Lesson 3: Baptism

1. Intro

Happy Father's Day

Continuing series

Next week guest speaker

I find it interesting that many cultures have an initiation into manhood. There is a recognition that being a man carried an authority and responsibility that can't be taken lightly.

The closest thing we had in our culture was ceremonial boot out of dad's house following high school graduation. Welcome to adulthood, good luck. Today we're not even seeing that.

It is not a coincidence that the loss of the importance of manhood has led to the undermining of traditional and biblical manhood.

This morning I'm going to suggest that the same thing has happened to Christianity, and it is linked to this morning's lesson

Hebrews 6:1–2 NLT

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

2. Baptism

We have looked at Repentance, we have looked at faith, so this morning we are going on Baptism. In order to really appreciate the importance of Baptism, we are going to look at where Baptism comes from, and the role it has and continues to play.

Important note, Hebrews literally says, "washings" not baptism and that is important as we walk through this

a. The Flood

Genesis 6:5–8 NLT

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the Lord.

the world is full of evil, so God sends a flood to eliminate the evil. Literally, God washed the earth of its evil, and all that was left was righteous Noah and his sons

b. The Exodus - Exodus 14

Israel is in bondage to Egypt for 400 years. Following the 10 plagues Moses marches the Israelites through the Red Sea with Egypt's army in pursuit. As Israel finishes crossing, God closes the Red Sea and washes away their bondage.

c. Ceremonial Washing - Leviticus 14-17

Touching a corpse, eating or picking up a dead animal, skin infections

In the instructions to the Levites, Moses lays out the things that would make someone ceremonial unclean. In order to make oneself clean, you would have to wash yourself, typically in running water or a river. The individual would enter the water unclean and emerge from the water clean.

d. Proselyte Washing

When someone would convert to Judaism, they would have to wash themselves completely as part of their conversion. One author suggested that the new convert would have to wash themselves before entering Israel because the nation was God's holy ground. The Washing would remove any uncleanness that brought on by their idol worship and the unholy practices of their homeland.

e. John the Baptist

Matthew 3:1–2 NLT

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

The New Testament begins with John calling the people of Israel to repent, for the kingdom of God was at hand, and God's holy one would be revealed. It was not a conversion, rather a purifying of the people before the promised Messiah arrived.

f. The Great Commission

Matthew 28:19 NLT

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

"Go, make disciples, baptize them."

Jesus's instructions to the apostles linked discipleship and baptism, that you couldn't have one without the other.

g. Acts

Acts 2:41 NLT

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

Acts 10:47–48 NLT

“Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.

As we read through Acts, a person's confession of faith was always followed immediately with baptism. Acts 2, Acts 10

h. Teachings of Paul

Galatians 3:26–27 NLT

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

Paul teaches that it is only through baptism that we are united with Christ. As Christ died to take away our sins, through baptism we die to sin and our old self and become united with Christ as a new creation.

3. Baptism Then vs Now

a. Baptism as Initiation

In the Old Testament and New Testament, baptism and washings served as initiation. It was a necessary part of the conversion experience. As part of leaving the old way of life and embracing your new life, you would be baptized as a way to wash away the uncleanness and sin of the old life so you could enter your new life fresh, with a clean slate.

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It would not be a stretch to say that for the biblical authors, you would not be considered a disciple of Christ if you hadn't been baptized. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is only imparted on you after baptism.

b. Baptism as a symbol

Today, we have reduced baptism to simply a symbolic act, only to represent what has happened internally.

Due to the fact that it is only symbolic, it has been communicated that it is now optional. You really don’t have to be baptized to be a Christian.

However, I would say that by watering down the importance of baptism, we have also watered down the importance of being a disciple of Christ. I’ve said before that the term ‘Christian’ is often used as a political catch phrase or some kind of heritage identifier. Anyone can call themselves a Christian, and some determine their Christianity based on their own terms.

But as we’ve seen through this series, being a disciple requires a full commitment, a willingness to put to death the old ways so we can serve God fully! That kind of commitment needs some kind of initiation, some kind of stamp of approval. The stamp that Christ uses is baptism. It is your public declaration that I am a Christian, I have put off the old self and starting fresh in Christ.