ALL ABOUT WATER BAPTISM2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: All About Water Baptism

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014.

We're going to be in Mark chapter 1. We're deviating from our study in the Gospel of Luke because, well, because today is our baptisms, we want to spend some time talking about baptism. And so it'll be all about water baptism, what it is and why we do it and all of that. And so we're going to dive into the subject of baptism. And I just want to share a couple things right off the bat. Number one,

There are some of you who have never been baptized. And I want to encourage you throughout our time together this morning, you need to be baptized. It's something that the Bible clearly declares, and you'll see that as we go through our study.

Some of you have been baptized, and I want to encourage you, don't tune me out just because you've been baptized, but come be a part. Remind, and I was encouraged and refreshed as I was preparing for this morning, because the elements of baptism are essential truths for us as believers.

And so allow these things to refresh you and renew you and revive you in your understanding of baptism. And then I want to encourage you to come on out today and participate in the work that God is doing in the lives of those who are there saying, yes, I want to be baptized. And you get to participate by celebrating with them, by being a witness, but then also by having the opportunity to pray with them and encourage them after they've been baptized. And so I really want to encourage you

you know, you have been around, don't just ditch it because you don't need to be baptized, but be a part because this is a big deal. You know, this is people declaring openly that they are responding to the work that God is doing in their lives and we want to be a part of that.

And then finally, I would say, and I'll kind of hit this at the end as well, but also I would encourage you, if you're a believer, you've been baptized, but God's doing a new work in your life that you need to be open as well to see if God would maybe prompt your heart today to be baptized again. And I'll come back and conclude with that in our time together.

And so as we start talking, though, about baptism, of course, first we need to just think about the word. What does it mean to baptize? The word baptize, it comes from a Greek word. You can see it up there. I won't try to pronounce it or Jake will, you know, hit me over the head for pronouncing Greek wrong. But here's what it means. It means to immerse, to cleanse by submerging, or to overwhelm.

These were the ideas that could be in play whenever they, in the Greek, would use this word which we have now baptized. To immerse, to cleanse by submerging, or to overwhelm. And so the way that they would use that in the culture of the day when, you know, this was happening, when Jesus was walking...

when John the Baptist was baptizing, when the disciples were proclaiming, the way that they would use this word just generally was, number one, they would use it just to describe the idea of washing something. Like if you're washing the dishes, you know, you're submerging them, you're immersing them, you're cleansing them. There was that aspect to it. They also would use this word to describe a ship that had sunk.

And I like that picture. You know, the ship is immersed. It's submerged. It's completely surrounded, completely filled. I mean, it's just consumed with the water as it has sunk. But then another way that they would use it, which I think is the coolest way, is they would use it when they would describe the process of dyeing fabric. So if you have fabric, let's say it's white, and you want to dye it, you know, to be a different color, what do you do?

Well, you baptize it. That is, you submerge it. You immerse it in the dye. And then the coolest thing about that, I think it's a great picture for baptism, is then when you pull it out...

It is forever transformed. Now, maybe you don't have much experience dyeing fabric, but maybe you can think about, you know, dyeing eggs for Easter, right? Like, same concept. You submerge it, you immerse it, and then you bring it out, and it's forever changed. It's forever transformed according to the color, according to the dye in which you immersed it. And so, these are the kinds of things that they would use this word baptize for.

Well, then as God is doing a new work in the New Testament, He takes this word and He gives it specific and special meaning for us as believers. In the New Testament, we see this word used to describe conversion. In Romans chapter 6 and 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the idea is that the person is baptized and

into Jesus Christ or baptized into the body of Christ. And so there's this immersion, there's this completely filled, completely surrounded by, completely consumed with Jesus when you are born again. And that's a spiritual reality that takes place.

It's not visible. It's not something that can be seen on the outside. And so then, the Bible also talks about baptism as water baptism. And we'll be looking at that throughout the message today. Now, water baptism, overall, just kind of to summarize, is a representation of

of conversion and the spiritual work that takes place when someone is born again. And so the water baptism just demonstrates that outwardly because it can't be seen. But the water baptism can be seen. It's that reflection, that public demonstration of the work that has taken place spiritually.

