The Meaning of Baptism
CCCAG, July 9th, 2023
Scripture: Matthew 3:11-17
1993 was a big year for Tammie and me. It started with the birth of our oldest daughter in May. In July I decided to follow Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. In September, Tammy followed me in that decision.
Then it was New Year's Eve and we are at the watch night service of our church. It's almost midnight and Tammie and I are standing in line with the whole group of people on New Year's Eve waiting to be baptized.
Our first church was a fairly large church, could seat almost 1000 and had a built in baptistry behind the stage where everybody could watch you get baptized after you gave a brief testimony.
This whole idea of getting baptized as an adult was very different from the way I grown up as a Lutheran, and very different also for Tammie who grew up as Catholic. We both had been baptized as infants, but now had a better understanding of what baptism means and what it represents for the Christian.
Many people here may have had a similar experience. Maybe you were also baptized as an infant and you are wondering now why we talk about being baptized as a teenager or as an adult. We're going to spend a little bit of time this morning going through this ordinance of the church and explain it from a biblical point of view and even more importantly how Jesus viewed it and practiced it during his time on earth and throughout his ministry.
So turn in your bibles this morning to Matthew chapter 3.
Matthew chapter 3 introduces us to a unique man named John, known by his nickname of John the Baptizer.
John is Jesus’s first cousin who for the last several years has traveled throughout Israel to proclaim Jesus’ coming. Jesus called him the greatest of the Old Testament prophets because he was the direct forerunner to the Messiah coming on earth.
John had a very brash way about him and in that infuriated the religious establishment and the political power of his time. He routinely called religious leaders snakes and vipers and called out the sin of the political leaders of his time.
The reason we are talking about him this morning is because John also introduces us to baptism.
That’s where we start off today by looking at what John said about this idea of baptism.
Scripture-
Matt 3:11-17
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Prayer
Today before we go downstairs to baptize our two candidates, we are going to learn about the importance of baptism.
We are going to start off with the theology behind baptism.
I. Baptism, the theology
First question we ask-
A. Who should be baptized?
1. Infants or adults?
I spoke a little bit at the beginning of the different ways that people view baptism. Here in the Cooley region, we have a very large Lutheran representation, the majority of which believe in infant baptism.
Let me explain how we got there-
The idea of infant baptism wasn't seen in the early church until after 300 AD when Christianity ceased being a religion that could get you killed and turned into THE religion of the state. The church leadership, authority, and power was centralized primarily in Rome, and they began to issue different rules about how Christianity was to be practiced.
One of the unfortunate things that happened during this time is that they institutionalized the faith. What I mean by that is they stopped focusing on people having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and instead encouraged and oftentimes forced people to have a relationship with God through the church, ran by the priest, and governed by the pope.
How that affected baptism is that it became a ritual meant to welcome a new infant into the church family instead of its true meaning.
This idea of infant baptism unfortunately survived intact through Martin Luther’s reformation in the 1500s that launched the Protestant churches.
However, beginning in the 1800s, the Methodist movement and eventually in the 1900’s the Assemblies of God began to rediscover and start practicing baptism the way that Jesus and the disciples practiced it.
John tells us here in the bible what baptism is meant to symbolize for us. For the new Christian, Baptism is meant to symbolize us turning from our old, evil lifestyle (which is what repentance is), and turning toward Jesus Christ and following HIM.
It is symbolic of us following Christ into the grave of our life before HIM, and being raised as a new creation- a child of God.
Illustration-
I thought about interesting way of illustrating this-
How many pictures and paintings of caterpillars have you ever seen outside of maybe a textbook? I mean how many kids dig around in the dirt or look around trees and leaves and branches for a caterpillar?
Not to many.
Now think about this, how many people will travel miles to see thousands of butterflies? Tammie and I got to see something like this in Washington state when we went out there in 2002 to see my sister graduate high school. It was a butterfly preserve that you would walk into kind of like a greenhouse area and you'd be instantly surrounded with thousands and thousands of butterflies of every type every color. They would all land on you they'd cover you.
It was kind of a really neat experience.
Now if you were told to lay down, and we are going to pour caterpillers all over you, how many are signing up for that?
That'd be kind of gross wouldn't it.
But all butterflies start out as caterpillars.
A great big ugly wormlike creature that has a hideous Face.
That’s us before we repent and follow Jesus. We are caterpillars living in the dirt, doomed to live as a food source for other animals.
That is until they enter into the cocoon. In that cocoon they are radically changed to become one of nature 's most beautiful creatures.
That’s salvation. Taking a person from their dirt existence and turning them into a thing of beauty.
This is what baptism represents to us. It's a visual representation of the cocoon to the caterpillar. It purpose is to show this world the transformation that happens when a Sinner comes to Jesus Christ and
Jesus makes them new
Jesus makes them beautiful
Jesus makes them into a child of God.
Not only does he do that, but John the Baptist said that he will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. What does that mean?
That means that the shekinah glory and presence of God is going to become available to you and to me 24/7/ 365 from now to the end of eternity.
That should get you excited.
Because that’s the power you are going to need in these last days.
It’s only going to get tougher to live as a believer in Jesus.
But, we shouldn’t be afraid.
We need to view it as the Apostle Paul did. Remember- he was flogged numerous times, beaten, imprison, shipwrecked, stoned to death and raised again and eventually beheaded for his faith.
