There Is One Baptism Series

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)