Baptism Study
This is a survey of the New Testament to discover the meaning and application of baptism.
he said to them, “Go into all the worldan and preach the gospel to all creation.ao 16 Whoever believesap and is baptized will be saved,aq but whoever does not believe will be condemned.ar
1) This is a good place to start studying Baptism. Jesus has completed his work on earth (life & ministry, death, burial, and resurrection) and is about to return to heaven (Mark 16:19). This is his final instructions to his closest followers. Mathew and Mark have similar accounts of what Jesus said.
38 Peter replied, “Repentf and be baptized,g each of you, in the nameh of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off,i as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corruptB generation!”j
2) This is a great place to continue studying the implementation of Jesus command to make disciples by baptizing believers (Matthew 28:19 & Mark 16:15-16). The result is that many Jews in Jerusalem responded by trusting the message and getting baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:41). Read the full context of this story for more details (Acts 2).
35 Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.a
36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?”A 38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
4) After Philip went north to Samaria, an Angel told him to go south of Jerusalem toward Gaza (Acts 8:26). So he went and preached the gospel to an Ethiopian (a high official to the queen Acts 8:27). His response was to get baptized (Acts 8:38), and directly after, Philip was transported to Azotus and continued to preach the gospel in all the towns leading to Caesarea (Acts 8:40). I would assume the Ethiopian went back to his country and spread the gospel. It would naturally follow that those who trusted the message would have been baptized in response. It would also be natural to assume Philip’s message in the rest of the towns would have resulted in believers responding in baptism.
18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.t
Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointedr you to know his will, to sees the Righteous One,t and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.u 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,v calling on his name.’w
5) Luke turns his attention toward Saul who has been doing much harm to the saints (Acts 9:13-14). Ananias was the disciple chosen to preach the good news to Saul so that he could regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit (similar to the Jews in Jerusalem Acts 2:38). Later in Luke’s account, Paul testifies to the Jerusalem mob and describes his conversion in more detail (Acts 22:14-16). His response to the gospel was to “not delay” in being baptized for the forgiveness of his sins. The gospel continued to spread throughout the region and the church continued to grow (Act 9:31). As I said previously, it would be safe to assume Paul’s gospel message would have resulted in believers being baptized. There are many stories of Paul and the other Apostles and disciples spreading the gospel message throughout the world. They don’t all include baptism, but it would be safe to assume that was being done.
Then Peter responded, 47 “Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”t 48 He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.u
6) Peter comes back on the scene preaching the gospel to the Gentiles in Caesarea (Acts 10:34-43). Cornelius and his family were commanded to be baptized in response to believing the good news about Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit similar to those at Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-4). This was the first time Jewish Christians accepted Gentile believers in the church (Acts 11:18).
30 He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”c
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”d 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.e
8) As Paul and Silas were preaching the good news in Thyatira, they got in trouble and were put in prison. While in prison, God delivered them from their bondage along with the rest of the prisoners. The Jailer feared for his life and asked what he must do to be saved? They preached the gospel to him and his household and they responded by believing in Jesus and being baptized that night.
8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household.z Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
9) Paul preached the good news to the Jews and Gentiles in Corinth. Crispus and his whole household, along with many of the Corinthians, believed and were baptized. This is a perfect reflection of what Jesus taught his disciples before he ascended into heaven. Hear-Believe-Baptism seems to be the typical pattern.
24 Now a Jew named Apollos,i a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit,C he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism.j 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him asideD and explained the way of God to him more accurately.k
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciplesn 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”o
“No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”p
3 “Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them.
“Into John’s baptism,” they replied.q
4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance,r telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”s
5 When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
10) Apollos was preaching about Jesus but didn’t know that Jesus instituted a new baptism other than John’s baptism. Priscilla and Aquila explained the difference to him so he could more accurately preach the gospel. Although it doesn’t say that Apollos was baptized in Jesus name, I think we could assume that may have happened based on the context. The very next story is about Paul teaching some men in Ephesus the good news about Jesus. Although they had been baptized by John, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus upon hearing the gospel. Once again it seems as though these stories make more sense together if they are both speaking of the difference between John and Jesus baptisms.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. 14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.t 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.”u And she persuaded us.
7) The gospel continued to spread beyond the region of Judea. Paul & Timothy were traveling around preaching the good news as the Spirit directed. They taught a woman named Lydia in Philippi, (from Thyatira) who opened her heart to believe the message, and she and her household responded by being baptized.
What should we say then?u Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?v 2 Absolutely not!w How can we who died to sinx still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptizedy into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?z 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death,aa in order that, just as Christ was raised from the deadab by the glory of the Father,ac so we too may walk in newnessC of life.ad 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death,ae we will certainly also beD in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old selfE,af was crucified with himag so that the body ruled by sinF might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has diedah is freedG from sin.ai 8 Now if we died with Christ,aj we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead,ak will not die again. Death no longer rules over him.al 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sinam and alive to God in Christ Jesus.H
4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to deathj in relation to the lawk through the body of Christl so that you may belong to another. You belong to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh,m the sinful passions aroused through the law were working in usC,n to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the newness of the Spirito and not in the old letter of the law.
11) Paul is writing a letter to the Christians in Rome. He starts the letter by talking about the gospel and his call to preach to the Gentiles. He goes on to explain why people are without excuse to believe in God based on creation. Everyone is guilty of sin and either accuse or excuse themselves based on the law written on their hearts. Then Paul talks about the law of Moses and the Israelites. He describes many of the heroes of faith and the credit of righteousness that comes by faith. About one third of the way into the letter Paul reminds the Roman Christians why they shouldn't be living in sin. Jesus paid dearly for their sin and they died to their old life of sin and were crucified and buried in baptism. Chapter six makes it extremely clear that from the beginning of their faith, they made a choice to join Jesus in baptism and live a new life free of sins power. It is easy to read the first five chapters and completely forget that the Roman Christians believed and were baptized. It is easy to think they simply had faith in Jesus and were saved and that baptism was not a part of their conversion. Then you get to chapter 6 and Paul takes us on a trip down memory lane. We must remember what Jesus and his disciples taught from the beginning.
12 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.h 13 Even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he followed Philip everywhere and was amazed as he observed the signs and great miraclesi that were being performed.