Today in our presentation we're going to look at what Jesus said about baptism
There are many different ways and many different churches that
all baptize differently
But what does the Bible say?
What does Jesus teach?
How should we be baptized?
We're now going to open the word of God
and see what Jesus said about baptism
If you were to knock on the door of a dozen different churches and ask about
baptism
you could easily receive a dozen different answers
one church may say; well we baptize three times face forward
another church may say; well we practice baptism by pouring - we pour a little water on
the person
another church might say;
we practice infant baptism by sprinkling
another one may say; well our method of baptism is by immersion one time
another church may say; we practice baptism by the laying on of hands
and some may say that they use a few drops of oil
another church may tell you that they baptize with a little bit of salt
there's another church that will baptize you any way you want to be baptized
another church practices the baptism of desire
that's just the fact that you want to be baptized, that's all that's necessary
and in the USA and Hollywood, they have even baptized a person with rose petals
so you see there are many many ideas about baptism
but what does the Bible say we need to do?
we need to peel away any preconceived ideas that we have
and open our hearts and our minds and see what the word of God has to say about it
about what He says
should take place at baptism
Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and baptize in His name
and we see this all through the New Testament
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
so Christ gave a command
that his disciples were to go out and they were to baptize people in His name
and when they did that then they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
it continues on in Mark, and says this:
he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned
so the Bible places great importance on it
it says that the individual who believes and is baptized will be saved
and it continues...
Philip has been preaching in Samaria
and he makes it clear
that we should be baptized
so these people heard the message
they heard what Philip had to say
and it says that as they accepted Jesus Christ they were baptized
and God has given us instructions as to how this should take place
He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned
now baptism itself won't save you
a person has to believe
it says; He who believes and is baptized will be saved
so baptism is very important
in fact Jesus spoke to Nicodemus
a Pharisee, one night, and He said these words:
Jesus answered:
Most assuredly I say to you; unless one is born of water
and the Spirit
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
when it says; except that a person is born of water, it's referring to baptism
unless he is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God
God puts great, great importance on being baptized, so let's see what the
scripture says about individuals being baptized
and how that takes place
Peter puts this importance on it
There is also an anti-type which now saves us
baptism
not the removal of the filth of the flesh
but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ
so here Peter makes a comparison
in verse 20 of 1 Peter 3
it talks about the flood
it says how those people stepped out in faith
they got into the ark by faith
up until that time it had never rained
but it was through faith that God brought them over to the new world
the old world had been destroyed by the flood, and it brought them into the new one
so it's talking about when a person is baptized by faith
it moves him to a new experience with Christ
it puts great importance on the fact that you and I need to follow the Lord
in baptism
some people say
well that's fine, but how am I supposed to be baptized? is there some way, some method
that the scripture teaches concerning baptism?
people study their Bibles different ways
some people mark their Bible, some people underline them, or write in the margin
but if you underline
I want to give you some words to look at concerning baptism that show us there is
only one way
now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water
there
and they came and were baptized
now it says that John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim
because there was much water there
the picture you are looking at is the Jordan
but don't think the Jordan is that big all the time, because it's not
I used to think that the Jordan was a great huge river because of songs like
Roll Jordan, Roll
and I had this picture that it was a great big river
but there are places where you can step across the Jordan
so it's not always a big river
but John was baptizing in this place because there was plenty of water there
so baptism requires much water
the scripture tells us about the baptism of Jesus
and it's His example we should follow
when he had been baptized Jesus came up immediately from the water
and behhold the heavens were open to Him
and He saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him
so it says that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan
and it says as He came up out of the Jordan
so to come up out of would mean that He had been immersed under the water
probably one of the clearest examples in all of the Bible on baptism is the
is the one found in the book of Acts concerning Philip
now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying arise and go toward the south along
the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza
this is desert
so he arose and went
and behold a man of Ethiopia
a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians
who had charge of all her treasury
and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning
and sitting in his chariot he was reading Isaiah the prophet
now this man was a believer in God
that's why he's in Jerusalem
he's there for the purpose of worshipping
and he's now on his way back home to Ethiopia
so here he is riding along in his chariot and he's reading Isaiah the prophet
and it says that whilst he's doing that
Then the Spirit said to Philip
go near and overtake this chariot
so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said
Do you understand what you're reading?
and he said: How can I unless someone guides me?
and he asked Phillip to come up and sit with him
so he stops the chariot and the two of them are riding along and now Philip is
going to explain to him what he's reading in Isaiah
then Philip opened his mouth
and beginning at this scripture
preached Jesus to him
now this man is reading Isaiah 51 to 53
but he doesn't fully understand what he's reading
so Philip explains the meaning of the scriptures to him
now this man believes in God
and faith takes hold
as he understands what Philip is saying
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 Phillip 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
no question, he accepts Jesus in full faith
he said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
and now you have one of the best examples of baptism in all the scripture
so he commanded the chariot to stand still
and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water
and he baptized him
they stopped the chariot
it doesn't say that Philip stayed on the shore
it says that both he and the eunuch got into the water
and he baptized him
now when they came up out of the water
the spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more
and he went on his way rejoicing
it says they both went down into the water and Philip baptizes him
it makes it very, very clear
the Greek word for baptize is "baptiso" which means "to be put under"
so when it says that Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him
in Greek it means to be put under
so the scripture is absolutely clear as to the manner
the way in which a person is to be baptized
it makes that very clear
what does baptism mean to you and me?
well this gives us an idea of what it means
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
Jesus has come to John the baptist and said: John,
I need to be baptized
and John said
Lord I'm not even worthy to untie your shoes let alone baptize you
but Jesus said
Permit it to be so now
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness
talking about baptism
did Jesus need to be baptized?
did Jesus need to have His sins washed away?
no, he was baptized as an example
you may say: well wasn't the example of the disciples good enough?
