Understanding Our Beliefs

About Baptism

KEY SCRIPTURES.

MATTHEW 28:18-20; ACTS 2: 36-47, ROMANS 6.-I-5

LESSON AIM: To lead to a clear Bible-based understanding of the ordinance of baptism; to understand who should be baptized, how baptism is to be conducted, and the whys of baptism.

SUGGESTED MEMORY VERSES: Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 2:41 and Romans 6:4

Outline:

  1.      WHO ARE THE SUBJECTS FOR BAPTISM?
  2.      WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF BAPTISM?
  3.      WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL METHOD OF BAPTISM?
  4.      WHY IS BAPTISM IMPORTANT?

INTRODUCTION: They say that people's "last words" are important words. What would be your last statement if you knew you were about to die? Surely one would choose those words with great care. Entire studies have been made of famous last words and their importance.

In Matthew, chapter 28, we find some of the last words of Christ Jesus our Lord before His ascension into Heaven. The statement He made has been called The Great Commission. Indeed it is! The whole mission of the Church may be found within these few verses of Scripture. We are to go into all the world, preach the Gospel to every person, win others to Christ, baptize our converts, and teach them to observe whatever our Lord has taught us.

Over the years much controversy has arisen over the topic of baptism. In fact, you'll find very little written in theology books or books of doctrine concerning this ordinance. Yet it is a vital part of our Lord's commission to the church. Many of our modem day Church members cannot scripturally explain baptism to their neighbors. We need to know what the Bible says, and have full assurance of our faith and belief concerning this matter of baptism.

WHO ARE THE SUBJECTS FOR BAPTISM?

 

Before we can baptize anyone we must first know who, according to Scripture, should become a candidate for baptism.  Is it our duty to baptize anyone who makes that request? As with any Bible question, we must look to the Bible for our answers.
  1. From the Bible we learn that there are two basic categories of people living on earth.

     

    1. There are the saved.
      1. A previous lesson discussed the New Birth and how one can be saved.
      2. The saved are those who, by faith, have trusted Christ as their personal Savior
      3. The words saved and born again are synonymous.
      4. We, who are the saved, are saved by God’s grace and not our merit; therefore, we have nothing about which to boast.

    2. There are the unsaved.
    1. Those who have not yet put their faith and trust in Christ as Savior are the unsaved.
    2. The unsaved aren’t unsaved because they are worse sinners than those who are saved.
    3. They’re unsaved simply because they haven’t been born again.
    4. All of us are sinners. Some are saved sinners, and some are lost sinners. The only difference between the two is the blood of Christ!

  2. From these two categories we must make our determination as to who should be baptized. If you do a “character search” through the Bible, you won’t find a single record of anyone ever being baptized until, first they were saved. So, we must conclude that salvation is a necessary prerequisite to baptism.

    Let’s consider a few case studies found in the Bible.

    1. Acts 2:36-41. Note verse 41.
      1. What conclusion do you draw from this story?
      2. Who was baptized on the day of Pentecost?

    2. Acts 8:5-12 (the story of Phillip going to Samaria with the Gospel).
      1. Look at verse 12
      2. What conclusion do you draw?
      3. What residents of Samaria were baptized?

    3. Consider the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch found in Acts 8:26-38.
      1. Look carefully at verses 35-39.
      2. What conclusion do you draw?
      3. What was Phillip’s response to the Ethiopian’s question about what would hinder him from being baptized?
      4. When did Philip baptize this man? (Of course, the answer is, after he professed faith in Christ as the only Son of God.)

    4. Let’s take our study further into the Book of Acts and look at a story in Acts 10:34-48. This is the story of the Apostle Peter taking this same Gospel message to a Gentile named, Cornelius.

       

      1. Pay attention to verse 22 and you’ll see that Cornelius was a man who was considered a “good” man by everyone.
      2. With all his personal goodness he was still lost and needed Peter to teach him about Christ so that he could be saved.
      3. Look carefully at verse 34
      4. What conclusion do you draw from this story?
      5. When did Cornelius and the others get baptized?

    5. Look at the story of the man named Crispus, found in Acts 18:8.
      1. What kind of man was Crispus?
      2. Notice carefully the order found in the last part of verse 8.

  3. What do we see in common in each of these case histories from the Bible?
  1. The 3,000 on the day of Pentecost, the people in Samaria, the Ethiopian, Cornelius and his family, and Crispus the chief ruler all believed, repented and were saved before they were baptized.
  2. Thus, we conclude that the candidate for baptism is one who has first believed the Gospel message, turned to Christ by faith and has been saved.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF BAPTISM?

 

  1. Perhaps it would be better to begin by mentioning what baptism does not do:
    1. Baptism doesn’t take away sin and save.
      1. Titus 3:5
      2. Baptism is a righteous work. It’s something we ought to do after we have been saved; but it isn’t something we do to secure salvation.

    2. Sometimes the language of Acts 2:38 confuses people on this matter.
      1. Note the words, “Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ FOR remission of sins....”
      2. The word “for” in Acts 2:38 in the original language is the word “eis” It means, “because.”
      3. Peter is not teaching that you should be baptized to remit sins, but rather, because your sins have been remitted, you ought to be baptized.
      4. The command to repent precedes the command to be baptized. (Repentance brings salvation)

    3. Let’s look at a practical illustration from everyday life.
      1. “Close the window; it’s cold outside” wouldn’t mean that closing the window makes it cold outside, but because it is already cold outside someone has given the order to close the window.
      2. When Peter said, “Be baptized...for remission of sins,” he was saying you need to be baptized because your sins are remitted already!
      3. Don’t ever forget that salvation is the gift of God (Romans 6:23). Therefore we cannot earn it by being baptized.




