Alba 5-7-2023
THERE IS ONE BAPTISM
Ephesians 4:5
The story is told of a preacher who had just starting serving a new congregation. For eight Sundays in a row he preached about baptism.
Finally, the chairman of the elders approached him and said, “Preacher, we get the point about baptism, and so I’d like to pick your text for next Sunday’s sermon. Please preach on Genesis 1:1.” The elder thought that there was no way the minister could preach on baptism from the very first verse in the Bible.
The next Sunday, the preacher got up in the pulpit and read Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” He then added, “The earth is two-thirds water. Today’s subject is water baptism.”
Well, today's sermon is about what the Bible says about baptism, but we don't have to stretch or contort verses of scripture to deal with this subject. In fact the Bible is quite clear as to the meaning and mode of baptism.
But saying that, I have to admit that there is some confusion about it. Various churches have various teachings and various practices concerning baptism. But that does not mean that the Bible does not provide us with a good understanding of the will of God in the matter of baptism.
There are many Bible verses that, if taken in the plain meaning of the words, give us a clear picture about baptism and what God intends for us to know and to do.
Ephesians chapter four verse five includes in the list of “one” things that there is “One Baptism”. So let's see what the Bible does say about this subject.
The idea of baptism is introduced in the New Testament in the ministry of a man named John. He was so connected with the act of baptism that he earned the name, John the Baptist. Just to be clear, he was not a part of the Baptist denomination. That didn't come until many hundreds of years, centuries, after the New Testament was written.
John preached a message of repentance. It was preparation for the coming of the Messiah. He is described as a “voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'” (Matthew 3:3)
But his baptism is not the “One Baptism” that is referred to in Ephesians chapter four. We know that because in Acts 19 it tells us that the apostle Paul found some disciples and he asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
Their answer was, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Right away Paul realized that something was wrong so he asked, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Acts 19:4-5 shows us that Paul understood what was needed to be done. “Paul said, 'John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.' When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
The Bible does not talk about “re-baptism”. It says there is “One Baptism”. Obviously the baptism of John is not the "one". There is something different about baptism into Jesus Christ.
The apostle Peter tells us what that is in Acts 2:38. Peter and the other apostles were boldly proclaiming that the very One whom they crucified was now alive, resurrected from the grave, and is both Lord and Christ.
When the people heard that they were “cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'” (Acts 2:37-39)
Baptism into Christ Jesus is for more than just repentance. That is included but is only the beginning. The apostle Peter tells us that when we submit to the Lord in baptism it is for the forgiveness of our sins. And also to receive the Holy Spirit.
That is what was missing in the disciples that Paul met at Ephesus. They needed to submit to the “One Baptism” and be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive all that God in His grace will give. There is no need for a second blessing to receive the Spirit. It happens at the time of baptism into Christ.
In baptism, God offers and we accept the forgiveness of our sins. When pardoned of our sins, which separated us from God, we are justified. That is, we are freed from the guilt and penalty of sin and restored to a right relationship with God.
This reconciliation is only made possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross, and then made real in our lives by the work of the Holy Spirit.
When the apostle Paul was still Saul the persecutor, Ananias was sent to him and restored the sight that Saul had lost when encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus.
And after telling Saul what the Lord had in store for him, Ananias said, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 9:16)
There was a church that installed a new full immersion baptistery in the sanctuary as part of an extensive remodeling project. But the county building inspector would not approve it's installation. “I can’t,” he said, “unless it has a separate septic tank.”
The trustees couldn’t understand why a septic tank would be needed for the baptistery. The building inspector saw their puzzled faces, so he explained, “It’s to avoid pollution in the ground.”
One of the church trustees finally said with a grin, “I guess it would pollute, with all those sins washed away!”
(Helen Daley, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations & Humorous Stories)
That’s really what it’s all about. Baptism is the washing away of sins. It is not the water that makes us clean when we are baptized. It is the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross and His resurrection from the dead that makes us clean.
Peter writes in his first letter about Noah and his family saying that, “eight persons, were brought safely through the water.”
Then Peter makes this comparison saying, “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 2:20-21 NASB)
There are those who attempt to separate baptism from the process of salvation. But the apostle Peter says that “baptism now saves you.” And he says that it is not a work which we do, but it is “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
The apostle Paul adds his agreement to this statement by his words in Romans 6:1-4. He asks, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or 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.”
