A. The story is told of a preacher who had just started serving with a new congregation and for eight Sundays in a row, he preached about baptism.
1. The elders were growing tired of hearing about baptism and decided to assign the preacher a text for the next Sunday that would hopefully result in a sermon on a different subject, rather than another sermon about baptism.
2. So, the elders approached the preacher and asked him to preach next week on Genesis 1:1; the first verse of the Bible.
3. So, when the next Sunday arrived, the preacher started his sermon: “My text for today’s sermon is Genesis 1:1. ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ As you know, the earth is two-thirds water, which leads me to the subject of my sermon: water baptism.”
B. Over the years preachers and members of churches of Christ have been criticized for putting too much emphasis on baptism, but it is a very important subject that is worthy of emphasis, especially because there are so many false ideas and practices concerning baptism.
1. As you know, we are in a sermon series about the 7 ones that equal unity.
2. God wants His people to be unified and the 7 ones are the things that unite us.
3. So far in our series we have discussed the one body, the one Spirit, the one hope, the one Lord, and the one faith.
4. Today, we will discuss the one baptism.
C. One of the things that is so sad is to realize that these seven ones that are supposed to lead to unity are actually some of the most hotly disputed doctrines and I am sure that Satan is the cause of that.
1. People who claim to follow Christ argue over just how many bodies of Christ exist.
2. People argue over the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
3. People have different ideas about the hope that we have.
4. People argue over the Lord Jesus, His deity and His purpose.
5. People argue over what it means that there is one faith.
6. And not surprisingly, people argue over what baptism is and what is the purpose of baptism.
D. Let’s talk for a minute about some of the different ideas that some people hold about baptism.
1. People have differing ideas about who should be baptized.
a. Some believe that infants and young children should be baptized, whereas others believe that a person must be old enough to believe in Jesus and understand what it means to be a
disciple of Jesus before they are a candidate for baptism.
2. People have differing ideas about the method of baptism.
a. Some believe that sprinkling or pouring of water over a person is an acceptable form of baptism, whereas others believe that baptism must involve a person must be completely immersed in water.
3. People have differing ideas about the purpose and meaning of baptism.
a. Some believe that you should be baptized simply because Jesus was baptized.
b. The most popular belief about baptism practiced by many churches today says that baptism is an outward expression of an inward change and teachs that a person is saved when they receive Christ by saying the sinner’s prayer, and then they can be baptized at a later time to make their faith profession public.
c. Some require baptism in order for a person to be added to their church’s membership.
d. Still others, like us, believe that baptism is an integral part of the salvation process and is the moment when a person’s sins are washed away and they get into Christ.
E. But what does the Bible say about baptism?
1. Is the Bible vague or confusing about the meaning of baptism, or about it’s purpose and mode?
2. I believe the Bible is quite clear about baptism and we don’t have to contort or stretch Scripture to understand and practice baptism in scriptural ways.
3. And I believe that baptism is absolutely necessary.
4. If baptism is not necessary, then why is it included in the list? Nothing else on the list is optional or unimportant!
5. These seven ones are the basis for unity and baptism is listed as one of the seven, unalterable, absolute truths that all Christians must embrace.
F. One of the things that can be confusing is that the New Testament mentions six different baptisms.
1. There is the baptism of John the Baptizer (Mk. 1:4-7; Acts 19:1-5)
2. There is the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8; Acts 2:1-4)
3. There is the baptism of suffering (Luke 12:50; Mark 10:38-39)
4. There is the baptism of fire (Matthew 3:11; 25:41, 46)
5. There is the baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29)
6. There is the baptism of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)
G. So, which of those baptisms is the one baptism of the seven ones that leads to unity?
1. We can eliminate several from the list immediately, because they are figurative things and are not involved in salvation or aren’t something every person will be or can be involved in – like the baptism of suffering, or of fire, or baptism for the dead (which isn’t authorized by God).