Well, then in the Bible, we also have the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And this is a completely unique and different experience where the Holy Spirit comes upon a person for empowering to be a witness to Jesus. And we've talked a lot about that throughout the years. We're not going to get into that one today.

We also see a couple other uses. Jesus used the word baptism to talk about the suffering that he was about to go through. He was going to be completely immersed with suffering as he went to the cross. We also see baptism used in regards to Moses and how the people were baptized into Moses as they went through the Red Sea. And so it used as a visual for people being identified with and alongside of Moses.

And so that's the way that the word baptized is used throughout the New Testament. Again, we're going to zero in on water baptism and focus on that today to get a better understanding of what that is. And the way that we're going to do that is we're going to follow the timeline where water baptism is introduced and then follow that through the New Testament. And

And so we'll start in Mark chapter 1. Hopefully you've turned there. And here we're going to see John the Baptist. He's the first point on the timeline where he introduces this idea of baptism to us. And then Jesus comes on the scene and is baptized by John the Baptist.

Now as we get started in this, you need to understand that baptism existed before John the Baptist. It's not something he invented. It's not something that the Jews were unfamiliar with. They knew what baptism was.

They knew what baptism was because it was, for them, the last step in the process for converting someone to Judaism. So, you know, their Gentile neighbor wanted to become a Jew. They would start the process. And the process would involve things like circumcision. There was some education, things to learn, things to memorize. And the final step was then to be baptized. And then as they came out of the water...

then they would be Jewish. That was their way to convert to Judaism, the final step. It was based upon the ceremonial laws of Leviticus and they developed it into this tradition so that it was the final part of converting to Judaism.

So they knew about baptism. But John the Baptist, when he comes on the scene, he gives baptism new meaning. And we can see that as we read through Mark chapter 1. I'm going to read verses 4 through 11. Here's what it says. 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 all were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, There comes one after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.

I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. 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.

Here in Mark chapter 1, we get to see the ministry of this guy called John the Baptist or John the Baptizer. And John is out there in the wilderness and he is preaching. He's proclaiming. Now, the wilderness is not where people were hanging out, but people were going by and they would hear him. He would be preaching and proclaiming and they would go and listen. They'd bring their friends and they'd listen and they would hear this message and

And as they responded to the message of John the Baptist, they would show that they'd responded to John the Baptist by being baptized by John. Later on, Jesus goes out to John the Baptist as well to be baptized by him. And John objects. But then Jesus reassures him, no, this is right. We need to fulfill the righteousness of God. And so John baptizes Jesus.

But we learn something significant about baptism back in verse 4. And so I want to call your attention to that and go back. And it says, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Something really unique about John's ministry for the Jewish people was that he was baptizing Jews.

They were familiar with baptism in the context of, you're a Gentile, you want to become a Jew, here's the final step. But John was not baptizing Gentiles. He was baptizing the Jewish people. Now typically, in those days, the Jewish person would say, hey, I don't need to be baptized, I'm already a Jew. And they were convinced that being Jewish was all that they needed for salvation. Because they belonged to God.

Well, they were one of God's people. They were the Jews. And that's what we need. We're descendants of Abraham. So, we're saved. We don't need to be baptized. But John, as he was baptizing people, describes it here in verse 4 as a baptism of repentance. This is what he preached. It wasn't about conversion to Judaism. He would be saying to them, yes, you are Jews, but

But you're living in sin. You're practicing sin. You're living like the Gentiles. And so you need to be baptized, not to become Jews, but as a declaration of your repentance from your sinful life. And notice what it says at the end of verse 4. It's the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Now, don't get confused here.

Remission of sins, it means forgiveness of sins. But it's not the baptism that brings the forgiveness. It's the repentance that brings forgiveness of sins. And so this repentance, this turning from sin, is what John is preaching. And that gives us our first point for this morning. Baptism represents turning from sin. It's a baptism of repentance. Now, when someone says, I repent, you and I, we look on and

We can't see anything right away. We can't tell if their heart is really repentant. Baptism is the outward expression of that changed heart. The heart that says, I'm stopping this life of sin. I'm turning away from it. I'm not going to live that way any longer. And we can't see that. Of course, we can see the effects of it down the line, but there's no visible effect. You can't see that change of heart. And so baptism is that reflection of the heart.

