Why Should I Get Wet?

                                        "WHY SHOULD I GET WET?"

                                                   Matthew 28:18-20

                                                    August 19, 1990

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INTRODUCTION

Today's message begins with a simple confession.  Most of you know that I have been, what many affectionately call, a Baptist most of my life.  It's no secret that I grew up in predominently Baptist churches.  I got my theological training at a Baptist seminary.  You may have noticed that Baptists are often characterized in jokes and stories.

                        Perhaps you heard about the Christian who was asked, "Are you in the army of the Lord?"  He responded, "Of course I am."  "What department?"  "I'm a Baptist," he said.  Hearing that he was a Baptist, the other person said, "You're not in the army.  You're in the navy!"

                        A Presbyterian elder was advertising his car for sale.  A Baptist deacon was interested and answered the ad.  "How do I know it runs as well as you claim?" asked the Baptist deacon.  "You can trust my word.  I'm a Presbyterian elder."  "I'll take it," replied the other.  "I'll drive it home and send you the money in the mail.  You can trust me, because I'm a Baptist deacon."  When the elder arrived home he asked his wife, "What's a Baptist deacon?"  "Oh," came the ans­wer, "a Baptist deacon is about the same as a Presbyterian elder."  "Oh, no," groaned the elder, "I've lost my car."

By now I am used to Baptist jokes.  And I think it's good that we're able to poke fun at ourselves from time to time.  Perhaps it helps us soften the shell and allow the Lord to search the deeper corners of our hearts.  I don't apologize, though, for my theological convictions about baptism.  I'm not ashamed to call myself a Baptist for one reason:  it's biblical.  John was a baptist.  Our Lord was a baptist.  The apostles were baptists.  What made them bap­tists was not the brand of church they attended, but rather that they took seriously the sign, the public demons­tration, of an inward spiritu­al change.  And that's what baptism is all about.  Change.

There's a tendency, in our generalizing, to lump all Bap­tists into the same tank of water.  For example, we call ourselves a Bible church but that doesn't mean that we are the only ones who believe the Bible.  Likewise, just because a church bears the name Baptist doesn't mean that they're the only ones who believe bap­tism is important.  Often times we allow labels to set us apart when in reality there's not much difference.

My goal today is not to convince anyone that Baptist chur­ches are any better than non-Baptist churches.  My goal is simply this:  to emphasize the important place baptism should have in every believer's life.  Today I want to talk about three reasons why baptism is important for the Christian. 

Many of us here today have been baptized.  Some were bap­tized as adults.  Some were baptized as children and even infants.  Some have never trusted Jesus Christ for salvation from sin.  Regardless of your experience, we need to know what the Bible teaches about baptism, understand its significance, and act on it.

The question is:  "Why should I get wet?"  And I want to share with you three important reasons why every believer should personally and soberly consider baptism.

I.          BAPTISM IS A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO FOLLOW -- ACT OF COMMIT­MENT

                                     "Go therefore and make disciples of

                                        all the nations, baptizing them..."

Notice that we are commanded to do primarily one thing:  make disciples.  In order for you and I to make disciples, we must ourselves first be disciples.  What is a disciple?  A disciple is, in plain English, a learner.  A student.  A follower.  One who sees himself or herself as looking up to a teacher.  And in this case, you and I are the learners, and Jesus Christ is the Teacher.  So when He commands us, "make disciples," we don't wonder what He means.  He means, wherever you go, make disciples or followers of Me.  Jesus made disciples, and He has called you and I to be disciples and to make disciples.

Is there a difference between being a Christian and being a disciple?  I've pondered that question many times.  Can one be a Christian and not a disciple of Jesus Christ?  Yes.  I believe the Bible clearly demonstrates that many of us stop short of what God wants us to be.

Look at verse 19.  Our Lord says, "make dis­cip­les."  Notice the way the sen­tence is structured.  He first gives the command.  Then He describes how that command is to be ful­filled.  He says, make disciples by doing three things.  First, make disciples while you are going.  In other words, we bear witness as Jesus' dis­ciples whenever and wherever we go.  Second­ly, we make disciples by baptizing "them."  And thirdly, we make disciples by teaching them.  Who is "them?"  They are the people we are building into dis­ciples of Jesus Christ.

