Baptism

Scripture

Acts 2:38 “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.”

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.””

Apologetics

1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

It is important to know what you believe and why you believe it so you are not persuaded by the world and may be able to persuade others.

There is a war and the spiritual forces of evil are pushing hard in our society. A recent video is making headway, “Satan’s Guide To The Bible.” It’s evil. We need to know what we believe and be willing to defend it.

Baptism - The Sacrament

Sacrament - “The outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace” ~ Augustine

Ordinance - This is another word for sacrament, it was ordained by Jesus

One of two sacraments; Baptism and Communion

Just so we’re clear, sacraments don’t save you, but they are good

Baptism - Old Testament

The Flood - 1 Peter 3:18-22

The world was full of evil, was washed clean of that evil, the evil was destroyed, and new life emerged

The Exodus - 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

God led the people in a pillar of cloud by day, they passed through the Red Sea, Pharoah died in the sea, and Israel was set free from slavery

The Ceremonial Cleansing - Hebrews 10:19-23

Before the priests could offer sacrifices they had to wash themselves, and put on the priestly clothes cleansing their bodies from the profane for that which is holy

What we gather from the Old Testament

Something very real is happening physically

Something very real is happening spiritually

God is doing the heavy lifting but we have to follow

Noah had to actually build the ark, Israel had to leave Egypt, the priests had to follow the instructions

Baptism - New Testament

John’s baptism was for repentance

Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, John 1:25-33

Jesus’ baptism would be with the Holy Spirit and fire

More than getting wet, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”

Jesus’ baptism was for regeneration through the Holy Spirit

Romans 6:3–4 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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.”

Romans 6:7 “For one who has died has been set free from sin.”

Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

1 Peter 3:21–22 “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.”

Your conscience is cleansed by the forgiveness of sins

Acts 19:3–6 “And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.”

What we gather from the New Testament

Something very real is happening spiritually

Something very real is happening physically

God is doing the heavy lifting of the forgiveness of sins and giving life to our moral bodies, but we must repent and submit to the work of Jesus Christ

Romans 10:9–10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Baptism is the capstone of our faith

God is doing something in the water when it is accompanied with faith. If it were not a benefit, if God were doing nothing in the water, then He wouldn’t have commanded us to do it.

Paedobaptism vs. Credobaptism

Paedobaptism is baptism to be followed by confirmation (dry baptism ~ Packer)

Credobaptism is dedication (dry baptism) followed by baptism

Paedobaptism - infant baptism

Baptism is not what saves us so infants are not saved by their baptism

Confirmation is needed in which the child confesses their faith

Baptism is not to be practiced for parents who are not in the church

Scripture does not say to do it

We have households that are baptized but it is inference to say infants were present

Scripture does not say to not do it

Infant baptism is neither confirmed nor denied

A sign of the old covenant was circumcision, some say baptism has taken the place of circumcision

Colossians 2:11–12 “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

There is certainly a connection here between circumcision and baptism, but not a replacement

Paul was trying to convince the Jews that circumcision was not needed, he could have simply said, “Baptism is the new circumcision.”

Circumcision was the seal of the old covenant, the Holy Spirit is the seal of the new covenant

From flesh to spiritual is the direction in Scripture, not flesh to a different kind of flesh

The Holy Spirit is our seal, Ephesians 1:13–14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Infant baptism is a sign of God’s love and prevenient grace. He is calling that child to Himself before they are able to do anything, they aren’t even aware of themselves much less aware of God and their need for Him. It is a promise made that we will do everything we can to raise that child into their baptism and they will make that decision and confession for themselves.

Credobaptism - baptism after confession

Baptism should only be given after a person is able to confess their faith

How now shall we live?

Whether you were baptized as an infant, child, or adult, live out your baptism. Live as one whose flesh is dead and who has been made alive through the Spirit. Remember that the Holy Spirit is alive in you and His fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Are you lacking any of those? Then keep in step with the Spirit so His life can fill yours. Let your baptism remind you of God’s saving work, your sins are forgiven and you have been made a new creature born of the Spirit. And as Jesus came to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, let the Holy Spirit set your heart ablaze for God that we can be the light of this world that He has called us to be.

Tozer Topical Reader in Two Volumes 1236. Thoughts

Your baptism and your confirmation and your name on the church roll and the big Bible you carry—these are not the things that are important to God. You can train a chimpanzee to carry a Bible. Every one of us is the sum of what we secretly admire, what we think about and what we would like to do most if we became free to do what we wanted to do.

Tozer Topical Reader in Two Volumes 534. Gospel: Faith Alone; Salvation: By Faith Alone; Faith: And Works

There are so many who want to trust Christ plus something else. They want to trust Christ and add their own morals. They want to trust Christ and add their own good works. They want to trust Christ and then point to the merits of their baptism or church membership or stewardship.

Let me tell you straight out that Jesus Christ will never stand at the right side of a plus sign. If you will insist upon adding some “plus” to your faith in Jesus Christ, He will walk away in His holy dignity. He will ever refuse to be considered the other part of a “plus” sign. If your trust is in the plus—something added—then you do not possess Jesus Christ at all.

The divine sign given to the child in baptism confirms the promise given to godly parents, and proclaims that the Lord is not only their God, but their children’s. All this is to God’s glory and increases the believer’s love towards him, as they realize that his love is not only for them, but for their offspring.

John Calvin

The Spirit can come before baptism (10:47), in conjunction with baptism (2:38), or some time after baptism (8:16).

John B. Polhill

Water baptism is the symbol of death and new birth, and the spiritual baptism is the actual new life that is experienced by the Holy Spirit.

Gabriel Etzel