Allow me to begin with a cute illustration. “The six-year-old grandson of Ruth Kirby told his mother that he had been baptized. Well, mom knew he hadn’t been formally baptized, so she probed a little further into the matter. She asked him to explain what he meant by ‘baptized.’ Little Blake then enlightened his mom, ‘Last night in the bathtub I put my face under the water and thought about Jesus’.”(1) Well, like little Blake, there are probably some people who have some misconceptions about what baptism is and what it means.
We often have some strange ideas about baptism. For some people, baptism is shrouded in such great mystery that they fear giving their lives to Jesus because they don’t want to go through with being baptized. For other people, baptism is believed to be what saves us, and there are still others who feel that baptism is something that a person cannot undergo until they come to the point where they are without sin. This morning, we are going to look at what the Bible has to say about baptism and see if we can clear up some of these misconceptions.(2)
Baptism is Exemplified (Matthew 3:13-17)
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 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. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Our basis for baptism is derived from how greatly the Bible stresses its importance; but before we look at this, we need to first address a somewhat puzzling matter. We read that when Jesus came to John to be baptized, that John was initially startled and reluctant to baptize Him.(3) Why? Well, because in John’s baptism there was a call to repentance leading to the forgiveness of sins, and John realized that Jesus did not stand in need of forgiveness.(4) In Hebrews 4:15, we read that Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin,” and in 2 Corinthians 5:21, He is described as “Him who knew no sin.”
Jesus did not seek baptism in order to repent of any personal sins. It has been suggested that He appeared during this spiritually charged atmosphere, in order to connect with people on a spiritual level; to engage with His target audience, so He could teach them something about baptism. In submitting to baptism, Jesus identified Himself with the search of men for God.(5) He identified Himself with the people He came to save; and this connection opened His audience to receive some additional revelation about baptism, as He led by example.
Jesus set an example for us when He was baptized. He demonstrated that baptism is something that is important for all believers to undergo. We read in verse 15, that Jesus was baptized “for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The phrase “for us” may refer “either to John and Jesus, or to Jesus and the people with whom He associated Himself.”(6) This would mean that “for us” – those who call Jesus our Savior and Lord – “for us” to fulfill all righteousness, then we must follow through with baptism. This does not mean that baptism is for salvation. It means that it serves a righteous purpose in our life that cannot be fulfilled until we are baptized; and that righteous purpose will be explained toward the end of this message.
In verse 17, we see that after Jesus was baptized, the Lord was “well pleased” with Him. The phrase “this is my beloved son” (v. 17) is a quotation from Psalm 2:7. “Every Jew accepted this Psalm as [being] a description of the Messiah.”(7) The phrase “in whom I am well pleased” is a quotation from Isaiah 42:1, which is a description of the Suffering Servant. “So, in the baptism [of Jesus] there came . . . two certainties – the certainty that He was indeed the chosen One of God, and the certainty that the way in front of Him was the way of the Cross.”(8)
Part of baptism symbolizes the death and burial of our former life of sin. In Colossians 2:11, we read that we are to “[put] off the body of the sins of the flesh,” and “[be] buried with Him in baptism,” and in Luke 9:22-23, Jesus said that “the Son of Man must . . . be killed, and be raised the third day,” and that “if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Just as the Father was well-pleased with Jesus, who was willing to lay down His life for the sins of the world, God will be well-pleased with all who crucify the flesh and take up their cross and follow Christ; and He will be well-pleased when we follow Jesus’ example and submit to believers’ baptism.
Baptism is Commanded
So, now that we have looked at Matthew 3:13-17, allow me to share some more about baptism from both Scripture and doctrine. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commanded all believers to be baptized when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” All people whom we lead to Jesus Christ, who trust in Him as Savior and Lord, we are to instruct and encourage them to be baptized, facilitate their baptism, and assist them in following through.
The Christians of the early New Testament Church practiced baptizing people from the very beginning. After Peter’s first sermon, the following commentary is made in Acts 2:41-42: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Since Jesus both exemplified and commanded baptism, and because it is so prominent in the New Testament, it should be important to every believer.
Baptism is by Immersion
The Bible teaches three basic truths about baptism. The first truth the Bible teaches about baptism is that it is to be by immersion. The word “immerse” means “to submerge, to put under water, and to cover completely.” That is what the word “baptize” meant in Jesus’ day and time. When Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the Greek word that He used was baptizo. It meant “to submerge, to immerse, and to put under water.”