2. The three baptisms left on the list that might qualify as the one baptism are the baptism of John, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of the Great Commission.
3. Let’s spend the rest of our time determining which of those baptisms is the one baptism.
H. Let’s start with the baptism of John the Baptizer.
1. The idea of baptism is introduced in the New Testament in the ministry of a man named John. 2. He was so connected with the act of baptism that he earned the name, John the Baptist.
a. As you have seen, I like to use the name John the Baptizer because to call him John the Baptist makes it sound like he was a part of the Baptist denomination, but the earliest Baptist denomination started in the early 1600s and John lived way before then.
3. John preached a message of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
a. 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)
4. John baptized those who repented, but we know that his baptism is not the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4.
5. How do we know that John’s baptism isn’t the one baptism?
6. We know this because of the meaning and purpose of John’s baptism, for starters, but we also know it because of something that happened that is recorded in Acts 19.
a. In Acts 19, the apostle Paul found some people who considered themselves disciples of Jesus.
b. The Bible says: He found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 “Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. (Acts 19:1b-6)
7. The “one baptism” that we will talk about in a few minutes involves receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit (which is the indwelling of the Spirit as our seal and guide), and so Paul knew that something wasn’t right when these people didn’t know anything about the Holy Spirit.
8. When Paul discovered that they had only been baptized with John’s baptism, he knew they needed to receive the “one baptism,” so Paul immediately baptized them in the name of Jesus.
9. So, we can conclude that the baptism of John is not the “one baptism.”
I. A second baptism that might be the “one baptism” is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
1. After Jesus’ resurrection and prior to His return to heaven, Jesus gave the apostles this instruction: 4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” (Acts 1:4-5)
2. A few days later, this baptism of the Holy Spirit took place as recorded in Acts 2:1-4: 1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.
a. Their baptism of the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak in foreign languages that they didn’t know which certainly got the attention of those who spoke those languages.
b. That day when they were baptized by the Holy Spirit was day that the church began - Christ was preached and people were added to the church through the “one baptism,” but the “one baptism” was not the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for only the apostles had experienced that.
3. The only other time we people experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs in Acts 10, when Peter was sent to the home of a Gentile named Cornelius.
a. Peter was reluctant to go to the home of a Gentile and was not sure that Gentiles could become members of the church.
b. In order to convince Peter and the rest of the apostles that Gentiles could become Christians, God baptized Cornelius and his household with the Holy Spirit just like God had done with the apostles in Acts 2, and Cornelius and his household began to speak in other languages just as the apostles had.
c. Peter said: “Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (Acts 10:47)
4. If being baptized with the Holy Spirit was the “one baptism,” then why did Cornelius and his household need to be baptized in water?
5. The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred only twice in the New Testament and was experienced only by the apostles and Cornelius and his household, so it can’t be the “one baptism.”
J. Therefore, through the process of elimination, it becomes clear that the baptism of the Great Commission is the “one baptism” that leads to unity.
1. In some of the last words that Jesus gave His apostles, He told them: “19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
a. From Jesus’ words, we see that part of the process of becoming a disciple of Jesus is being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said: 15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16)
a. We notice that Jesus clearly states that those who believe and are baptized will be saved.
b. Some try to say that the only important part is the believing part not the baptizing part, because Jesus only said that those who do not believe are condemned.
c. But Jesus did not need to say “whoever does not believe and is not baptized will be condemned,” because if a person doesn’t believe then they won’t be baptized, and if they were baptized without belief it wouldn’t help them.
K. The apostles proceeded to preach and to do exactly what Jesus told them to do: to make disciples by baptizing them into Jesus.
1. In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, when the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we already discussed, Peter preached that the risen Jesus is the Messiah and Savior.
2. The crowd was convicted and asked what they should do.
3. Peter explained: 38 “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. (Acts 2:38-41)
4. Because the crowd expressed their belief in Christ and their desire to follow Him, they were told to repent and be baptized, but notice the purpose for baptism and the result of baptism.
