Sermon Tone Analysis

Baptism in Water

Key Verse: “‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’

Amen.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to help the disciple understand and experience the importance of scriptural water baptism as the first step of obedience for a new believer and that it symbolizes the washing away of former sins and identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Baptize: A Word Study

The English word “baptize” is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which simply means “to dip, immerse, plunge, submerge.”

It also includes the idea of washing.

Therefore, New Testament baptism in water indicates a complete immersion in water.

Jesus commanded those who believe in Him to be BAPTIZED in water.

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 16:15–16 (NKJV) “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’”

Jesus Himself was baptized in order to FULFILL all righteousness.

Matthew 3:13–16 (NKJV) “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’

Then he allowed Him.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”

Since He had no sin, it was not necessary for Jesus to be baptized by John for the “remission of sins”[1]but it was necessary for Him to be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness”.

If our redemption needed only for Christ to die for our sins, He could have come to earth and immediately gone to the Cross.

However, Jesus’ ability to offer Himself without spot on the Cross was predicated on His perfect life of active obedience to the will of God.

Jesus was born under the law and fulfilled all righteousness by submitting to every point of the law.[2]As a result, He was able to offer Himself as the spotless Lamb of God.[3]

Although John the Baptist was a prophet, he was also from a priestly lineage, his father Zacharias being a priest.[4]God the Father had already pre-ordained that Jesus would be High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.[5]Jesus

baptism by John the Baptist marked His heavenly ceremonial inauguration as High Priest to fulfill all righteousness under the Old Covenant and to inaugurate the New Covenant.

The subsequent witness of the Holy Spirit descending upon and remaining upon Jesus was the sign given to John so that he might know Jesus to be the Messiah, i.e. “Anointed One”.[6]

Four New Testament Baptisms

In Hebrews 6:2 we find that one of the foundation principles of Christ is the “doctrine of baptisms.”

In the New Testament we discover that four baptisms are specifically mentioned.

In understanding the differences between these four baptisms, we need to ask ourselves these four questions: Who is the Baptizer?

Into what (medium) is the person being baptized?

What is the purpose of the baptism?

What is the evidence?

Baptism in WATER (Matthew 28:19).

Baptizer: The believer

Medium: Water

Purpose: Repentance from sin, washing away of sins, and identification with Christ

Evidence: New birth; New creation

Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the BODY OF CHRIST (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Baptizer: Holy Spirit

Medium: The body of Christ

Purpose: Connection in the church, the body of Christ

Evidence: Gifts and callings for service and ministry

Baptism with the HOLY SPIRIT (Luke 3:16; Acts 1:8)

Baptizer: Jesus Christ

Medium: Holy Spirit

Purpose: Power to be witnesses

Evidence: Demonstration of the Holy Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:4)

Baptism with FIRE (Malachi 3:2-3; Luke 3:16; 1 Peter 1:6-7)

Baptizer: Jesus Christ

Medium: Fire of testing and suffering

Purpose: Refining, purification, proving

Evidence: A holy life (sanctification)

Baptism in water is obedience to Christ’s COMMAND.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) “‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’

Amen.”

Obeying Christ’s command to be baptized in water is evidence that we LOVE Him.

John 14:15 (NKJV) “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Baptism in water fulfills God’s RIGHTEOUS requirement.

Matthew 3:13-15 (NKJV) “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’

But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’

Then he allowed Him.”

Baptism in water is a visible demonstration of our FAITH.

James 2:17-18 (NKJV) “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’

Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Scriptural Requirements Preceding Baptism

CONFESSION of sin.

Matthew 3:5-6 (NKJV) “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.”

BEAR FRUITS worthy of repentance.

Luke 3:7-14 (NKJV) “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.”

For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.

Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’

So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’

He answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’

Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’

And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’

Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’

So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.’”

BELIEVE the message of the gospel from the heart.

Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV) “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’”

Acts 8:12 (NKJV) “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.”

Acts 8:36-38 (NKJV) “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water.

And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water.

What hinders me from being baptized?’

Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’

And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’

So he commanded the chariot to stand still.

And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”

Romans 10:8-10 (NKJV) “But what does it say?

‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

According to the preceding verses BABIES would not be candidates for believer’s baptism because they cannot understand, repent, or have heartfelt belief in Christ as Savior.

The practice of infant baptism by some denominations would only qualify Biblically as a sanctifying act of dedication of the child to God by believing parents until such time as their conscience is awakened to sin and their need to be saved.