March 17, 2022

174: Bible Questions: What is Baptism?

174: Bible Questions: What is Baptism?

What is baptism?

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174: Bible Questions: What is Baptism?

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Show Notes
Transcript

What does baptism mean, how should it be done, and when should I do it?

Transcript

What is baptism?

Our church often does it Lakeside next to a very busy beach men, does it turn heads virtually all Christian churches do it? What is it? It's baptism the new Testament reports as Jesus' final instructions. This work order for his disciples, as you go into the world, make apprentices of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Baptism, what is it? How is it to be done and who should do it? God is a big fan of pictures for us. His kids scripture is largely a picture book. God knows a picture is worth a thousand words.

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So he addressed many of his timeless truths in the vivid robes of symbols or pictures in scripture to picture the person of the holy spirit. He used the imagery of wind or breath early on in scripture to picture his grace, that he is a God of new beginnings of second chances and a faithfulness. He used the symbol of a bow in the sky, a rainbow to picture the intimacy of a covenant between God and his people. He used the symbol or picture of circumcision to picture his holy judgment on sin. He is the symbol of a purifying fire to picture the intersection of his infinite justice and infinite mercy.

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He used the symbol of the cross to picture the relationship of Jesus and the church. He used a spirit filled couple in a Christian marriage and a picture of the impact believers should have in our world. He used the symbol of salt. So when God chose to reveal the change that could come to a life when sins were forgiven by the blood of Jesus, and he was invited in to take charge of our lives as Lord, he knew it would take a powerful, memorable multi-sensory symbol. God had many to choose from to picture the change that comes to a believer in identity with Christ, God chose the picture or symbol of the baptism of believers by immersion in water.

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Why, what does baptism mean? The word used in the new Testament text and elsewhere translated baptize means to dip. The word is used in Luke 16, where a finger is dipped into water and placed on a parch tongue in John 13. When Jesus dips the bread during the first communion into the why, and then gives it to a disciple. And in revelation 19, when a piece of cloth is dipped into liquid to be dyed, to be baptized carries with it, the meaning of being immersed into something. When you run across the word baptism or baptize in the new Testament, it can refer to three different types of meanings.

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It can be a spiritual meaning in some passages, baptism refers primarily to something God does to us instantly and invisibly. When we trust in the shed blood of Jesus, when we go all in and believe in this symbolic, meaning God immerses us into Christ. It is referred to as baptism with, or by the holy spirit. John said, when Jesus came, he would baptize us with fire and with the holy spirit, a second meaning of baptism can be a figure of speech baptism. In this case is used of a person being immersed into something such as suffering, being baptized into something figuratively, completely immersed.

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And third there's the physical meaning. Baptism can refer to something. We do obediently and visibly that is get dipped into water. Anywhere in scripture, you see a person being baptized in a body of water. It's likely this meaning. So what does this physical baptism mean? To be fair? Baptism is viewed differently by different Christian groups. Some churches believe that it is a sacrament. It actually affects a change in a person that gives spiritual life. This is traditional Catholicism. These sincere people believe that it imparts saving grace that results in the remission or forgiveness of sins.

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Other groups believe that baptism only awakens a faith that is already there. This would be the traditional view of many Lutherans. Both these groups believe that the sacrament of baptism is still God's doing not a work offered by the one being baptized, which makes him or her worthy. It's a way the holy spirit initiates people into the church. Another set of churches, reformed or Presbyterian tie baptism to the concept of a covenant with God. According to their view, baptism is a means of initiation into a covenant, through baptism God grants, all the benefits of the covenant to the adults baptized and the infants baptized who remained faithful to the vows made in their name by their parents.

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When they were baptized, they view baptism as a sign and seal of God's inward transformation. In some ways you could say it's like a whole family agreeing to go under God's tent to be his household or people. You got all that. If you're scratching your head, I don't blame you. It's deep stuff. Trust me. Each of these groups have Bible passages, which suggests the things that they embrace or believe about baptism. I fall under a bit of a different camp. Many churches believe baptism is an outward symbol of an inward change, which has already happened to a believer. It is a form of proclamation to the world that we belong to Jesus, that it conveys no direct spiritual benefit or blessing to the one being baptized.