Why did jesus need to be baptized?
why did He say to John:
John, permit it to be so now
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness
well you see the scripture tells us clearly what baptism represents
it has a very definite meaning
in the book of Romans it has this to say about baptism:
or do you not know that as many of us
as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
so it tells us that baptism represents the death of Jesus Christ
as a person is baptized
at he's placed beneath the water
it represents his death
therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father
even so
we also should walk in newness of life
it not only represenst the death of Jesus Christ, it also represents His
burial
that's what it says, we are buried with Him
as the person is placed beneath the water it represents the burial of Jesus
Christ
it continues and says
but it also represents a resurrection
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death
certainly
we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection
so baptism represents the death
the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it also represents something
in our experience
you see when I'm baptized it represents the death to the old man of sin, that's
what it represents
that's what Paul was talking about when he said: I am crucified with Christ
nevertheless
not I, but Jesus Christ lives in me
you see it represent the death of the old man of sin, it represents that all
my sins have been buried
buried and cast into the depths of the sea
and it represents a resurrection
that I come out of the water totally clean of all my sins
resurrected to a new life with Jesus Christ
what a marvelous promise this is!
and this is what baptism means and what it represents
that's why Jesus told John: permit it to be so John, to fulfill all righteousness
it also says here that baptism is a public declaration of my acceptance of Jesus
Christ
that's what baptism is: I am publicly declaring to the world
that I've accepted Jesus Christ
the Bible makes the comparison between baptism and marriage
because that's what marriage is: it's the public declaration of your life to
another individual
that's why you have a marriage ceremony
because it shows that you are publicly
committing your life to that person
baptism is our public declaration of acceptance of Christ
let's look at some more examples in scripture
Peter is preaching
and he's telling them
that they crucified the Lord:
Therefore
let the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus
whom you crucified
both Lord and Christ
now when they heard this they were cut to the heart
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles
men and brethren what shall we do?
and Peter said to them:
repent, let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remissions of sins
and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
you see they were cut to the heart and said: men and brethren what shall we do?
and Peter told them
repent of what you have done
if you are truly sorry
and you want to start a new life and follow Christ
then repent and be baptized, make a public declaration
that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior
here's another scripture:
and Crispus, the chief ruler of the Synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house
and many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptised
so baptism is simpy a commitment of our life to Jesus Christ
it's a public declaration of our acceptance of Jesus
but some people say: well what about my children, or what about my baby, or my
baby that died before it was baptized?
now remember Jesus said to John: permit it to be so now, for thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness
that's one of the reasons Jesus was baptized
he was baptized for those people like the thief on the cross, who never had the
opportunity, or for the soldier in the fox hole that was killed, but who gave his
heart to the Lord and never had a chance to be baptized
for that person who accepts Christ on his deathbed but has never had the
opportunity to be baptized
for the child who was not old enough, Jesus was baptized, and that's why He said
permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness
the baby is perfectly safe in the hands of Jesus and when it becomes old enough
to understand then it should make a decision to follow Christ to be baptized
so we see that baptism has a very definite meaning in our lives according
to scripture
when should I be baptized? maybe I should wait two or three years
do I need to study for a while before I'm baptized? but let's see what the
scripture says
Paul, Saul of Tarsus, has been converted on the road to Damascus, the light has shone
on him and knocked him to the ground
he has said: who are you Lord? and the voice has spoken to him and said: I am Jesus
whom you are persecuting
and he said: what do you want me to do Lord?
and he has to be led by the hand blind to Damascus
now Jesus has also spoken to a man by the name of Ananias and he said
Ananias I want you to go to the street called Straight and I want you to find Saul of
Tarsus and I want you to pray for him that he will receive his sight
and Ananias went there and prayed for him and when he had finished praying for
him he said these words to him
And now why are you waiting?
arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord
Ananias said:
Paul, don't wait any longer
get up from here and go and be baptized
make a public declaration of your acceptance of Jesus Christ
you see there are no long-term baptisms in the Bible, you can't find one
not one
do you remember when Paul and Silas were over in Pilippi?
they had been beaten and put in jail
they are chained
and it's about midnight
and do you know what they're doing?
they're singing
and there's an earthquake and it rattles the doors and the doors open
and the windows open
and the chains fall off their arms
the jailer thought all the prisoners had escaped and that he would lose his life
for losing them
but Paul says:
don't do any harm to yourself, we are all here
and the jailer comes in and falls down before them
so they said:
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household
then 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 stripes
and immediately he and all his family were baptized
in other words, as a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior
they can be baptized
another time when Paul was preaching, we find
then those who gladly received his word were baptized
and that day about three thousand souls were added to them
you see the Bible teaches that when we commit our life to Jesus Christ
we are to follow Him in baptism
baptism is not graduation
it is not when it's all over
it's where we begin
baptism is where you begin your walk with Jesus Christ
that is what it represents, what it means
baptism is something you and I are to experience if we've accepted Jesus
if you were baptized some other way than the scripture teaches, then you need to
be re-baptized
maybe you were baptized when you were very young
so young that you didn't know what you were doing
but now you're in the place where you can make your own decision, now you
understand, so you need to be re-baptized
there may be some of you that had accepted Jesus
but then you've gone off and not followed the Lord, you've walked away
from God
and maybe not followed Him for a long time
and now you're coming back
you've recommitted your heart to the Lord
then you ought to be baptized again
it says that when you accept Him into your heart and you make that public
declaration to Him and to the world
then He will wash away all your sins
and make you whiter than snow
God is giving you that opportunity of starting over
of having a new life
and Jesus will wash the slate absolutely clean
and make you whiter than snow
make sure you are ready for His kingdom...