Is Water Baptism Important? 🌊
Some of you might ask, “Why in the world would you talk about water baptism?”
“… I've been baptized and that's something you should be teaching in a Sunday school class.”
I think that I have a little bit of a different slant on it. I also believe that this message will kind of be a come to Jesus message for some people.
Now Mark 1:9-11 says,
"It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Lets pray,
Heavenly Father, I pray today that as I bring forth the word that I feel that you've given to me to share that Lord that you would anoint me and that God that our hearts would be open to receive all that you have for each and every one of us. I ask that your Holy Spirit do His work in our lives today. Amen.
I believe that because of God's word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit that you are going to realize the importance of water baptism. My prayer is that by the end of this that you will, not only be adequately able to explain why people need to be baptized in water, but if you have not been baptized in water that you will acquiesce to that dynamics. In other words, you will feel the desire for yourself to be baptized.
I believe that today's a great day because I believe that some people are going to find Christ as Savior and Lord. I think some people are going to rededicate their lives to Christ. But also I think that some people are going to determine, “You know what, I don’t need to be baptized in water because I have met people over the years who love Jesus, they're committed to Him, but they have never been baptized in water.”
I think that is because they never understood the importance of water baptism.
The Lord gave us two ordinances, two ceremonies as it were:
Holy Communion — that's why we attempt to have Holy Communion at least once a month, sometimes because of schedules, it doesn't get exactly that way. But we always try to have it on the first Sunday of the month.
2. Water baptism — something that Jesus commanded us to do.
In Matthew 28, 19, Jesus said,
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Now, out of that scripture, we would say that water baptism is as important as the Great Commission because it's part of the Great Commission.
Read it again.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
And when it comes to baptism or water baptism, the Word of God is very clear. As followers of Christ, after we have received Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we need to be baptized in water. And yet there are many Christians today, people who love God, I would never doubt their love, but who've never been baptized. And why is that? I believe that there are four reasons as to why people that receive Christ don't act or don't move forward in their faith to be baptized in water.
Four Reasons Why A Christian Has Not Been Baptized.
1️⃣ Not understanding the importance of water baptism.
In other words, they haven't been taught what the Bible says about water baptism. You see, some people, they've never been baptized in water because no one ever made a big deal out of it. They were never taught of water baptism's importance. So today I'm gonna make a really big deal about it, okay? Because everybody who is a Christian needs to be baptized in water. And so some people just don't realize how important water baptism is in their life. Now my prayer for you again is that at the end of today's reading, we all understand the importance of water baptism.
Not solely because I say that it's important, but because we see from the Word of Almighty God again and again and again that water baptism is a requisite for Christians. That people that love Jesus Christ and have made him Lord and Savior of their lives, they need to be baptized in water.
2️⃣ People are more committed to their church tradition than they are to the Word of God.
Ouch.
“What do you mean?” Well, maybe their family belonged to a tradition where the church baptized infants. And I can identify with that because I was raised in a Catholic church. So my family rarely went to church as I was growing up, my brother and my sister. We rarely went to church, but I was told that I was baptized as an infant. So when I accepted Jesus Christ into my life as my personal Lord and Savior, there was a little bit of confusion as to whether or not I needed to be baptized.
Matter of fact, I remember asking one of my mentors about this.
He said to me, “You need to be baptized in water.”
I said, “Why do I need to be baptized in water? I was baptized in water as an infant.”
Let me ask you, were you baptized in water as an infant? No shame in that. I get it. But I remember, as I said, when I received Christ, that there was some confusion in my mind.
So, if you were baptized as an infant, do you need to be baptized again in water? Now, when I think about Elsinore First, I would presume that a great percentage of those that attend this church are not from an Assemblies of God background.
But that doesn't really matter when it comes to understanding baptism. I think most of the congregation is from some denominational background or maybe not even a religious background, but a lot of people have had some contact with infant baptism. So I want to take a moment to talk about the roots of infant baptism.
Now, in order to do this, I'm going to mention a couple of denominations such as Catholics, Lutherans, and Presbyterians as well. I feel that I can do this because I was raised as a Catholic and I was baptized as an infant so I can do this with a clear conscience. Now, let me say that infant baptism is not found in the Bible, nor is sprinkling, nor is dabbing.
Pay very close attention.
It is not mentioned in the Bible — infant baptism, sprinkling, nor dabbing. You see, it was the Roman Catholic Church that baptized infants starting in the Middle Ages in 1311 at the Council of Ravenna.
The Roman Catholic Church doctrin says this,
"Infant baptism is a ritual of regeneration."
That's what their doctrinal stance is. In other words, they're saying that the infant is saved through baptism. Those of us that came out of the Catholic Church, we understand that water baptism is considered one of the sacraments of the church. Which means that there is, inherently within water baptism, some type of a saving grace or salvation in the act of being baptized or sprinkled with water.
In other words, Jesus' death on the cross merely gives one access to the sacraments of salvation as a means of salvation.
And this is a big difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, because as Protestants, we believe that we have to have a faith and receive the sacrifice of Jesus Christ when He was crucified, when He shed his blood, and resurrected from the dead.
