs part. We repent [turn from] he forgives son by his will)
TRANSITION: Let me try to put this all together
VI. Christian baptism
A. John 14:6 Jesus says, gI am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.h
1. Jesus is the only way to the glory of God.
2. He is the
a. River and the boat
b. Road and the car
c. Air and airplane
3. The only way to heaven is both in Christ and through his means.
B. How do we get into Christ then?
1. Romans 6:3, gOr do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?h
2. Vv. 5-6, gFor if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death certainly we shall also be (united with him) in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this that the old man was crucified with him in order that our body of sin might be done away.h
3. See verse 3 says that we are baptized into Christ
a. The only way to Godfs glory is in Christ
b. The only way into Christ is through baptism
4. We are united with his death through baptism
a. This act ties us to his resurrection as we come up out of the water
b. It puts away the old man, buries him
C. Remember Revelation 21:27, gNothing unclean can enter heavenh
1. The old dirty man is put away through the regeneration of baptism
2. The new man that is put on is the clean spotless man who
can enter into heaven
4. Your name is then written in the Lambfs book of life
D. See I Peter 3:21, gCorresponding to that, baptism now saves you- not the removal of the filth from the flesh, but the appeal to God for a good conscience- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.h
1. See we saw how Jesus is the gboath in that we are to go to the father through him in baptism.
2. Here he says that the griverh or path is baptism
a. Baptism gets us in touch with his cleansing blood.
b. That blood saves us.
c. It washes us clean of the stains of the world.
CONCLUSION:
1. Romans 6:17 says that obedience to that form of doctrine was baptism
2. Baptism is not a substitute for grace
a. Grace is what saves us
b. Baptism puts us in touch with that grace
3. Baptism does not undermine faith
a. Without faith baptism is useless
b. Baptism is the completion of a process that puts us into Godfs grace and begins our Christian life.
4. There is only one baptism and unless we are obedient to this command as well as all others from God, we cannot enter heaven.
