WATER BAPTISM
Bible Teaching Series
# 1 - Water Baptism in the Gospels
Introduction:
I have been a pastor for 35 years and during that time I have baptized hundreds of people in water. The baptismal services that are most memorable to me, with a few exceptions, are ones that I conducted outdoors, either in rivers, lakes or the ocean. I will briefly share two experiences.
In 1976 I was the pastor of a church in Postville, a community on the north Atlantic coast of Canada in the Labrador region. At the time the church did not have an indoors baptismal facility so baptisms were held once a year in the summer on the shore of Kipakok Bay on which the village was located. It was on a sunny July Sunday afternoon when I walked to the shore with 26 new church members to perform what I consider to be one of the greatest joys of being a pastor, baptizing in water. There was a problem however. A north east wind had been blowing for several days and ice pans from the Labrador Sea had found their way up the bay to the place where the service was held. As I took candidates by the hand and walked with them into the water, there was an abrupt hesitation as the shock of the freezing-cold water hit them. I led each person around the ice pans to water that was deep enough to baptize and found myself reminding them of how much Jesus suffered for us. Amazingly, no one turned back. After several were baptized I began to enjoy it more. My legs adjusted to the cold, or so I thought, and I was able to concentrate more on each person and the blessing of this wonderful experience of assisting them in following the Lord. It wasn’t until several hours later that I realized my lower body had become numb and as I began to warm I did more than a little suffering myself. I can still remember the pain.
In 1999 I was asked to preach at a baptismal service in a village called Tatapalaguedum in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It was a hot Sunday afternoon and about 2,000 people gathered in a large tent to hear the gospel. The pastor of the church instructed me that when I gave the invitation for people to receive Christ as their Saviour, I was to invite them to be water baptized as well. About 50 responded, and after a brief time of instruction we walked to a small lake, about 1 kilometer in distance, to baptize these new believers. It had been agreed that I would stand on the shore and watch while others did the baptizing, an arrangement I was not adverse to once I saw the condition of the water and smelled its putrid odor. Similar to the bay in Labrador there were obstacles in this water too, only this time instead of ice pans it was water buffalo. I always get excited when I see new believers get baptized and there in India it was no different. In my enthusiasm and in spite of the condition of the water, I asked the pastor if I could enter the water and assist with the proceedings. I wanted to show my unity with these new believers and be a part of the blessing they were receiving. The pastor promptly and abruptly answered “NO!” and said he would explain why later.
Afterward, he asked me if I noticed that standing amongst the crowd spread along the shore were several Hindu priests. The pastor explained that Hindus consider Christianity to be a “western” religion and by joining the new believers in the water I would be lending credibility to that notion. I would also be adding to the suffering that would inevitably follow for these new believers. The pastor proceeded to say that the Hindu priests had taken notice of each person who was baptized and later would exact an awful price from them. Some would lose their jobs, some would lose their spouses, and their families would disown almost all. Water baptism meant losses for these new believers that were much more tangible than I had ever witnessed before, certainly more than anything I had experienced. Earlier that afternoon, when I spoke about baptism during the preaching time, I closely related it to repentance and the renouncing of our old sinful natures and lifestyles. Now, these precious new Indian believers were showing me just how far they were willing to go in following through on that instruction and it was much farther than I ever imagined. I was humbled and even ashamed by all this. I had been ready to jump in the water to rejoice with these new believers and later leave them to suffer while I returned to my comfortable home and church in Canada. I am a man big in physical stature so I towered over most of these Indian folk. Now, in comparison to their faith, I felt dwarfed, unworthy to be their instructor. If anything, it was me who needed their tutelage. Their faith, obedience and courage were more than I had ever called upon to have. I shall never forget that day!
