Go and Baptize Them
Notes
Transcript
Intro - Baptism
Intro - Baptism
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
One Body of Jesus Christ (Church)
One Spirit
One Hope
One Lord (JESUS)
one Faith
One Baptism.
One God and Father
So much Unity… Both unity with the one God that we relate to in three persons, But uniting us in Hope, and faith and this thing called BAPTISM.
With that mush unity… how then could there be so much disunity in the church on the concept of baptism. across the denominations we cannot agree on so many things about Baptism…
the origin or institution of baptism;
the meaning of baptism;
the administration of baptism (Who is permitted and authorized to baptize people?);
the formula for baptism (Is baptism to be administered only in the name of Jesus or in the names of all three persons of the Trinity?);
the mode of baptism (Is baptism to be by sprinkling, pouring, dipping, or immersion?);
the proper recipients of baptism (Is it restricted to adults who have made credible professions of faith or may infants be baptized as well?).
the efficacy of the sacrament (What does baptism actually accomplish in the lives of those who receive it?).
The greatest controversy over baptism is this:
Must a person be baptized to experience the new birth?
To answer such questions, we follow our pattern. Ask God, and then read the word to see what he has told us about Baptism. If Baptism is important, (and it clearly is as we see in this verse), then God will provide the necessary answers, and leave unimportant details vague on purpose I think.
BAPTISM (βάπτισμα, baptisma).
Could be nothing more than an act of washing in it’s original usage of the word.
Some understand baptism as a rite of formal initiation into the Christian church through water.
But it is not just an initiation into a club.
Most Christian denominations consider BAPTISM a sacrament (though some groups prefer the term ordinance). we will see why in a minute…
I the simplest sense Baptism is a symbol that points to Christ's death and resurrection
TRUE - BUT . but that definition is like saying pictures of sunsets include the sun at the horizon. It is not really an adequate definition I think.
There were several allusions to baptism in the Old Testament, but baptism is primarily a New Testament concept.
Lets see what baptism means in the bible
I Chose to serve God
I Chose to serve God
The Ordinance of Baptism
The Ordinance of Baptism
Along with the Communion (also called Eucharist or Holy Communion), baptism is one of two ordinances (sacraments) instituted by Christ and recognized by virtually every Christian body.
Baptism is established (Ordinance)
Baptism is established (Ordinance)
Established as an ordinance for the church by the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18–20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is 3 in 1 three persons in a unity so complete they are one God.
To enter into the family of God as a disciple, is to decide to become fully obedient to God.
To become completely obedient is to give up your own desires, and your own rights, and instead let Jesus be commander, the Holy Spirit your Chief counselor and guide. and become an obedient child of your heavenly father.
Jesus left us this great commission, so we know that it is right to become baptised as we become disciples of Jesus. Baptism serves as a reminder to yourself, and to all your family friends and fellow Christians that you have set your feet upon the narrow way that leads to life.
You will never again wonder if you have chosen to follow Jesus or not. You can look back and remember your baptism and be remind of this most basic and powerful of all the choices in life. TO live for God.
Baptism is incredibly important for another reason. Other religions may know and understand it better than we.
The Baptism of Jesus (repentance)
The Baptism of Jesus (repentance)
Many point to the example of Christ’s acceptance of baptism by John the Baptist, attested in all four canonical gospels, as a secondary foundation for the practice of Baptism.
Matt 3:13–17
Mark 1:9–11
Luke 3:21–22
John 1:29–34
lets read matthews account
Matthew 3:4–6 (ESV)
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
The typical mode of baptism can be deduced in this scripture. the amount of water in a river as the location provides enough water for full immersion in the water.
Archaeologist have found the word used in a “pickle” recipe, that was written in biblical times, describing that the cucumber must be baptized in the brine. If you have seen pickles in the jars, you know that this discovery that was appreciated by the churches that required full immersion for baptism. As a cucumber that is half in and half out of the brine, would not become a full pickle.
So in general I think the Bible clearly points to the general practice of Full immersion baptism at least by the examples we see. But nowhere is scripture does it command full immersion baptism, so when you don't have the ability to do a full baptism.
