Questions About Baptism (Part 1)
Baptism • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 8 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
For today and next week, I want to draw our attention to baptism. You may have heard about baptism and you may have seen baptism done before. In fact, if you’ve helped out at GO2 or VBS, you may have done lessons on baptism.
If you’re baptized, then perhaps this lesson could be a refresher and a reminder to you. You might learn something new in the meantime.
If you’re not baptized and you’re a Christian, then this lesson could encourage you to get baptized.
If you’re not baptized and you’re not a Christian, then this lesson could help you understand why people get baptized and the meaning behind it.
The way I’ll approach today’s message is in a question & answer format.
What is baptism?
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ.
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ.
Ordinance is an established ceremony commanded by Jesus.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In Christian worship, Jesus Christ commands His people to observe baptism and the Lord’s supper (or Holy communion, which happens on 1st Sunday of the month when we have the combined service).
To those baptized, it is a sign or symbol:
of their fellowship and union with Jesus in His death and resurrection
of being grafted into him
of forgiveness of sins
of submitting themselves to God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life.
Baptism is a symbol of what should have already taken place when you wered saved by God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Water baptism is an outward symbol of the inward reality of salvation.
Baptism is a sign or a symbol of his fellowship with Jesus, in His death and resurrection, and receiving forgiveness of sins. It is a spiritual reality that the person gave himself to God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
Baptism
of his being engrafted into him; of remission of sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
of his being engrafted into him; of forgiveness of sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life.
2. How should Christians get baptized?
You may be familiar with the way we baptize Christians. We baptize them by immersing them into the water.
However, there are Christians who may differ from us. Instead of baptizing Christians by immersion, their practice is baptism by sprinkling or affusion (holding handful of water and pouring it on the dead).
Baptism is perhaps one of the elements that divides Christian churches. Denominations that baptize people by sprinkling are Presbyterians, Lutherans and Anglicans.
So, why is there a dispute over baptism between Christians?
First, it has to deal with tradition.
Roman Catholicism was the predominate church in the medieval ages for about 1000 years until the Protestant Reformation in the beginning of the 1500s. Roman Catholicism practices baptism by affusion or sprinkling and they’ve been doing so for a long time. When the Reformation happened, Protestant Christians, such as Martin Luther, broke away from the Catholics to start a church that best reflect the teachings of the Bible. However, there were some elements from the Catholics that Christians still carry with them into the church, such as baptism.
Second, it has to deal with the interpretation of baptism in the Bible. We have to work with assumption that both sides of this debate desire to be faithful to God and want to faithfully interpret the Bible.
The word baptism in Greek is “baptizo,” which literally means to immerse.
Baptism By Sprinkling or Pouring?
Those who practice sprinkling argue that baptizo does not always mean immerse depending on context.
Sometimes baptism can mean “trouble.”
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
Sometimes baptism can mean “poured upon.” In this case, being baptized or poured upon by the Holy Spirit.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Isaiah
17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
Sometimes baptism can mean “sprinkling” or “washing”
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,
Heb
This is referring to the Old Testament washing or sprinkling where the priests would sprinkle blood in the temple. The Greek translation of the Old Testament would translate baptism as “sprinkling.”
So, these Christians do make an interesting argument.
Baptism By Immersion?
However, I believe there are more evidence to argue that the practice of baptism is immersion in the early Christians than sprinkling. What I’ll show you is based on context.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
Matthew 3:
Notice, “immediately HE WENT UP” or “HE ASCENDED UP from the water.” In order to ascend water, you should have already descended into the water.
Also, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. The river could go as deep as 50 feet.
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized
Notice that John even mentions that the water was plentiful, great, much.
36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Acts 8:
So, with some of the texts that I have given, I think immersion should be the correct way to understand “baptism.”
So, I think immersion should be the correct way to understand “baptism.”
Although folks who believe baptism is sprinkling would disagree with us, we should be gracious and careful not to assume that they are sinning against God.
Maybe when we get to heaven, we will find out who’s right and who’s wrong.
3. What is the meaning behind baptism?
How we understand the mode of baptism would affect the way we understand the meaning behind baptism.
I would like you to flip to . READ.
Baptism symbolizes three realities: death, burial and resurrection.
Baptism symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ.
We were buried
Just as Jesus Christ have died, so we have died to our old self. That’s the language that the Bible uses.
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Baptism symbolizes the burial of Jesus Christ.
Immersion in water symbolizes how our old sinful lifestyle is buried with Christ. We died to sin and we get to share in Christ’s sufferings.
In baptism we are initiated, crowned, chosen, embraced, washed, adopted, gifted, reborn, killed, and thereby sent forth and redeemed. We are identified as one of God's own, then assigned our place and our job within the kingdom of God.
Baptism symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Just as Jesus Christ rose from the dead, we also rise from the dead and live in newness of life.
Baptism symbolizes the washing of sin.
Now, please do not misunderstand that after you’re baptized you are a sinless person. When God saves you, the Holy Spirit came and purified you and your conscience and your guilt. In a spiritual sense, God “baptized” you by the Holy Spirit.
No amount of water can wash away your sins, but only
You were once living in rebellion against God through sin, but God has washed you and giving you a new conscience to live in holiness.
