WHY WATER BAPTISM?
a. Jesus commanded it.
Mark 16:16 (NIV) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mat 28:16-20 (NIV) Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
b. Jesus Himself was baptized.
Mat 3:13-17 (NIV) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Note: Jesus was an adult when He came to baptism.
c. The Apostles commanded it.
Acts 2:37-47 (NIV) When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
d. If we love Him we will keep His commandments.
John 14:15 (NIV) “If you love me, you will obey what I command.
e. We validate our faith by baptism.
James 2:17-18 (NIV) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
The true Christian has not only confessed and repented of his/her sins; by faith in the atonement wrought on the cross and the resurrection, he /she have been justified. The righteousness of Christ has been imputed to such persons by faith. After this the act of baptism is an outward seal, an act of obedience, which completes (fulfils.) the inward righteousness in the heart.
Mat 3:15 (NIV) Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.
WHO CAN BE BAPTISED ?
Examination of the Scriptures following will show that people who heard the gospel, believed and received the Word as it was preached to them, were then baptised in water. As we have seen earlier repentance and faith always preceded this baptism. A variety of races and groups are mentioned …
i. Those who believed.
Mark 16:16 (NIV) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
ii. The Samaritans.
Acts 8:12 (NIV) 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.
iii. The Ethiopian.
Acts 8:37 (KJV) And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest (be baptised.). And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
iv. The Gentiles.
Acts 10:47-48 (NIV) “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
v. The Ephesians.
Acts 19:3-5 (NIV) So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
It is important to understand that baptism involves a confession of faith in the Lordship of Christ
Rom 10:9 (NIV) That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The prerequisites are repentance, faith and confession that Jesus is Lord. This clearly excludes infant baptism.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF WATER BAPTISM?
Water baptism is a symbolic representation and at the same time a spiritual experience. By this we enter with Jesus into His …
a. Death.
Rom 6:3-4 (NIV) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We 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.
b. Burial.
Col 2:12 (NIV) having been buried with him in baptism
c. Resurrection.
Col 2:12 (NIV) having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
WATER BAPTISM AFFECTS US SPIRITUALLY
A true experience of water baptism i.e. that which has all the necessary precursors discussed earlier brings with it a change in the believer’s relationship with the Lord.
i. We receive remission of sins.
Acts 2:38 (NIV) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
ii. We bury ‘the old man ‘
Rom 6:6 (NIV) 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—
iii. We confirm our new birth in resurrection life
John 3:5 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
Rom 6:5 (NIV) If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
Rom 6:11 (NIV) In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
iv. We receive the circumcision of the heart.
Col 2:11-12 (NIV) In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
v. We are placed into the body of Christ.
1 Cor 12:13 (NIV) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
THE OLD AND THE NEW COVENANT
The act of circumcision was instituted by God as a sign of His covenant with Abraham and his household. This circumcision of the flesh was demanded of every male, eight days old and over, under the old covenant. (Gen 17.) Many times the nation of Israel rebelled against God and neglected this sign. God promised a new covenant in the last days by the Holy Spirit and a new circumcised heart was to be given to the people of God.
Deu 30:6 (NIV) The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Heb 8:10-12 (NIV) This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Today the New Covenant has been given through the blood of Jesus for the remission of sins and circumcision of the heart. This circumcision of the heart is a work or operation of the Holy Spirit, performed on the heart of the repentant believer in the act of water baptism. It is the cutting away of the old inherited nature that causes iniquity, (sinful traits.) to rule our lives. When the old nature is cut away, we become new creatures. We have a new heart.(spirit)
Ezek 11:19 (NIV) I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Col 2:11 (NIV) In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,
A CHART OF COMPARISONS
Abraham was the Father of all who believed. Both to the circumcision and the uncircumcision. In the pattern of circumcision God followed the principle of first the natural then the spiritual.
1 Cor 15:46 (NIV) The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
| First, the Natural | Then, the Spiritual |
| Rite of Circumcision | Rite of Water Baptism |
| a. Name of the child known at birth | Name of the person known at new birth |
| b. Cutting off of the flesh. (blood shed) | Circumcision of the heart. (only possible for believers) |
| c. On the eighth day. On the symbolic eighth day | Resurrection Resurrection involved in the number eight. Rise and walk in new life. Believers only |
| d. Name of child invoked at rite. | Name of the Lord invoked at water baptism. (Christian names have no place in biblical baptism.) |
| e. Circumcision the seal of the Old | Holy Spirit is the seal of the New Covenant |
| f. To male children only. | To every born again, repentant believer both man and woman |
| g. The blessing was handed down thru the male seed | The blessing is thru the Son of God. (no flesh involved.) |
| h. A Covenant of the Flesh. | A Covenant of the Spirit. |
| i. Became an accepted son and heir. after the flesh |