John the Baptizer was providing a BAPTISM of repentance. This is different that a Baptism of Savlation. The Holy spirit in John was revealing sin in the lives of people, and bringing conviction. If they wanted to make a new start they would come and be baptized. Symbolizing the washing of the dirty filth of sin from their lives and an intention to walk rightly again. But there was no salvation involved. They were doomed to eventually sin again, and then have need of spiritual cleansing all over again. Yet it did one critically important thing. it softened their heart to understand their need for a Saviour. this is why he was “making straight paths for the arrival of the messiah”
What Is Baptism? (The Scandal of Baptism)
In the minds of the theologians and rulers of the day, John’s call for the Jewish people to present themselves at the Jordan River to be baptized was scandalous. Why? When a Gentile converted to Judaism, he had to embrace the tenets and doctrines of Judaism, and he had to be circumcised. In addition, he had to undergo a ritual that had developed during the intertestamental period, a ceremonial bath of purification known as “proselyte baptism.” This rite of purification was administered to Gentile converts because the Jews considered the Gentiles to be ceremonially unclean. The Jews, by contrast, were considered to be clean, so they were not required to undergo any sort of cleansing rite. But when John called them to be baptized, the Pharisees were outraged by his implication that the Jews were unclean. They could not see that God was imposing a new requirement on His people because a new moment in redemptive history was at hand—the arrival of the Messiah—and even the Jews needed remission of their sins.
but we see from this an important element of Baptism. the idea that we are turning away from a life of sin. lets continue… what else can we learn.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
we see here the need to live a life that bears the fruit of repentance. we cannot do this without condemning sin and turning away from it.
Rabbit Trail God can use us to publicly call out the sin of wicked people in power. Typically the better way is to privately go to someone and gently point out their sin. Especially if they are in the family of God. But sometimes when the heart is hard and their hypocrisy public, it is right to publically denounce them. In this case the value of God’s call to repentance for everyone was the overwhelming need. No one escaped the conviction of sin.
lets continue…
11 “I baptize you with water for 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. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
We now clearly see that there is another Baptizer and another Baptism that will supersede this "baptism of repentance” by John. It will be Jesus and involve the Holy Spirit and Fire.
setting aside the idea of a Holy spirit & Fire Baptism for a bit… we can understand the mode of Water baptism better from this scripture....
What Is Baptism? (The Scandal of Baptism)
One day, as John was baptizing at the Jordan River, he saw Jesus approaching. He cried out, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b). Then Jesus came to John and asked to be baptized. John was stunned. Matthew tells us that “John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ” (3:14). He knew Jesus was sinless and therefore had no need of a cleansing ritual. But Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). As the Messiah, Jesus had to submit Himself to the entire law of God. His vocation was not simply to die for the sins of His people, He also had to obey the law perfectly to achieve the righteousness that would be imputed to those people. Every requirement imposed on Israel was imposed on Israel’s Messiah—including the command to be baptized, which command was delivered by John the Baptist, a prophet of God. So Jesus was baptized.As we consider John’s baptism, however, it is vital that we understand that it is not equivalent to New Testament baptism. There are many points of similarity, but the two are not the same. New Testament baptism goes beyond what was involved in and signified by John’s baptism. His baptism was a preparatory rite for the Jewish people as they awaited the coming Messiah, so its meaning was rooted and grounded in the Old Testament. It served as a bridge to the New Testament sacrament of baptism. Later, Jesus commanded something with a deeper, greater significance.
What is the greater significance? lets go to a another scripture that deals with the baptism of Christians into Jesus.
Paul Explains Baptism (Salvation in Jesus)
Paul Explains Baptism (Salvation in Jesus)
Romans 6:1–14 (ESV)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Does Baptism Provide Regeneration to new life?
Does Baptism Provide Regeneration to new life?
Baptism may be defined as the sacrament of regeneration, as the biblical images used to describe it all link it to new life in Christ.
The effect of baptism is disputed, among Christians.
Is it just Identification with a life with Jesus… or is it a impartation of special Grace (power) by God?
I think the verses in Romans 6 show us that our salvation experience in Jesus clearly bring new life. And because he is speaking about Baptism at the same time, one can get confused about what belongs to what.
