Ready to Get Dunked?
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I had a friend who pastored a small church that didn’t have a baptismal tank. They needed to baptize some new believers so they borrowed the baptistery of a nearby church. The service was scheduled at the borrowed church.
That baptistery hadn’t been used in a long time so my friend went the day before and cleaned it. That proved to be wise because it had been a while since the pool had been used and it was dirty.
Did I mentioned that they killed a scorpion while cleaning?
Baptism day arrived and it proved unforgettable. A little lady entered the baptistery with him. He plunged her into the water and as he was bringing her out he noticed something big and hairy next to his foot.
Shock rippled through him. His cleaning experience from the day before caused him to see a giant tarantula or some other malevolent creature. He wanted to jump out of the water but with Spartan discipline he held steady like a good soldier of the Lord.
Then he glanced at the lady he had just baptized and realized something was different. He looked at the harry ball in the water again. That was no spider next to his foot. The lady had left her wig in the bowels of the baptistry.
Strange things happen when you baptize people. (David’s coffee stains)
I read this quote the other day: “When it comes to baptizing, we don’t mess around with a few sprinkles. We put people under until they bubble. We want them to feel just a moment of panic, so they can appreciate resurrection.” (W. Clay Smith, https://www.wclaysmith.com/wclaysmith/tag/Funny+baptism+stories)
Why be baptized? Well for starters, baptism was commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20
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.”
Yet how this occurs in the church is vastly different. Some baptize infants, others adults. Some say it is essentially for salvation, other don’t. How are we to understand baptism, what it’s about, who it’s for, and why it exists? Today, we’re going to take a look at the New Testament and consider what baptism is for and what it’s all about. And I will say this: there are different schools of thought on what baptism means, and who it’s for. We’ll get into that more, but this is not about putting down other denominations or believers. Simply put, this is our understanding - as we read God’s Word, of how we see baptism taking place, and why.
Baptism proclaims Christ and your commitment to Him.
This process of being dunked in water may seem arbitrary, or maybe silly. Maybe it just seems like “another thing to do.” But it’s not. Baptism is a beautiful gift - one of two ordinances that Jesus Christ left us. It is about publicly stating that you have thrown your everything in with Christ - symbolizing outwardly the inward change that has taken place through the Holy Spirit when you accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
A Picture
A Picture
First, we need to understand what baptism is:
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine c. Household Baptisms
Baptism pictures (i) Christ’s redemptive work, (ii) my response in faith (as I come to be baptized), and (iii) God’s application of the benefits of redemption to my life.
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.
This is a clear picturing of what baptism is all about. As we go down into the water, we symbolize Christ’s death. Not only that, but we picture us too dying to our old selves. This is something that we are supposed to do - with the help of the Holy Spirit
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This word flesh comes from the Greek word sarx. This word can denote the human body, but is often used within the New Testament to speak about the sinful, earthly desires that are a part of what it means to be human. All of us, no matter how perfect, struggle with sin. We struggle with a desire to sin. Paul says that if we choose live this way - if we choose to live according to our sinful, fleshly desires, rejecting Jesus Christ we will experience death. Not just a physical death, but a spiritual one. We will face judgement apart from the Saviour. Who can stand in the face of such judgement? Only Christ can. Only those who are clothed with Christ - who have accepted the gift of salvation and have His spotless record can stand. Paul says that those who live according to the Spirit and put to death those “fleshly” desires are the ones who will live.
In baptism, we are demonstrating that we have died to our old, sinful selves, and we are raised - born again - in Jesus. Our old selves are crucified with Christ. They are dead, and now we live in Christ, and our lives should reflect the total transformation that has and is taking place. So in accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we choose to give ourselves to Him, and ask Him to be our Lord. The Holy Spirit indwells us, and we now must live according the way the Spirit of God directs us, not according to old desires of our sinful selves. As we are raised up out of the water, we are picturing the raising of Jesus Christ. We proclaim His redeeming work, and our acceptance and demonstration of the new heart-change that has taken place in us.
So baptism pictures the redemptive work of Jesus Christ showing us the death and ressurection of our Lord. Is depicts outwardly the inward transformation that has taken place for us as we accepted faith. It also depicts outwardly the washing away of our sins that has taken place through the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ. In this way it showcases God’s redemptive grace applied to us. So we see that baptism proclaims Jesus Christ’s death and ressurection. As we come to be baptized and participate we are showing not just the inward change that has taken place, but our commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour, dying to our flesh and living according to the Spirit. Our lives in Jesus must be as different from our old lives before Christ, as death is from life (NAC, Romans).
But let me ask you this: are we saved when we get baptized? Or another way to put it: Does baptism save us. Is baptism necessary for salvation?
