Last week, I talked about how God put it into Phillip’s heart to leave a great harvest revival in Samaria to go to the deserts outside Jerusalem so he could talk to one person about Jesus Christ. And I told you how Phillip went. He didn’t question God, he didn’t try to put God off, and he certainly didn’t ignore God – all of which we too often do today.
Phillip had something called ‘instant obedience’. He heard, he obeyed, and he went. The result was another heart won for salvation thru Jesus. I believe that if there were more instant obedience today, there would be a lot more Christians being made today. But there has to be a place where obedience begins. And that is what I want to talk to you about today.
I want to explain water baptism to you. First, let’s talk about …
1. IS BAPTISM REALLY NECESSARY?
There was a young man who had just graduated from Bible College and he had just taken over the position of pastor at his very first church. And he wanted everyone in town to be baptized.
One day, while walking down the street, he looked into an alley and saw the town drunk sitting on the ground, leaning up against the building. He went over to him and asked the man if he knew Jesus. The drunk looked up and said he did not. Then the pastor asked him if he wanted to get baptized. He said he’d give it a shot.
So they went to the church and got in the baptismal. The preacher put him under the water and raised him back up and asked, ‘Did you meet Jesus?’ To which the man said he didn’t. So the preacher dunked him again, this time letting him stay under a little longer. When he brought him back up, he again asked him if he had seen Jesus while he was underwater. And the man had a fearful look in his eye and said he had not seen Jesus.
So the preacher dunked him a third time and kept him down there for quite a while. When he lifted him back up, he asked him again if he had seen Jesus. The man, barely able to breath at this point, and coughing up water, said, ‘No I haven’t! Are you sure this is where you lost him?’
There are right reasons and wrong reasons to get baptized. Everything is gained if it is for the right reason, but if it is for the wrong reason, baptism becomes nothing more than a quick dip in the water, as it has nothing at all to do with Christ.
The act of water baptism (or being totally immersed in water in response to receiving salvation) is the first step of obedience in the Christian life.
We cannot overstate how important the act of baptism is, because we have been told by the Lord Jesus Himself to be baptized.
In MATTHEW 3:13-17, we see the Lord Jesus Himself coming to His cousin John to be baptized.
‘Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
‘Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’
In MATTHEW 28:19, Jesus gave His last earthly command, saying to go and baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And by saying that, He established baptism as an eternal ordinance for His church, calling every single believer to do the same.
Today, we have what I refer to as ‘comfort zone Christianity.’ That is a Christianity that requires us to believe, but do nothing more. It is a very convenient belief, as we don’t have to get too serious about it and we certainly don’t have to overwork ourselves by actually doing anything for the kingdom of God.
Of course, the downside to this type of belief is that we end up taking Jesus and the salvation He affords us, way too lightly and it keeps us from getting very serious about Him.
And because we have this ‘hands off’ approach to Christianity, we take that same attitude towards baptism. We need to get serious about Jesus. We need to stop taking everything for granted. Did you know that, for most of the world, the simple act of getting baptized means taking a risk that you will be punished by prison or death?
In the Soviet Union, until about the late 1970’s, you might even be arrested and eventually put to death for believing in Jesus enough to get baptized. In China, you can be sent to prison for years simply because you have a Bible or because you got caught getting baptized.
And in America, we have the most blasé attitude in the world about what we believe in. We think it doesn’t really matter, or we simply deny the necessity of it. And that attitude carries over into our entire Christian walk. We don’t always see the need to go to church, talk to others about Jesus, etc. We put one foot into Christianity while keeping the other foot firmly planted in the world.
2. EXACTLY WHAT IS BAPTISM?
A wedding ring is an outward sign that you are married. A military uniform is the outward sign that you are in a particular branch of service. And baptism by water immersion is an outward sign that you know belong to God through Jesus Christ. And since this is an ordinance that was designed by God, it is hard to imagine that anyone could say they want God in their lives, but don’t see the need to be obedient to what He expects from us.
Baptism is a symbol of how we have been transformed from within our hearts by surrendering our souls to Jesus Christ. It is literally the first step of obedience we take as new Christians. And it is our obedience through Jesus that enables our souls to go to Heaven. There is no other way.
GALATIANS 3:26-27 tells us about baptism,
‘You are now children of God because you have put your trust in Christ Jesus. All who have been baptized to show they belong to Christ - have become like Christ.’
EPHESIANS 5:26 tells us why Christ initiated baptism.