Often in acts the moment of salvation and baptism are described so when Peter tells people to be baptized the moment of salvation and Baptism are very close together.
I think you can read the bible and decide that for yourself.
38 And Peter said to them, “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. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Philip & The Ethiopian
Philip & The Ethiopian
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
Your impartation of saving grace comes when you fully turn and commit yourself to Jesus, understanding the way of salvation he offers, and your own sin and need for him. I think then that Baptism is a outward sign of what has already happened spiritually. But that outward sign is incredibly important. 1) as obedience to Jesus your new Master (instead of sin), and 2) a Moment of decision visible to all that you are now living for Jesus.
However I will say that it is clear that member of other religions see significance in Baptism. This was clearly seen in a Book we read as a church about 5 years ago.
“I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God” by Bilquis Sheikh;
I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God 7. The Baptism of Fire and Water
I had been sound asleep that night in January 1967 when I was startled awake by my bed shaking violently.
An earthquake? My heart was gripped by a nameless terror. And then I sensed a horrible malevolent presence in my room; one that was definitely evil.
Suddenly I was thrown out of my bed; whether I was in my physical body or spirit I do not know. But I was pushed and thrown about like a straw in a hurricane. The face of Mahmud flashed before me and my heart cried out for his protection.
This must be death coming for me, I thought, my soul quaking. The awful presence engulfed me like a black billowing cloud and instinctively I screamed out to the One who now meant everything to me. “O Lord Jesus!” At this I was shaken mightily, as a dog ravages his prey.
“Am I wrong to call on Jesus?” I cried to God in my spirit. At this a great strength surged through me and I called out: “I will call on Him! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!”
At this the powerful ravaging subsided. I lay there worshiping and praising the Lord. However, sometime around three in the morning, my eyelids became too heavy and I slipped to sleep.
I was awakened in the morning by Raisham bringing me my morning tea. I lay there for a moment feeling such a sense of relief. As I closed my eyes in prayer, I saw the Lord Jesus Christ standing before me. He wore a white robe and a purple cape. He gently smiled at me and said, “Don’t worry; it won’t happen again.”
I felt then that my harrowing experience was satanic, a test Jesus permitted for my own good. I recalled the cry that came from deep within my soul: “I will call on His name, I will say Jesus Christ.”
My Lord was still standing before me.
It is time for you to be baptized in water, Bilquis, He said.
Water baptism! I had heard the words distinctly, and I didn’t like what I heard.
As soon as I could I dressed and asked Nur-jan and Raisham to see that I wasn’t disturbed until lunchtime. I stood at the window thinking. The morning air was cool, and pale steam drifted up from the garden springs. I knew that the significance of baptism is not lost on the Muslim world. A person can read the Bible without arousing too much hostility. But the sacrament of baptism is a different matter. To the Muslim this is the one unmistakable sign that a convert has renounced his Islamic faith to become a Christian. To the Muslim, baptism is apostasy.
So here was a difficult testing point. The issue was clearly drawn. Would I yield to the fear of being treated as an outcast, or worse, as a traitor, or would I obey Jesus?
First of all I had to be certain that I was really obeying the Lord, and not some illusion. For I was far too new at being a Christian to trust “voices.” How could I test my impression better than through the Bible? So I went back to my Bible and read how Jesus Himself had been baptized in the Jordan. And I looked again at Paul’s letter to the Romans where he talked about the rite in terms of death and resurrection. The “old man” dies, and a new creature arises, leaving all his sins behind.
Well, that was that. If Jesus was baptized, and if the Bible called for baptism, then of course I would obey.
she goes on to read about the Baptism of the Ethiopian and to feel that the need to get baptized soon was critical, and she gets baptized, very quickly, and just in time because her family arrives to do a Muslim intervention, and her identity and security were in her family, and if she had not been baptized before they came, she realizes she would have backed out, and turned away.
Regardless of how much meaning, power, or Spiritual grace is involved. Baptism is a line drawn in the sand… that carries a huge weight. The full weight of FAITH. - and it becomes a clear line to us, to our family to our friends, that we have become something new.
Today is the Day of Salvation
Today is the Day of Salvation