The reason we need to understand the answers to these questions is because not all Christians will answer the same. Some Christians would advocate strongly that baptism is necessary for salvation. To quote Ludwig Ott in his Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma:
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine 3. Alternative #1: The Roman Catholic View
Baptism by water … is, since the promulgation of the Gospel, necessary for all men without exception for salvation. (p. 356)
He goes on to explain part of his reasoning:
Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine 3. Alternative #1: The Roman Catholic View
Faith, as it is not the effective cause of justification … need not be present. The faith which infants lack is … replaced by the faith of the Church. (p. 359)
It is under such justification that the catholic church adheres to infant baptism (though this is NOT the case for all Christians who perform infant baptism.) Now, this is not rag on the catholic church time. This is a simple look at how we see Scripture leading us in our understanding of baptism.
We are told in 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.
By grace, through faith. This is how Ephesians tells us we are saved. This is perhaps the most fundamental thing to consider when we consider the significance of baptism. It is a picture yes, but it does not communicate to us salvation. Faith alone in Jesus Christ does that. Ott’s view centers around the idea of both ordinances - baptism and communion - being a separate thing from faith. But this is in no way the case! For how could it be that such an act as communion, which is supposed to be taken according to 1 Corinthians by those who are believers, could be taken apart from faith. The only way we can be justified before God and therefore have fellowship with His people is by God’s grace alone, through the faith that He gives us!
Moreover, we see that the common New Testament practice - which we will get into more in a moment was some someone to repent and believe, and then be baptized. In fact, there is even evidence in Scripture that the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which must come with salvation for the Spirit to indwell the believer, sometimes comes before water baptism, as in Acts 10:44,47 we read this:
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
How could it be that these people were baptized with the Spirit of God first, before being water baptized, if water baptism is necessary for salvation? The answer is that they cannot, unless baptism is not essential to salvation.
It is a dangerous path we take when we try to pull baptism to such a level as communicating - or being part of what communicates - salvation to us. We are justified by grace alone through faith alone. This is a core tenant of our faith and we must recognize with it that baptism is a symbol - a picture - that only brings God’s grace and blessing like an other step of obedience would.
So we see baptism as a picture, showing us Christ’s sacrifice, our participation with Him, and how God applies that salvation to us. We are not saved by being baptized, anymore than we’re saved by signing worship songs or sitting in church. But it is a step of obedience - one that Jesus commands - for everyone who believers. This leads us to our next point, that…
For Believers
For Believers
The next thing we need consider as we think about baptism proclaiming Christ and your commitment to Him is this: who is baptism for? Can anyone be baptized? Should only those who have proven themselves worth after a period of at least 10 years and intense persecution take this step? That might be hyperbole, but the reality is that there are different schools of thought on when and who should be baptized. Many churches differ: Some churches baptize adults, some will baptize children who have reached an age at which they can make a conscious choice for themselves. Other churches baptize infants. How do we understand this?
The position that we take as a church is believer’s baptism. Meaning that we baptize adults who have professed faith in Jesus, and children or youth who have reached an age of consciously choosing Christ for themselves. Although we take time to dedicate infants and express our intention to raise them up for God, we do not baptize them. Why is this? Well, let’s turn to the Old Testament for a minute…
In the Old Testament the people of Israel entered into a covenant with God. This promise was that God would be their God, and they would be His people. The sign that was given to show that Israel was set apart - was God’s - was the sign of circumcision. We first find this with Abraham in Genesis 17:
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
Genesis 17:9–11 (ESV)
And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you:
Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Abraham followed God’s instructions, and circumcised his son Isaac when he was born:
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
This was the covenant established between Abraham and God, which Abraham kept. It was passed on down through the years, and was placed in the law by God to his people Israel (who were the descendants of Abraham).
And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Ain’t that just lovely? I feel like every guy here just got a little more uncomfortable thinking about that! But realistically, why would God choose such a sign? For a few reasons, this mark, which every Israelite man bore, was the symbol of the covenant they had between God and themselves. Moreover, in this way it was a metaphorical “claiming” of the generations to come. Regardless, this was the sign. It pointed forward to the coming Messiah, and was a sign of a physical birth into the people through whom the Messiah would come. Every man born in Israel, every man who wanted to be a part of Israel, had to be circumcised.
Now, we move to the New Testament, Jesus comes and makes the way for salvation, not just for Jews but anyone who would believe, and the Jews who had become Christians start going… “hey, they need to be circumcised too!” This was understandable given the strict adherence to it that God’s Old Testament law commanded. For them, it was a matter of salvation: If you don’t have this, you can’t be saved. Just like, if you don’t have this you can’t be apart of Israel. And if it was me, I might be going, “Hey! How come he gets away without that? That just ain’t right!” It became enough of a problem that the apostles - who lead the early church - needed to deal with it. Again, all the apostles are Jewish, but it was Peter who spoke up:
Acts 15:7–11 (ESV)
And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
So, how does this line up with baptism? Many churches choose to baptize infants, seeing baptism as the replacement sign for circumcision; the sign of the new covenant. In this way, they are picturing and pointing towards Christ’s atoning work, and ushering in the next generation into the new covenant. While baptism is a sign of the new covenant, in as much as it is an initiatory rite, it is not the same as circumcision.