And that's how we are saved.
It's not saved because we are sprinkled as an infant or dabbed on as infants. And so unfortunately, they still teach that today that water cleanses a baby from original sin. Furthermore, the Catholic Church teaches that if a baby is not baptized and dies, it goes to a place called Limbo of the Innocence; which according to their theology is a place where that baby will live forever, enjoying some sort of a natural bliss without any vision or knowledge of God.
So they strongly encourage every parent who gives birth to a child to baptize their children to keep them from going to this second class place, should they die.
And the tragedy is that none of that is in the Bible. Surely it's not reflected in the heart of God. You think a loving, caring God would send an infant to this place called the Limbo of the Innocence? God would never do that.
Martin Luther, the great reformer and essentially the founder of Lutheranism, was strong on justification by faith that one must believe for themselves that Jesus Christ died for his or her sin. Yet, he never disentangled himself from infant baptism.
In fact, he wrote a book called The Small Baptismal Book and in it he stated,
"Baptism cleanses the baby of sin."
What sin is he talking about? Original sin.
That's what he's talking about here. So when he was asked how he could believe or affirm his belief about infant baptism, he stated that “supernaturally some way, the infant must be able to believe.”
Which is why today, Lutheran pastors will close their infant liturgy with this quote,
"Almighty God has begotten thee anew through water and the Holy Spirit and has forgiven thee all thy sins. Amen.”
So they're teaching that infant baptism makes salvation possible and all of that, again, is so sad because it is not in the Bible. Now, there's nothing in the New Testament about salvation apart from a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing about infant baptism in the Old Testament nor in the New Testament.
It is not commanded, it is not illustrated, it just isn't there.
Now those in the Presbyterian background would say,
"Well infant baptism is the New Testament equivalent to what circumcision was in the Old Testament. That we baptize infants as a sign of the covenant of which their parents are part of."
I've said it for many, many years that God has no grandchildren. Everybody's got to make their own decision. My children have to make their own decision to believe that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. My grandchildren have to believe that.
It's not because I believe it. It's not because their parents believe it, but it's because each one of us takes it on personally.
Which again, when you think about what the Catholics, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, and many others, when they put this into place, this doctrine into place, it is a doctrine of man.
We do not find that in the Bible, and ultimately, I would suggest to every person to consider that if it's not in the Bible, then we should not build a doctrine on it, nor should we consider it a theological position.
“Well then, pastor, if I was baptized as an infant, should I be baptized again?”
Well, according to the New Testament, if you are not baptized by being immersed in water, following your personal decision to follow Jesus Christ, then it doesn't matter if you were sprinkled on a thousand times or whether you were born in water, you need to be baptized following you receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life.
3️⃣ Pride
Some people have gone so long without being baptized that now for them to be baptized would be an admission or a public profession of long-term disobedience or ignorance.
It would be very humbling for anyone to say, “Well, I haven't been baptized, but I know that I need to do this.I just don't want people to think that I haven't been baptized in water.”
There are some people that might say something along these lines, “I don't want people to see me in wet clothes.”
Can I say this? Nobody who sees you being baptized is going to be thinking, “Oh, that's what they look like in wet clothes.”
They're going to be thanking God that you've made a decision for Christ,
But pride holds back people from being baptized or their old church tradition, but you and I understand that as infants, we can't make a decision to serve Christ. We can't feed ourselves, we can't change ourselves as infants.
There's no saving grace in any of this, and we need to understand that when we hear the word “sacrament”. That infers some sort of a saving dynamic in whatever that sacrament is, whether it's communion, whether it's attending church, whatever it might be. No, we are saved by faith and by the grace of Almighty God.
4️⃣ They thought they were a Christian, but they are not a Christian.
There's no moving of the Spirit in their life that would convict them or compel them to fulfill the commands of Jesus Christ, because Jesus said,
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
But they have no desire for water baptism or a public profession of faith, or to obey the command of Christ, because honestly, they're just not a Christian.
They just like hanging out with Christians.
If you are a Christian, if you are of a believer, baptism is commanded. It's not an option, it's a command. It's not something we do when we feel ready.
It's something we do when we've been saved.
It's something we do as soon as we've been saved. It's not something we have to understand to be valid. When you are saved, when I am saved, we are to be baptized.
Here Are 4 Questions About Baptism
#1 What is the pattern of water baptism?
Well, from a physical perspective, it's a ceremony during which a person in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is immersed in water, submerged in water.
Now the primary word that is used in the New Testament in the Greek is “baptizo” and is used 77 times and it always means to dip completely to submerge and to immerse.
It is certain that immersion was the practice of the early church. Matter of fact, if I would have had the time to put it all in here, I could go back and show you scripture after scripture after scripture where the early saints came to Christ and they were immediately baptized in water.
I would encourage you to be baptized by immersion in water because that is the New Testament pattern.
In Mark 1:4-5 we read,
"John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him. In the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”
Now John's ministry was near the Jordan River because he was baptizing people by immersion in that river. He was not sprinkling, he was not dabbing people with water.
In John 3:23 we read,
"Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized."
