Sermon Tone Analysis

Some insist that the physical act of baptism actually regenerates the soul and somehow administers saving grace into the person's life.

This is why our Catholic brethren baptize infants.

Some, like the Church of Christ, believe that one must make a public confession of faith and also be baptized.

If you have a heart attack and die on your way to the creek bank, that's tough.

It's straight to hell for you.

Some, like ourselves—a people called Baptist—insist on 'believer's baptism' or what some call 'confessor's baptism.'

It is the belief that first ya get saved and then ya get baptized.

Ya don't get saved, ya don't get baptized.

And when you do get baptized, there is nothing efficacious about it.

It is merely a symbol of what the Holy Spirit has done in you when you believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ and confessed Him as Savior.

When it comes to the way we baptize, some insist that just a sprinkle of water is all that is needed, while others will take a fancy little bowl and pour water over your head.

Some insist that ya gotta be dunked all the way under.

And even those who immerse have their differences!

You have those who believe that immersing once in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit is all that is required, while others say, "Nope, ya dunk 'em once in the name of the Father, once in the name of the Son, and once in the name of the Holy Spirit."

Many will simply throw up their hands in exasperation and say, “Why does it matter?”

As a people of the Book, it matters because we ought to do it as closely as we can to the way the Scriptures teach us.

To that end, let me take some time to preach on four essential truths concerning biblical baptism and what the Scriptures teach about it.

* The proper candidate for baptism—who should be baptized?

* The proper reason for baptism—why do we baptize?

* The proper method of baptism—how should we baptize?

* The proper authority in baptism—who should do the baptizing?

!

I. THE PROPER CANDIDATE FOR BAPTISM

#. the very first question we need to consider is “Whom should the church baptize?”

#. what does the Bible say?

#. we believe baptism should only be administered to those who have received a /'circumcision of the heart'/

* Col. 2:11 /"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,"/

#. there were those who had come to the Colossian church preaching a different gospel than the one that had been first delivered unto them by the Apostle Paul

#. they were told, /"Oh, so you've believed in Christ?

Well, that's a good start, but it's not enough.

Let us tell what else you've got to do."/

#. false prophets had taught the Colossian Christians that they first had to become Jews before they could become Christians

#. and the way you became a Jew was to be circumcised

#. these folks came to be called Judaizers and they would be the bane of the Apostle Paul's ministry

#. he was constantly countering their influence almost everywhere he went

#. circumcision, if you remember, was the covenantual symbol God gave to Abraham to distinguish the Patriarch and all his descendants as the people of God

#. it was a ritual performed on all Hebrew male children 8 days after their birth

#. it signified three things ...

#. a physical mark given to God's people to show them as separate from the Gentiles

#. a covenant to spiritually point them backward to the righteousness of faith imputed to Abraham

#. a symbol to point them forward to the true circumcision of heart that would take place when God Himself would put His laws in the hearts and minds of His people

#.

Paul tells the Colossian believers that indeed they have been circumcised!

* v. 11 /"In him you were also circumcised,... "/

#. it wasn't circumcision of the flesh and obedience to Jewish religious law that made them a child of God

#. it was a circumcision of the heart accomplished by God Himself when He redeemed them in Christ through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit

* /" ... not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,"/

#. this is the new birth experience!

#.

Paul’s message is the core of the Gospel ...

#.

Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, suffered, died and was buried

#.

He bore the punishment of sin and the wrath of God for you by becoming your substitute

#. you are no longer an object of God's condemnation, but recipients of His justification

#.

Paul refers to this spiritual event as the circumcision of the heart and it is this spiritual heart surgery performed by the Holy Spirit that adopts us into the household of faith

* /“A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.

No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”/ (Romans 2:28–29, NIV)

#. what's the point?

!! A. GOD HAS CHANGED US!

#.

Baptists have always believed that salvation is a “God thing”

#. it is not a matter of /reciting the right creeds/, or /performing the right rituals/, or /participating in the right ceremonies/

#. salvation is a supernatural event\

#. it is wrought in your life by the power of God's Holy Spirit

#. salvation takes place when—irresistibly called by God's Spirit—you purposely and deliberately repent of sin and commit your life to Jesus Christ to follow Him as Lord

#.

Baptists have been persistent through the centuries in that we will only baptize those who have had this kind of experience with God

#. this means . . .

#. no babies are to be baptized

#. no one is to be baptized for someone else

#.

no one is to be baptized in some empty ceremonial rite that supposedly washes away sin

* ILLUS.

Ya get saved, ya get baptized.

Ya don't get saved, ya don't get baptized.

It's as simple as that

#.

Who’s the proper candidate for believer’s baptism?

– Believers!

!

II.

THE PROPER REASON FOR BAPTISM

#. the second question we need to ask is /“Why do we baptize converts to Christ?”/

#. what does the Bible say?

#. well, the simple answer is /“Jesus said so!”/

* /“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,”/ (Matthew 28:19, NIV)

#. the only reason to ever baptize someone is because they have experienced the regenerating work of God in their lives

#. we believe baptism symbolizes the believer's new identity in Christ

* /“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.”/

(Colossians 2:12, NIV)

* /“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”/ (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

#. when you're born again by the Holy Spirit you receive a new identification in Christ

#. you're not the person you were before you were saved

#.

Webster's dictionary defines /identification/ as /to have a sameness of essential character/

#.

I like that!

#. before you were saved, you had the essential character of the world, the flesh, and the devil

#. but after you were saved, you get the essential character of Jesus Christ

!! A. WHEN YOU'RE BORN AGAIN, YOUR ESSENTIAL CHARACTER CHANGES

#. when Jesus comes into your life, God sees you in a whole new light

#.

before you were a believer, God saw you as /spiritually lost, sinful/, and /unrighteous/ and /condemned/

#. now, He sees you as /spiritually found/, /forgiven/, and /righteous/, and /redeemed/

#.

God sees you this way because you have a new identification in Christ

* /“If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

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— ”/ (Romans 6:5–6, NIV)

* ILLUS.

The U.S. Government has a procedure it uses to give government informants and witnesses protection from retaliation for helping to put criminals behind bars through their testimonies.

It's called the Witness Protection Program.

The person is given a whole new identity.