This is what Paul had to say about all of those trials and tribulations-
2 Cor 4:17-18
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Let me paraphrase what he's saying here- Paul is saying, “the devil can't throw nothing at me that will darken the glory, the presence, and the provision of God in my life”
We're not gonna talk a lot about that this morning, but in the next several weeks we are going to talk a lot about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of spiritual gifts not only just in our personal lives but in the corporate life of this church. More of that in the coming weeks.
Back to the scripture in Matthew 3- verse 14
John recognizes the sinless nature of Jesus, and objects to baptizing him-
He was saying, “You have nothing to repent of Jesus, then why be baptized- you should be baptizing me”
Jesus said, I need to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
What does he mean by that?
Jesus is baptized, even though He is sinless, to identify with us.
He is saying, “I am here, as a human man. I need to do this to set an example to those who will follow me, and to identify with them.”
Let me illustrate this-
How many people understand what a champion is in regards to combat?
Let me give you an example- Remember Goliath?
He was the Philistine Champion- their ultimate warrior that represented the fighting prowess of their entire nation. Remember he said if anyone could beat him, the Philistines would surrender to the Israelites.
Jesus is being our champion here by completely identifying with us through baptism. He is becoming our ultimate warrior, author, defender, and finisher of our faith, and fulfilling the mission that God had sent HIM to accomplish.
So I ask you everyone a question, hear and on the podcast- if you are hesitating about going through with being baptized- why?
Jesus did it to set an example for us, we should follow Him as His disciples.
The begs the question- how do we do it?
Sprinkling or immersion?
The Greek word Baptismo means-
NT:907
to immerse, submerge; to make overwhelmed (i.e. fully wet)
Remember, we are symbolizing following Jesus into the grave, and then resurrecting into a new life with HIM. The is why we practice immersion baptism in the Assemblies of God.
Now a caveat- in certain circumstances, that is not possible, and doing the best you can has to do.
When I was a chaplain in Kenosha I was called to the bedside of a terminally ill man who wanted to talk to a minister.
I found out that he had grown up in church but left in his teenage years and never went back and now facing a terminal illness with only a day or so left to live he wanted to return to Christ as he was fearing dying and going to hell.
Of course I opened my Bible we read some scriptures together he confessed his sin and his rebellion and asked Christ to forgive him and become Lord and savior of his life.
In that moment I believe he became a new creation and his name was written in the lambs book of life meaning he was going to heaven. However he grew up in a faith tradition that said if you are not baptized you will not go to heaven. Unfortunately, they don't have baptismal in hospitals, and he was on high amounts of oxygens, had IV’s running and all of that. I talked to the nurse, and she got me a watch basin filled with water and a cup and I just poured the water over his head while he laid in the bed assuring him God will look favorably on that.
I say that only to say that there can be some exceptions made, but the rule is to be fully immersed.
So who qualifies for baptism?
Again it's John the Baptist who explains it- those who have repented of their sinful life, turned from it, and are now following Jesus as one of HIS disciples.
I want to emphasis this point.
Too often, in modern Christianity, we talk about accepting Jesus Christ into our heart.
That idea is not found in the Bible.
We're not supposed to accept Jesus into our heart we are supposed to let Jesus change our heart.
If I’m a sinner I’m not inviting the KING to come and live in the utter run-down slum I’m made of my heart through my stubborn rebellion against him. I’m asking him to destroy that stubborn heart and make a new one.
In Matthew 28 when Jesus is giving the Great Commission he did not say just go and ask people to accept me into their heart and I will come in and I'll be a little lamb and I'll guide them into being nice to each other and maybe a little bit of a better person.
No he said go forth and make disciples. (Follow me)
This is something we need to start living, and I’m going to be very transparent here- I include myself in this because there's been parts in my life where I’ve fallen down in my understanding of what this means.
A disciple is someone who lays down everything from their past to follow Jesus.
This is why Baptism is the first step of obedience in following Jesus as one of His disciples.
You can go to an army surplus store and buy a uniform. You can get all of the pretty ribbons, shine some shoes, and put it on.
But are you a soldier?
No, soldier hold up their right hand, and say, “This I’ll defend, even if it means giving my life to do so.”
You can’t call yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ and refuse the first thing he asks you to do after you repent of your sin and turn away from it to follow HIM.
This is just me saying this. This is biblical Christianity.
The bible gives us our standing orders from Jesus right before HE ascended to heaven.
Matt 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Again, these aren’t my words, these are the direct orders of Jesus HIMself.
Finally, I want to point out one more thing-
As soon as Jesus came out of the water, The Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus like a dove.
But, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, it was tongues of fire..
Do you ever wonder why?
1 Cor 3 says that God will judge each person with the fire of His holiness. Those who lived for Christ will have works that survive that fire and will live in eternity rewarded for those works.
Those who didn’t will be left with a pile of ashes- even though they might be saved, they will have nothing to be rewarded in eternity for.
This shows us why Jesus got the dove-
Jesus had nothing to burn…he was sinless, therefore God sent the dove instead.
I love the fire of God in my life, but I hope that eventually He will burn through my stubbornness, my pride, by ego, my sin until there is nothing left to burn, and down comes the dove.
Just something to think about this morning, but until that day, “Father God, send the fire!”
All rise
Prayer
