FTR 4

Things Every Christian Should Know

Part 4

"Why Be Water Baptized?"

Matt. 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus commanded all believers in Him to be baptized in water.

The word "baptized" is from the Greek word (bap-tid-zo) meaning, "to immerse or submerge."

It is not the Greek word antexomai, meaning "to sprinkle."

Jesus taught total immersion in water, to be submerged.

Now, why would the Savior of the world command that all of His followers be dunked in water?

What is the significance of it? Why do that?

I'm going to answer that today.

The doctrine of baptism is the third of the six foundation stones listed in Hebrews 6:1,2.

Heb. 6:1-2 "So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of 1.) repentance from dead works and of 2.) faith toward God, of 3.) the doctrine of baptisms, of 4.) laying on of hands, of 5.) resurrection of the dead, and of 6.) eternal judgment."

Notice that, according to Hebrews 6:2, there is more than one baptism.

Let's look at two others...

Baptism into the body of Christ

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

So, This “baptism into the body of Christ” takes place the moment we are saved.

The Holy Spirit immerses us, fully submerges us into the universal body of Christ.

At that instant all class distinctions disappear--there is no black or white, rich or poor, slave or free, male or female, American or European or any other national difference...

We are all equal within the boundaries of the body of Christ.

This is the first of the three baptisms mentioned in Heb. 6.

Then secondly there is:

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II. Baptism in the Holy Spirit

John the Baptist told his followers: "After me comes One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:7-8).

The baptism in the Holy Spirit was preached by Jesus and the apostles as separate from the baptism into the body of Christ and water baptism.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the total immersion of the believer into His presence.

The recipient literally becomes "drenched" in His Presence!

This baptism began on the Day of Pentecost, which marks the official birthday of the church.

"On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability" (Acts 2:1-4).

The word "filled" means "to the max," to total capacity all they could handle!

This mighty, defining, baptism in the Holy Spirit accomplishes three things for the Christian:

POWER TO WITNESS for The Lord: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

POWER TO WIN over the flesh: "But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God" (Ro. 8:13-14).

POWER TO PRAY according to God's will: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" (Ro. 8:26).

Its primary purpose is to provide power for the Christian walk, for a more effective witness, and a greater understanding of God’s Word.

And then the 3rd baptism in the "doctrine of baptisms" found in Heb. 6 is:

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III. Water Baptism

New Testament Christians considered water baptism an indispensable, important part of their profession of faith.

In fact, baptism was the normal way that new believers gave public confession of their faith in Christ in Bible times.

No Christian in Bible times would have omitted this step of obedience.

When a man named Cornelius and his household had received Christ, the book of Acts says that Peter “...commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord...” (Acts 10:48).

Jesus commanded His disciples to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Matt. 28:19)

Salvation apart from the secondary step of being water baptized is not found in the Bible!

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Now, what is the MEANING of water baptism? What does it symbolize?

First, it is a picture of the Burial of our “Old Man.”

Our "old man" is the old sin nature we inherited from Adam. It is that "fallen nature" within us all that so naturally sins against God.

According to Ephesians 2:5, we are "dead in our sins" before we are saved.

But when we repent of our sin and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, He “quickens us,” or gives us a new life, just as God raised Jesus from the dead!

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..." (Eph.2:4-5)

Water baptism illustrates this truth for us!

Water baptism is our testimony to the world that, though we were dead in sins, we have been raised to walk in newness of life!

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

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So that's the MEANING of water baptism.

Now, what is the PURPOSE of water baptism?

In Romans 6:1-14, it becomes clear that God does not intend for His children to continue to sin.

"...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him...that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin" (Ro. 6:6-7).

Water baptism enables the believer to separate himself from his “old man” who, according to Scripture, was "dead in sin," and to walk in newness of life.

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According to Ro. 6, there are three steps in our transformation from a life dominated by sin to a life of righteousness before God:

Say them with me: KNOW, RECKON, AND YIELD.

First Paul says,

"KNOW" that your old man has been crucified with Christ and buried in water baptism.

“...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin ” (Romans 6:6).

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Second, he says:

RECKON, or count on the fact that because it has been buried, your flesh will never rule over you again. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIN!

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

Count it done! God has CRUCIFIED your old sin nature with Jesus Christ, and he was buried with Jesus by baptism into His death!

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And third Paul writes that, in light of these things:

YIELD, or give yourself (body, mind, and spirit) not to sin, but to God.

“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13).

The word "present" Paul uses means, "to come and stand close beside" someone.

You're saying essentially, "God, in light of what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus did for me, I "come and stand close beside you, to serve you and not sin."

I will, conversely, never again "stand close beside sin to serve it instead of God!"

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So water baptism illustrates 1. The crucifixion and burial of my old sin nature with Christ. 2. My resurrection from the dead with Christ. 3. My resolve to walk in a brand new, resurrected life where I stand close to God in service to Him!

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Have you been water baptized since you were saved?

If you have been water baptized, did you know what you were doing? Did you understand what it meant?

Next Sunday we're going to "take the plunge" and baptize in water all who want to follow Jesus in a new life of discipleship.

I encourage you to "take the plunge" if need be!

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And secondly, have you been baptized into the body of Christ through a personal salvation experience?

And have you been baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit?

Is His power operating in your life to witness, win, and pray!

LET'S PRAY