Baptism

When we talk about baptism, and when I mention that word, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Baby–babies, right? That's our traditional idea. In many countries when you talk about baptism, you see a little baby. You see a priest or minister putting water on their forehead, and so on and so forth.

Well today we're going to find out the biblical idea of baptism. So stay with us right here. We'll be back in one moment.

The Final Authority

Well, the thing that I want to know is: where do we go to find out about baptism?

Popular Mechanics? You know, I think we go back to the book that talks about how it's done, where it's done–exactly. If you want the final authority on a definition of a word, you go to the dictionary. If you want a phone number, you go to the final authority, the phone book–the Yellow Pages. And I think the final authority concerning a religious matter is God's word, the Bible.

I'm going to put him on the spot now. Have you got a scripture that backs up this idea?

Oh, that backs up the idea that we go to the Bible? Well of course there's II Timothy 3:16. We speak about that verse often, right?

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

- II Timothy 3:16

And so if it's God-breathed, then God must know what he's doing. It's the final authority.

There's another scripture too that's interesting: Galatians chapter 1, verse 6, 7, and 8–something like that–where Paul is saying:

⁶I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; ⁷which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

- Galatians 1:6-8

So Paul really comes down hard. He says, you know, it doesn't matter if it's an angel or a vision–what's important is we have to keep the teachings of Christ the way they are. And I think that's on all subjects, including baptism.

Okay, so we're going to play by the rules–the Bible rules–to find out about Bible things. Baptism is a Bible thing, so we're going to look to the Bible, and Bible only.

Another verse that applies–this kind of leads us into our topic for today–is Matthew 28:18, where Jesus is saying, "I have all authority." God has given me all authority. And so he introduces a specific idea about baptism and disciples and his authority.

And that brings us to our first question:

Who Should Be Baptized?

¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

- Matthew 28:18-19

So who should be baptized? People from all nations.

And also, that's the fulfillment of the prophecy that said that salvation would be accessible to all the nations as well–that the Savior would extend throughout, not just to the Jews.Certain people in all nations.

¹⁵And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

- Mark 16:15-16

Okay, so everyone should be baptized–well, not everyone: those that want to be saved. Who does that eliminate? The unbelievers. It eliminates another category: children. Those who believe–believe what? That's the thing. When it does say "those who believe," I always ask myself: believe what? Good question.

Believe that Jesus was the Son of God. I would tend to believe it means believe that the sacrifice was for the forgiveness of your sins; therefore we're baptized for that very reason.

If we look at Acts 2:36, Peter mentions exactly what we have to identify.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

- Acts 2:36

So that's what we have to believe. Who can believe that? Those who are able to believe. And that's why in Mark it says... or in Matthew: instruct them to obey everything that I have commanded you. The learning becomes a little deeper as you go into it.

So basically what we're saying is: those who can be baptized are those who can believe, and those who choose to believe. That leaves out children that can't believe. That leaves out also maybe intellectually disadvantaged people that cannot choose on their own.

I think also in Mark 16:15-16 it talks about those who believe something specific. People who can believe, people who choose to believe, but also people who believe the right thing. You're not baptized because you believe that the Montreal Canadiens are a good hockey team.

What I think is beautiful about the New Testament salvation it preaches is that everyone is able to be saved–the guy in the wheelchair, the intellect, the scholar, the doctor, the plumber–everyone. It's a matter of believing.

It's fair. It's a beautiful thing.

Acts 2:38

The person who chooses to believe that Jesus is the Son of God–that's the first thing. And everyone who makes that belief–doesn't matter if he's black, white, disadvantaged, nobleman–what matters is what he believes.

Now, if you give me the opportunity though, I did hear an argument once that says: well, okay, it does say "believe and be baptized," and you're saying children can't believe, but why wouldn't it be "baptized and believe"? It's just that they couldn't put both words on the same place. We believe later. So I don't know–why couldn't we be baptized before?

Well, if we believe that the Bible is inspired by God, then God is the one who said "believe and be baptized." It's not up to, well, maybe they couldn't get it on one line there. Something impossible for God? He said believe and be baptized. He didn't say be baptized and believe.