5. The purpose of baptism was for the forgiveness of their sins and the result was receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and their addition to the church.
6. In baptism, God offers and we accept the forgiveness of our sins.
a. When we are pardoned of our sins, which had separated us from God, we are justified.
b. That is, we are freed from the guilt and penalty of sin and restored to a right relationship with God.
c. 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.
7. When the apostle Paul was still Saul the persecutor, a Christian named Ananias was sent to him to restore the sight that Saul had lost when he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus.
a. 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 22:16)
b. After seeing the risen Christ, Saul surely believed in Jesus, and we know that Saul fasted and prayed for three days, before Ananias arrived, so if anyone could have been made right with God by faith, repentance and prayer alone, surely it would have been Saul.
c. But even after all of that faith and repentance, fasting and prayer, Saul’s sins still stood between him and God, and that’s why Ananias commanded that he be baptized and wash away his sins.
8. That’s what occurs at the time of our baptism: the washing away of sins.
a. It’s not the water that makes us clean when we are baptized – it’s the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross and His resurrection from the dead that makes us clean.
9. In Peter’s first letter, he wrote about how Noah and his family: eight people—were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (1 Pt. 3:20-21)
a. There are those who attempt to separate baptism from the process of salvation.
b. But the apostle Peter says Noah and his family were saved through water and in the same way the water of “baptism now saves you.”
c. It saves us because of or “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
L. As the apostles carried out the Great Commission and wrote the letters that instructed the church about baptism, we learn about baptism’s meaning and mode.
1. In Romans 6, Paul explained many important truths about baptism: 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. (Rom. 6:3-5)
2. Here we see Paul connecting our baptism with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
3. Paul emphasizes the burial aspect of baptism.
a. We know what it means to bury something – like when we bury a casket in the cemetery.
b. When we bury a casket, we do more than just sprinkle a little dirt, or pour a bucket of dirt on a casket – when a casket is put into the ground, we cover it completely - it is buried.
d. When Jesus was put into that grave, he was put in the earth and a huge stone covered the entrance to His tomb, but then Jesus came back to life and came out of the tomb.
e. So, when we are “buried” in baptism, the same thing happens - we are put under the water and then we are raised out of the water a new person with new life.
M. A great example of this is recorded in Acts 8.
1. There was a man from Ethiopia who had been to Jerusalem and on his way back to Ethiopia, he was riding in his chariot as he read from the Old Testament book of Isaiah the prophet.
2. A disciple named Phillip was directed by the Spirit to approach the man in the chariot.
3. Phillip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
4. The man replied: “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
5. The Bible says: 35 Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture. 36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?” 37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:35-39)
6. Notice, that when Philip taught him about Jesus, the subject of baptism naturally came up.
a. When you talk about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, then you have to talk about how a person can enter into that event through baptism.
b. It’s clear that is what happened as Phillip taught about Jesus to that man.
c. When the Ethiopian asked if he could be baptized, Philip said he could if he believed.
d. Baptism is not for someone who does not understand what they are doing or who doesn’t believe in Jesus - baptism follows faith – doesn’t happen before someone believes.
7. Notice the urgency of the request for baptism and the immediacy of the baptism.
a. If baptism wasn’t directly related to being saved and getting into a relationship with Christ, then there would be no urgency or immediacy.
b. This is the pattern we see over and over again in the book of Acts: teaching creates faith which immediately leads to baptism and is followed by rejoicing.
1. In Acts 2, the people on the Day of Pentecost were baptized immediately.
2. In Acts 10, Cornelius and his household were baptized immediately.
3. In Acts 16, the Jailer and his household were baptized immediately and it was the middle of the night.
4. Here in Acts 8, the Ethiopian man was baptized immediately.
c. Why not delay the baptism to a later time? Because salvation was on the line.