‘Christ did this so He could set the church apart for Himself. He made it clean by the washing of water with the Word’.
Water represents inner cleansing and spiritual rebirth, both of which are central beliefs to our faith. To go even further, it is, in essence, a spiritual funeral.
ROMANS 6:4 tells us that when we were lowered fully in the water, it was like the burial of Jesus into the tomb. And when we were raised up out of the water, it was like the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So, through baptism, our old selves have spiritually died and were buried. And when we came up out of the water, we were raised anew; raised into a new spiritual life – a life that can now see where we are going and a life that can now enable us to surrender to Jesus.
Being baptized is a command, not an option. Why? Because it is an act of obedience, and if we are disobedient we are not saved.
I want to reemphasize that it is not the water that saves you. What saves you is your surrendering to Jesus Christ as your Lord. The water just shows that you are willing to be the obedient servant He expects you to be.
MARK 16:16 gives us some of the last few words Jesus spoke on this earth.
‘Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe will be forever damned.’
Jesus’ call to believe in Him also includes a call to be baptized. Since He puts this in the same category, He must see it as being crucial to salvation. It all goes back to what Phillip had; instant obedience.
There is no reference anywhere in the Bible about an unbaptized Christian. In fact, what we do see is that baptism always immediately follows a person’s acceptance of Christ as their Savior. In ACTS 2:41 it tells us that after Peter gave His first sermon, those who accepted were baptized, and it goes on to say that there were about 3,000 of them that one day alone.
Today, some of you are going to join their ranks. You are going to be joining the ranks of believers who have been obedient to Jesus and who have surrendered your old selves to Him. And I have no words to properly tell you how overjoyed I am for you!
Baptism is an important part of your decision to walk with the Lord. The first thing the Apostle Paul was told to do after his conversion was to get baptized. Last week we spoke about the Ethiopian eunuch. Phillip evangelized to him and he received Jesus and was baptized that very day.
In each of these cases, notice the sense of urgency that is attached to baptism. They all responded to Jesus in simple faith. However, they didn’t see their faith as complete until they had obeyed God by being baptized. Remember that faith without works is not faith. It is the faith that produces good works that shows a saved heart.
One good way to think of baptism is to consider it a ‘signing of a contract’ between you and God. If you were to buy a house, you would be required to sign a legally binding contract before the sale could proceed. Your signature wouldn’t buy the house (the money you borrowed from the bank did that), but you couldn’t purchase the house until your name was on the dotted line.
And your baptism doesn’t ‘buy’ your salvation. Christ’s blood does that. But your signature on God’s contract is required.
3. HOW ABOUT BAPTISM FOR CHILDREN?
After watching his little brother get dedicated in church that morning, little Johnny started crying when they got home. His parents asked him what was wrong, and he said, ‘When the preacher dedicated him, he said he wanted him raised in a Christian home, and I want him to stay here instead.’
Many churches believe in baptizing infants, babies, and younger children. I was baptized at 6-years old myself. We must understand what the biblical concept of baptizing is: To show obedience to the One you have just surrendered your soul to.
When it comes to baptizing children, here are some questions we must ask: Does the child know enough to surrender their soul to Jesus?
Is the child old enough to understand repentance? These questions must be addressed and answered before the child can be baptized.
It is true that Jesus was dedicated when He was eight days old, but that is something else entirely. Dedication is more for the parents and other adults in the child’s life. It is to show their desire to give that baby to God, just as Samuel’s mother did for him. We understand that we are only in that child’s life to raise the child in a Godly manner and teach that child about Jesus. And after that, the child goes his or her own way, to follow Jesus in their life.
Now, the child doesn’t need to realize anything at the dedication. We find that as an adult, Jesus sought out His cousin John and had John baptize Him. Why did He do that?
Because baptism is a very personal action that transpires between you and Jesus. It shows you have a heart to bow humbly before Jesus. It shows that you realize that you need to be cleansed of your sins. ACTS 2:38 tells us to repent and be baptized. If a person is too young to truly understand and desire repentance, they are too young to be baptized.
At the point where the child understands this and chooses to make that decision on his own, he has reached the age of accountability. And then we need to talk to him and discuss his desire to be baptized. That age is different from one person to the next and must be handled on a one-on-one basis.
We should always remember that baptism is about an end and a beginning. It is the end of our sinful way of life, and about the new beginning we have as a child God.
To close this message today, I would like to tell you three stories about baptism.
The first one is about Paul Harvey, the radio commentator.
