We Believe in Believer's Baptism

Turn with me with to Matthew 28. Matthew chapter 28 and we will get started with our lesson here. Matthew chapter 28 and I got some object lessons I got to get prepared here for. All right. We'll get to that in just a minute.

Matthew chapter 28 and we are going to read verses 18 through 20. Matthew 2,818 through 20. Jesus came and spake unto them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go you therefore and teach all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and of the holy ghost.

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and low I am with you all way even unto the end of the world. Amen. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for the privilege of worshiping you here in this place together this morning.

May you be honored and exalted in all that said and done in this service, in this place, in our lives as we leave this place to go to our homes. Lord, we pray that you would use these few minutes we have together today. To impress something upon our hearts that we can use in service to our king that you can use to conform us more to the image of your son today. And bring more people to Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you for your son.

Thank you for the gift of salvation and eternal life and thank you Lord for the opportunity we have this and every day that we live on this Earth to worship and to serve the one who gave his life for us. It is indeed our reasonable service. Lord, do a mighty work we pray today. In Jesus name, amen. Now, up on the pulpit here, I have three cans, okay?

One of them is this one and one of them is this one and this one. Now they're different colors and different sizes. Yes, I'm aware of that. But they are similar in many ways. They are all spray cans.

They have something in a propellant of some kind. They have some other kind of solution that is supposed to do a particular task. This is a spray paint can. Paints things. This one, which looks similar, just a little bigger, is actually a carpet adhesive spray can.

So you might use this a little differently than you would use this. Though they're both cans, they're not the same thing, are they? This one here is scrubbing bubbles. You may have this in your house or you may not. But anyway, it's a cleaner that you spray out of this can.

It's different than the adhesive and it's different from the paint in that can. Though they are similar, you better make sure you grab the right can for the right job, okay? Or else you're gonna be in trouble. Today, we're going to talk about baptism. There are at least three baptisms in scripture.

Okay? There is John's baptism, repentance. There is the baptism of the spirit, spiritual baptism, and there's the believer's baptism in water. At least those three in scripture, they are all identified as baptism. They all share some common traits.

They are similar in some ways, but they are also distinct and not all exactly the same thing. And like these cans up here are similar but different, these three baptisms in scripture are also similar but different. And so we're going to take a few minutes, to look at the first two John's baptism and, the baptism of the spirit which we covered earlier and then we're going to look at believers baptism. Of course, as baptist, our name kind of implies that we believe, in believers baptism by immersion, in water, but, we're going to get to some of the specifics of that in a few minutes. So first we'll start with the baptism of John.

Look if you would. If you're still in Matthew 28, all you have to do is look across the page or over one page and you'll come to Mark chapter one. So in Mark chapter one, we're gonna read verses four through eight and look at the baptism of John. John's baptism. Baptism of repentance.

Mark one and verses four through eight. John, that is John the Baptist, did baptize in the wilderness, in the desert. It's a desert area, very dry and arid, outside of Jerusalem headed towards Jordan. He did baptize in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, that would be Southern Israel around Jerusalem and were all baptized of him in the River Jordan confessing their sins.

And John was clothed with camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loins and he did eat locusts and wild honey and preached saying, there cometh one mightier than I after me. The latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. So we're gonna take just a few minutes here to start with to look at the baptism of John. Is it similar to Christian believers baptism?

Yes, indeed. It is very similar. The two are most definitely connected but there are also a few distinctives as we'll see here in a minute. In John's day the Jews in particular washed themselves ceremonially often. They washed themselves before every meal.

That was not required in the law, but they had kind of added that. They had added other things but there were some required, washings or cleansings in the Old Testament law that they had to do before they could approach God and worship at the temple or with the sacrifice. But they had expanded upon that and added quite a bit to it. One of those things that they had added to it was, this, something similar to what John was doing and that is that they would immerse, Gentile converts in this, complete all over bath. A ritual performed upon Gentiles who wanted to be accepted in Judaism as a sign of their total abandonment of their Gentile ways to follow the God of the Jews.