  2. For what purpose, then, are we to be baptized? Romans 6:3-4 teach us that baptism sets forth an example of two great Bible truths. Read Romans 6:3-4.

    1. The death of Christ.
      1. Christ died for our sins.
      2. I Corinthians 15:3

    2. The resurrection of Christ from the dead! (I Corinthians 15:4)
      1. This doctrine, according to I Corinthians 15:12-23, is the power of the Gospel message.
      2. If Christ be not raised, our faith is in vain.
      3. I Corinthians 15:17
    C.        To understand baptism, you must not miss the great truth found in Romans 6:5.
    1. ”For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death....”
      1. The word “likeness” is important. It means “picture.”
      2. Baptism is a likeness, or a picture, of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

What purpose does a picture serve?

  1. A picture is simply a reminder.
  2. As a picture is a reminder of another place or another person, baptism is to serve as a reminder to us of the kind of life we’re to live while on earth.
  3. Romans 6:4 says, “... even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
  4. As we are buried in the likeness of His death, we are raised to walk in newness of His life.
  5. Baptism is an outward sign to others of an inward change that has already taken place.  Baptism is like wearing a wedding ring. One doesn’t wear a ring in order to be married, but because one has already been married and isn’t ashamed to show it.

III.     WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL METHOD OF BAPTISM

  1. What does the Bible have to teach us about the method for baptism? Remember, in a question related to the Bible we must seek our answer from the Bible.
    1. Some sprinkle, some pour, some immerse face forward, some immerse once backward, still others immerse three times backward.
    2. With all these opinions where is one to find answers?
  2. When considering the question of method, it’s vital to remember the fact that baptism, according to Romans 6:5, is to be a likeness of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The symbol of a death, burial and resurrection can best be found in baptism by immersion.
    1. The Greek word for baptize (baptizo) means to dunk or to immerse.
    2. Two Greek words translated “sprinkle” are rantizo and echea. Neither of these words are found in the Bible in relation to baptism.

Christ set the example in His own baptism.

  1. Read Matthew 3:13-17 and carefully note the account.
    1. Matthew 3:16
    2. Notice that Jesus “went up out of the water,” leaving little doubt that both He and John had gone down into the water.
    3. John baptized Jesus in the water. (Keep in mind the meaning of the word baptiza)
    4. There in the water at His baptism, Jesus portrayed His death, burial and resurrection, thus leaving us His example to follow.
  2. All other Biblical accounts of baptism follow the same method. See Acts 8:36-39 once again for the story of the baptism of the Ethiopian.

IV.            WHY IS BAPTISM IMPORTANT?

At this point some may say, “If baptism doesn’t wash away sin and save me, I don’t need to be baptized.”  What reasons can be given to prove that baptism is an important step in the life of a saved person. Why should you be baptized after you’ve trusted Christ and been saved?

  1. The only reason that should be needed is the fact that Jesus our Lord commanded baptism to follow repentance and conversion.
    1. John 15:10 - It’s difficult to say that we love the Lord if we don’t keep His commandments.
    2. Baptism becomes an evidence of our obedience to the Lord and our love for the Lord. John 15:14

  2. Jesus’ command should be all that those who have been born again need in order to follow the Lord’s example and be baptized, but there are other reasons for baptism.
    1. Baptism identifies us with Christ.
      1. Galatians 3:27
      2. Read Galatians 3:26. You’ll find, once again, that we become the children of God by faith; but baptism is that which identifies us with our Lord.
      3. Baptism is like the uniform a soldier wears. While the uniform doesn’t make him a soldier (he became a soldier before he was given a uniform) that uniform identifies him with his country and his leader.
    2. Baptism is a practice in evangelism which is an outward evidence to others of salvation.
      1. Baptism is a perfect portrayal of the Gospel message as outlined in I Corinthians 15:3-4.
      2. It’s the believer’s testimony to others of the change that has taken place in his life, and of his desire to walk in this new life as a child of God, pleasing to his heavenly Father.
    3. Baptism identifies us with, and attaches us to a local body of believers (a church).
      1. Acts 2:41 teaches that on the day of Pentecost those who were saved were also that same day baptized and added to the church.
      2. Through baptism we prove our desire to be obedient to the Word of God, and, we show our desire and need to be enjoined to a local body of believers. (We’ll study the importance of the Church in the life of every saved individual in another lesson.)
SUMMARY: With all the difference of opinion that surrounds the matter of baptism, let us not lose sight of the fact that baptism is to portray a likeness of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. When we go into the waters of baptism after our salvation we are, in    essence, going into the water to show the desire to “die to self’ and “to live for Christ.” Baptism is an important step but, it isn’t the first step. The first step is repentance and faith in Christ as Savior There is no story recorded in the Bible of anyone who was baptized until after they had first believed the Gospel story and had been saved. Salvation is the first and foremost prerequisite to baptism. Baptism is our evidence to the Lord of our love for Him, and our desire to live in obedience to Him as His child. It’s a proof to others that we aren’t ashamed to be identified with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. If you have been baptized, remember that you were buried in the likeness of His death and raised to walk in the newness of life. Don’t just simply “talk” Christ to others; “walk” Christ before others!