And then Paul drives it home, again connecting the resurrection of Jesus to our baptism saying in verse five, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
But what was that he said about being “buried”? That teaches us something more about baptism, doesn't it? We know what a burial is. It is more than just sprinkling a little dirt on a grave, or pouring a bucket of dirt on a casket.
When a casket is put into the ground, it is covered. When Jesus was put into that grave, a huge stone covered the entrance to His tomb. It became a complete covering of His body inside that grave. So when we are “buried” in baptism, the same thing happens. We are not just a little wet, we are put into and under the water. That is what we see in the Bible again and again.
There was a man from Ethiopia who had been to Jerusalem. There he bought a scroll of the book of Isaiah. He was riding home in his chariot as he read, and he had some questions. Phillip was directed by the Lord to help him.
Phillip asked, “'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” (Acts 8:30-31)
Phillip then explained that scripture which spoke of the Messiah being led as a sheep to the slaughter. It says that “beginning at this Scripture, (Phillip) preached Jesus to him. 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?'” (Acts 8:35-36)
Notice, if you teach someone about Jesus, the subject of baptism naturally comes up. If you talk about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, you will also talk about how one can enter into that event through baptism. It is clear that is what happened as Phillip taught about Jesus to this man.
So, “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.'”
That was all that Phillip asked of that man before his baptism. Baptism is not for someone who does not understand what they are doing. Baptism follows faith. It does not precede it.
The man made what we call, The Good Confession. It is the same thing that Peter said when Jesus asked who the disciples believed Him to be. Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) Jesus said that Peter was blessed for making that confession. The Ethiopian used almost the same identical words as Peter did.
So what happened next with that man? “He commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:37-39)
Now why would they both have to go “down into the water” for the baptism. The answer is simple. The Ethiopian was going to be “buried” with Christ in the waters of baptism. After which, “they came up out of the water.”
If only a little water was needed for baptism, they could simply have used a little of it and not have to “go down” into and “come up” out of the water.
Now, not everyone practices it this way. They feel that if some water is used, that is sufficient. The amount and the way it is done doesn't matter to them. But there is more than just the word “buried” to guide us in this.
Obviously, a burial is a complete covering. But there is another word that really nails the coffin, so to speak, on this subject. That is the word “baptism” itself. If we had no other word but that, we would understand that baptism is a complete immersion.
For the meaning of that word, “baptism”, had only one meaning when it was first placed in our Bibles. The word "baptism" was not originally an English word. It is a transliteration of the Greek word “baptisma” that means "to immerse," "to dip under," "to plunge beneath."
It wasn't until over 200 years after the church began on the Day of Pentecost that anything other than total immersion was practiced by anyone. And it was not until the year 1311 when at the Roman Catholic council meeting in Ravena, Italy proclaimed sprinkling in place of full immersion as an official doctrine for the Catholic church.
That council declared baptism by either sprinkling, pouring, or full immersion was equally acceptable within the Catholic Church. By the time the King James Version of the Bible was translated into English, the translators decided not to mess with tradition. In doing so, they instead messed with the meaning of scripture.
Because by 1611 different churches were using different methods for baptism. So they allowed the word to sound like the original Greek word without translating it.
Therefore, a proper way to translate Romans 6:3 would be to do it this way: “Do you not know that as many of us as were immersed into Christ Jesus were immersed into His death?”
I realize that it doesn't have the same ring to it, but it is much more accurate as to the meaning of the word. And the question is, are we willing to submit to the Lord and His Word, or will we do what seems convenient and acceptable to the world?
So what have we learned? We have found is that God’s Word is very clear on baptism. It is by immersion only. It is for those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. It is for those who have repented of their sins. It is for the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit of God.
Jesus gave this command in Mark 16:15-16. He said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Don’t substitute the opinions of men for the Word of God. Faith that is true will express itself in obedience to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is done as we are buried in death to sin in the waters of baptism, and raised to a newness of life from the water into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the “one baptism” of Ephesians chapter four.
CLOSE:
One of the boys in a Sunday School class proudly announced to his teacher that he would be baptized that Sunday.
She told him that was really great. And he told her he was going to take his swim goggles.
She was curious about why the boy would want to wear his goggles during the baptism service.
When she asked, the boy replied, "So I can see my sins washed away!!!"
Have your sins been washed away?
