Baptism is a Big Deal!
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 3:13-15
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - Jan. 9, 2013
(Revised October 21, 2020)
MESSAGE:
*Baptism is a big deal in Ukraine. None of the churches I visited had an indoor pool for baptism, and the winters there are very cold, so they only got to baptize once or twice a year. On those days, the whole church loaded up and went to the river or a lake. I have seen 70 people lined up on a riverbank to be baptized. As each person came out of the water, the choir broke into a chorus of praise. Then they welcomed the people coming out of the river with hugs and kisses and a bouquet of flowers!
*Baptism is a big deal in Ukraine. It is also a big deal in here in Grayson, Louisiana.
1. BAPTISM IS A VERY BIG DEAL, SO WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE BIBLICAL METHOD OF BAPTISM.
*And the biblical way to baptize people is to put them under water. Verse 13 says: "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him."
*That word "baptized" in the original Greek is "baptizo," and it means "to dip, to immerse, to submerge, to make something fully wet, to cleanse by dipping or submerging."
*Okay -- If that is what "baptizo" means, then why didn't the translators just say "dip" or "submerge?" The reason why is because the churches in control when the Bible was first translated into English did not dip people down into the water. Those Catholic, Anglican, and other churches practiced infant baptism by sprinkling water.
*Many churches still do today. In fact, I was "baptized" as a baby in a Presbyterian church. But I wasn't really baptized, because I didn't get saved until I was 24 years old. And in the Bible, baptism wasn't for babies. It was for believers.
*Well, the men translating the Bible 500 years ago knew that translating the word "baptizo" would contradict the accepted method of sprinkling. So, they just used the original Greek word in our English Bibles without explaining the meaning.
*But Jesus was submerged. Everybody John the Baptist baptized was submerged. When those 3,000 new Christians in Acts 2:41 were baptized, they were submerged. Every person baptized in the New Testament was submerged. How do we know? -- Because that's what the word means.
*There is a word for "sprinkling" in the New Testament. It's found four times in Hebrews 9. But that word is not "baptizo," so the biblical method of baptism is by submerging.
*Now the method of baptism doesn't seem like a big deal at all to us today. But we need to understand that thousands of people were put to death simply because they wanted to be baptized in the biblical way. That seems unreal to us. But here are a couple of quotes to help you see how bad it was:
*In his book, HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS, John T. Christian wrote about the situation in Switzerland, and said, "The Council of St. Gall determined to rid themselves of the 'Dippers.' (Since) the Baptists dipped for baptism, they were to be drowned for punishment. The edict read in part as follows: 'In order that the dangerous, wicked, turbulent and seditious sect of the Baptists may be eradicated, we have thus decreed: If anyone is suspected of rebaptism, he is to be warned by the magistracy to leave the territory under penalty of the designated punishment.
*Every person is obliged to report those favorable to rebaptism. Whoever shall not comply with this ordinance is liable to punishment according to the sentence of the magistracy. Teachers of rebaptism, baptizing preachers, and leaders of hedge meetings are to be drowned.
*Those previously released from prison who have sworn to desist from such things, shall incur the same penalty. Foreign Baptists are to be driven out; if they return, they shall be drowned. . .'" The date of the decree was Sept. 9, 1527. (1)
*Many Baptists in England were burned at the stake. Here is another quote from John T. Christian's book. A man named "Ammonius," under date of Nov. 8, 1531, wrote to Erasmus of the great numbers of the Anabaptists in England.
*And he said: 'It is not astonishing that wood is so dear and scarce. The heretics cause so many holocausts, and yet their numbers grow.' Erasmus replied that Ammonius 'has reason to be angry with the heretics for increasing the price of fuel for the coming Winter.'" (2)
*They were actually complaining about the price of firewood going up, because so many Baptists had been burned at the stake! Only God knows how many people were viciously murdered for biblical baptism. It was brutal beyond our imagination.
*That is one of the reasons why our Constitution contains a Bill of Rights to protect our God-given freedoms, including the Freedom of Religion.
*Tragically, our federal and state governments have begun to trample on our rights. The Covid-19 lockdowns in places like New York and California are the latest examples of discrimination against churches and orthodox Jews.