When the Bible was translated from Greek into English in the year 1611, almost all denominations were sprinkling for baptism. So, instead of translating the Greek word literally, an English word was coined by changing the “o” (omicron) to the letter “e.” It was changed from baptizo to baptize. If the Greek word had been translated literally, then the Great Commission would have read, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, ‘immersing’ them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
In Matthew 3:16, when we read about Jesus’ baptism, and in Acts 8:38-39, when we read about Philip baptizing the Ethiopian Eunuch, in both instances a particular statement was used. That statement was this: “and . . . they came up out of the water.” A person must be under the water before he or she can come up out of the water. Baptism is by full immersion, not sprinkling. “There is no record in history of anyone being baptized by sprinkling until 251 A.D. This was the baptism of [the Roman Emperor] Novatian, who was sick. It was called ‘clinical baptism’ because it was reserved for the sick – those who could not be immersed. Gradually, through the years, it became a matter of convenience, and sprinkling replaced immersion for most denominations.”(9)
Baptism is for Believers
The second truth the Bible teaches about baptism is that it is for believers. “Many denominations today practice what is called ‘infant baptism,’ [however an infant is too young to believe in anything, or to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior]. At this church we do not baptize anyone until he or she has come to a personal faith and open confession of Christ as Savior. Why do we do this? Because there is no example in the Bible of anyone except a believer being baptized.”(10) Listen, as I share some verses from the book of Acts:
• Acts 8:12: But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
• Acts 8:13: Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip.
• Acts 18:8: Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.
• Acts 8:36-37: Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
• Acts 16:30-33: And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
Baptism is a Symbol
Earlier, I said that “baptism serves a righteous purpose in our life that cannot be fulfilled until we are baptized,” and I stated that I would explain that purpose “toward the end of this message.” The righteous purpose of baptism lies in what we proclaim to the world when we undergo baptism. There is something symbolic about baptism that becomes a teaching opportunity and a testimony concerning our faith. So, the third truth the Bible teaches about baptism is that it is a symbol. I want to read a real-life story shared by a pastor named Bob Beasley:
Our three-year-old daughter, Rena, sat with us during the baptismal service last Sunday night, which was a new experience for her. She exclaimed in surprise, “Why did he push that guy in the water? Why, Daddy, why?” My wife tried to explain briefly and quietly, but Rena just wouldn’t be satisfied. Later that night we tried to provide an answer that a child’s mind could comprehend. We talked about sin and told Rena that when people decide to live for Jesus . . . they want everyone to know. We then explained that water symbolizes Jesus’ washing people from sin; when they come out “clean,” they are going to try to be “good.” A moment later, we realized we would have to work on our explanation a bit. Rena immediately responded, “Why didn’t the Pastor just spank him?”(11)
I want to point out that Baptism has no saving power. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Salvation is a free gift that God grants to those who simply have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. We are saved through our faith, not through baptism.
If we practice baptism for salvation, then baptism becomes a work. It becomes man’s attempt at trying to gain salvation through an act or ritual the he performs by himself. Baptism is a symbol of our faith in Jesus Christ. “[Baptism itself] does not wash away any sins. There is no [special ingredient] in the water that we use. It is the same kind of water that we drink and the same kind that we bathe in. [The purpose of baptism is that it] identifies us openly and publicly with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.”(12)
In Romans 6:3-5, we read this: “Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” Did you happen to catch the word “likeness” here? Baptism is symbolic. Colossians 2:12 tells us, “[Be] buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
When we undergo baptism, we are sharing a testimony through symbolic action. We are proclaiming the good news of how we have buried our former life of sin to walk in new life with Christ; and we are fulfilling the righteous purpose of sharing our faith before all who watch our baptism; and sharing our faith before all with whom we discuss our baptism.
Time of Reflection
Hopefully, this morning we have had many of our misconceptions about baptism resolved. We have seen that Jesus Christ set an example for us to follow by being baptized Himself. We have also learned that baptism is a symbolic action that we undergo in order to identify ourselves with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.
We need to accept the fact that Jesus Christ paid for our sins on the cross, and we need to come to grips with the realization that baptism is not what saves us. Only our faith in Jesus alone will save us and lead to eternal life; but if we ever come to have saving faith in Jesus Christ, then we can and should be baptized and it needs to be performed by immersion.
I first want to extend an invitation for you to receive Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord; and secondly, I wish to encourage you to enter into the symbolic death, burial and resurrection of baptism, to do so in obedience to the example set by our Lord, Jesus Christ.
NOTES
(1) Mature Living, April 1994, p. 49.
(2) Paul Powell, The New Minister’s Manual (Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1996); many of the ideas for this sermon are derived from this resource.
(3) William Barclay, “The Gospel of Matthew,” The Daily Study Bible, vol. 1 (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1958), p. 51.
(4) Ibid., p. 51.
(5) Ibid., p. 53.
(6) Frank Stagg, “Matthew,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol 8 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1969), p. 94.
(7) Barclay, p. 53.
(8) Ibid., p. 53.
(9) Powell, pp. 69-70.
(10) Ibid., p. 70.
(11) Bob Beasley, pastor of Gregory Drive Alliance Church, West Chatham, Ontario, Canada.
(12) Powell, p. 71.
