Download AudioPastor Bryan Guinness
August 15, 2010
Romans 6:1-6
Of all the issues that divide Christians, none is more hotly debated than the issue of baptism in water. For centuries godly men and women have debated it and entire denominations have sprung up as a result of disagreements over the mode, meaning, and purpose of baptism. Now, there are two big mistakes people make about baptism:
Mistake #1 – “Baptism is necessary to salvation.”
Mistake #2 – “Because Baptism doesn’t save us, it’s not all that important.”
Let me just say up front that the New Testament teaches that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 –“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.”
But the faith that saves is not alone. It is accompanied by good works.
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
And while baptism isn’t necessary for salvation, it is necessary to obedience, and obedience is necessary to joy, fruitfulness, and happiness in the Christian life.
Today what I want to do is lay three things on your minds and hearts about baptism.
I. The biblical method of baptism
There is a story in the book of Acts, chapter 8, about Philip. The Lord tells Philip, one of the original seven deacons of the early church, to go a certain road that led south from Jerusalem to Gaza. And there, travelling on that road in a chariot, was the treasurer of Ethiopia. He was a god-fearing gentile and he was on his way home after having been to Jerusalem to worship. And he was sitting in the chariot reading the book of Isaiah, chapter 53 where it predicted the sufferings of Christ: Philip ran over alongside the chariot and asked him if he understood what he was reading. He said he didn’t and so he invited Philip to ride in his chariot and explain the Scriptures to him. And Philip began with that passage and explained that it was talking about Jesus Christ and his death on the cross and resurrection for our sins. He shared the good news of the gospel with the man. Let’s pick up the story in verse 36 to observe what happened next:
Acts 8:36-38 – “As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” 37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”
The word ‘baptize’ is a translation of the greek word ‘baptidzo’ which literally means ‘to be immersed’. Verse 38 says that both “Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch went down into the water”. It is obvious that the biblical method of baptism is by immersion. Now, if sprinkling or pouring water on the head was what God intended, there are other words in the greek language that could have been used. But because the word “baptidzo” is used, it tells us that the mode of baptism should be by immersion in water.
Jesus was baptized by immersion too.
Mark 1:9-11 – “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
As an aside, Jesus’ baptism was different in meaning from ours. Jesus was baptized to identify with us. We are baptized to identify with him. But the key thing to see here is that Jesus was baptized by immersion. He wasn’t baptized by immersion because it was convenient for him. It wasn’t. To get to the river Jordan was about a 60 mile trip one way. Why did he go to Jordan? Because there was a lot of water there. According to John 3:23 John the Baptist baptized people there “because there was plenty of water.”
The biblical method of baptism is by immersion. You say, “Big deal, who cares about the method?” Why is the method so important? I’ll tell you why. Because the method is wrapped up in the meaning. The method and the meaning are woven together and you can’t change the method without destroying the meaning. Those who change the method invariably lose the meaning. So what is the biblical meaning of baptism?
II. The Biblical Meaning of Baptism
Let me identify two aspects about the meaning of baptism.
1. Baptism pictures the death, life, and resurrection of Jesus for us. And it pictures our death, burial, and resurrection with him.
Baptism speaks about what God did for you when he saved you. If you’re a born again believer, here is your biography. So pay attention.
Romans 6:1-3 – “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
Here in this text is pictured your past, your present, and your future.
i. what is your past?
v.4 says “we are buried with him through baptism into death.” When we get baptized it pictures how the old you dies at conversion. There was a young boy who gave his heart to Jesus Christ and when he did that young boy died. That boy was Bryan Guinness. The old Bryan died. When did he die? Not as a boy, but 2000 years ago when Jesus died on that cross. Because his death had my name on it. He took my sins. My sins were nailed to the cross. He hung on that cross in agony and shame to carry my sins. He bore my sins in his body on the cross. And when Jesus died, because of my faith in him, I died with him.