*But these early Baptists gave their lives just for their desire to be baptized in the biblical way. And this is the method we use for baptism today. Baptism is a very big deal, so we must understand the biblical method of baptism.
2. WE ALSO NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF BAPTISM.
*The main question here is this: Does baptism save us? Or is it a symbol of salvation? Some denominations teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation. Many Bible-believing, Jesus-loving people believe you must be baptized in order to be saved.
*They get this incorrect doctrine mostly from a possible interpretation of Acts 2:38. In this verse of Scripture, "Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ FOR the remission (or forgiveness) of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
*Now the word translated "for" in this verse can mean "in order to." So, they think it means "be baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of sins." But that little word "for" can also mean "on account of." And that's how we take it. People are baptized on account of the fact that they have already received the forgiveness of sins.
*If I say I'm going to the store for some milk, then I'm going to come home with some milk. But if I say I'm going to the store for my wife, I'm not coming home with a wife! No, I already have a wife. And we are baptized because we have already been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ! (3)
*Many Scriptures show that Christians are saved by grace through faith in the Lord, and what He did on the cross for us. Please listen to these examples:
*John 3:16-18:
16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
*John 3:36 says: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.''
*Ephesians 2:8-9 tells Christians:
8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.
*And Romans 10:10-13 says:
10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
11. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.''
12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13. For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''
*On top of that, listen to what Paul said about baptism to the divided Christians in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 1:14-17, Paul was pleading for unity in the church, and this is what he said about baptism:
14. I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15. lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.
16. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
17. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
*There has probably never been a Christian who loved lost people more than Paul. If baptism was required for salvation, do you think Paul ever would have been content to not baptize? I've got to say no.
*Also remember the wonderful story of the Philippian jailer who got saved in Acts 16. Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown into the inner prison after Paul cast a demon out of a fortune-telling girl. There they were praising the Lord at midnight, when God sent a miraculous earthquake that opened all the doors and loosed the prisoners’ chains.
*When the jailer saw that scene, he was about to kill himself, because the penalty for losing his prisoners was death. Then in Acts 16:28-31:
28. Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."
29. Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
30. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31. So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
32. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
34. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
*The newly saved jailer wanted to be obedient to Jesus, and that's why the jailer was baptized. Again in vs. 33, "He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized."
*Those baptisms were acts of obedience from people who were already saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The jailer and his family did not get baptized in order to be saved. They got baptized, because they already were saved by trusting in the Lord.
*My mentor, Pastor Herman Savoie, made a great point years ago when he said: "If the jailer needed to be baptized in order to be saved, then he surely would have been baptized before he washed their stripes."
*Christians: We are baptized because of what has already taken place. Baptism is a public witness of the salvation we have already received by grace through faith in Christ. We are also baptized because Jesus told us to be baptized, and we want to be obedient.
*Also think about when Zacchaeus got saved in Luke 9, the Bible says:
8. Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.''
9. And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham."
*There was no baptism there, because baptism does not save us. Rather, baptism is a symbol of what God has already done in our lives. And we can see 4 dimensions to this symbolism.
[1] FIRST: BAPTISM IS A SYMBOL OF WHAT JESUS DID ON THE CROSS TO SAVE US.
*Going under the water symbolizes Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and being buried. But rising out of the water symbolizes the wonderful truth that Jesus rose again from the dead.
[2] SECONDLY, BAPTISM SYMBOLIZES WHAT JESUS HAS ALREADY DONE IN OUR LIVES, WHEN WE BELIEVE IN HIM.
*Going under the water symbolizes that that my old life is dead (that is, my life without Christ). But coming out of the water says that I'm not dead. I'm alive with the new life God gave me when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
[3] BAPTISM ALSO SYMBOLIZES THAT OUR SINS ARE WASHED AWAY.
*But our sins are not washed away by Grayson water. Our sins are washed away by the blood that Jesus poured out on the cross for us!
*Revelation 1:4-6 makes this truth clear, and says:
4. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD,
6. and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
*Water baptism symbolizes that our sins are washed away by the blood that Jesus poured out on the cross for us.
[4] IT ALSO SYMBOLIZES THE SPIRITUAL BAPTISM WE ALL RECEIVED, WHEN WE TRUSTED IN THE LORD.