John The Baptist – The Baptism of Repentance
In the Gospel of Matthew 3:1-3 we read:
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
’Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ "
John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
The births of John the Baptist and of Jesus Christ were closely linked. Their mothers were pregnant at the same time. They were cousins. Both births had been foretold through prophetic announcement. Their life destinies were also tied together and ultimately they both died violent deaths at the hands of those who hated them.
John’s lineage came through two lines of priests. His mother was of the tribe of Aaron and his father was of the division of Abijah, the eighth of twenty-four divisions into which David divided the priests. John did not fulfill the role of a priest as per his lineage and instead functioned as a prophet. This unusual arrangement was expanded upon by Jesus who filled three offices: Prophet, Priest and King.
John was controversial, an unusual radical. He dressed differently and ate differently than others. His mission was not man driven but was God driven and this made him a very compelling individual. Whenever he preached, crowds gathered to hear what he had to say and many responded positively.
God called John to fill a very unique roll in history. He was to be the forerunner of Christ and as such announce the coming of Christ’s ministry on earth and the nature of Christ’s work.
John introduced water baptism to the worship of Israel, something they had never seen before. (It is possible that the practice of proselyte baptism of gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism had begun by this time, which would not make water baptism a new phenomenon.)
John preached repentance and proclaimed this was the only way to find acceptance with God. To a nation steeped in religious tradition this was indeed something new and different. In the Jewish mind righteousness was attained through the strict keeping of the Law of Moses, and the opportunity to become righteous was the exclusive privilege of the children of Abraham alone, the Jews. Gentiles, the rest of the world, were excluded.
John circumvented all the religious norms. His emphasis was not on the law or the ceremonies and religious practices of Judaism but, he declared, repentance was the only way a person could become righteous. John also taught that water baptism is closely associated with and is actually a part of the repentance process.
The question is often asked, “What is the meaning of water baptism?” Is it merely an outward act of an inward experience, a symbol of the real, or is it more than that, is it a sacrament? The word “sacrament” implies a “means of grace”. A sacrament is therefore much different than something that is merely an avenue whereby God’s grace is dispensed. In other words, as a means of grace, a person is saved by baptism. Doctrinally, this is called “baptismal regeneration”. To adopt this view in its extremity is to take away from the finished work of Christ on the cross and deny that the cross of Christ is the only valid New Testament sacrament.
I believe the answer to the meaning of baptism lies somewhere between these two views. It is not a sacrament that takes away from the work of the cross but at the same time, it is more than an act that is merely symbolic.
Repentance requires confession of sins and from the scripture quoted above, (Confessing their sins they were baptized), we see that confession and water baptism occurred simultaneously. We therefore can deduce that baptism is the manner prescribed by God whereby we confess our sins. This makes baptism a mandatory response, ordained by God and therefore it must not be considered optional. God prescribes water baptism as the acceptable human response to the offer of divine grace. This in no wise suggests that anything other than the grace of God is what saves us. Water baptism is not the only way we confess our sins. A Bible passage known by most Christians is Romans 10:9-10 that describes confession as an action of our mouths, something that we verbalize.
We make a choice as to whether or not we will be baptized. From that standpoint, and with the understanding that confession of sins is a human act, it is possible to conclude that God is not actively at work in water baptism. Such is not the case however, for anything God ordains he also assures it will be something in which he will be an active participant. Also, baptism is an act of faith and God always responds to faith and therefore he is very much at work during the baptismal process. Whenever God is at work grace is imparted. From that standpoint, it can be reasoned that water baptism is sacramental and therefore should be something every believer greatly desires to pursue.
There are other things to consider about water baptism from the life of John. The Bible states that he was “the voice of one crying in the desert”. The Bible is full of symbols and metaphors and this surely is one of them. “Crying in the desert” depicts the morally barren, spiritually parched, and desperate condition of a people whose religion could not save them. “Crying” depicts the despair of the human heart confined in an environment of deprivation and death. That this same desert exists today there is no doubt. The world is full of religions, which do nothing to satisfy the spiritual needs of their followers. Even Christians can be guilty of reducing the gospel to something less than a work of grace that brings glorious emancipation from sin and the devil, by complicating it with traditions and religious trappings.
