What does Baptism mean in the Bible?
Baptism seems like such a simple thing. (A commitment to Christ) A person enters a big tub of water, another person says some words, they go under the water, out of the water and exit. But it’s made confusing by the multitude of varying opinions about it. Some churches baptize/sprinkle infants as a way of somehow protecting them from going to hell, if they died before the age of accountability. Some sprinkle, some pour water over your head, some fully submerge the person, some churches do it all. There are Christian churches that say you have to be baptized in order to be saved, and there are Baptist churches that say you don’t. Some churches, ours included, require you to be baptized in a church of “like faith and order,” to be a member of the church. And some will not accept the baptism that you might have received in another denomination, even if they are of like faith and order. So some people have been baptized more than once.
And those are just some of the issues that can make baptism confusing. I hope to present a simple message this morning in order to clear up any misunderstanding about baptism. And when I say “misunderstanding” I mean, misunderstanding what the Bible says about its meaning. We are a people of the Word of God. So, on any issue of life, our first stop in deciding how to live or think, is the Bible. And it’s no different with baptism. We don’t believe what we believe, and teach what we teach because of church traditions. We search the Scripture to see what it says.
To start with today, you need to understand that baptism is a picture of something bigger. It’s not just a person going under water with some ritualistic words pronounced over them. It symbolizes something bigger. What is that? John the Baptist, gives us a clue to that.
John 1:33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
So John was telling those in his day, that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming. And though John went around baptizing people in the river Jordan, the Messiah, would baptize people with the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself, after His resurrection, said the same thing.
Acts 1:5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
And, in short, the bigger thing, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, is something that happens to your eternal soul. It’s not immersion into water, it’s immersion into God. It happens on the inside of a person, not the outside. It is the implanting of God’s Spirit inside of you, as a permanent resident.
That’s why I say that what we do in this tub back here symbolizes something bigger. Let’s be frank, I can dunk you in that tank 100 times a day, and change nothing, except maybe make your mom and grandma happy. But if God baptizes you with His Spirit, that’s a life changer.
So, baptism is a picture of something bigger. And I’m going to share with you three pictures it paints. I was trying to think of a good illustration, and I decided that baptism is like a wedding. There are 3 key components to any wedding; the groom, the bride, and their commitment to each other. First, it is a picture of conversion. (My story; the bride’s story) It is a picture of Christ. (Jesus’ story; the groom’s story) And it is a picture of their commitment. (commitment between Christ and His church)
I. A picture of conversion (My story; the bride’s story)
When anyone comes to baptism they are telling their own story by entering into the waters. And that story contains three parts; an acknowledgement of sin, an acknowledgement of their deserved judgment, an acknowledgement of the need for Christ resurrection life.
First baptism is an acknowledgement of sin in their life. When John was baptizing…
Matthew 3:5-6 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Later, when Peter preached the gospel, he said…
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Later Paul would preach…
Acts 22:16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
It wasn’t that the water itself washed away sin, but their following in obedience to the command of the Lord, validated what had already happened in their hearts.
But the story of baptism has always been a picture of acknowledging and turning from sin.
This is a picture of where conversion begins. It begins with an acknowledgement of our sin,
But then it also acknowledges the judgement we deserve. You know, we’ve stylized baptism so much. We’ve made it pretty. We have nice clean water and white robes. But it is first a picture of death.
Romans 6:4 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.
Baptism is a picture of judgement. Like in the flood of Noah’s day, the same water that floated the ark, drowned the world. And when Noah and his family entered the ark, they were putting their trust in God that He would save them by the water, rather than bring their death by the water.
In the same way, going into the waters of baptism is symbolic. I am subjecting myself to going under the water, dieing, and trusting Christ to raise me. You are willingly submitting to being put down under the water, and trusting someone to pull you back up.
And once I have been raised, I leave a different person.
This story of the bride is also an acknowledgement of the need for Christ resurrection life.
A. Turning from your old life to a new life-repentance
You see, as you come out of that water, you are not saying, “I’m going to try to be a good person from now on. No, you are saying, “My “self” is buried, in the grave, dead, and now I live again, by Christ’s Spirit living in me.”
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto 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.
B. Cleanse from sin
C. That’s why we don’t baptize infants or very young children.
Because they can’t repent, or trust, they don’t have the mental capacity to believe. So why would we baptize an infant? That water will not save them. God holds them innocent until they reach an age of understanding.
D. This water doesn’t save you.
Ephesians 2:8-9 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, that no one would boast.
That’s why it’s also pointless to say, “I’m alright with God, because I’ve been baptized.”
E. It means nothing if you did not truly repent and believe the gospel.
Now your baptism also tells the groom’s story.
II. A picture of Christ (Jesus’ story)
A. Identifying with Christ
Romans 6: 3-4 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
When you are baptized, you are not only saying something about yourself, but you a retelling the story of Jesus. Pastors often use the words from Romans 6, when they baptize. “Buried with Christ, raised to walk in newness of life.”
So baptism tells the story of Jesus, it preaches the gospel message.
B. Proclaiming the gospel
1. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. The person being baptized goes under the water, like you are going to the grave, then you come up out of the water, just like the Lord was raised from the dead.