He said he had won just about every possible award for his radio programs, but he still felt empty and unsatisfied. He related how he and his wife went to a church in Cave Creek, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix.
When the preacher announced that he would be speaking on baptism, Mr. Harvey said he yawned. But as the preacher got into his message, Mr. Harvey said it got really interesting so he started paying attention. He said it surprised his wife and him both when he stood up to answer the call to be baptized at the end of the service.
He said the preacher told them that there was no magic of any kind in the water, that it was all in the heart. But as he went under and came back up, he said he noticed a distinct and remarkable change take place instantly. He no longer felt empty inside but renewed with a different kind of fullness.
The second story I would like to relate is the story of my baptism. I was raised back in the Appalachian hills, and we went to the same church my dad went to when he was a child. I was 6-years old, and I was in first grade. I had the same teacher my dad had when he was in the first grade.
In fact, it was during this time that I first had a drug problem. I was drug to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, and any other time the church had something going on.
It was there that I also sat with my family in the old wooden pew; with my stomach turning and tears welling up in my eyes. That preacher was named Joe Burger, and every time he preached, he preached on Jesus Christ.
One Sunday evening, I couldn’t sit there and suffer any longer. I began crying from the bottom of my toes up and I slid past my mom and dad’s arms as they tried to hold me, and I ran up to the preacher during his invitation.
He bent down on one knee and said, ‘What are you crying for, boy?’ All I could say was that I needed to have Jesus in my heart and I needed to be a preacher.
He came out to our farm during that next week and talked with me extensively at the kitchen table. And then I was told to go play while he talked to my parents. The next Sunday, I was baptized.
Diana was sprinkled as a baby in the Catholic Church. When we were in our 30’s, we were attending a church in Arizona, and she felt the call to be baptized by immersion, the same way Jesus got baptized. After several long talks, I chose to get re-baptized with her. It wasn’t that the first baptism never ‘took’, but it was all about supporting her, and at the same time, renewing my commitment to follow the Lord in my life.
There is another story I would like to tell you about. It is the story of when Purlene got baptized. I haven’t discussed this with her, so I hope it is okay that I do this.
Don and Purlene got baptized one day during the week, and we used the baptismal at Memorial Heights Baptist Church in Claremore. As a matter of fact, they were on their way back home from one of Don’s cancer treatments and met us at the church.
Don was all excited, like I think any new Christian would be. He got in the water and asked if it would be okay if he kept his bandaged hand above the water. I told him I thought it would be. He went under and came back up still excited about being obedient to Jesus.
And then it was Purlene’s turn. Now, I will have to be honest. Purlene did not strike me as looking very forward to this. Here she was standing in water up to her chest and I get the distinct impression she is getting a little worried. So I quickly asked her if she had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. When she said she had, I covered her nose and mouth and put her under the water, worrisome look on her face and all.
And then she came up. I have never seen a more glorious smile on a woman’s face in my life! Even her eyes sparkled! And she has never lost that wonderful feeling. I know. I look at her smile every week, and all I see is a wonderful Christian woman who is married to a wonderful Christian man. I am so proud of that couple.
They embody what baptism is all about: Opening our hearts up totally to Jesus, and in turn, getting it filled with all kinds of joy we never knew before.
This is not a particularly long sermon today, as we must get ready to drive down to Catoosa to Olen and Debbie’s home. It is their pool that we will be using today.
I want to open this up today to all of you. Do you want baptized or re-baptized? Do you want to sign and make, or maybe re-sign, that contract of commitment you made with Jesus Christ before? If you were baptized as a child, but know that it was too early for you, I urge you today to be baptized for the remission of your sin.
And did you know that any baptized believer in Jesus Christ can baptize you? In Arizona, a friend of mine asked me to baptize him, his wife, and his teen-abed son in their swimming pool. I said I would be most eager to do this, but I also told him that after I baptized him, he could then baptize his wife. I told him that it might be remembered for the rest of their lives as the most special day they ever had.
After a couple days of thinking about it he asked that if he baptized his wife, would both of them be able to baptize their son? I told him that I thought the Lord might even love that. And that is how they were baptized.
I open that up to you this morning, too. If you are a baptized believer, is there someone very special to you that you might want to baptize into the body of Christ?
As we go into our time of invitation, I want you to just stop thinking for a moment and concentrate on one thing: The closeness you have right now with Jesus. Is it time to get closer? Is it time for you to bury your old self in the cleansing water so that you, too, can be clothed in Christ?
INVITATION
