A. THE BIBLE TEACHES THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM.
B. MANY OFTEN FEEL SATISFIED WITH AN UNSCRIPTURAL BAPTISM.
1. Must compare their baptism with Bible baptism.
2. Some have seen the need to be baptized again (Acts 19:1-7).
C. BAPTISM, WHICH IS COMMANDED, CAN SOMETIMES BE WRONG.
A. FIRST ONE MUST HEAR THE GOSPEL (John 6:44-45).
1. An act of submission (I Pet. 1: 22; Rom. 6:17-18) ",.. from the heart
2. Do we know what we are doing? (John 8:31-32).
B. ONE MUST ALSO HAVE FAITH (Mark 16:16; Heb. 11:6).
1. Philip made sure that eunuch believed (Acts 8:36-38).
2. Some baptize subjects that are incapable of belief
a. Infants - Cannot believe so are improper candidates for baptism.
b. Infants have no need to have sins washed away (Matt.18:3).
c. Originated from false doctrine of original sin (Ezek. 18:20).
C. BAPTISM WITHOUT REPENTANCE WILL NOT SAVE (Acts 2:38).
1. Repentance is the change of life God demands of us (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3).
2. Repentance and baptism intertwined.
a. Rom. 6, a chapter on repentance (vs. 1-8; 17-18).
b. The New Birth (John 3:3-6; Rom. 6:4).
D. MUST BE WIELLING TO CONFESS JESUS'NAME (Matt. 10:32-33; 1 Tim. 6:12).
A. BAPTIZE, baptizoo, "1. properly, to dip repeatedly, to immerge, submerge,
2. to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash,
to make clean with water Luke 11:38,
3. metaphorically, to overwhelm” (Thayer's)
The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the
Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200
B. C. It is a recipe for making pickles .... Nicander says ... the vegetable should
first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then
'baptized' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern
the immersing of vegetables in a solution. ... the act of baptizing
the vegetable, produces a permanent change.
B. SOME USE OTHER METHODS – SPRINKLING OR POURING..
C. BIBLE BAPTISM IS IMMERSION, OR A BURIAL (Col 2:12; Rom. 6:3-5),
Jesus wasn’t buried with his head only in the tomb!
A. IT IS FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS (Acts 2:38).
1. They knew what they had done and asked what they must do (vs. 37).
2. Look at Paul’s account of his own conversion (Acts 22:3-16).
a. When was Paul saved?
b. If he was saved on the road, why did he still need to have sins washed away?
B. IT PUTS ONE INTO CHRIST.
1. What do we have in Christ (Eph. 1:3, 7).
2. 2 Tim. 2:10 – “Salvation which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
3. How do we get into Christ? (Gal. 3:26-27).
C. IT PUTS ONE INTO HIS BODY.
1. Christ’ s body is the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18).
2. The church is a distinct fellowship of people who
a. work together as a body (Rom. 12:4-5).
b. and believe the same things (Eph. 4:5).
3. The Lord has only one (Eph. 4:4; 2:16; 1 Cor. 1:10).
4. We are baptized into that body (1 Cor. 12:13).
D. SOME TEACH THAT IT IS NONE OF THESE THINGS.
1. Some say it is “the outward sign of and inward grace.”
2. Some do it to make those already “saved” a member of that religious group.
3. Some say it is merely an act of obedience and has nothing to do with salvation.
E. IF YOU WERE BAPTIZED FOR THE WRONG REASON …
A. THOSE BAPTIZED IN ACTS 19 WERE NOT BAPTIZED IN HARMONY WITH THE
GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.
B. THEY GLADLY TO THE APPROPRIATE ACTION.
C. WAS MY BAPTISM SCRIPTURAL?