The open declaration, it's symbolic for someone who says, I repent from my sin. I'm going to stop practicing it. Now, if a person is baptized, but they don't stop their sinful lifestyle, then that baptism means nothing. And we got to be very careful here to not be religious or superstitious in our understanding of baptism.

It's not that, well, I've been baptized, so now God lets me just do whatever I want and live however I want because I was baptized. God doesn't look at you and say, yeah, you know, I'd rather you not live that way, but you've been baptized, so go ahead, do what you want. No, no, no, no, no. Baptism only has meaning if it's accurate reflection of your heart. It reflects the repentance, but if your heart isn't repentant, then it does nothing for you.

But if you're repentant, then baptism is a powerful picture. It's a powerful reflection of your heart that has changed. Don't misunderstand and think that God overlooks deliberate lifestyles of sin just because you got in the water. That's not what baptism is about. Those who were baptized by John the Baptist were openly declaring, I'm turning away from my old life.

We can see from other gospel accounts as they record the ministry of John the Baptist, the people were asking him, what should we do? And he would say, stop stealing, stop lying, stop cheating. He was calling them to turn from their sin. And as they responded to that, as they turned from their sin, they would go to be baptized by John. And so as we think about baptism today,

we need to first understand that it represents a turning from sin. And as you consider or evaluate, should I be baptized today? I would first ask you the question, have you repented? Have you turned from your sin? Of course, that doesn't mean that now you're going to live a perfect life, but that you've decided to obey God and to stop living, stop practicing those things that you know He's called you out of. I would encourage you.

to repent. It's necessary for salvation, for forgiveness of sins. And then demonstrate that repentance by being baptized. One of the questions that is often asked about baptism is answered for us also here in Mark chapter 1. And the question often asked is, does baptism have to be by immersion? Does it have to be the complete dunking under?

Because different churches have different practices and so there are some who hit you with a squirt gun, sprinkle a little bit, maybe pour a pitcher of water over you. And so there's these different methods that are practiced regarding baptism. Does it have to be immersion?

And so, to answer that, I would say, first of all, all the biblical examples that we have of baptism are immersion. And you can see that in verse 10, because it says that Jesus came out from the water. So, he was under the water, as he came up out of the water, that's when the Holy Spirit came upon him. However, that being said, any method is fine.

Because baptism is a representation. And again, we need to fight this tendency for us to put these together as like superstitious formulas. It has to be this way, you know, done by this person, said with these words, and only then is it valid. Baptism is just the reflection of the heart.

And so really any method is fine. We typically practice the immersion because that's what we see as a biblical example. But that's just what we practice because that's what we see as a biblical example, not because that's the law and you have to do it that way or it didn't work. No. I was listening to a pastor who was sharing about baptism recently. And he was sharing about when he was ministering in China.

And of course, in China with the persecution there, they had a challenge with baptism because, well, there was a couple of things. First of all, it was illegal, you know, and so if they went to a public place and baptized people, you know, they could be getting those people in trouble and it could cost them their lives. And so there's that consideration. Then the next thing he said was, and then the river that was right there was heavily polluted. And so you might lose a couple limbs if you go in there to baptize because, you know, the water's not clean.

And so he said that they resolved this by baptizing people in the shower. And I kind of like that picture. Like, okay, stand in the shower. I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Turn on the faucet. Okay, turn it off. All right, God bless you. Felicidades, you know. Congratulations, you've been baptized. It doesn't matter. The method is not that important. The most important thing is, does it reflect your heart? Is your heart repentant? Have you decided really to turn from sin, to be obedient to the Lord?

then baptism reflects that accurately. And so that's the example that we have from John the Baptist. Now we're going to move down our timeline just a bit to when Jesus begins to baptize. First, John baptizes and Jesus is baptized by John.

But Jesus also sees value in this practice. And so he begins to baptize people in John chapter 3. And you can turn over there. We'll check out a couple verses there. But we see, so baptism introduced by John...