Baptism is a new rite for a new covenant, one that is not marked by being born into it physically, as the old was, but being spiritually re-born through faith. In the Old Covenant, everyone was part of it if they were born into Israel. Their sign was a mark of a physical “seed” a people from which would come the Messiah. Moreover, circumcision pointed to a circumcision of the heart - a regeneration that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Now that Jesus has come and fulfilled this old law, we receive a new covenant and new rite, a rite for believers. But baptism doesn’t anticipate regeneration happening. It also isn’t a sign of physical descent, both of which were true for circumcision. Instead it proclaims Christ and what has changed in your life. To receive this rite, you aren’t physically born into a Jewish family but spiritually re-born in Christ.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
In other words, if you are saved and born again, then you become part of the people of God, just like Israel. You become part of Abraham’s seed, even if not physically descended from him. Now, the defining factor for all to enter the people of God- Jews and Gentiles - is Jesus.
Infants cannot make a conscious choice for faith, though we do our level best as believing parents to raise them from birth for Jesus. Baptism is a sign that proclaims Christ, His work in us, and God’s redemption in our lives. The problem is, infants can’t really proclaim that, because they haven’t experienced it yet. So, even though it may be the rite of the new covenant, it is a rite for a believer, because it proclaims a change that has already taken place in the individual’s life.
We should also note this once again: Throughout the New Testament we see ample evidence of people being baptized after they were saved. For example
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.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
These are some examples. Baptism doesn’t save you, but it is a rite that demonstrates outwardly the inward change that has taken place. It should, therefore, be administered to those who have demonstrated that inward change in their life.
This is not to put down our brothers and sisters who feel differently. You can be a wonderful Christian and love Jesus and be baptized as a baby. But as we read God’s Word, see the process that the early church used for baptism, and understand that baptism is about demonstrating outwardly an inward change, I think we see clear evidence for a believer’s baptism. The choice to be baptized is left not with parents, but with that person.
One other thing: Jesus says this in Matthew 28:19-20
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.”
Similarly in the passages we just read there isn’t really a “waiting period” between someone’s conversion and baptism. Why is this? Because baptism is not about being a higher version of Christian. Baptism is about demonstrating your public commitment to Jesus Christ and the work He has done. It proclaims His atoning work and the redemption you have experienced from God. I want to note this because sometimes we feel like we have to be a Christian for a while first, before we get baptized. That’s not the way it works. But, it is important to realize that it is a public declaration. One that we make only after we have repented, accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, and thereby been spiritually re-born into the family of God. So, would I baptize someone off the street I’d never met but said they believed? Probably not right away, because I’d want to know more about their relationship with Jesus first; had they actually made that commitment and had a changed heart? Also, do they understand what baptism is all about? If both of those came back with a yes, then sure, I’d happily baptize them.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Let’s recap:
Baptism proclaims Christ and your commitment to Him.
Baptism was commanded by Jesus. We’ve seen it as a rite and a picture. It pictures Christ’s redemptive work, your acceptance of faith, and the redemption of God applied to you. Does it save you? No! Only faith in Jesus can do that. But it does proclaim outwardly the inward change that takes place when you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
To that end then, baptism is for the believer. It is a gift to proclaim and testify, and part of entering into the believing community means being baptized. In the old covenant, people who were born into it received the sign of circumcision. In the new covenant in Jesus, those who believe in Jesus are spiritually re-born. Therefore, it is those who confess faith and are re-born by the Spirit of God that are eligible to receive baptism.
Baptism is about proclaiming what Jesus has done in your life. It is a beautiful gift God has given us so that we might celebrate and signify the transformation of a new person by the work of the Holy Spirit, and the atonement of Christ. When someone is baptized, it’s a whole church deal because together we celebrate!
So, where does this leave us today? Most of you know that we have Celebration Sunday coming up in a few weeks, and as I prayed I felt peace to take a Sunday to focus on the meaning of baptism, and why it is important. It’s not about putting down who might view it differently, but to honestly talk about how - as a body of believers - we understand Scripture on this topic.
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.
If you have done these things, it’s time for you to be baptized. But I would caution you: when you make a public declaration you also do so before the enemy, and you communicate to him clearly just whose side you’re on. So baptism is not for the faint of heart. It is a public declaration that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, and that He has changed your life for Him. So I want to challenge you with this: If you are feeling the Holy Spirit’s pull to be baptized, maybe for the first time, or maybe as an adult, don’t ignore that prompting. God blesses us when we obey Him, and obeying the command from Christ to be baptized is an awesome step in your journey with Him. You don’t have to meet a bunch of qualifications. If you have given your life to Jesus as Lord and Saviour, if He has changed you, you need to be baptized.
Maybe you’re not sure today. Maybe you haven’t accepted Jesus yet. If that’s the case, again I want to encourage you to follow the prompting of the Spirit of God. If you can feel yourself being drawn to faith, accept Jesus today. It is the most important decision you can make, one that is the difference between life and death. Baptism shows us the amazing work Christ has done. When we go under, we die to ourselves. When we come up, we symbolize being raised with Christ, freed of sin and guilt and shame, free to live in the hope Christ brings, under His lordship. God is calling you today. Don’t wait, respond to His gentle voice and accept Christ. Repent, and give your life to Jesus, and experience that transformation, that hope, and that joy.