And so they would walk down into this big bath thing, this little pond full of water usually something that had been made sort of like a baptistry. Or maybe they did it in the Jordan River or in the Mediterranean Sea. And they would dunk themselves completely in water. They would go under. They would come back up.

And this indicated a clean break and a new start. A washing away of their Gentile corruption and a new birth of sorts into Judaism. So this was being practiced in John's day by the Jews of those who were proselytes, gentile proselytes. John took this familiar religious and cultural practice in Israel in his day to drive home a specific need of the Jews. One which they had forgotten and to prepare them for the coming of who and for the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think I have this up there. Let's see. Yeah, that's it. Isaiah 40 and verse three. Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament speaking of John He called him the voice of one that crieth in the wilderness.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Long before John was born God spoke of his birth, of his calling, and his ministry to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. And part of his way of preparing people as commissioned by the Lord was this baptism of repentance, that he used throughout his ministry. The Jews sadly had traded the commandments of God for the commandments of who?

For the commandments of men as Jesus would later point out in his ministry. They had abandoned a relationship with God based upon repentance and faith for one based upon self righteous works. The laws of Moses were meant not to save one by the keeping of them. The laws of Moses were meant to expose man's need of a savior. The laws of Moses were given to expose man's sinfulness and his unworthiness in himself.

They were given to provide the sacrifices were given to provide a means for expression of Israel's repentance and faith in the God who gave them the law and the God who had made a way through the slain of the lamb or whatever sacrifice it was to approach the Lord and to have their sins atoned for. Which of course is a picture of who? Of Jesus Christ the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. But so many of the Jews had become had lost the meaning. They were going through the motions.

It had become a religious exercise and they had left a relationship based on repentance and faith and were seeking to approach God on their own self righteous what? Works and this does not work, does it? For by grace are you saved through what? Faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast. Ephesians two:eight-nine.

We cannot come to God with our own works. It will not work. God will not receive our works. He will receive the work of his son Jesus Christ that he did for us on the cross and he will receive us through faith by his grace. But the Jews had lost sight of that.

So God sent John into the world and commissioned him to baptize those who would acknowledge their sin and need for repentance before God as a public demonstration of humble confession and faith. As he baptized them it indicated that they acknowledged that they were what? That they were sinners. That they had sinned before God. And they were repenting before God of those sins.

And they were putting their faith in God to atone and to cover their sins. And that's what John's baptism was about. As Christ would later point out he came not to call the righteous, that is the self righteous, but who? But sinners to what? To repentance.

To repent of their sinful self. And to turn in faith to him. John was preparing them for the coming of the Messiah. Preparing them for the lamb of God who would be slain for the sins of the world to receive him by faith for the remission of their what? Of their sins and he used the symbolism of baptism to do this.

Now, as you can imagine, again, how were the Jews using this practice? They were using it upon who? The Jews. Gentiles. Okay.

Gentiles who wanted to become Jews, they were dunking them in water to indicate that they were washing away their Gentile corruption and they were leaving behind that life to start a new life in the Jewish faith. So the Jews in their mind need to be baptized? The answer is no. Did most of the Jews in their mind need to repent? The answer is no because they were Jews.

They were inheritors of God's favor by heritage. They were worthy of God's favor in their mind by their keeping of the what? By their keeping of the law. So to act as a Gentile and come to John's baptism in repentance was an act of great humiliation and faith. And many despite the hypocrites around them did come to John, acknowledge their sins with a repentant heart, full of faith that God would forgive them.

Thus preparing them to receive the Messiah and the eternal forgiveness that Jesus Christ would bestow on all who believe in him. This is John's this is John's baptism. It is a baptism of repentance. It's a baptism that symbolized washing away their what? Their sins.

It was a baptism that symbolized starting afresh, anew. Is that similar to Christian baptism? Yes it is. It is exactly the same thing. The answer is no it is not.

And we'll get to that in a minute. Now that is John's baptism. Now we see the second one, here. Our second baptism and that is mentioned in verse eight by John. Okay.