There's also a natural sequence. When you wash yourself, you get wet and then you put your soap and then you've got to clean that soap off with water. There's no way you can dry off first. The scripture is plain. Mark 16:16 puts believe first before baptism.

But in Acts chapter 8 when Philip went out to preach the gospel to the eunuch, he said, "What prevents me from being baptized?" And his answer in chapter 8:37 was, "If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you may be baptized." So it was not–there was no question about it. If you believe, you may. That's a good example.

Now in Acts 2:38, Peter says to the crowd who asked about salvation:

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

- Acts 2:38

So: those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and those who repent, are able to accept baptism.

Why Should People Be Baptized?

Now I want to ask another question: why should people be baptized? We know who–now why? It says it in the scripture: so their sins may be forgiven.

Anything else? Is that the only reason we're baptized? I think Romans 6 clearly explains why we're baptized into Christ. It says that we may walk in newness of life. It says:

¹What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ²May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

- Romans 6:1-2

So we identify with his death. We clothe ourselves with Christ–it says in Galatians. It's our way of reliving the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And we're always prompt and ready to do whatever God says. He's telling us how to be saved. So the first reason is because God says so–obedience sake–in order to receive forgiveness.

In Galatians 3:26, Paul says all those who have been clothed, buried with Christ in baptism have put on Christ. It's a moment when that first union–like marriage. You're married when you sign that paper and you say, "I do." That's the moment you're married. Everything before that is building up to that moment.

Does public declaration have anything to do with that? I think so. I think it's a public declaration of our faith. We're confessing the name of Jesus Christ in that public way.

When Should a Person Be Baptized?

When he's willing to repent. When he's willing to submit himself to those things which the scriptures teach. You have to believe, you have to repent, and you have to be willing to confess your faith.

Again with the story of the eunuch: when he believed, he said, "Here's water. What stops me from being baptized?" If you believe, you may. There's no better commitment for doing something than doing something when you understand what you're doing. When a person is baptized when he's too young or does not understand what he's getting into, there's a big problem there.

A soldier going to war–if he knows what he's going to war for, it's a different soldier than if he was just asked or forced to go. We're going to continue our discussion here. You stay with us. We'll be right back in one moment.

Where and How to Baptize

Well, in our class today we've looked at the who and the why and the what of baptism. Now we're going to look at the where and the how.

First of all, the where: in the New Testament, whenever people became Christians they always were baptized in water. Salvation and baptism go together. When someone decided that they were going to become a Christian–repent of their sins, confess the name of Christ, become one of his disciples–the very next thing they would do was to be baptized in water.

In Acts 8:35 we see Philip, an evangelist, preaching the gospel to an individual. When these two people came by a river, the person said to Philip, "Here's water. What prevents me from being baptized?"

If we read the story we find out that Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. So baptism and water go together. Now the other question is: how should a person be baptized?

That one's easy. In the Bible the word baptism is a Greek word which is baptizo, and the Greek word baptizo means to plunge or to immerse. And so when we baptize somebody, we plunge them or we immerse them in water.

Well, today we have an example of a New Testament baptism here in our baptistry in our church, and so we'd like for you to take a look at how someone would be baptized if they were baptized according to the New Testament.

• "Morris, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?"
• "Yes, I do."
• "Well, upon the confession of your faith, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of your sins."

That's an example of New Testament baptism. If someone is going to be baptized according to the Bible, this is the way that it should be done.

We're going to come back in a moment and begin to answer some of your questions about baptism. So stay with us. We'll be right back.

Questions and Discussion

Now we kind of tend to forget, but that is very important: a lot of people have kind of misleads on that–that we get the Holy Spirit during, you know, after the baptism, when our sins are forgiven. And that's another very large reason why we should be baptized. That's Acts 2:38 again.

You were saying earlier: how can God send his Holy Spirit in an unclean vessel such as a body that has not been cleansed of sins? Because that's what Ananias told Paul in Acts 22. He said, "Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and have your sins washed away."

Well I've got some questions for you. There are certain questions that come up over and over again. I'd like to test you a little bit and see how you're going to answer these questions.