But Jesus says, yes, this is an important practice. And so as he begins his public ministry, he also baptizes people. Here in John chapter 3, I'm just going to read a couple verses. Verse 22, first off, says, After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea,

And there he remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Anon near Salim because there was much water there and they came and were baptized.

So now we have two baptisms happening here on the Jordan River. Here's Jesus with his guys and they're baptizing. And then here's John with his guys and they're baptizing. The passage will go on to describe this worry from John's followers. They come up to John the Baptist and they say, hey, Jesus is over there baptizing and everybody's going to him.

His church is getting bigger. Your church is getting smaller, John the Baptist. You need to do something about this. And John goes on to correct them and say...

This is appropriate. This was my ministry. It was to promote Jesus. That's what must happen. And so he says, he must increase and I must decrease. And so John is pointing the people to Jesus and saying, yes, go to Jesus, be baptized by Jesus. He is the one I've been proclaiming. Well, then going on now into chapter four of John, verse one says,

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, then verse 2 is a parenthetical thought. He says, though Jesus himself did not baptize but his disciples, then he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. So as Jesus now is baptizing people, his ministry grows.

And although there were many people who heard and were baptized by John, now more people have come to Jesus and been baptized by Jesus. Now this gives us our second point for this morning. And that is that baptism can be done by any believer. Baptism does not have to be done by some certain special spiritual holy person.

But baptism can be performed by any believer. Again, this is something that, again, I want to encourage you. Let's fight against superstition and religion in our understanding of baptism. Because what we see as example or modeled here by Jesus is completely different than many times we think of as believers. Jesus is at the beginning of his ministry here in John chapter 3. It's early on.

He called his disciples, Peter, James, and John, you know, he called them to follow him. And then he puts them in the water. He says, you start baptizing people. These are new believers. They hadn't walked with Jesus for three years yet. They hadn't been filled with the Holy Spirit yet. They didn't really know anything yet. They were just doing what Jesus told them to do and baptizing those who were coming. You got to understand that Jesus, when he came on the scene, did a whole new work.

And because of what he accomplished for us upon the cross, not only do we get our sins forgiven, not only do we have access to God, but that also means that, well, things have changed quite a bit as far as ministry is concerned.

But there are not real limitations on ministry like there was in the Old Testament where it was like had to be the priest. Only the priest could go inside the Holy of Holies only one time a year. Other priests could go in the other room of the temple and that was it. And nobody else, you know, all of those limitations are gone. All believers are referred to in the scripture as saints now.

We're all referred to as priests now because we have a right relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. And so baptism is not a thing like, hey, it didn't work. It wasn't right unless the leader had to be the pastor, had to be the priest, had to be the highest authority. Unless they baptize you, it wasn't good. No, no, no. Any believer can do the baptizing. Any believer can.

Because again, baptism is about the person's heart more than the form, more than the ceremony.

Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, as he talks about baptism, he says, hey, I only baptized a couple of you. God really didn't send me to baptize people, but to preach the gospel, that wasn't my focus. And he was pointing this out because he was saying, I'm thankful that I didn't baptize many of you because then you would say, well, I was baptized by Paul. And it would be like this point of pride that, you know, like Paul baptized me. You know, my baptism was way better than yours. And Paul is saying, look, that's not what baptism is about.

It's not about that. And we get these things built up. We get religious and superstitious in our minds. No, any believer can baptize people. Pastor Gill shares in his testimony, when they, him and his wife, got saved, they had known the Lord, but had walked away for many years. And in 1991, they repented. They got right with God. And so as part of that,

Gil and his wife, Olivia, they baptized each other in their tub at home, you know, as part of this new life and this turnaround that they were making. And so he dunked her, she dunked him. And then they said, we're going forward with God. And that's perfectly fine. That's appropriate. Any believer can do the baptizing because it's about the condition of the heart of the person being baptized.

Well, as we continue down our timeline now, we saw John baptizing, Jesus got baptized, then Jesus starts to baptize, and then we're going to jump now to Matthew chapter 28. And here, at the end of Jesus's ministry, it's three years later, he's been crucified, he's resurrected, he's about to be ascended into heaven, and here he gives his followers what we refer to as the Great Commission.