8. Finally, we notice the mode or method of baptism.
a. Both Philip and the man went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
b. Why did they both have to go “down into the water” for the baptism? Because baptism is a burial not just a sprinkling.
c. Surely the Ethiopian had drinking water in the chariot for that long journey through the desert and if baptism was a sprinkling they could have used the man’s drinking water.
N. But baptism is a burial in water and that’s why they went down into the water.
1. Actually, if the Greek word for baptism was properly translated or translated at all, then everyone would know that baptism is supposed to be a burial in water.
2. The Greek word “baptisma” literally means “to immerse, to dip under, to plunge beneath.”
3. Baptism by immersion was the way of the original church and it wasn’t until over 200 years after the church began that anything other than total immersion was practiced by anyone.
4. But in the 3rd century and thereafter, some began to use other forms of baptism.
5. Then in 1311, a Roman Catholic council meeting in Ravena, Italy proclaimed sprinkling, in place of full immersion, to be the official doctrine of baptism for the Catholic church.
6. Then, 300 years later, in 1611, when the King James Version of the Bible was being translated, the translators decided not to mess with the tradition of sprinkling and in doing so, they instead messed with the meaning of scripture.
7. Rather than translate the word “baptisma” into English, they transliterated the Greek word “baptisma” and made up the English word “baptism” – which hid the original meaning of the Greek word “baptisma” which is “immerse.”
8. So, every time you see the word “baptism” in your English Bible, it should read “immerse.”
a. Therefore, Romans 6:3 would read: Do you not know that as many of us as were immersed into Christ Jesus were immersed into His death?
b. Acts 2:38 would read: Repent and be immersed.
c. Mt. 28:19 would read: Make disciples of all nations immersing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
d. Mk. 16:16 would read: Whoever believes and is immersed will be saved.
O. These seven ones that we have been studying are all a part of God’s provision for the salvation and transformation of people.
1. Because of the one God the Father, one Lord, and one Spirit, we can have the one faith and one hope, and be added to the one body, through the one baptism.
2. No matter how dark and deep was our sin, we can be made pure and holy.
3. Paul wrote about that in his first letter to the Corinthians: 9 Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, 10 no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. 11 And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:9-11)
4. Because of God’s grace and righteousness that come through Jesus, we through faith, repentance and baptism, are washed, sanctified and justified – made new and transformed.
P. Allow me to end with a story: Once there was a machinist who worked at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.
1. The machinist came to faith and was baptized into Christ.
2. The day after his conversion to Christ, he went to work and confessed that he had been stealing parts and tools from Ford Motor Company for many years and he asked for forgiveness.
3. The foreman who took the man’s confession didn’t know what to do, since this conversion and confession was unprecedented.
4. The foreman sent a cable to Mr. Ford who was in Europe and waited for his response.
5. Mr. Ford immediately cabled saying: “Dam up the Detroit River and baptize the entire city.”
Q. I pray that we will experience a revival in our world, our nation, and our community.
1. I pray that people will turn to Christ in faith and repentance and will be baptized into Christ.
2. The “one baptism” into Christ should result in transformed lives, transformed families, transformed communities, transformed workplaces – a changed world!
3. I hope that someone here today will be ready to experience the “one baptism” that brings salvation and unites us in Christ.
4. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, then repent and confess our faith in Christ and be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins, then you will receive the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
5. 3000 people responded to the invitation and were baptized into Christ in Acts 2, who will respond to the invitation and be baptized into Christ today?
Resources:
• Ephesians and Philippians, Jay Lockhart and David Roper, Truth for Today Commentary, 2009.
• The Basis for Christian Unity, Steven Cole
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-26-basis-christian-unity-ephesians-44-6
• Ephesians 4:4-6 Basis for Church Unity, http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/eph4v4.html
• The Basis for Unity, Brent Kercheville, Westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com
• There is One Baptism, Sermon by Roger Hasselquist, SermonCentral.com
• There is One Baptism, Sermon by Nick Angel, Pleasant Plains church of Christ