*This is the baptism that matters the most, and it is never done by human hands. This spiritual baptism is done by the Holy Spirit when we put our trust in Jesus. Paul explained this truth in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where he said: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. . ."
*Paul was not talking about being submerged into water, but being literally and spiritually submerged into the Body of Christ. And water baptism is a symbol of all these things. That is the biblical meaning of baptism.
3. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BIBLICAL MOTIVE FOR BAPTISM?
*Our motivation is Jesus Christ! Verse 13 says, "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him." William MacDonald noted that "Jesus walked about sixty miles from Galilee to the lower Jordan River to be baptized by John. This helps us see the importance which Jesus attached to baptism, and it should indicate the significance of baptism for His followers today." (4)
*Our motivation for baptism is Jesus Christ! Look at the Lord again in vs. 13-15:
13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
14. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?''
15. But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'' Then he allowed Him.
*There Jesus was in vs. 15, being baptized, but not because He was a sinner. Jesus didn't have any sins to confess. He never needed to repent. That's why in vs. 14, John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?''
*William MacDonald explained that John the Baptist realized "that Jesus had no sins to repent from and, and that's why John protested against baptizing the Lord. Jesus did not deny this; He simply repeated His request for baptism as a fitting way in which to fulfill all righteousness." (4)
*This was part of the Lord humbling Himself for us. As Paul said in Philippians 2: 5-8:
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6. who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7. but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
*Jesus was baptized as an act of humility, and as an example for us to follow. Three years later, our perfect Savior died on the cross for our sins. Jesus did all of these things for us, and now He is risen on high! So, Paul went on to say this in Philippians 2:9-11:
9. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
*If we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then we want to walk in obedience to Him. The Lord tells us to take a public stand for Him, and one way is to be baptized as a public witness of our faith in Christ. Baptism then is an act of obedience to the Lord, part of the new life of walking in obedience to Jesus Christ. And that's the way we ought to be living.
*This reminds me of one of my favorite baptism stories. Pastor Sarah Sarchet gave this testimony about a 10-year-old boy named Cameron. One day, he walked into Sarah's office and said he needed to talk.
*Fresh from soccer practice, and wearing his Cincinnati Reds baseball cap, Cameron had a request. "I'd like to be baptized," he said. "We were learning about Jesus' baptism in Sunday School. The teacher asked the class who was baptized, and all the other kids raised their hands. I want to be baptized too."
*Pastor Sarah asked, "Cameron, do you really want to be baptized because everyone else is?" He looked up and replied, "No. -- I want to be baptized because it means I belong to God." -- Great Answer!
*The pastor was touched and said: "How about this Sunday?" Cameron's smile turned to concern, and he asked, "Do I have to be baptized in front of all those people in the church? Can't I just have a friend baptize me in the river?"
*"Where'd you come up with that idea?" Sarah asked. Cameron replied, "Well, Jesus was baptized by His cousin John in a river, wasn't He?" Caught off guard, Pastor Sarah said, "You have a point. But, if a friend baptized you in the river, how would the church recognize it?"
*Good question: How would the church recognize it? Cameron thought about it as the pastor got on a footstool to reach high for a book. Then Cameron wisely answered: "I guess by my new way of living." Pastor Sarah almost fell off the stool. (5)
*Cameron got it just right. Everybody ought to be able to tell that we belong to Jesus. How? -- By the way we live! And if the only perfect man who ever lived was willing to be baptized as an example for us, then we should be willing to be baptized for Him.
CONCLUSION:
*That's what we believe about baptism, and it is a very big deal.
*Have you been baptized in the biblical way? An infinitely more important question is this: Have you opened your heart to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? More than anything else, this is what everybody needs.
*Turn to the Lord and trust in Him. Then follow the Lord in believer's baptism.
(1) Adapted from "History of the Baptists" by John T. Christian - Chapter 10
(2) Adapted from "History of the Baptists" by John T. Christian - Chapter 15
(3) My illustration based on explanation in "Robertson's Word Pictures" by A.T. Robertson - Acts 2:38
(4) Adapted from BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "John Baptizes Jesus" - Matthew 3:13-17
(5) From a sermon by Sarah Jo Sarchet at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago - Source: Sermonillustrations.com email - 01/12/2003