And here he tells his disciples to baptize those who believe. Check out Matthew 28, starting in verse 18. It says, And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Verse 19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Here at the end of Jesus' ministry, as he's about to depart to be with the Father, he's passing the torch of ministry onto his disciples, onto his followers.

By the way, it was not just the 11 disciples that were there. There was a larger group of his followers there. And as we often point out, this great commission is not just limited to those who were there present with him. But notice at the end of verse 20, he says, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Jesus here is indicating this command, this great commission is for all of his followers till the end of the age, which means it's for us. And so here's the commission that he gives to us. Going back to verse 19, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Here Jesus gives us our main mission.

Our primary purpose. Why does he keep us here instead of just rapturing us as soon as we believe? Here's why. He says, I want you to go make disciples, evangelize the world, teach them my commands, and when people believe, baptize them. Jesus says, make disciples,

And then baptize them. Teach them how to live for me. Teach them how to follow me. And baptize them. And here we get our third point for the morning. And that is that baptism is commanded for believers. Jesus presents this here not as an optional thing. Not as, you know, hey, you know, if they feel like it. If they really want to get serious about me. No, this is a command for anybody who believes.

It's a command for us to baptize them. This is our main objective, Jesus says. Make disciples and baptize them. That his followers are commanded to be baptized. Think about this cycle that Jesus is presenting here. First, you follow Jesus. You believe in him. You are born again. And so you're baptized.

And now as a follower of Jesus, you are to make disciples and help other people to start following Jesus. And when other people get saved as you're ministering to them, then baptize them. And then they start ministering to other people and they get saved and then baptize them. And it's this cycle of you invest in others, bring them to Jesus, then you baptize them,

And on and on and on it goes. This is the command. This is the commission that Jesus has given to us. And so it's a command. It's something we are to do. It's something that you are to do. And I know like a lot of times our tradition, you know, well, Pastor Jerry has to baptize people. No. Throw that out the window. You have to baptize people. The people that you are ministering to. The disciples that you are making.

And so make disciples and baptize them. And if you haven't been baptized, understand this is Jesus' desire for you, his followers. He says, you must be baptized. Now, this brings up another question that is often asked. Is baptism necessary for salvation? Baptism is commanded by Jesus. It's for believers. Does that mean it's a requirement for salvation? And the simple answer to that is no.

Peter illustrates this in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 21 and 22. As he talks about baptism that saves us, he points out, I'm not talking about the removal of the filth of the flesh. So I'm not talking about getting in the water and getting the dirt off of you. He says, I'm talking about the answer of a good conscience toward God. It's the inner man that is concerned with regarding baptism.

That's what saves you. It's the repentance, the forgiveness of sins, the being born again by faith in Jesus Christ. That brings salvation. There's a new work there. You have a good conscience towards God as a result of your faith in Jesus Christ. That's the baptism that saves you, not the water washing dirt off your body. That's not what saves you. But that causes a dilemma for some people. And they wrestle with this. And listen, I understand if you're wrestling with this.

You're thinking, "Well, why should I be baptized if it's not really necessary for salvation?" If it's not a requirement to be saved, then why should I be baptized? Well, don't misunderstand. It's not necessary for salvation, but number one, it is commanded. And secondly, listen, just because it's not necessary does not mean that it's not meaningful or that it's not important or significant.

baptism has great significance for you. People think of it as like, you know, it has great significance to God. You're like, hey, I was baptized. You can thank me later, God. You know, like, no, no, no, no. Baptism is important for you because, well, there's many times you could think about perhaps where you've experienced where God has been speaking something to your heart. He's been saying something to you and you know it

But it's really hard for you to say it out loud. Because then, you know, if you say it out loud, then it's like, well, then it's for real. Like, I'm really saying that God is saying this to me. I'm really saying that God is speaking to me. I'm really saying that. And then I'm going to be held accountable to it. And so, it's really hard sometimes. It's like, I think God's saying this, but I'm not ready quite yet to say it out loud. Baptism is the saying out loud of salvation. Right?

