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BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM

Introduction

The practice of believers’ baptism is not exclusive to Baptist churches; it is New Testament doctrine. Much controversy has raged over the mode of baptism. What men think about this matter is not what is important--what the Word of God says is what is important.

I.         THE INSTITUTION OF BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM. (Matthew 28:19).

With these words Jesus instituted believers’ baptism. The word “baptism” occurs a number of times in the New Testament without reference to believers’ baptism.

            For instance, we read of:

            A.        The Baptism of Moses. (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

Paul is illustrating here how the Children of Israel were identified with their leader Moses. When passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, they were covered with a cloud and flanked on either side by water––a picture of baptism.

            B.        The Baptism of John. (Matthew 3:11)

                        This was known as the baptism of repentance.

            C.        The Baptism of Jesus. (Matthew 3:15)

Though John the Baptist baptized Him, Jesus did not have to repent, for He had no sins to confess. Yet He stepped into the waters of Jordan to identify Himself with His messianic mission, and to fulfill every demand of His Father (see Matthew 3:15).

In a sense, if there were nothing else in all the Scriptures concerning baptism, this verse would be sufficient to encourage us to follow Jesus Christ all the way.

            D.        The Baptism of the Cross. (Luke 12:50)

As Jesus was contemplating the darkness of Calvary, He said these words.

In that midday midnight, the fountains of God’s holy wrath against sin were broken up and our Savior was immersed in death for our salvation

                        (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).

            E.        The Baptism of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

That happened at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out by the risen Lord in accordance with the promise of the Father.

This baptism is once and for all, and is synonymous with our incorporation into the body of Christ.

                        There is “one baptism, many fillings, constant anointing.”

            F.        The Baptism of Judgment. (Matthew 3:11)

John the Baptist spoke of it: “. . .He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost

                        [i.e. Pentecost] and with fire [i.e. coming judgment]”

Let no one think that this world is going on indefinitely. God is going to break into history again. Just as He broke into history in grace, the next time He is coming in judgment (see Acts 17:31). That is going to be a baptism of fire, when the chaff wi1l be burned with unquenchable fire.

In Warren Wiersbe’s book “Meet Yourself in the Psalms,” he tells about a frontier town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before, had saved his life; so he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea. “Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.” One day Jesus Christ will say to rebellious sinners, “During that long day of grace I was the Savior, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your Judge. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!”

            G.       The Baptism of Believers. (Matthew 28:18-19)

It is the Savior who instituted believers’ baptism when He said these words.

            THE INSTITUTION OF BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM.

II.       THE IMPLICATION OF BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM.

            When a man or woman, boy or girl, is baptized, they publicly confess two things:

            A.        Acceptance of Christ as Savior- (Mark 16:15-16).

                        Our salvation is dependent upon believing, not on baptism.

                        Baptism is the outward expression of this inward transaction;

The penitent thief on the cross believed and was taken to paradise by the Lord who saved him, but he was not baptized. Baptism is the public confession of having accepted Christ as personal Savior.

            B.        Allegiance to Christ as Lord-“Go ye therefore and teach (i.e. make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them. . .” (Matthew 28:19).

Where there is discipleship there is Lordship. There is no such thing as discipline without a Master. At baptism we make known the fact that we have received Christ as Savior; we show to angels, principalities and powers that we have acknowledged Christ as Sovereign.

The Lord Jesus is looking for disciples, not names on church rolls or decision cards, but those who will have Him as Lord and Master in their lives.

Thomas Barclay labored for sixty years on Formosa as a missionary to the Chinese. Behind that life of service lay a covenant with God which he wrote when he was 16, and which he renewed every year. It read in part: “This day do 1, with the utmost solemnity, surrender myself to Thee. I renounce all former lords that have had dominion over me, and I consecrate to Thee all that I have: the faculties of my mind, the members of my body, my worldly possessions, my time, and my influence over others; to be all used entirely for Thy glory, and resolutely employed in obedience to Thy commands, as long as Thou continuest me in life; with an ardent desire and humble resolution to continue Thine through all the ages of eternity; ever holding myself in an attentive posture to observe, with zeal and joy, to the immediate execution of it. To Thy direction also I resign myself, and all that I am and have, to be disposed of by Thee in such a manner as Thou in Thine infinite wisdom shall judge most subservient to the purposes of Thy glory. To Thee I leave the management of all events, and say without reserve, ‘Not my will, but Thine, be done.”’