Look if you would in Mark, one and verse eight. John says, I indeed have baptized you with what? Water. Okay. This is symbolic.

Okay. But He that is the Messiah shall baptize you with what? Or who? The Holy Ghost. Now John said when Jesus comes Messiah comes he's not gonna just dunk you in water.

Okay. It's not gonna be a symbolic thing. It's not gonna be a temporary thing. It is going to be a real thing, a spiritual thing, an eternal thing that the Messiah is going to do for you who repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ and what he did for you on the cross. And this is called the baptism of the spirit or spiritual baptism.

I indeed baptize you with water he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. I think I have that. No I don't have that on the screen. Alright. When did this happen?

When were the believers baptized by the Holy Ghost, by the Holy Spirit? On the day of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost Jesus told as he ascended up into heaven his disciples to go back and wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the promise of the father. The promise of the father is the Holy Spirit. He had told them previous as they were concerned about his departure, don't be concerned, don't be troubled, it is beneficial for you that I go away if for if I go away the father will send what?

The Comforter. Okay? The Comforter. And He will be not just with you but He will be what? In you.

He will lead you and guide you and teach all things. Bring them to your remembrance whatsoever I have taught you. And he will give you power to be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria unto the other most part of the earth. So they went back and they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and it baptized them into the body of Christ.

They were baptized in the spirit. They became unified in Christ's body, the church. They became empowered by the spirit to go forth and do the service, the mission that they had been given by their Lord. Jesus said, as the father has sent me, so what? Send I you and Jesus did not leave them without a guide and a helper to help in that service.

And that is the Holy Spirit. He created a new family related not by heritage or ethnicity or membership but by the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit who since that day indwells and places thus baptizes every new believer into the what? Into the body of Christ. He seals us until the day of what? Redemption.

He is the earnest of our inheritance in heaven, the down payment. He is our teacher. He is our guide. He is our comforter. And every child of God, every born again believer today is baptized by that same spirit into that body.

Indwelt and empowered. If you're a believer, you have him. If you don't have him, you're not a what? You're not a believer. The scripture is very clear about that.

This is spiritual baptism performed not by a pastor or priest but by our high priest Jesus Christ just as both he and John foretold. John said, I baptize you with water. The one who's coming after me will baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And he did. And he does everyone who comes to Christ who are born again.

Not into Judaism, not into Israel but into Jesus Christ. If any man be in Christ he is a what? New creature. Old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new.

That happens when you put your faith and trust in Jesus and when you're saved. That is the baptism of the spirit. So we've seen the baptism of John. We've seen the baptism of the Spirit and now let's look at what? At the baptism of believers in Christ.

What we may call Christian baptism. There is yet another baptism in scripture distinct and yet similar to the other two. To understand the significance of this baptism we must go back to the baptism first of John. Look if you would in Matthew chapter three. Okay?

Matthew chapter three. I should hear a few pages turning. Unless you're using your your iPad there. I probably won't hear you hear you doing that. Alright.

Matthew chapter three and verses 13 to 17. Matthew three thirteen to 17. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him saying, I have need to be baptized of thee and comest thou to me? Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now.

For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered or allow permitted him. And Jesus when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water. And low the heavens were open unto him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him and low a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. So this again is the baptism of John but this helps us to understand the baptism of Christ, the believer's baptism.

So Jesus came to John the Baptist and he asked to be baptized of him. Now John knowing who Jesus was, I believe already suspecting that he was the Messiah but he was also John's cousin. He is also a man of outstanding character. John said, what do you mean me baptize you? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Am I not the one who should be baptized by you? He resisted Jesus' request because his baptism was a baptism that identified people as what? No, not John's. It identified them as repentant what? Repentant sinners.

Repentant sinners. So now here's the issue. Was Jesus a sinner? The answer is no. The Bible is clear.

Jesus' testimony is clear. First Corinthians five twenty one, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. First John three five and you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in him is no sin. Hebrews four fifteen, for we not we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without what? Yet without sin.

