“Why Baptism?”
Opening Illustration: I have decided baptism clip.
Thesis: Paul tells us Romans 6 that Water Baptism has a 4-step process to it immersion, submersion, emergence and living the life of baptized saint. Saints die in Water Baptism and emerge resurrected in the Lord Jesus to live a righteous life in Christ.
Scripture Text: Romans 6:1-23
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Introduction:
Romans 6 is a chapter that focuses on the symbolism of Water Baptism. Today toward the end of our service we will have a Water Baptism. Today people have decided to follow Jesus’ instruction to “repent and be baptized.” Mark 16:15-16: “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Peter in the book of Acts 2:38 states, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Paul in our text today is also saying the same thing that we need to repent of our sin and be baptized because this was and is the instruction of the Lord. He talks about the symbolism behind the act of Water Baptism:
Baptism is defined as baptizo which comes from the Greek word bapto or to dip. This word was frequently used to designate the cleaning of an object by dipping it into water.
Steve Atkerson states this about Water Baptism: The OT is replete with examples of ceremonial cleansings accomplished through the use of water (Nu 19:11-21; 31:21-24). Thus, the Jews were not surprised that John the Baptist used water graphically to portray repentance and forgiveness of sins (Mk 1:4). Further, water is nature’s detergent, a cleansing agent well suited to the symbolism of purification. Notice how Ananias told
Paul to "be baptized and wash your sins away" (Ac 22:16), and that Peter associated baptism with forgiveness in Ac 2:38.
Paul used this same Greek word in Romans 6 to signify the same process occurs in Water Baptism.
T.S. - Paul in this passage disagrees with some who believed in antinomianism. He shows that we demonstrate our salvation by not living in sin anymore and he uses the act of Baptism to point to how this should have changed in our life. Paul describes the four-step process – that is symbolized by Water Baptism:
I. The step of Immersion is when you go down into the water:
a. This first step is referred to in Romans 6:1-4:
i. The Message: 1So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? 3Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. 4When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus.
ii. The key phrase Paul makes is “We died to sin!” He is talking about us dying to the sinful nature. Death to sin!
1. To die – die in Greek is apothnesko which means to cast off something that is living and to detach it from the source of its life and to let it die.
2. Paul is telling us as “saint” that saints are no longer attached to sin and this world because of what Jesus did for them on the cross. So therefore, they are to be detached from sin so that it dies in their life. When they die to sin then they live the new life in Christ. They live as a saint.
a. When we enter into the water during baptism this identifies us with Christ’s death on the cross.
b. Anfuso states, “As Jesus freely chose to die in our place, so we must willingly enter into the waters of baptism to rise in newness of life.”
3. So, this step emphasizes the need to die to the self and to sin and to be willing to allow the Lord to “Rebirth You!”
a. Jesus said, “We need to be Born Again!”
i. Text: John 3:5-8: “5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
b. Point: Immersion symbolizes that we as a saint have repented of our sin and chosen to die to sin. It also signifies that we have aligned our lives with Jesus and with what he did on the cross on our behalf.
T.S. – Once we go down into the water and we are immersed then we have accomplished step one in the Baptism process which means that we have chosen to repent of our sin and to die to sin. Then the second step takes off while we are under the water submerged.
II. The next step occurs as we are under the water it is called submersion.
a. This step under the water symbolizes the cross and the crucifixion element of Water Baptism in association with the Crucifixion of Jesus.
i. This second step is referred to in Romans 6:5-7
1. The Message: “Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country.6-7Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this…”
2. This step deals with the burial part of a person’s willingness to die, to sin and to the old wicked nature of evil.
3. Water baptism confirms the fact that our old man or sin nature has been crucified or in other words destroyed. This is what is symbolized by the submersion step in water baptism.
4. Galatians 2:20 states, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
ii. This being submerged in the water is the symbolic point where the flesh is crucified by the cross and our sins are washed away, and we are freed from the bondage of sin.
b. This step also deals with a circumcision of the heart according to Francis Anfuso’s booklet Water Baptism he states on page 12:
i. In the Old Testament, God established circumcision to be an outward work which signified a change of heart and a new covenant relationship between the Jewish people and Himself.
1. In the New Testament, Water Baptism parallels this and is required for all of God’s people.
ii. He then cites Col. 2:1-11:
1. “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…”
c. Point: The Submersion step symbolically portrays that we have crucified the flesh – our sin nature by aligning with Jesus’ crucifixion and His burial. This step symbolically points to our sins being washed away and forgiven by the Lord and that we in spiritual terms have been “Born Again.”
T.S. – Once we have been submerged and we have chosen to allow the old flesh to be crucified with Christ we then experience freedom from sin and this step is what is being represented. The next step occurs as we rise out of the water to signify the experience of our New Life!
