Baptism: The End and The Beginning

Water, Purification, and Salvation

Water has always carried meaning.

Even outside the Bible, people connect water with cleansing, renewal, and fresh starts.

After a long day, we say, “I just need a shower.” After a difficult season, people talk about “washing their hands” of the past. When someone starts over, we say they’ve been “given a clean slate.”

Why do you think that is?

Why has water, across cultures and generations, become such a powerful picture of renewal?

Because deep down, people know something: Sometimes we need more than improvement. Sometimes we need cleansing. Sometimes we need a new beginning.

And throughout the pages of Scripture, water becomes a repeated symbol of two things: God cleansing people from impurity and God delivering people into new life.

From the very beginning, water is connected to both judgment and salvation. Purification and deliverance. Death and new life.

Peter makes that connection directly in 1 Peter 3.

1 Peter 3:18–22 NIV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Peter directly connects the flood and baptism.

Just as Noah and his family were saved through water, we too are saved through water.

Not because the water itself is magical. Not because water has some kind of supernatural power on its own. But because baptism is an act of faith-filled obedience to God.

Just like Noah.

Think about Noah for a moment.

God told him to build something no one had ever seen before. To trust a warning no one else believed. To obey before the rain ever came.

And Noah stepped into salvation through obedient trust.

The last thing I want to point out early, scripture shows us that the action in theses passages resides with God. In this passage, the resurrection of Jesus is what saves us. How and what also it promises, we will see later. But, I want us to see hear it began when Noah choose to obey.

That’s Peter’s connection.

But this isn’t the first time water and salvation are connected in Scripture. Actually, by the time we reach baptism in the New Testament, God has already been telling this story for generations.

Have you ever noticed how often water shows up at major turning points in the Bible?

Moments where God rescues people. Cleanses people. Delivers people. Starts over with people.

In Exodus 2, Moses is placed into a small ark-like basket and set into the Nile River. The word used here in Hebrew is Teva. It literally means Ark and int this miniature ark, he is carried safely through the waters of judgment and chaos. Just like Noah before him, God uses water as part of His rescue story.

Then later, in Exodus 14, we see one of the greatest rescue moments in the entire Bible.

Imagine standing at the edge of the Red Sea.

The Egyptian army is behind you. The water is in front of you. There is nowhere to go. No escape. No solution.

And then God makes a way where there was no way.

God tells Moses to stretch out his hand, and the sea parts. Israel walks through the water into freedom while slavery and oppression are left behind.

Do you see the pattern?

Water becomes the dividing line between the old life and the new one.

But it doesn’t stop there.

When we come to Leviticus and Numbers, we begin seeing water connected to purification.

And I know this is the section of the Bible many people struggle to understand. Because at first glance, these laws can feel strange and distant from our world.

But underneath all of these purification rites is something deeply human.

Every culture understands what it feels like to be unclean. Ashamed. Disconnected. Like something is wrong.

Maybe, as kids, we liked to roll around in the mud and could have stayed like that all day. But, as adults we might play football in a mud puddle, participate in a tug-o-war mud pit, but soon want to take a bath. Afterall, fellas, how many times have you come in dirty and had your wife immediately point you to the shower. That is what we are talking about.

The purity laws were ultimately about restoration. About bringing someone back into fellowship. Back into community. Back into the presence of God.

In Leviticus 14, someone healed from a skin disease had to go through a cleansing process involving water.

Leviticus 14:1–9

The Lord said to Moses, “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean.

“The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean.”

Again, the person acts in obedience to God’s instruction and is restored.

In Numbers 19, water is used in purification after contact with death.

In Exodus 29, priests are washed before entering their service before God.

Over and over again, water becomes connected to cleansing, preparation, restoration, and salvation.

And this matters because some people think baptism appears out of nowhere in the New Testament.

But baptism is not disconnected from Israel’s story. It is the fulfillment of a pattern God has been establishing all along.

And then we arrive at one of the most important passages connected to this theme.

By the time Ezekiel writes, Israel’s problem is deeper than behavior.