III.      THE INTERPRETATION OF BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The disciples learned quite a lot while they were with the Master, but there was a great deal they did not know until after He had ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit had come down to interpret the deeper meaning of this wonderful ordinance of believers’ baptism (such as Romans 6). Look at:

            A.        Its Mention in the New Testament.

There are some doctrines for which we contend earnestly, yet they are mentioned very little in the New Testament. But baptism is found in the Gospels, in Acts, and in the Epistles:

                        1.         In The Gospels, e.g., the Great Commission

                                    ( Matthew 28:19; Mark 16).

                        2.         In the Acts of The Apostles.

                                    The Day of Pentecost (Matthew 2:41)

                                    The Baptism of the Eunuch (Matthew 8:36-38)

                                    The Baptism of Saul of Tarsus (Matthew 9:18)

                                    The Baptism of Cornelius (Matthew 10:47-48)

                                    The Baptism of Lydia (Matthew 16:15)

                                    The Baptism of the Philippian jailer (Matthew 16:33)

                                    The Baptism of the twelve at Ephesus (Matthew 19:5)

                        3.         In the Epistles, especially Roman 6.

                                    This is the greatest chapter on baptism in the New Testament.

The teaching is simple, yet profound.

It is simple, because baptism is intended to show us what God has done in Christ in identifying us with His death, burial, and resurrection.

It is profound, because it is one of the great theological passages in Scripture on our union with Christ.

            B.        Its Method in the New Testament.

The word “baptism” is a transliteration from the Greek baptizo meaning “to make whelmed” (i.e., fully wet) or “to dip.”

It was used by the Greeks in the dyeing of a garment where immersion, submersion, and emergence are inferred.

Baptism loses all its significance if we do not see those three acts: death is down-immersion; burial is under-submersion; resurrection is out of-emergence.

This is all made clear in Romans 6. The two outstanding examples of the verb baptizo are the baptism of our Lord in the river Jordan (see Matthew 3:16-17), and the Ethiopian eunuch (see Acts 8:38-39). Both He and Philip “vs38. . .went down both into the water, and. . .vs 39 when they were come up out of the water. . .”

            C.        Its Meaning In the New Testament.

                        This can be set out in three very significant thoughts.

                        1.         The Believer’s Obedience to Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20).

There is only one response of a yielded Christian to a command: obedience!

Jesus said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15; see also Luke 6:46).

When we disobey an express command of our Lord our spiritual growth is stunted, and God will not reveal anything more until we obey.

John 7:17–“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”

And the prophet Samuel declared: “. . .to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).

                                    There is no substitute for obedience. Defective obedience is disobedience.

A well-known preacher had a brother who was a famous physician. One day a woman, wishing to speak with the minister but not being sure if the man she was about to address was the preacher or the physician, asked, “Are you the doctor who preaches, or the one who practices?” The words were a goad to the man of God, stirring his conscience. Ever afterward he endeavored not only to hear the Word of God and speak it, but also to do it.

                        2.         The Believer’s Oneness with Christ.

Baptism symbolizes the believer’s oneness with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection.

In baptism, the believer shows outwardly that he was crucified, judicially, with Christ 2000 years ago; therefore, he is dead to sin and self. Experientially, the Holy Spirit makes that real to him (see Romans 8:13).

The believer is also buried with Christ. What is dead must be buried, put out of sight. And if sin and self have been buried, then the believer has no right to visit the cemetery and dig up those bones, representing the flesh, and allow them to paralyze his spiritual walk (see Romans 6:1-23).

Then there is the believer’s oneness with Christ in resurrection.

The only grounds on which the Holy Spirit releases the resurrection life of Jesus, in and through a child of God, is when be has accepted, by faith, his place in death and burial (see Romans 6:11; Col. 3:1-3).

                        3.         The Believer’s Offering for Christ.

This ordinance is a beautiful figure of a life yielded to another. The person baptized hands himself over to the one who baptizes. This symbolizes the offering of ourselves to Christ. It must be a complete sacrifice (see Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1), an act of obedience, a public demonstration of our total dedication to Christ without reserve-spirit, soul, and body.

In the “horse and buggy” days a man and his wife were driving along a narrow and dangerous road. The woman became extremely nervous, and in her fright she grabbed one of the reins. As calmly as possible the husband responded by offering her the other strap, “Oh, no!” she cried, “I don’t want them both! I could never manage that animal alone!” “Well, then,” he said gently, “you must make your choice. It’s either you or me. We can’t both drive the same horse.” The frightened soul quickly surrendered full control of the wagon to her husband. Everything was once again in good hands, and they journeyed on safely. Similarly, we must turn the “reins” of our life over to Christ and let Him take full control.

Conclusion

We have seen what is meant by believers’ baptism in terms of its mention, method, and meaning. What hinders YOU to be baptized? Will you go all the way with Jesus?

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey.

Home Page   Contact Us    Service Times   Sermons   Are You Going To Heaven?

NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!