We know from the rest of the Bible that the baptizing and teaching come after conversion.  These are not prerequisites to salvation, but necessary steps after salva­tion.  First you are born, then you are given a name and later learn to walk and talk.  Being named is not a prerequisite for being born.  Walking and talking are not prerequisites for getting out of the womb.  If they are, I shouldn't be here.  But some Christ­ians have adopted the notion that they have a choice about whether to walk and talk spiritually, to be a disciple.  They are happy with their new birth, but they have no desire or inclination to be given a name and learn to walk and talk.

            Observations:

                        1.         Being baptized and being a disciple are in­seper­ably linked.

                        2.         Being baptized and being a disciple are not the same as being a fanatic.  It is simply being an obedient be­liever.

                        3.         Being baptized helps me to acknowledge that Christ is the leader, and I am the follower.

II.         BAPTISM IS A PICTURE OF CHANGED IDENTITY -- ACT OF IDEN­TIFICA­TION

                                 "baptizing them in the name of the Father

                                       and the Son and the Holy Spirit..."

There are a lot of people who say they believe in Christ and are trusting Him to get them to heaven, but that's about as far as it goes.

                        A questionnaire mailed out by one church asked, "How far do you live from the church?"  and "How long does it take you to get to church?"  One member answered, "I live about four blocks from the church, and to get there it takes me about three months."

The verb "to baptize" literally means "to dip."  It was used to describe identification with something or someone.  For ex­ample, taking a white cloth and dipping it in red dye was "baptiz­ing" it because its identity changed.  It was now associated with red, not white.  So it is for the Christian.  Paul says that we are like children who are adopted into the family of God.  As such, we are no longer identified with this world but with Jesus Christ and the world of heaven.  That's why we are called aliens and sojourners in a foreign land.  We have taken the name of Jesus Christ.  The essential principle in water baptism is this:  bap­tism is a visual-aid to show leaving the old life and entering into a new life.  It doesn't produce the change, it simply pic­tures the change.

There are two kinds of baptism described in the New Testa­ment.  First, there is spiritual baptism.

            A.        Spiritual Baptism

                        In spiritual baptism there is a change in iden­tity which occurs the moment a sinner turns to Christ for forgiveness and new life.  This change in identity involves two elements.

                        1.         Romans 6:1-10

                                    The person is united with Christ in His death, burial and resur­rection.  That is to say, a spiritual change has occurred.  The sinner is now a saint.  The old life which marked him has been exchanged for a new life and a new name.

                        2.         1 Corinthians 12:13

                                    Spiritual baptism also unites the believer with the people of Christ.  He or she becomes identified as part of the universal body of Christ.

                        As an example, perhaps you have heard of the Federal Witness Protection Program.  If a person is a key witness to a federal crime, the US government will exchange his identity for a new name, history and background.  He is given a completely new iden­tity.  And so it is with spiritual baptism.

            B.        Physical Baptism

                        The other kind of baptism is physical and invol­ves water.  The purpose of water baptism is to symbol­ize on the outside what has just taken place on the inside.

                        So, baptism symbolizes two realities.  First, upir identification with the person and work of Christ; and second, your identification with the people and message of God in the Church (Cook).

                        Do you remember the story of the prodigal son?  What a fool the youngest son was to walk away from his father's home.  It was essentially an act of rebellion against his father's name and all it stood for.  The young man wanted to make his own mark on the world.  We see ourselves in that parable as the rebellious son returns to his father, hoping to perhaps be allowed to live there as a hired servant.  And what was the father's response?  He took him back in, restored his status as son, and celebrated his return.

                        In that picture we see how in our sinfulness, God has no obligation to take us back in to His fam­ily.  But in Christ He graciously forgives us and restores to us the status of a son.  We have been given all the privileges that go with being a child of the living God.  And that's what baptism celebrates.

III.        BAPTISM IS A PRACTICAL TEST OF OBEDIENCE -- ACT OF OBEDIENCE

                                             "teaching them to observe

                                            all that I commanded you..."

            A.        Baptism is commanded

                        Baptism is not suggested for those who feel comfortable with it.  It is for all who want to name themselves with Jesus Christ.

