Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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.”

Sometimes baptism can mean “poured upon.”

In this case, being baptized or poured upon by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:

Isaiah

Sometimes baptism can mean “sprinkling” or “washing”

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.

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.

Notice that John even mentions that the water was plentiful, great, much.

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.

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.

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.