III. The third step of emergence occurs as the individual comes up out of the water.
a. This step is symbolic of becoming alive in Christ and in the reception of the promise of new life in Christ.
i. This step aligns us with Jesus resurrection from the dead and the beginning of a new era in the church and in our spiritual life as a saint.
ii. This third step is referred to in Romans 6:8-11:
1. The Message: “If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. 9We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. 10When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. 11From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.”
b. It references the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and for us the believer it is the symbolic representation of being resurrected in the new life found in Jesus’ resurrection power.
i. Paul says when we come out, we become “Alive in Jesus Christ!”
c. Point: The symbolic meaning of emergence is that we are resurrected to new life in Christ because of the power of Jesus resurrection. It portrays that we too have been raised from the dead and we have entered into a new life in Jesus Christ. The old sin nature is dead and buried and the new nature of the saint has been brought to life through the resurrection power of Jesus.
T.S. – For many the steps of Water Baptism stop here. But as I read on in Romans 6, I was reminded that there is a 4th step to Water Baptism and it deals with the individual living like a saint lives from this point on in their lives. A water baptized believer is a saint and therefore he/she acts like a saint after experiencing the new birth in Jesus Christ.
IV. The fourth step of Water Baptism is sainthood – living like a saint.
a. This step of water baptism is where the saint who has died to sin and is now baptized commits to living a righteous life for the rest of their life.
i. Paul says that this should be expected of all baptized believers in Jesus.
1. We should be able to recognize a saint – a Christian by their fruits!
a. Galatians 2:19 - 25: 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
2. This is to be the normal behavior of a saint who is water baptized not an abnormal behavior pattern!
b. This step is referred to in Romans 6:12-23.
i. The Message: “That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. 13Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead! —into God’s way of doing things. 14Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God. (WHAT IS TRUE FREEDOM?) 15So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? 16Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. 17But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, 18one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! 19I’m using this freedom language because it’s easy to picture. You can readily recall, can’t you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God’s freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? 20As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn’t have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. 21But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you’re proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. 22But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! 23Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.”
c. The Christian saint who has been baptized and “Born again” lives a different kind of life than a person who is not a saint. Remember the “aint”?
i. Paul gives us clear instruction on the lifestyle of a baptized saints living: What does living like a saint look like?
1. You do not allow sin to reign in your body.
2. You offer your life to God to be used by Him.
3. You let the Holy Spirit inhabit your body not sin.
4. You no longer let sin be your master because of your grace experience with the Lord Jesus.
5. You become a slave to righteousness instead of a slave to sin in your life.
6. You become committed to living holy which will lead to eternal life.
7. You live a life freed from sin and its accomplice death.
8. You live a life of freedom which leads you to eternal life.
9. You live like a saint and therefore you live a life that glorifies the Lord Jesus!
Conclusion:
Why be Baptized?
1. Jesus himself was baptized!
a. See Matthew 3:13-17: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.16As 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. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
2. The Bible teaches that every Christian should be water baptized.
3. Water Baptism has an important spiritual significance in that we outwardly identify with Jesus Christ and affirm our commitment to live for Him.
a. Revelation 12:11: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
4. Jesus stressed the vital importance of Water Baptism when he commissioned His followers to baptize all those who became Christians.
a. Matthew 28:19-20: “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, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
5. Anfuso states, “Water Baptism is far more than a ritual or religious exercise. It is intended to be an essential part of the spiritual foundation of all new Christians. At the time of a believer’s baptism in water he/she outwardly affirm the inward commitment he/she has made to Jesus Christ as the Lord of his/her life” (3).
6. Water Baptism is intended for all who have repented of their sin and asked the Lord to forgive them. They have also asked the Lord to become the Lord of their life. It is for those who have had a conversion experience with Jesus.
7. Water Baptism is another mile marker in a saint’s spiritual journey, and it is to be looked at as special moment between you and the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that this mile marker helps us to identify and to connect with what Jesus did for us through His death, burial, and resurrection.
What is the purpose of baptism?
Steve Atkerson states: “John the Baptist explicitly stated the purpose of his baptism when he said, "I baptize you with water for repentance" (Mt 3:11). Did John baptize them so that they could repent or because they already had repented? That is, was John’s baptism a means to repentance or the result of repentance? In both English and Greek, "for" (eis) can refer to either an objective (I left "for" home ) or a cause (I cried "for" joy). In Mt 3:11, "for" denotes a cause; John’s baptism came because they had already repented. It was an outward sign of an inward act. When many of the Pharisees came to be baptized, John condemned them as a "brood of vipers" because they had not yet repented (Mt 3:7-10). Thus, when Luke wrote that John was "preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (3:3), he meant that John’s baptism was symbolic of a person’s repentance in order to be forgiven. It was not a "baptism for forgiveness" but rather a baptism that expressed "repentance for forgiveness." Incidentally, "repent" is from metanoia and means "a change of thinking." As such, it is a close parallel to faith; one never occurs without the other. John urged men to change their thinking about sin (Mt 3:6) and to believe in the one coming after him, that is Jesus (Jn 1:6-9; Ac 19:4).”
Altar Call: So, have you as a believer or a saint been water baptized? If not, I encourage you today to take the next step in your spiritual journey and be water baptized today!