Colossians 2:11-13 …. Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
We are retelling the story of Jesus.
C. That’s why we immerse. (Go down under the water.)
I said at the beginning of this sermon that we do what we do in order to be faithful to Scripture. Our church is not directed by a diocese office, or denominational headquarters to do what we do. We look to Scripture. And there are three Biblical reasons for baptizing by immersion. And the first of those reasons is the meaning of the word baptize in Greek. You may not be aware of this, but the word “baptize” did not exist in English language until it was transliterated from the Greek of the Bible.
1. Baptidzo means dip, plunge, or immerse, in Greek. It does not mean sprinkle or pour.
The Greek words are used in a great variety of meanings.[23] βάπτω and βαπτίζω in Hellenism had the general usage of "immersion," "going under" (as a material in a liquid dye) or "perishing" (as in a ship sinking or a person drowning), with the same double meanings as in English "to sink into" or "to be overwhelmed by," with bathing or washing only occasionally used and usually in sacral contexts.[24]
2. And if the word itself is not enough to tell you that baptism means going down under the water, then a second Scriptural reason to immerse comes from the stories about baptism in the gospels and Acts.
3. First, baptism requires water. John the Baptist said,
Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.[a]
4. Second, baptism requires lots of water.
John 3: 22 After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized;
Jesus’ disciples and John’s disciples were both baptizing people in the Jordan river. And they chose the spot on the river that they did because there was a lot of water there available.
5. Third, when people in the Bible are baptized they “Go down” into the water. When Phillip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch,
Acts 8: 36 As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”
37 [a] 38 He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
6. Fourth, when people in the Bible are baptized they “Come up” out of the water.
Matthew 3:16, 16 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.
And the Ethiopian Eunuch,
Acts 8:39 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.
And the third Scriptural reason to baptize by going down in the water, takes us back to our original point. We are picturing Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.
7. Figures of speech
a. Burial Rom. 6:4
4 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.
And the best picture of Christ’s death that we can portray, is going into the grave, and coming up out of the grave.
So, when you are baptized, you are declaring to those who attend that you have been changed, and you are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
The third and final picture that is painted in baptism is a
III. A declaration of possession (commitment between Christ and the church)
The third element of any wedding is a commitment.
When you are baptized you are declaring that you belong to Christ, and that you belong to His Church. You are first, choosing to submit to, join yourself to Christ by obedience.
We’ve lost that sense in the church today. Choosing Christianity is a choice to turn away from what the Bible describes as sin. It is a change of mind about who will direct your life. Before Christ, you were the master of your fate, the captain of your soul. After coming to Christ, you have turned the helm and leadership of your life over to Christ. So, in baptism, you are taking a step of obedience. You come to understand that the Lord would have you be baptized, and so you seek to be baptized.
That’s why it baffles me when people claim to be Christians, but they have no desire to do what Christ commands them to do. Jesus was baptized, and His baptism is instructive.
A. “I belong to Jesus.” (obedience)
Matthew 3:13-15 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”15 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.
Now take note of this, Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. The Bible tells us that Jesus had no sin. So He had nothing to repent of. So why did He submit to baptism? Look at what He says,
Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
In other words, baptism was a right thing to do, so He wanted to do every right thing to do that He could do.
So to when a Christian is baptized, he is not doing it in order to be saved, but because it is a right thing to do in obedience to Christ’s command.
Later, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize new converts.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [a]Amen.
Baptizing is the first step in the life of a disciple, or follower, of Jesus. After they are baptized, they are then taught to continue their obedience to “all things that Jesus commanded.
It is a declaration of commitment—I belong to Jesus. And by the way,
B. No such thing as an unbaptized Christian in the Bible.
We have no account of a person in the Bible who is called a Christian, who has not been baptized.
Before we move on to the second picture. Let me illustrate how baptism is related to your salvation. It is a declaration to the world of your love and desire to obey the Lord.
This is what it is like. There’s a couple I know, who shall remain nameless, who had two weddings. They first went down to the court house and got married before a judge. Then they had a big public wedding where they invited all their friends and family. And the two weddings were in the same year if I recall correctly. Why did they do that? Nobody was pregnant. They had their reasons. But I got to thinking that this is a beautiful picture of the meaning of baptism.
You see, when you first turn to Christ, ask for His gift of salvation, repent and believe the gospel, it all takes place in private. It’s between you, and God. That’s like a private ceremony at the courthouse. Nobody knows what happened in your heart.
And guess what, you are made God’s child at that moment. You become a part of the Church, the Bride of Christ, even though nobody knows. But then, because you want to obey Christ, because you want to tell the world of your love for Christ, you get baptized, joining yourself to a local church. The baptism is the celebration, the public declaration of your love. Just like this couple who had a second wedding to celebrate with the family.
People ask, do you have to be baptized to be saved? No, but I would be highly doubtful about the “realness” of your faith if you refused to be baptized. Let me put it this way. If someone wanted to marry you, but they told you from the start, “I don’t want to tell anyone.” What are you, in witness protection? What would you think of their love for you? If they added, “Don’t expect me to make any changes to my life.” What would you think of their love?
So what can we think of someone’s love for Christ, if they will not declare their allegiance, and follow in obedience by being baptized?
Let us pray