They don’t just need better habits. They don’t just need stricter rules. They need new hearts.

Listen to the promise God gives.

Ezekiel 36:24–29 NIV

“ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.

So, 400 years later, John comes on the scene preaching a baptism of repentance. Matthew records his reasons...

Matthew 3:11 NIV

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And a few verse later, Jesus gives us the example of what we are to do ourselves.

Matthew 3:13–17 NIV

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Jesus, after being resurrected, before leaving this earth tells his followers.

Matthew 28:18-20:

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

To summarize up to this point: Throughout Scripture, water becomes more than just water. From the very beginning, God uses it as a picture of cleansing, deliverance, and new life. Noah and his family were saved through the floodwaters. Moses was carried safely through the Nile in a miniature ark. Israel passed through the Red Sea, leaving slavery behind and stepping into freedom. Later, under the Law, water purification rites symbolized cleansing, restoration, and being made ready to come back into the presence of God. Then Ezekiel points forward to something even greater—not just outward cleansing, but God giving His people new hearts and putting His Spirit within them. All of this leads us to baptism in the New Testament. Baptism is not some magical act where the water itself has power, but it is a faith-filled response of obedience to God. It is the moment we identify with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and step into the new life He offers. Baptism is not a random New Testament ritual disconnected from Israel’s story. It is the fulfillment of a pattern God had been establishing all along—that through Him, people can be cleansed, delivered, restored, and made new.

Do we have any questions about this before we move on to the book?

Baptism In The Community of God.

The day the church was started was the day we see baptism taking on a new meaning.

People have gathers from all over.

They begin to hear men speak of Jesus in their own language.

Peter explains to the how they have killed the very messiah they have been waiting for and then we read...

Acts 2:36–41 NIV

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Questions to ask:

These people asked Peter what they should do in response to this revelation that the Jesus, they killed, was the Messiah?

What did Peter promise they would receive if they were baptized?

What do you think it means for someone who chooses to not do what Peter said?

Is it those who hear the meeage or those who accept it that receive the promised blessings?

Now, this will be online on our resource page, which you can reach through the members hub and download it, study it on your own, but this walks you through the conversions we have in the book of Acts. They follow a pattern:

People hear the message.

It stirs something inside of them and they wrestle with who Jesus is, but they come to the conclusion that they believe He is the messiah.

They are cut to the heart and repent.

That leads to there what do I do moment and they are baptized.

Upon being baptized they received the Holy Spirit and forgiveness, and they are now saved.

The only one that I want to look, differs from the pattern by one exception. It is found in Acts 10.

Acts 10:1–6 NIV

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

So, notice a few things about Cornelius:

He was a Roman guard.

His entire family, we are told, are God-fearing.

They gave to others and prayed regularly.

One day an Angel comes to him and ask him to call for Peter.

Now, what we find as we read this story, is that God is opening the gospel now to the Gentiles.

And when Peter arrives, he is met with large gathering of people to hear Him and he proclaims

Acts 10:34–37 NIV

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—

And with those word, he begins to the the gospel message. The the difference happens:

Acts 10:44–46 NIV

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

See, here they received The Spirit before baptism. To show that God had given the gift of salvation to the Gentiles. Then Peter said...

Acts 10:47–48 NIV

“Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

The one difference in the pattern is the opening up of the gospel to the gentiles and Peter immediately proclaims they should be baptized.

Study the outline and you will see a pattern emerges.

Hear the Gospel

Repent of your sins.

Confess Jesus as Lord.

Be baptized.

Follow Jesus.

The last section we will read is Romans 6:1-8

Romans 6:1–8 NIV

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Paul states that these disciples had at one time “died to sin.” What do you think he meant by “we died to sin” and “how can we live in it any longer?”

In Romans 6:5, what does it say will happen “if” you die to self at baptism?

What happens if you do not die to self at baptism?

In verse 7, what happens if you do not die to sin at baptism?

From what we have looked at so far, does it make any sense for your to be baptized if you are not ready to die to self, to surrender your life?