What Happens to Babies and Children Who Are Not Baptized?

Well, for one, they don't have sin. The whole point of baptism is to wash away sin. If they have no sin, then they're cleansed. They're still with God. They're a child of God. Jesus mentioned one time:

But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

- Matthew 19:14

There's another passage in Ezekiel 18:20:

The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

- Ezekiel 18:20

The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. A child does not receive his dad's sins. If he has no sins, he has not yet been separated from God. There's this idea, this doctrine, that I grew up with when I was younger: different places you go–heaven, purgatory, limbo, hell. Yet the Bible doesn't teach that.

The Bible teaches only two places for existence out of this body: one is heaven with God and one is the darkness of hell. There's no in-between spot. So babies, if they're innocent and not separated from God, they're with God. There isn't a special spot for them.

Why Are There So Many Different Methods of Baptism?

Why are there so many different methods–sprinkle, pour, baptism of blood, baptism for the dead?

People start changing it for a matter of convenience. Hypothetical situations: what if they were in the bush, or in the desert, and there's no water? "Will God forgive him anyway?" So people take the exception and make it a rule, and add stuff. The Bible is precise. We know from the Greek the word baptism means complete immersion. If we believe in a living God, he can bring you to water. We do believe in a living God who is sovereign.

I was studying with a lady in the hospital who was immobile. She understood the gospel, loved the Lord, wanted to be forgiven, wanted to be baptized, and there was no way I could baptize her. I had to make up my mind: was I going to change the rules? I couldn't. I was convinced God is a good God, a God of grace and mercy. I got down on my knees and prayed with her: "God, you hold this child till the time is right for her to be immersed." And he did. A couple weeks later she was rejoicing.

The idea is: we have no right to change. God has a right to change if he wants. We don't have that same right to change the gospel. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9:

⁸‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
⁹‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”

- Matthew 15:8-9

Worship isn't any good if what you're teaching is what you've made up and not exactly what the Bible teaches. You know, it's such a simple thing and people may be thinking, "What a bunch of legalists." But if we can't take the word as it is for a simple thing like that, what about the more complicated?

Why Do Some People Believe Baptism Is Not Important or Necessary?

Some people say it is not important or not necessary unto salvation. Why do they think that? They'll use a verse that says just to repent–Luke–something like that–and use that as the reason. What mistake have they made? They've isolated one verse and applied it to what they want.

A lot of people sincerely believe baptism is a work, and they believe you can't go to heaven by works–you're only saved by grace. But we believe we are saved by grace, and we come into contact with that grace through the waters of baptism. It's the new covenant of Jesus Christ.

In John 6:28, the disciples asked Jesus what must we do to do the works of God, and Jesus said, "Believe on the one whom he has sent." Belief itself is a work.

We're saved by works, but not works of merit–lighting so many candles or doing so many good deeds. It's a work that God has foreordained for us to do: to accept his salvation. It's a proof of our faith.

Throughout history it's always been the same: God extends grace and pardon, but he expects obedience in return. Obedience is the response of faith. You believe, you obey.

The biblical concept and teaching is: you're baptized–you're immersed–for the forgiveness of sins.

Who Can Baptize Another Person?

Who was baptizing other people? In the Bible there were many people baptizing. If you look at the social class or their position, you come to the realization that people from all kinds of fields were allowed to baptize, as long as they were Christians.

The problem is too often we think only the pastor or the minister. I don't believe that's what it is.

• There's no magic in the one being baptized.
• There's nothing magic in the water.
• There's no magic in the pool.
• There's no magic in the formula you're saying.
• There's no magic in the one doing the baptizing.
• It's your faith.

Colossians 2:12 tells us it's in the power of God at the moment of your burial. Can a woman baptize somebody else?

Closing Summary

Baptism: it's for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. It's for everyone who repents of his sins. It's for everyone who confesses his faith. And when we are baptized, we are saved. We receive forgiveness for sins, the indwelling of the Spirit, and we become members of the church.

Can you find any other reasons why someone can be baptized?

I want to thank you for being with us this week. We hope you'll be here next week for another edition of Bible Talk.