This morning is an exciting time of celebration as we learn what water baptism is and, more importantly, as we put what we learn into action!
The only requirement for being water baptized is that you have received God’s salvation. This free gift of salvation was made possible by Jesus. He lived a sinless life and then chose to pay the penalty for our sin by dying on the cross and then raising again to life eternal.
Receiving His salvation means that you have committed yourself to following Him the rest of your life and now choose to live by faith in Him and His word.
Why do we need this salvation, though?
God created everything perfect in the beginning. Mankind was created uniquely from the rest of creation as He physically formed us with His own hands from the dust of the earth and personally breathed into us the breathe of life. We were created in His image and with free will to do as we please.
Adam and Eve, the first man and woman chose to do the one thing that God asked them not to do; to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. From that day on, we are all born into sin with physical death as our destiny.
God gave us His word to teach us the right way to live this life that He gave us. Whatever we do outside of this is sin and the penalty of all sin is death.
Not only a physical death, but also an eternal death afterwards. All of us, on our own, are destined for Hell; that second death filled with eternal torment.
Praise be to God that doesn’t have to be the case for any of us, though!
Since none of us can live rightly on our own, God, Himself came in the flesh and lived just like you and I. Jesus was tempted and tried in all of the same ways that you and I are, but lived a perfect, sinless life. He was tempted, but took the way out every single time. He then willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.
Whoever chooses to put their faith in Jesus receives eternal life. We are born again, not just alive physically, but also spiritually. We’re a brand new person and our destiny is Heaven-bound! God places His Holy Spirit within us giving us true life.
Water baptism is simply a symbolic way to show that you’ve made this decision.
For those getting baptized, I would like to congratulate you. You’ve not only accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation, but are also being obedient through this act by declaring death to your old self and to embrace the new life that Jesus has given you through His Spirit!
What is baptism?
The word for baptize in the Greek is the word baptizo, which literally means to immerse or submerge. That’s why we don’t sprinkle some water on your forehead here, but we allow you to completely submerge yourself under the water.
There are two different baptisms that we find in scripture; baptism in water and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
We first find people being water baptized in the scriptures when John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan river. He proclaimed that he was preparing the way for the coming savior by calling all to repent and to be forgiven of their sins.
Mark 1:4 (NLT)
John the Baptist was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.
We find in Luke 3 that Jesus, Himself, as an example for us, came to be water baptized by John. Here we also first learn of another type of baptism that we find in the scriptures; the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus received them both simultaneously, and you may as well.
Luke 3:15-16;21-22
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Here, we also see clear evidence of what we call the trinity. That is that God exists as three distinct persons in one; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father spoke from Heaven, the Spirit descended in bodily form, and the Son was in flesh form being water baptized.
As John the Baptist explained, water baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. It is a way to publicly show others the change that has happened already inside of us.
As we fall back in submersion into the water, we symbolize the death of our flesh and our old selves and we rise out of submersion to symbolize that we have risen to life by His Spirit as a new creation – cleansed and righteous in God’s sight.
We normally immerse or submerge our bodies into water for the purpose of bathing; washing the dirt off so that we are clean. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3 that we water baptize not for the removal of the dirt from our bodies, but as a pledge of a clear conscience toward God.
Again, it is a pledge showing to others of our salvation – that our sins have been forgiven and our conscience is now cleared.
Since baptism is symbolic of a conscious decision that one has made to place their faith in Christ’s salvation, we choose to baptize only those old enough to make this decision and do not baptize infants. We do, however, encourage parents to have their children dedicated as we see in scripture. Child dedication is a commitment on behalf of the parents to raise their children in the Lord.
Why do we baptize?
Jesus not only was baptized Himself, but also commanded that we do it! Jesus commanded that we be baptized and also baptize others. We also see baptism occurring on a regular basis throughout the early church as soon as individuals gave their lives to Christ.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
There is also this account, which reveals how amazing of an adventure it can be following Jesus!
Acts 8:26-40
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37 “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Baptism is not some kind of magical assurance of our eternity, it is an act of obedience that we do after we have made the choice to make Jesus the Lord of our lives.
We do not earn acceptance into Heaven by good works, including water baptism. We do good works out of a heart of gratitude that Jesus has already saved us. Our salvation is gained through our faith alone in the work that Jesus has already completed.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
When we put our faith in Jesus, a miracle takes place. We are given eternal life. We literally are raised from death to life spiritually. Eternal life begins! We are adopted into the family of God by the Heavenly Father and we’re now spiritual brothers and sisters.
God places His Holy Spirit within us and we become a new person inwardly. Though not much may change from appearances, we know the change that has taken place within us, we’re simply not who we used to be! Paul explained this change this way:
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Jesus has done a miracle in our lives. We have been made new!
Although we know that we are a new person and not the same as we once were, our old ways have a way of hanging on to us.
We know that we ought to think and act better, but it is a struggle as the new person that we are inside tries to overcome and put to death the old person that we used to be.
Don’t think that there is something wrong with you or that your salvation wasn’t genuine! This is a life-long process that we all go through.
We use the churchy word sanctification to describe this process. It just takes time as we learn to cooperate with the Holy Spirit within us as He does a work to transform us from the inside out.
Colossians 3:1-17
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Not one of us live this out perfectly, but every day, we strive toward it and to become a better person as we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work within us.
What should we expect to have happen when being baptized?
The experience of each individual’s baptism varies. Some may feel nothing different than being wet, some feel the strong presence of the Lord, some feel a sense of refreshing and newness, some physically feel the weight and burden of their sins being washed away.
No matter what emotions you may experience, know that by your faith in the blood shed by Jesus and His resurrection back to life, that you have been cleansed of your sins and you are a new creation in Him.
How do we baptize?
For those choosing to be baptized today, you will:
- Descend the steps into the baptismal
- I’ll ask if you have placed your faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins
- You’ll agree and I also encourage you to share a short testimony or word of encouragement
- You’ll cross your arms over your chest and I’ll place my hands on your back and arms
- I’ll baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
- You’ll lay back into the water
- I’ll lift you up out of the water
- You may share a short testimony again at this time if you’d like
- You’ll ascend the steps to exit the baptismal