Romans 6:6 – “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
When Jesus died for me. I died with him. You see, before salvation, sin was our master. And we were slaves to sin. Suppose you’re a slave and you have a cruel master. He dictates your life. He tells you what to do, where to go every hour of the day. But when you die, he’s no longer your master. He can’t control you anymore because you’re dead. Now, before we are saved our master is Satan, the flesh, and the world. But, after being forgiven of our sin by receiving Christ as our Savior and Lord, we die, and we’re no longer slaves to sin.
What do you do with a dead person? You bury them. And our baptism signifies that our sins are dead and buried in the grave of God’s forgetfulness. When you are saved, your sins are buried and gone. And baptism in water is a picture of your burial.
ii. what is your present?
Jesus didn’t stay in his grave. He came out of the tomb alive three days later. And we don’t stay under the water in baptism. We come up out of the water. And that pictures our new life. My baptism says I have a brand new life.
The old Bryan is gone, and I have been raised up with Christ in newness of life.”
iii. what is your future?
Romans 6:5 – “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”
One of these days I am going to die physically. They will put me in a grave. But I’m telling you that the grave that couldn’t hold the Lord Jesus Christ, will not be able to hold me, because I am united to Jesus. Whatever happens to Jesus will happen to me. He was raised. I will be raised. He received a new body. I will receive a new body.
Do you see what baptism pictures? It pictures the death, life, and resurrection of Jesus for us. And it pictures our death, burial, and resurrection with him.
2. Baptism in water pictures our baptism by the Holy Spirit
The moment we truly believe in Christ for salvation, and submit to him as Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit. That is the moment of salvation or conversion. And the moment the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us we are baptized by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:9 – “For we were all baptized by one spirit into one body.”
The baptism of the Holy Spirit isn’t some kind of experience we have after conversion, it is our conversion when God places his spirit in us and joins us to the body of Christ. In fact:
Romans 8:9b – “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”
Now, remember the word baptize means “to be immersed”. At conversion we are immersed by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. And Baptism in water pictures outwardly what happens inwardly. That is why we see the pattern in the New Testament of believers getting baptized immediately after they believe and are saved. For example, In Acts 8:38, as soon as the Ethiopian eunuch believes and is saved he gets baptized in water. In Acts 16:33, when the Roman jailor believes in Christ for salvation, he gets baptized in water right away
Baptism is not something that you need to wait to do until you have overcome every sin in your life. Baptism is not a sign of your spiritual maturity. Baptism is a picture of your commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord and your receiving the Holy Spirit into your life upon your conversion. And if that’s true, then there is no need to wait.
So, I’ve talked firstly about the biblical method of baptism. Secondly, I’ve talked about the biblical meaning of baptism. Now, let me talk thirdly about:
III. The Biblical Motive for Baptism
Why should we be baptized in water? Two reasons
i. It proclaims your commitment to Jesus
In baptism I am saying that I am openly and publicly identifying myself with Jesus. Does it make you a Christian? No, but it sure does show that you are committed to Christ.
A helpful illustration of this is the wedding ring. When a man (or woman) gets married, he (or she) almost always begins to wear a wedding ring or a wedding band. The wedding ring does not make you married. I mean, if an unmarried person puts on a ring, it doesn’t suddenly make them married. But if they are married and they put on the ring it is more than a piece of ornamental jewelry. It represents the solemn commitment that they have to their spouse. It is a public testimony to that commitment. It is a public symbol of a marriage commitment. Likewise, when a person is baptized, they are publicly identifying themselves with Jesus Christ. They are saying, “I belong to Christ. I am his and he is mind.” And so baptism is an outward symbol of an inward commitment.
Now, if someone in our culture (where wedding rings are normally worn) was married and yet didn’t want to wear their wedding ring, I would wonder why. And it’s just as strange for a saved person to not be baptized in water. Let me make this really personal for some of you: “If you are saved, and you are not baptized, what are you waiting for?” There is no good reason why you, if you are saved, should not be baptized at the soonest possible moment. I don’t see any command or pattern or example in the New Testament where a Christian was instructed to wait or decided themselves to wait before getting baptized in water. The New Testament does not allow such a practice, and nor should you if you are a Christian.