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Instead, it's a testimony to what has already happened in our lives. This group would say that while faith in Jesus Christ is possible without being baptized, baptism should be the natural accompaniment of that. Faith. Baptism is a powerful symbol that the person has died with Christ being identified with Christ in his death and in his resurrection in the new Testament, baptism looked either backwards or forwards in baptisms performed before Jesus died on the cross. People were repenting of their sins looking forward and saying, I'm ready for the Messiah to come in.

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Baptism after Jesus died. And rose people looked back when they were baptized and said, I'm all in the Messiah has come. And I believe in him as to actual water baptisms and scripture, here's the sampling Jesus was baptized. We find that in Matthew three and other gospels, he was looking forward. He was saying, I too want to be ready for the Messiah to come. I imagine a little smile at the corner of his mouth in a link, perhaps he knew he was that Messiah in John chapter four. We see Jesus has his own disciples, baptizing others asking them to repent of their sins and look forward to the Messiah who was coming to die for them.

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As I've already mentioned, Jesus commanded his followers that as they led people to trust in him, they were to publicly identify those people as his through baptism and then to train them or disciple them with teaching so that they would live godly lives and then pass that on to others. Additionally, in the new Testament, we see the normal timing of baptism to be very soon after coming to faith. For example, the Ethiopian eunuch in acts chapter eight, that sounds like within minutes of trusting Christ, several times in the book of acts, we see whole families being baptized at the same time on the second missionary journey, Lydia and the Philippian jailer are examples.

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There's at least one place acts 19 that some who had been baptized before looking forward to the coming of the Messiah and therefore having not yet believed in him were rebaptized after hearing about Jesus and going all in on him as for how it should be done. The most symbolic way to baptize is by immersion. Immersion is the picture of dying to our old nature and self that is being buried with Christ in his death and being raised with Christ in his resurrection to a new nature and a new life read Romans six, one through 11. This passage is symbolically stunning very early in church history.

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The mode of sprinkling was introduced partly because some areas did not provide pools of standing water sufficient for immersion. I, as a pastor have had people who were not physically able to be immersed for health reasons. There's one troubling passage that we should unpack. It's first Peter 3 21. This passage is often cited that water baptism is more than a mere external, visible testimony of an existing internal relationship. It says this and corresponding to that. We'll get to that. Baptism now saves you not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Does this teach that being dipped in water saves us? And if so, what about people who follow Jesus who were never baptized? The context of this passage is Peter is writing to people who are suffering for their faith in Jesus. Using an analogy of Noah who also suffered ridicule as he built the art. Peter suggests that just as Noah was carried through the water safely, so are believers, a boat carried Noah? So what carries the believers to whom Peter writes, Peter states it in the verse quote and appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is our being United with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection that saves us.

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In other words, the commitment to God and the identification with Christ from a good conscience, not just lip service, but heartfelt commitment is what saves us many Bible scholars suggest that Peter would have found the idea that you could trust Christ and yet refuse to be water baptized as absurd one would have to ignore teachings from Genesis to revelation that our salvation is all God's doing to conclude from this verse that our act of obedience in submitting to water baptism would save us many would point to the thief on the cross. The day Christ died. When he looked at Jesus and said, remember me, when you come into your kingdom, Jesus said to him today you will be with me in paradise.

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He was never water baptized. And, but you'd be hard pressed to suggest he isn't with Christ. Of course you could argue because he couldn't be baptized. God cut him some slack. And that's how I'll end. If you've gone all in on Jesus, have you given visible external testimony to that invisible change God has made in your life? When you put your faith in Christ, if not, can I challenge you go public, be baptized. And if you have baptized as an all-in follower of Jesus in his death and resurrection, when you think of baptism or see others being baptized, this symbol is a vivid reminder, a gentle prod of God.

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Am I living that new resurrected life through the power of his indwelling spirit? If you ask me that symbol of baptism was one of God's better ideas.

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