We can envision John as a “crier” much like we think of a “town crier” who, before the days of modern technology announced news both good and bad to the inhabitants of his town. John was such a crier only his news was all good. He did not call people into the dry desert but rather he called them out of it and brought them to water. Water is one of life’s necessities and without it we cannot survive. The gospel calls us out of the deserts of this world into the life giving springs of water found in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Baptism embraces all aspects of this wonderful gospel.
The Baptism of Jesus
In Matthew 3:13-17 we read:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 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. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Jesus was sinless and therefore needed no repentance. John knew this and protested when Jesus asked for water baptism. Jesus explained that his purpose for asking for baptism was to fulfill all righteousness and by doing this revealed that there was something to this act that John himself did not fully understand.
Righteousness is not a static word. It implies action and constant pursuit. Becoming righteous is an act of God on our behalf since none of us are able to attain it on our own. However, we do not remain passive in the process. God designed salvation to be a matter of mutual consent between him and each individual person. Therefore the actions God undertakes on our behalf are to be met with responses on our part. God ordained water baptism as an initiative we take in response to initiatives he has taken. He sent his son to die on the cross for our sins. Through his death on the cross the means whereby righteousness could be granted to us was set in place. To enter into this wonderful state and to see it come to fruition in our lives, we respond to God in the same way Jesus did, by receiving water baptism. Though Jesus was already righteous, he nevertheless accepted baptism simply because he knew this was his Father’s will. He needed nothing else to motivate him. Since water baptism is God’s will for us our response should be the same as Jesus’ was, simple obedience.
One of the most marvelous of all Christian doctrines is the doctrine of identification. Jesus Christ is God, the second person in the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In order to save man God had to become a man for justice demanded death as punishment for sin and since God is God, he cannot die. In becoming a man Jesus identified with us. He became one of us and one with us in every sense of the word. There are three principle events whereby Jesus identified with the human race. First was his birth, the incarnation, Emmanuel – God with us. The second way was through baptism. Jesus set the example for us to follow. He did what all of us must do, be baptized in water. Third, through his death on the cross, Jesus tasted death for all mankind. This was the ultimate act of identification.
The gospel affords mankind the opportunity to respond. We are given the opportunity to identify with God in the same way he identifies with us. This does not mean that we become God in the same fashion God became man. It does however involve the same three principles that we noted about God becoming one with us. First, we accept the new birth. We ask God to make us brand new, to give us new life, to start life all over again, this time as his follower. Second, we identify with God through baptism. Baptism affords us the chance to let our voice be heard in the desert, declaring that we have renounced the desert of sin and we want all of heaven, earth and hell to hear our declaration. We culminate this with water baptism. Third, we identify with Christ through death. We reckon ourselves daily to be dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The great commission
In Matthew 28:16-20 we read:
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Nothing attaches importance to water baptism more than its inclusion in the great commission Christ gave to his church. In the great commission, baptism is associated with discipleship. Discipleship is the very essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ therefore, baptism is an essential part of following Christ.
In the great commission, water baptism is also associated with spiritual authority. This makes water baptism anything but a passive experience. Spiritual authority, authority over sin and its effects and authority over the devil is not something any one of us can garner on our own. It must be imparted as a gift from God. This he has done through the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer and imparts spiritual gifts to the church. The close association between water baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit was first seen at the baptism of Christ when upon rising from under the water, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon him.
In conclusion, we have seen that confession, repentance, the imparting of God’s grace, obedience, faith, discipleship, spiritual authority are all together, part and parcel of what it means to be baptized in water.
Amen.
All scripture quotations are from the NIV of the Bible
Sermon preached at Emmanuel English Church,
By Bruce Morrison, pastor
Hong Kong,
May 18, 2003
