At that “Wow!”
moment, between Jesus’ resurrection and return to heaven, He claimed to have
all authority – all authority – in heaven and on earth. He directed His
followers to go into the entire world with the good news of eternal life. In His
marching orders He specified how the hearers were to respond.
Today there is so
much confusion about baptism!
Some sprinkle
infants, who have no personal sin or faith.
Some immerse
believers, having assured them that they are already saved. They say that baptism
is perhaps an outward symbol or a requirement for church membership.
Without judging
anyone’s motivation, and assuming that all are sincere, let’s try to set the
record straight – straight from the Word of God. Let’s remember that there is One
– only One – who has all authority. It’s not you, or I, or some religious
group. It’s Jesus Christ.
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So let’s start by
asking Jesus directly, based on His very words. Read Matt 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-16.
Mt 28:16 But the eleven disciples
proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And
Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in
heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Mk 16:15 And He said to them, “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 “He who has
believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall
be condemned.
What did You order Your followers to do? Go and make disciples.
How do the hearers become Your disciples? By being baptized and being
taught.
Does this imply that those not baptized and not taught are not disciples?
Yes.
Must they be of teachable age? Yes.
Who did You say “shall be saved?” When? Whoever [1] believes and [2] is then
baptized shall [3] then be saved.
Does baptism follow or precede being saved? Both belief and baptism
precede salvation.
May we omit belief or baptism from salvation?
May we change the order, as follows? First (infant) baptism, then
salvation, then belief? No.
May we change the order, as follows? First belief, then salvation, then baptism?
No.
May we preach salvation without baptism?
Let’s create a sentence sermon, in which each phrase builds on what
precedes it and leads to what follows it. Let’s provide biblical support as we
go.
Baptism is an
immersion or burial.
To identify with Jesus’ burial in a tomb.
Rom 6:3-4; Col 2:12; Acts 8:36-39
Jews were already familiar with immersion.
“Sprinkle,” “pour” not used in NT re: baptism.
Greek-based “Orthodox” groups immerse. Why?
The Greek word baptizo
means to immerse, dip or plunge. It is used in modern
Greek to say that a ship “sinks” at sea.
So, baptism in the
New Testament is not a sprinkling or pouring.
In water.
“Baptize” includes water as its element.
So it is described as a “washing.” Acts 22:16
John 3:1-5, 22-24; Mk 1:4-5; Tit 3:5
Acts 8:36-39; 10:47-48; 1 Pet 3:21
“Born again” requires water (and the Spirit).
So, baptism in the
New Testament is not just an inward, invisible, “born-again” experience or change
in the heart.
For sinners who
hear, believe, and repent.
Acts 2:36-38; 16:30-34
Infants are safe and sinless. Mt 18:1-4; 19:13-15
Infants do not sin and cannot believe or repent.
Infant sprinkling resulted from Augustine’s doctrine of original sin and
the belief that water (without personal faith) brought forgiveness.
Non-sprinkled infants were seen as condemned.
Who realize they are
lost outside of Christ.
Eph 2:11-13; Rom 6:1-4; 2 Cor 5:17
Pricked to the heart, they are convicted of sin.
It is this reality that gives baptism its urgency.
Acts 2:37 “What shall we do?”
From this point, baptism is never delayed.
As a drowning man instantly grabs a lifeline.
Who willingly die to
self and to sin.
Rom 6:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; Gal 2:20; Matt 16:24-26
Ro 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may
increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in
it?
1 Pe 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might
die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Ga 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Mt 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he
must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 “For whoever
wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it. 26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole
world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Baptism is a dying sinner’s death and burial.
One who does not die cannot be raised. In true baptism no one is “buried
alive.”
Not to be entered lightly but with cautious care and reverent
preparation. Otherwise …
More likely to leave the faith and the church.
Who know that
salvation is a gift of God’s grace by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ …
Eph 2:8 For by grace you
have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Tt 3:5 He saved us, not on
the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
So, baptism in the
New Testament does not earn salvation; it expresses faith to receive salvation.
In order to …
Come into Christ.
Rom 6:1-4
Rise to new life
with Christ. Rom 6:1-4
Be clothed with
Christ. Gal 3:26-27
Be forgiven of sin.
Acts 2:38; 22:16
Be saved. Mark
16:15-16; 1 Pet 3:21
So, baptism in the
New Testament is not for those who are already saved by some other means.
There is no New
Testament example of a person receiving salvation by “accepting Christ into
their heart” or by offering the “Sinner’s Prayer.”
Note the words of this beautiful hymn, based
on Romans 6.
Buried with Christ,
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1935
Stanza 1:
Buried with Christ, my blessed Redeemer,
Dead to the old life of folly and sin;
Satan may call, the world may entreat me,
There is no voice that answers within.
Buried with Christ, my blessed Redeemer,
Dead to the old life of folly and sin;
Satan may call, the world may entreat me,
There is no voice that answers within.
Refrain:
Dead to the world, to voices that call me,
Living anew, obedient but free;
Dead to the joys that once did enthrall me--
Yet 'tis not I, Christ liveth in me.
Dead to the world, to voices that call me,
Living anew, obedient but free;
Dead to the joys that once did enthrall me--
Yet 'tis not I, Christ liveth in me.
Stanza 2:
Think it not strange that things I once cherished
Cannot allure me or charm as before;
For in the flesh with Christ I have suffered,
Old things are passed, I love them no more.
Think it not strange that things I once cherished
Cannot allure me or charm as before;
For in the flesh with Christ I have suffered,
Old things are passed, I love them no more.
Stanza 3:
Dead unto sin, alive through the Spirit,
Risen with Him from the gloom of the grave,
All things are new, and I am rejoicing,
In His great love, His power to save.
Dead unto sin, alive through the Spirit,
Risen with Him from the gloom of the grave,
All things are new, and I am rejoicing,
In His great love, His power to save.
Stanza 4:
Sin hath no more its cruel dominion,
Walking in "newness of life," I am free--
Glorious life of Christ, my Redeemer,
Which He so richly shareth with me.
Sin hath no more its cruel dominion,
Walking in "newness of life," I am free--
Glorious life of Christ, my Redeemer,
Which He so richly shareth with me.
Summary
Baptism is an
immersion or burial in water, for sinners who hear, believe, and repent, who
realize they are lost outside of Christ, who willingly die to self and to sin,
in order to come into Christ, rise to new life with Christ, be clothed with
Christ, be forgiven of sin, and be saved.
Possible hymns:
Buried with Christ
In Lovingkindness
Jesus Came
Love Lifted Me
Love Divine, All
Love Excelling
Thank You Lord
I Have Decided to
Follow Jesus
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