A Lesson On Baptism
Text: Various
By: Ken McKinley
(Read Matt. 28:19-20)
In looking at this text, one of the first things we note about Christian Baptism is that Jesus commanded it in the over-all framework of making disciples. In our text Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, and they were to do this in two ways – 1st by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and 2nd by teaching them to obey everything that Christ had commanded.
And so; if we want to be faithful to the Lord, then we should be baptizing new believers as He has commanded us to do. But we can’t just dunk people in the water and expect them to be Christian disciples. We need to understand what baptism is, the history behind it, the right and wrong reasons to get baptized and the purpose for it.
So turn with me to 1st Corinthians 12:12-13 (read). This passage shows us that it is the Holy Spirit that baptizes us into Christ. So the first thing we need to understand is that being baptized into Christ is done, not by a preacher, or a priest, or an evangelist, but by the Holy Spirit. This is of course talking about salvation. When a person is saved by grace through faith, the Holy Spirit unites them with Christ, whether or not they’ve been dunked in a tank, a river, a lake, or sprinkled. It’s the Holy Spirit that unites the believer with Christ.
That’s why Paul says in 1st Corinthians 1:17 that the Lord didn’t send him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. Paul says in Romans 1 that he is not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. In other words, it’s God’s grace, given to you through faith that is generated through the hearing of the Gospel message, that brings about salvation. Not baptism. But I’ll get a bit more into that in a little bit, but first we need to look at what the Bible has to say about baptism. The Bible is our one and only source of authority, as it is God’s word to us, so we need to examine what it has to say about this.
Now I don’t want to sound like a school teacher but we need to understand that the word “baptize” is a verb. In the Greek writings of the New Testament the word “baptize” means to “Immerse,” to “dip,” or “to plunge.” Not only can we get that from the Greek language, but we can see it in the historical accounts of baptism in the Bible. John baptized people in the Jordan River and not on dry ground, meaning that most likely John didn’t sprinkle. We see in the account of Jesus’ baptism that He went down into the waters and came up out of the waters. Secondly; John baptized at Aenon near Salim and the Bible says he did this “because there was much water there.”
Then we look at Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:35-39 (Read). We see that Philip and the Ethiopian had to wait until they came to a large amount of water in verse 36 and then they went down INTO the water in vs. 38.
In Romans 6:4 Paul talks about water baptism as being the symbol of how we are united with Christ (remember how the Holy Spirit has united us to Christ, or has baptized /immersed us into Christ). So Paul is saying that water baptism is the symbol of what has already happened to us by grace through faith. Again that’s why Philip wanted to make sure the Ethiopian really believed before he baptized him.
If you don’t believe… if true faith isn’t present, then all baptism does to a person is get them wet. If you do believe, then baptism is an outward confession of what has happened on the inside. It’s showing everyone present that you are united to Christ.
Now the problem is that there are some who have come to believe that baptism is what actually saves a person. They have taken passages like Mark 16:16 which says, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Or Acts 2:38 where Peter said, “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” Or Acts 22:16 which says, “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” The problem is that these passages are grossly misunderstood. Let’s look at that first one again Mark 16:16 (read), notice that it says “He who does not believe will be condemned.” It says nothing about a person who isn’t baptized being condemned. Judgment comes upon those who do not believe. In the second Scripture Peter added repentance to baptism and he speaks of receiving the “Gift of the Holy Spirit.” In the last text we see that “calling on the name of the Lord” is also used.
Here’s the thing, over and over again the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith, Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches this very explicitly. Romans 10:9-10 says that if we confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead we will be saved. Verse 11 says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Verse 13 says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” John 3:18 says, “He who believes in Him is not condemned.” John 20:31 says, “These things are written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Acts 13:39 says, “by Him, everyone who believes is justified.” Acts 13:48 says, “As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” And I’ve given you several other scriptures in your bulletins showing that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
So here’s the question: what is required for salvation? Is baptism required? If so why would Paul omit such an important requirement? Surely Paul would’ve said it was necessary if it was required. Why did Paul thank God that the Lord didn’t send him to baptize anyone, but to instead preach the Gospel? Why do some Scriptures mention things like baptism and repentance, and public professions? Well it’s because the Bible also teaches that there are sometimes those who make false professions. In John chapter 8:30-40 , certain Jews were said to have believed on Jesus, but as the Lord continued to speak with them it became clear that their faith wasn’t genuine.
So the reason that the Bible adds confession or baptism to simple faith isn’t to give us a list of things we must do in order to be saved. Those things are given to qualify the kind of faith that accompanies salvation.
See true faith, saving faith is a faith that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Saving faith is a repentant faith. Saving faith is a faith that seeks to be joined with, or identified with Christ – and with His people.
This brings us to the purpose and meaning of Baptism
In Colossians 2:11 we read about circumcision, and how circumcision was a sign of the covenant. Well in a sense, baptism is a sign of covenant as well. It’s a symbol that we are dead to sins and alive to God, the reason we are is because we have been united to Christ. It is a sign and symbol showing everyone who sees it that you are saying that you are now alive to newness of life because you are in Christ Jesus.
And because of that, it’s also a confession. It serves as a way for us to express our faith in Christ. We are confessing that we are sinners who are in need of forgiveness, and it is also confessing that we are repentant of those sins and desire to live a changed life; one that can only be lived in Christ.
We are not saved because we are baptized. Faith is a gift from God, as is grace, as is the ability to repent.
We are simply showing the world that because of God’s grace, and because of faith, we are repentant, and we are now wanting to live our lives in the Lord and for the Lord.
So as James and Autumn are baptized this morning, they are making a public profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If their faith is genuine then it will be evident through a changed life, but it is our job as a church to help them, to come alongside them and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. It’s not always an easy thing to do, to come before a church and make such a profession so keep them in your prayers in the days and weeks to come.
Perform Baptism Service