What about infant Baptism?
First, faith is always the prerequisite for baptism. Acts 2:41 says, “And as many as gladly received the word were baptized.” Acts 8:12 is particularly clear on this point: “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Belief clearly preceded baptism. In fact, in this case baptism would have no meaning without prior belief. It is the personal belief of the one being baptized that gives baptism its meaning. Without the personal belief baptism becomes just another church ritual.
Second, there are no cases of infant baptism in the New Testament. That comes as a surprise to many people, but it is absolutely true. In all the New Testament, there is not a single case of infant baptism. There are no examples of anyone at any time baptizing an infant under any circumstances.
Three arguments are often urged in favor of infant baptism:
1. It is sometimes suggested that when Christ blessed the little children and said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 19:14), he by inference sanctioned the principles upon which infant baptism rests. Answer: When Christ blessed the little children, he invited them to come to him, not to a baptismal font.
2. It is suggested that there must have been infants in the several cases of household baptism in the book of Acts. Answer: In the case of Lydia (Acts 16) we do not know that she was even married. In the case of the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:31-34), the text seems to go to great length to stress that all heard the word (16:32), all were baptized (16:33), and all believed in God (16:34)—factors which would seem to expressly rule out infants.
3. It is suggested that infant baptism in the New Testament takes the place of circumcision in the Old Testament. Answer: But the Bible nowhere suggests that baptism replaced circumcision as the sign of the covenant. In fact, Colossians 2:10-12 seems to indicate the opposite. More importantly, the Lord’s Supper is expressly stated to be the sign of the New Covenant Christ made with his own blood. (Luke 22:20)
The most tragic fact about infant baptism is that it leads many people to think they are Christians when in reality they are not. That is, multitudes go through life supposing that a few drops of water sprinkled on their forehead when they were only a few days old suffices to establish their relationship with God. And some reject a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because they think their infant baptism paved the way to heaven.
The most important issue is your relationship to Jesus Christ—not your infant baptism. I think most people who practice infant baptism would agree with that. They do not intend to mislead people into trusting in infant baptism instead of trusting in Jesus Christ. Their motives in practicing infant baptism are to offer Christian parents a chance to dedicate their children to God and to impress upon those parents the importance of raising their children in the Christian faith. Those motives are noble and good and right. However, the fact remains that the practice of infant baptism has actually led many people away from personal, life-changing faith in Jesus Christ. At Peoples Church, we believe those same noble goals can be achieved through a public act of child dedication—thus avoiding the spiritual confusion that often accompanies infant baptism.
Why be baptized? First, It proclaims your commitment to Christ. Second:
ii. it is a command to obey
In the Bible, baptism is not a suggestion, it is a command. After the resurrection and just before his ascension, Jesus gave this command to his disciples:
Matthew 28:19-20 – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus gave us a command. And so getting baptized is simply a step of obedience. And in that sense it is crucial to your Christian life as a disciple because at the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus is to be obedient to Christ (“teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”).
Many Christians are lacking in joy because they have not been obedient.
Acts 8:39 tells us that after the Ethiopian was baptized, he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 16:34 tells us that when the jailer got baptized there was much rejoicing.
Obedience brings joy and fruitfulness. While it’s true that baptism is not essential to salvation, it is essential to obedience. And obedience is essential to joy and fruitfulness in your Christian life.
Are you obeying what you already know from the Word of God? I’m not just referring to baptism now. What about other areas of your life. Your relationships, your money, your time, your purity. Are you obeying God? In as much as you know what God says in his Word about those things, are you being obedient? God doesn’t bless us with joy and fruitfulness unless we are obeying what God has commanded from his word. And the mark of a disciple is obedience.
When it comes to baptism, we have been given a biblical method. We have been shown the biblical meaning, and we have a biblical motive.
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