What is Baptism?

What exactly is baptism?

Good Morning,

So this morning, we gathered here outside for our service, for two main reasons. One it is for the annual church picnic, a time of fellowship and good food, which we will enjoy. The second and arguably more important reason is to offer to anyone who desires the opportunity to be baptised if you have not been up to this point. This is an opportunity that is still open and if after the service you want to be please talk to me, so we can do that.

I would like to try to answer three questions this morning and if you have a bulletin they are there in the notes section. The questions are:

1) What is baptism?

2) When should one get baptized?

3) Why should the church push for believers to be baptized?

First, I will say that we are going to be jumping around Scripture today and second, that the first question, is a bit difficult to answer. This question has been debated by people far smarter than I for longer than I could hope to live in this life, but we will do our best.

What exactly is baptism?

First baptism is an outward showing of your identification with some group. This is a quote from Charles Ryrie:

Theologically, baptism may be defined as an act of association or identification with someone, some group, some message, or some event.

Charles Caldwell Ryrie

Baptism into a religious group predates Christianity, but it is unclear by how much. We see in Jewish writing the Proselyte Baptisms, which was a ritual by which a Gentile could be purified in order to become Jewish. In some ways, we see that in a Christian Baptism. Turn to 1 Corinthians 12 I will be reading verses 12-13.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

You see here we are all baptized into one body, it is, in part, an outward declaration of that commitment to Christ’s Bride the Church.

However, it is much more than that as well. I like what Roger M. Raymer says about Baptism

Baptism represents a complete break with one’s past life. As the Flood wiped away the old sinful world, so baptism pictures one’s break from his old sinful life and his entrance into new life in Christ.

Roger M. Raymer

And that is the overall picture we are given from scripture about the Christian Baptism. The verses that Dr. Raymer is referring to come from 1 Peter 3.

Peter writes: 1 Peter 3:18-22 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

Baptism in this sense and I would argue that to Peter, is one of the first fruits to be evident in a believer’s life. We see in this passage there is in fact a connection between your salvation and baptism. That is not to say that baptism saves you, we have enough Scripture to proving that salvation comes by faith alone through Christ alone. Even in this passage we see that it is through the work of Christ that we are saved. Let’s read verse 18 again. 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”

We see in verses 19-20 what exactly that connection is. As we continue reading what does it say? 1 Peter 3:19-20 “in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”

We see the connection here is obedience. I am not going to get into the debate as to what the proclaiming to the spirits in prison, parts talks about. God saved Noah and because of the love Noah had for God he was obedient, but those who had no love for God did not obey. We see the connection to baptism here. We see a love of God and a desire to obey his commands.

When should one be Baptized?

This leads us to our next point. When should one be baptized? I Said just a moment ago Peter in many ways saw this as one of the first fruits of salvation. Look with me at Acts 2. We are at the end of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost. In Act 2: 36-41 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

We see Peter teaching this crowd and sharing the Gospel with them. They come to salvation and say, “what shall we do?” Look at Peter’s response here. “Repent and be baptized” The first fruits of salvation are repentance for our sin and baptism, There was an immediate response from the crowd. “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” This should be the immediate response of someone who comes to salvation. The picture we get in scripture is salvation then immediately baptism. And in case you think this is a one off case and just it is just Peter. Turn with me to Acts 8.

This is after the stoning of Stephen and while Saul is still ravaging the Church. So the Church is currently spreading from Jerusalem but we have Phillip spreading the Gospel in Samaria. This is part but look what Acts 8:12 says:

Acts 8:12 “But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” When they believed, they were baptized. But go a little farther into Acts 8 and we see Phillip with the Ethiopian eunuch.

Acts 8:34-38 “And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”

We see an immediate response to the Gospel from the Ethiopian eunuch and a desire to be baptized. Look who asked the question about baptism, it was the eunuch not Philip. He said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” We must ask ourselves a question because of this. How did he know he needed to be baptized in the first place? We have to gather from the details in this passage that Philip spoke of it otherwise how would he have known. Baptism is clearly part of sharing the Gospel in both of these passages. Again not salvific but should be immediate. If it was part of salvation the thief on the cross would not have been saved, but we as a Church corporately have dropped the ball. I think part of this has to do with the convenience. I am an immersionist, believing in a baptism where the one being baptized is completely submerged in water and brought up again. However this is strictly because it is what I see as the best representation of Romans 6:4 “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” I cannot though find a strict calling to an immersion baptism and if you study the Greek word used for baptism and it’s uses throughout the NT and in the Septuagint or the Greek version of the Old Testament. It can mean any of the versions of Baptism. Sprinkling, Pouring, or immersion, and I tend to believe the argument that it would be near impossible to immerse 3000 people in one day. All that to say that it is my conviction based on Scripture that you should be baptised as immediately as possible after salvation, regardless of the way it is performed.

This leads us to our last question.

Why should the Church push for believers to be baptised?

If we go a little further back in Acts 8 and look at verses 30-33. So Philip was sent to this man by the Holy Spirit and look what happens.

Acts 8:30-33 “So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.””

Philip runs up to him and hears him reading and begins to make a disciple out of him. He asks him if he understands what he is reading and the eunuch basically says no. Philip then guides him through the passage. What Philip does has an amazing similarity to something that Jesus told His disciples for ascending into heaven.

Look at Matthew 28 and this is the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

These are some of the last words given to the disciples before Jesus ascends and look at what he says compared to what Philip did. He tells them to go and make disciples. Philip does this with the eunuch. He then commands them to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and again this is what Philip does.

When Peter gives his Pentecost sermon, these words were again some of the last that he heard, so baptism was very much part of these new believers coming into the Church. This is very much to Peter of first importance after salvation, why, because Jesus commanded it. And yet for some reason we forget it or we put it to the side because it is not convenient or what ever other reasons churches come up with. God commanded it, it is not something that we as a Church should be putting aside. We should be proclaiming if you have come to Salvation in Jesus, then you should be baptized into His Church. If you look up the definition for the word disciple, it means a person who believes in the ideas of a leader, esp. a religious or political one, and tries to live according to those ideas. The job of the Church is to make disciples and the first part of that is to help new disciples walk in obedience through baptism. We are here at the lake there is not excuse for us the Church to put it aside today and I would ask you if you are here and have not been baptized to do so today.

If not, I would ask you to search your heart as to why you don’t want to be. What is holding you back? Is it a physical impairment I can make accommodations and we can use a different method, don’t let that be a hindrance. Are you afraid of making that open proclamation that you are part of the body of Christ? If so, I would ask you to really ask yourself if you are following Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. It is to be a public proclamation of your obedience to Him and we very often let pride stop us from following His commands. I ask that you let that go and follow him. I am guilty of letting my pride stop me from following what He has commanded, so please don’t hear me claiming that I am perfect because I was baptized.

Again I will offer to anyone here who has trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior, the opportunity to follow Him and be baptized today. If you would like to be see me after the service. Let me pray.

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”