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Paul was saying to the Christians that you were doing all those sins in your life, but God has transformed you, washed you, purified you and sanctified you that you no longer desire to live out those sins, but you desire to live in obedience to Jesus.
So, when you get baptized, it symbolizes what God has already done in your heart in saving you. Water baptism is an outward symbol of the inward reality of salvation.
4. What does physical baptism NOT mean?
There are a lot of misunderstanding of baptism. I’ll cover a few misconceptions or misunderstandings, and next week I’ll cover another one.
a. Physical Baptism is not the way to salvation.
Some people think that getting baptized would give you the ticket to heaven. That’s the teaching from Roman Catholicism. Hence, they baptize infants or babies so that they’re eternally secured.
Even some people in churches have that wrong idea. I have heard some parents get sad that their child aren’t baptized and so they’re not going to heaven.
Some people get baptized without understanding what they’re doing. They’re unsured about their faith, but they think that getting baptized would save them. So, they get baptized and then figure out their faith later.
I can understand people think baptism can save you, but that is actually a misunderstanding of a verse found in , which says:
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
b. Baptism does not grant you the abili
People think water baptism saves people and grants them access to heaven, but that is not what this verse is teaching. There are tons to unpack in this verse, but I’ll just make a few comments.
If you read it carefully: the saving power of baptism is rooted not in water or being submerged under water, but in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peter says that baptism does not remove the dirt from the body. Perhaps Peter is talking about removing moral filth and impurity, but water baptism does not do that. It doesn’t save you from sin. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
If you read it carefully: the saving power of baptism is rooted not in water or being submerged under water, but through the resurrection of Jesus Christ when the believer requests God for a good conscience…that is to ask God to cleanse their sin conscience and forgive their sins.
Believers at baptism can be confident on the basis of the risen Jesus Christ. So, baptism
b. Physical Baptism does not grant you superpower.
Long time ago, someone who came here and asked, “Does the water have some sort of power?”
There is nothing magical about water baptism. It does not give you the superpower to live out the Christian life. I can imagine that some people may have been disappointed after baptism because they did not feel anything different and they had a misunderstanding of baptism.
Because of this misunderstand, Satan could use that opportunity to tempt and tell lies to that person. I think it is usually after baptism where Christians would face greater temptations and where their faith would be tested.
Although baptism can be a memorable or meaningful experience, it shouldn’t be the experience or the memory that gives you the ability to live out the Christian life. It should be your faith in Jesus Christ that is going to ground you firm as you obey His Word.
c. Physical Baptism does not give you the license to continue sinning.
In other words, water baptism does not give you permission or a 100-year pass to continue to live in sin.
When you misunderstand point 3a, you will think that you can do whatever you want because you think you’re “saved.”
I’ve seen some people who went through baptism class, got baptized, stayed at church for a year and then disappeared.
Romans 6:6-
Perhaps
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus got baptized, he did not commit any sin, but continued to study the Bible and be in a deeper relationship with His Father.
When Jesus got baptized, he did not commit any sin, but continued to study the Bible and be in a deeper relationship with His Father.
During baptism, when the pastor asks you, “Will you continue to trust and obey Christ in all that you say and do,” and you respond “Yes” to that question, you are actually making a vow or promise before God. So, if you are baptized, then let me ask you, “How are you doing with you relationship with God lately?” I hope you did not make a mindless promise. If so, then there is always grace and forgiveness through Jesus.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Some churches would ask you to briefly share your testimony before the congregation and would immediately baptize you.
Story
I got baptized on March 23rd, 2008. By God’s grace, I’ve been a Christian for more than 10 years.
I got baptized because God did something miraculous in my heart at the end of 2007. God opened the eyes of my heart to see how sinful I am and that I did not surrender my life to Him even though I say I believe Him. I believe salvation is all of God’s grace and His work only.
I did not do anything to save myself. God did it all. God chose to save me and enabled me to repent and follow Him. Immediately, around the 1st Sunday of 2008, I told Pastor Brad that I want to get baptized because I desire to follow and obey Christ for the rest of my life. And I never regretted it one bit ever since because it’s all worth it.
Conclusion
Perhaps some of you have been Christians for a long time, but you haven’t taken that step to follow Jesus through baptism. What’s holding you back?
Don’t have a strong testimony? Don’t worry about it. Baptism is not based on how crazy and insane your testimony needs to be.
Still want to learn more? Hopefully you learned something today. We’ll more next Sunday. But, there’s baptism class that you can consider attending on September 21st. You can attend the class, but it does not mean that you have committed to getting baptized on Oct 6th.
Still a new Christian or you don’t feel like it’s time? Well, many in the Bible usually got baptized immediately after they became Christians because they want to obey Christ. Don’t follow your own timing…follow God.
If you’re still not a believer, then the symbols of baptism are important for you to understand. Christ died for your sins, Christ was buried, and Christ rose on the 3rd day to defeat Satan, sin and death and to offer us eternal life and hope. He’s calling you to repent and turn from your self and turn to Christ and trust what He has done for you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can save you, not by water baptism or good works.
Pray.
5. Who should get baptized?
Only those who personally profess repentance toward God and faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ can participate in this ordinance.
6. Is baptism optional?
7. Who can baptize?