            B.        Objection

                        Now there may be a few who are saying to them­selves, "This passage is talking about spiritual bap­tism, not water baptism."  Allow me to suggest several reasons why this passage refers to water baptism (Ryrie):

                                    1.         Our Lord was baptized in water (Mt. 3:16)

                                    2.         We are not the agents in spiritual bap­tism, and here Christ is commanding us to be the baptizers.

                                    3.         The Lord approved of His disciples baptiz­ing (Jn. 4:1-2).

                                    4.         The early church practiced water baptism

                                    5.         Many other NT passages speak of spirit­ual baptism in picturesque terms.

                                    6.         The writer to the Hebrews terms baptism a foundational truth (Heb. 6:1-2).

            C.        ILLY:  Jerry White in Hawaii (Plan A, p. 17)

            D.        Authority

                        The command is given by the One with all the authori­ty.  What is at stake here is our rebellious­ness against our Lord.  Is He Lord in your life?  Are you being obedient?  The issue is not whether baptism is important.  The crux of the matter is whether obedience is important.

CONCLUSION

As we conclude today, perhaps there are some who are think­ing:

                        1.         I'm too old to be baptized.  Or...

                        2.         I've been a Christian for many years.  Why be baptized now?  Nothing would change.

Allow me to reiterate again that baptism is important for all believers because:

                        1.         It's a personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ.

                        2.         It's a picture of changed identity.

                        3.         It's a practical test of obedience.

As I reflect back on my years as a Christian, I can see the sig­nificance of my baptism.  I placed my life in Christ's hands when I was five years old.  Not being very old, it was several years before I was baptized as a public testimony of my faith.  But as the years went by, especially as a teenager, I found myself more interested in things other than the kingdom of God.  And it wasn't until my college years that I really submitted my entire life and future to the Lord and was willing to go where He wanted me to go and do what He wanted me to do.  But listen.  This is important.  My public stand in baptism was always there, reminding me that I had a prior obligation, that I was to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.  And when God finally got my attention later in life, He used the earlier commitment I had made in the waters of baptism.  For that I praise Him today!

The subject of believer's baptism raises some important personal questions.  Every person in this room falls into one of two groups:  those who have been baptized, and those who have not.

I'm going to ask you all to do some thinking.  And this morning, I am going to extend a call for action.  The time for religious talk is over.  Now is the time for decisions, for com­mitment.  Tonight we are going to celebrate the baptism of one young believer, Katie Liu.  In a few moments I'm going to ask you, if you are set­tling some commitments in your own heart, to come down here and stand with me.  Walking to the front doesn't do anything magical.  But I'll tell you what it does do.  It helps you to make some choices.  Are you serious or not?

[ ]         If you have been baptized already as a testimony of your faith in Jesus Christ, and as a picture of your identifica­tion with Him in His death, burial and resurrection, then you need to ask your­self:  Am I still living like a follower and disciple?  Am I still wil­ling to live a life identified with Christ?  Am I still willing to obey what our Lord has commanded?

[ ]         If you have never been baptized, you too need to ponder some important questions.

            1.         It may be that you have never taken the opportunity to publicly testify of your faith, and to publicly commit your life to Jesus Christ.  It doesn't matter how young or old you are.  There is never any benefit in putting off what you know should be done.  You may have been a believer for many years but have never publicly obeyed our Lord in believer's baptism as a testimony of your commitment to Him.  I urge you, don't put it off any longer.  Take a stand with Jesus Christ.  It will revolutionize your personal commit­ment.  As James Packer has said, "A church that did not require baptism, and an unbaptized Christian who did not ask for it, would be something of a contradic­tion in terms."

            2.         It may be that you have been running away from Christ's call on your life.  You've placed your trust in Him, but you've been afraid to put your life on the level of commitment He expects.  Don't pretend every­thing's fine.  Nothing is fine until you submit your whole life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Do you remember how Peter felt as he stood around the camp­fire the night before the crucifixion.  He wanted to love the Lord, but he was afraid to make the commit­ment, to be counted with Him.  And life was miserable.  But our Lord gave him another opportunity to make a full commitment and because Peter was willing to start fresh he went on to become a great follower of Jesus Christ.  Is it time for you to renew your commitment today?

            3.         It may be that you have never experienced the joy of forgiveness in Christ.  It's not enough just to be religious.  There were plenty of religious people who Christ condemned.  The Bible says that God saves us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in right­eousness, but according to His mercy (Titus 3:5).  You need to humbly admit your sinfulness and your need for forgiveness and by faith accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Master.  There is no assurance that you will get another opportunity.  I am not going to pressure anyone into an emotional decision.  But I must warn you:  don't try to ignore the voice of God's Spirit if He is convicting your heart.

It's never too late to take that obedient step of faith.  This is a time for commitment.