John was baptizing at Aenon, another part of the Jordan River because water was plentiful there.
Why did he need a lot of water? Because multitudes were coming to be baptized.
We read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:36,
"Now as they went down the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?'“
Acts 8:38-39 —
"Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him and when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord caught Philip away so that the eunuch saw him no more and he went on his way rejoicing.”
They came down into the water and up out of the water because that's what baptism is. This is the New Testament pattern for baptism.
#2 What is the purpose of baptism?
Well, baptism is not only important because it's a command of Christ, but in one sense, it's a public declaration of our faith.
“I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ.” That's what baptism represents.
Water baptism is an illustration of what happens to us in Christ. When we get into the water, we're standing in the water. When we're baptized, we're immersed and that represents that we are dying to ourselves and we're coming up in new life in Jesus Christ.
This is why if you are planning to be baptized in faith that you invite every family member, every friend that you have, especially if they're unsaved because this is a wonderful illustration of what Christ Jesus has done for each and every one of us.
Mark 1:5 says,
"Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to [John] and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins."
Verse nine,
"It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan."
So John is baptizing and Jesus comes and wants John to baptize him.
And John says, "Jesus, you don't have any sin. You don't need anything to confess. I shouldn't baptize you, but you should baptize me."
And Jesus answers John with these words in Matthew 3:15,
"‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him."
And what does that mean? How did Jesus fulfill all righteousness? Well, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness by living a sinless life and by dying on the cross.
And baptism in water is symbolic of Jesus' death and His resurrection on the third day.
So when Jesus tells John that by being baptized, it will fulfill all righteousness, He was saying, "My death and my resurrection will fulfill righteousness, and my baptism will be a picture, a symbolic illustration of my death and my resurrection, and every believer needs to follow in this way."
And when you and I are baptized in water, this is exactly what you and I are illustrating — We are identifying with Jesus Christ.
When we've placed our faith in Jesus Christ, it's like whatever happened to Jesus has happened to us.
Paul writes in Romans 6:3-4,
“… as many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. 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 should walk in the newness of life.”
So when we place our faith in Christ, it's like what happened to Him, has happened to us. It's like when He died, we died. When he was resurrected, we were resurrected.
So when he died, we died to ourselves in the water. When he was resurrected, we come up in new life in Christ.
Baptism is a picture of that and we find this truth not only in Romans 6, but also Colossians 2:12 Paul writes,
"…[You] were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."
So again, when you and I go under the water, it's that we're dying to ourselves, we're coming up in new life.
#3 Do you have to be baptized to be saved?
Well, that's always the question, isn't it? Some denominations, as we now know, say that baptism is actually what saves us. The Church of Christ would say that along with a couple of other denominations. However, we know that when Jesus was on the cross and he had two thieves next to him, and one of the thieves repented and said, "Lord," which that word right there speaks of recognition of who Jesus Christ really is. It's like saying Messiah, Savior. That's what he's saying here.
He goes on and says, "Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom."
And that's like a simple prayer of repentance.
So the thief is saying, "Messiah, Savior, Jesus, I know that You are the Savior of the world. Please forgive me of my sins. Remember me when You come into Your presence."
So a remarkable conversion, the most remarkable conversion in scripture.
And then Luke 23:43 says,
"And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.'"
This thief would go with Jesus in paradise, three days later, he would accompany Jesus to heaven along with the Old Testament saints that are there today.
He was not baptized, yet he went to heaven.
So we understand that we don't have to be baptized to go to heaven, but we know that according to what Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8,
"For by grace you've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
But that's not my point.
I'm not trying to be ugly about this, but clearly the Bible states that we need to be baptized in water, that we need to be immersed in water.
If we call ourselves a Christian, but we've not been baptized in water and unwilling to be baptized at some point, once we have the information and are educated about this like I'm educating you today, you can't say, "Well, I'm not gonna get baptized. I don't care what the pastor says. I don't care what anybody says."
Then we have to question ourselves about whether or not we are truly following after Jesus Christ.
Because Jesus said,
"Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things that I say?" (Luke 6:46)
We're saved by grace through faith, plus or minus nothing. Baptism does not save us, but it does demonstrate our willingness to obey Christ.
#4 When should I be baptized?
Well, according to the Bible, we should be baptized as soon as possible after we make a decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Some people would still say, "Well, I'm not ready. I don't understand baptism fully. I need to think about it." There's nothing to think about.
It's in the Bible.
Being baptized. It's right here. And how many of you know…
Delayed obedience often results in disobedience.
You know, at any point that you and I knowingly are not obeying Christ, especially, at a basic level, like water baptism, what happens over time is there is a diminished experience of God's blessing in our lives.
Water baptism is not necessarily about our personal experience, though there will be one, but it's about our obedience to Christ's word.
“If you call Me Lord, but do not do what I say, why do you call Me that?” (Luke 6:46)
Biblically speaking, when should a person be baptized? As soon as a person comes to Christ, that person should be baptized in water.
Now let me sum it up this way.
Scripture commands every believer to be baptized. And when we obey God in this first command, that decision is a powerful first step in obedience to God.
