Please open your Bibles to Acts 8:26-40 which we will read in a few minutes.
On June 25 we will be holding a baptism service at Chip and Chris Sprague’s pond at 4:00 PM. We will have directions for you in next week’s bulletin or we can meet here and caravan together.
There are many accounts of baptism taking place in the New Testament.
Baptism is one of the two Holy Sacraments found in the New Testament.
One of the kinds of TV shows Pastor Karenlee and I like to watch are dramas which contain police enforcement and court activities. Some older shows such as Matlock and Colombo and more recently Law and Order which combine the two.
From watching these types of shows I have discovered a word that is not only used in police and court proceedings but in the study of Scripture as well and that word is “Warrant”.
Warrant can be a verb or a noun. On many shows I have heard the questions, “Do we have enough evidence to warrant a search of the property?” or, “Do we have enough evidence to warrant an arrest?”
In these cases where the answer is yes verb becomes a noun when a “search warrant” or an “arrest warrant” is issued.
Well, you might be wondering what all of this has to do with baptism or the study of Scripture.
One question might be, “Is there enough evidence in the Bible to warrant the use of baptism as a sacrament in the church today?” and the answer is obviously yes but let’s take a look at some of those Scriptures starting with Acts 8:26-40.
Acts 8:26-40
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road - the desert road - that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.
33 In His humiliation He was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of His descendants?
For His life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
What a great story! This Ethiopian official who served the queen of Ethiopia had been converted to Judaism and had come to Jerusalem to worship and he certainly got more than he came for!
He heard the good news of Jesus fully explained by Phillip
He accepted the good news and believed in Jesus for salvation.
He was then baptized!
And, we still baptize today!
But are there other Scriptures which support baptism.
So, let’s ask the question …
Is there enough evidence in the Bible to warrant continued baptism?
Last week we saw that when the Holy Spirit was given there was a great salvation among the Jewish worshippers who had come for the feast of Pentecost and three thousands were saved.
When the worshippers came under conviction they asked Peter and the others, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And, what was the reply?
Acts 2:38 NIV
“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Tell the story of Paul and Silas being arrested in imprisoned in Philippi.
(“These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”)
Acts 16:30-33 NIV
“[The jailer] then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.’
“Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
“The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole household.”
So, do we have enough evidence from these Scriptures to warrant the use of baptism today? Yes, we do!
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OK. So let’s look at this from another angle … is baptism necessary for salvation?
If a person proclaims faith in Jesus but is not baptized will they have eternal life?
Some say, “NO”.
What is the evidence in the Bible?
First of all let me state that we firmly believe that everyone who places their faith and trust in Jesus for salvation should, if at all possible, be baptized.
For some it is just not possible; the thief of the cross, the person with a death bed confession of faith in Jesus, the person who dies in a car crash on their way to be baptized, etc.
Will they spend eternity with Jesus or go to hell along with those who stubbornly rejected Jesus.
What does Scripture say? Is there enough evidence to warrant the belief that the believing person who remains unbaptized will be rejected by Jesus at the time of Judgment?
(Quote from memory)
John 3:18 (no mention of baptism)
Ephesians 2:8-9 (no mention of baptism)
Romans 10:9-10 (no mention of baptism)
Now if you were to take a phrase from 1 Peter 3:21 and snatch it out of its context you could say that it is “baptism that now saves you” but that would be a gross misquoting of Scripture.
So, from these passages and others we see that there is no evidence to warrant the belief that the believing but unbaptized person will be rejected by Jesus at the time of judgment.
Well, what about the time of judgment?
We see times of Judgment in:
Matthew 25:31-46 (sheep and the goats)
2 Corinthians 5:10 (judgment seat of Christ)
Revelation 20:11-15 (Great white throne judgment)
If we were to look these up and read them we would see that whether a person was baptized or not is never even mentioned in any of these judgments.
So, what are we to make of all of this? What is the purpose of baptism?
Illustration:
Just suppose that in 1976 I said to Karenlee, let’s get married but let’s just go to the justice of the peace and he can be the witness to the marriage, so we’ll be legally married but we just won’t tell anyone.
That would be kind of silly, wouldn’t it? All of the world would just think that we had moved in together and were living in sin.
So, instead of that we told all of our family and friends that we were getting married. We told them when it would happen and where it would happen and we had a wedding and a dinner so the whole world would know that we were now husband and wife.
Baptism is much like that. You could get saved in your room all alone at night, confessing your sins to Jesus, asking for forgiveness, turning away from your life of sin, committing to a life of faithfully following Jesus and His will for your life and you would be saved and ensured of eternal life. But who would know?
You see, baptism is to salvation like that wedding celebration is to marriage.
Baptism says, “I want the whole world to know that from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until the day I die, I belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to me. He is my Savior and I am His child! PTL!!
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Infant baptism …
We generally discourage infant baptism as it is not a true Biblical baptism.
If we could find an infant who would give testimony to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ and who could affirm their belief in the Biblical doctrines of Christianity the baptism would be valid. But since infants possess now awareness of the guilt of sin and the need for a Savior they neither repent of their sin nor can they profess faith in Christ.
According to the Biblical evidence and the Biblical warrant, infant baptism is only a ritual with no true spiritual significance.
That is why we dedicate our children to the Lord. And in this dedication we, as parents, commit and vow to raise our children so that they will come to know Jesus as their Savior at the earliest age. As parents this is our first and most important mission field.
If a person has been baptized as an infant and then later comes to know Jesus as their Savior, should they be re-baptized. Yes, along with a clear confession of their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
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This message has been basically about why we baptize.
When a person is baptized it is not only a testimony of their salvation it is really a reenactment of what has happened to them spiritually. In surrendering their life to Jesus it is a death to self and selfish ambitions, as you go under the water it is symbolic of being of your old self being buried and as you come up from the water it is symbolic of being raised to new life with Jesus.
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Have you been crucified with Christ? Buried with Him and raised to new life in Christ?
If you have and you have not been baptized you should be.
Invitation and closing comments.