Jesus did not need to repent of his sins did he? Because he had no sins to repent of and so when he came to John, John says, what are you talking about? Me baptize you because you have no sins to repent of. But Jesus told John that it must be done to fulfill all righteousness. In order to fulfill the righteous will of God the Father, as Christ obediently sought to identify himself with sinful man for whom he had come to what?

Die. In order to fulfill all righteousness, the will of the father of God who sent him to die on the what? To die on the cross. Christ obediently accepted that mission, identified himself with fallen man because he would die on the cross for who? For fallen man.

Three years hence. So John conceded and did as Jesus requested resulting in a different kind of revelation. As he baptized him and as Jesus came up out of the waters by by the way, if he came up out of the waters, he must have been what? In the waters. The very word baptism means to immerse or dunk.

That's what the word baptizo in Greek means. But to some people that's not quite enough. But when you see the picture of Jesus being baptized here, he's not being sprinkled. He's not being poured. He is being what?

Dumped. Immersed in water. And as he comes out from from under the water, John saw the spirit descending in the likeness of a what? Dove. Okay.

He was not a dove but in the form or likeness it would seem of a dove. On the day of Pentecost, He appeared as cloven tongues of what? Fire. Were they actual physical clothing? No.

No. Okay. But the spirit made himself evident and John saw the spirit descending upon him as a dove and a voice from heaven. Who was that? The father saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

All to have been that there that day. To have seen what John saw, to hear the voice of who? Of God speak, the Father in heaven and say this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. John later in the book of John says that he was sent by God and God had told him that the one upon whom this would happen, that he was who? That he was the Messiah.

So baptism, this baptism, identified Jesus not as a repentant sinner for he wasn't a sinner, but it identified him as the obedient son of God, sent by the command of the father to die for the sins of the ungodly and rise again from the dead that we through faith in him might be saved. That's what Jesus baptism meant. It didn't identify him as a sinner. It identified him as the obedient son of God who would die for sinners on the cross and rise again from the dead. And when we are baptized, we conversely, Christian baptism is about identifying ourselves with who?

With Jesus Christ who died for our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead. Look if you would back to Matthew 28. Matthew 28 again. Verse 19. Jesus said to his disciples, go ye therefore and teach all nations.

That means disciple. Make converts of all nations. Baptizing them, then baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and of the holy ghost. All three were a Jesus baptism. All three are to be mentioned at our baptism because all three are involved in our salvation.

Okay? All have a role in the salvation of the lost sinner. The trinity, the father, the son, and the holy spirit. So he said, baptize them in the name of the father, the son, and of the holy ghost. So Christ commanded his disciples to baptize their converts to Christ similarly by immersion and also in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost signifying the trinity and their involvement in our salvation.

And as such believers baptism following the pattern of Christ does not only identify us as repentant sinners, but also as children of who? As children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, our savior and our Lord. First Corinthians fifteen three and four, for I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received how that Christ died for our sins according to scripture, how that he was buried and how that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. For just as Christ came to die on the cross for sin, he was buried and three days later he what? He rose again.

So the Christian when he submits himself to believers baptism following his profession of faith in Christ does signify the same. Romans six four. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So as we are baptized in water it does identify us with the one who died for us on the cross. As he died, was buried, and rose again so is signified by Christian baptism when we are dunked down into the water buried with Christ and then risen again as we're brought back up to walk with Christ in newness of life.

We do identify ourselves publicly as believers in who? As believers in Jesus Christ who has saved our soul, who has made us his children, and we publicly identify ourselves with him as he publicly identified himself with who? With us. On that day that he was baptized by John. And just as Jesus did not become the Son of God at his baptism so a person doesn't become a Christian by baptism either.

But by faith alone in who? In Jesus Christ. You can get dunked a thousand times in this baptistry. There's it's back there. It won't save you.

It won't wash away one sin. It is symbolic. It is a means of public confession identification but it's not a means to salvation. There's only one way to be saved and that is to repent and trust Christ as your savior. John three sixteen, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoso believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Where is baptism mentioned in that verse? It isn't. You're not saved by baptism, you're saved by faith. Acts sixteen thirty one, Paul said to the Philippian jailer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Where does he say the way to salvation is being baptized?

The answer is he doesn't. He says what? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans ten:nine. Romans ten:nine, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be what?

Thou shalt be saved. The thief on the cross hanging there beside Christ said, remember me when you come into your kingdoms. Jesus said, today, you will be with me in what? In paradise. Did he get baptized?

The answer is no. He couldn't but he could still be what? Saved. Because of his what? Because of his faith.

We do not become children of God by baptism. We become children of God by faith. We declare it publicly. We identify ourselves with Christ publicly. We take that first step of obedience publicly by baptism in water.

But we're saved by grace. I don't know how many baptists I have asked throughout the years, are you saved? When did you get saved? And they'll tell me when they got what? Baptized.

Now, it maybe they got saved and then they got baptized and they're linking the two but they first put their faith in Christ but I'm afraid there's some who are confused And so I take a little extra time to ask them, okay, did you get saved when you got baptized or did you get saved when you put your faith in Christ? Okay, which is We're not saved by getting wet. We're saved by getting washed in the blood of the lamb through faith alone in Christ. And furthermore, just as Jesus baptism announced the beginning of his earthly ministry, so believers baptism introduced Christ's newly redeemed saint and his new ministry in service of the king. To walk with Christ in what?

Newness of life. As we come up out of those waters we are announcing what has already happened and that it is our desire to live our life for who? Our life for Christ whom we've identified ourselves with. Christ said to be baptized was to fulfill all righteousness. What did that mean?

To take a step of what? Obedience to the Father. When you get baptized you as a new child of God who's already been saved by faith are obedient. It's an act of obedience to our Lord. And so on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 people repented and put their faith in Christ, what then happened?

They were baptized. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there was added unto them 3,000 souls. So we continue that practice today. We don't save people by dunking them. What we do is we obey our who?

Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ by identifying new believers publicly as children of God. So, we begin this New Year. Maybe there's someone here. First of all, that needs to be saved. Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ?

Have you called on him? To be your savior. Have you humbled yourself before him? And received the gift that only he can give. If you've done that, you are a child of who?

God, if you haven't done that, you're not a child of God and no matter, no, no good works, no baptism, no ceremony is going to fix that. Only Jesus can fix that. If you'll put your faith and trust in him and we plead with you today. Don't walk out of those doors without trusting Christ. It may be that you're here today and you say, yes, pastor, I'm saved but I've never been scripturally baptized.

That's something you should do. You should be obedient to your Lord. If you want his blessing and power in your life, you need to start out your Christian life right. You need to submit to believers baptism. Not for salvation but for service and to identify and confess before others, your Lord and if you have been baptized and you went in those waters, you came out and you declared to walk with Christ in newness of life, how are you doing?

Are we walking day by day with Christ? Is our relationship growing? Are we being salt and light? Are we being testimony? Are we being witnesses for Jesus Christ that we ought to be?

Or have we kind of let that slide? Are we in the world but not of it? Are we sort of acting like we're of it? We have a mission. We have a privilege to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

He has given us a new life. Are you using that day by day in his service? Or have we backslidden? Deal with that today. Deal with your Lord.

Confess your sin. He is faithful and just what? For to give us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord.

For Jesus Christ, our savior. Thank you for being willing to identify yourself with us at the baptism but even more so on the cross of Calvary. As you hung there, and you suffered for me And I pray Lord if there's one here today that's unsure of their standing with you, unsure if they're saved. I pray today, they wouldn't leave this place without making that sure. I pray Lord if there's one here today that's been saved but never followed you in obedience in believers baptism.

I believe, I pray Lord that they would make that decision today. To be obedient to you. And I pray Lord for those of us who have been saved and been baptized. Lord, that we would have a renewed commitment today to walk with Christ in newness of life to live for you, to let you live through us. In Jesus name, we pray.