It's real. It's meaningful. And you need it. You need that demonstration for yourself to say, yes, I do believe in Jesus. Yes, I do follow Jesus. Yes, I am washed in his blood. I am forgiven. And I am going to live a new life in him. It's for your sake. It's significant to you. You need it. But also Jesus commanded it.

And so the real question is, will you follow him or not? Are you going to obey Jesus or not? Because, well, he commanded for you to be baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ.

Well, continuing to work our way through the timeline, we see Jesus here give the command to his disciples to make disciples and baptize them. And now as we go on, we see in Acts chapter 2, you can turn there to Acts 2. Here we see that new believers are baptized. So some people try to wrestle, well, did Jesus really mean baptize them with water? Well, the people that Jesus was talking directly to, we see them live it out in the book of Acts. And we see that they're baptized.

And what do they do? Well, they baptize people in water when they believe. Here in Acts chapter 2, we're jumping into this time. It's called the day of Pentecost. It's 10 days after Jesus has ascended into heaven.

This is their first opportunity to preach the gospel. This is their first time that new believers are added to the church. Peter stands up, he delivers this message, and we're jumping into the conclusion of it in verse 36. He says, "...therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

As Peter preaches this message, first time preaching the gospel, now that Jesus has been crucified and resurrected. The complete message is now there. He presents the gospel. And it says that the people are cut to the heart and they say, what should we do? And there in verse 38 we see Peter says, repent and let every one of you be baptized. This gives us point number four.

And that is that baptism is a first step for believers. Not only is it commanded for us to be baptized, but the scripture presents it as one of the first things that we should do as believers is be baptized. Here, as they respond to the gospel message, they said, what shall we do? And Peter says, repent. Remember, that's the important part of baptism. It's the internal thing. So repent, get right with God by faith in Jesus Christ.

And then be baptized. Put it into action. Reflect that. Demonstrate that. Say it out loud. Yes, I believe in Jesus. And so I will be baptized. But notice also what he says there. He says, repent and let every one of you be baptized. Every individual is to be baptized. Not one person baptized for the family. You know, there's not this group...

It's not a group on, right? You don't get in on a group. It's like, I got in on the deal because someone else is... No, no, no. You be baptized. You make that decision. You repent. You decide to follow Jesus and then express it and be baptized. Verse 41 goes on to say that those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. So how many baptisms were there that day?

3,000. Each one believed. They received the word. They believed in Jesus.

And so they were baptized. Now this was just the beginning. This was just the first opportunity to preach the gospel. The rest of Acts is full of examples of people hearing the gospel, believing, and then being baptized. Let me give you a couple examples. In Acts chapter 8, Philip, the evangelist, he's in Samaria. He's preaching the gospel about Jesus. It says in verse 12, when they believed Philip...

As he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. So Philip is there preaching. The Samaritans believe. And then what happens? What's the first step? They're baptized. And he points out men and women are baptized. And so again, this is not like, you know, someone does it for somebody else. This is every individual. If you believe in Jesus, you need to be baptized.

It's one of the first things that you should do. In Acts chapter 10, we have the example of Cornelius and his household. And Peter is there sharing with them about Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes upon them. They're born again. And then in verse 48, Peter commands them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. And then it says, then they asked him to stay a few days.

And so, you know, before they had, you know, sit down discussion, like, hey, hang out, why don't you stick around for a while. Before all that, like first things first, you need to be baptized. You got saved, you're born again by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit came upon you, you need to be baptized, Peter said. It's one of the first things that needs to be done.

Then, final example in Acts chapter 18 verse 8. Paul is in Corinth. He's preaching the gospel there. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with his whole household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed, and were baptized. And you see this succession over and over again. They heard, they believed, and they were baptized.

And so baptism is an essential part of our faith in Jesus Christ. Not because it's a requirement for salvation, but it's commanded by the Lord as one of the first things that we should do. Now again, I know there's some who wrestle with this. I've had many discussions with people over the years, wrestling with, ah, I kind of want to be baptized. I don't know if I should be baptized. Let me simplify it for you a little bit, okay? If you're a believer in Jesus Christ...

and you partake of communion, then you need to be baptized. Jesus gave us two things to do. He instituted two things for us to practice as a church. Communion and, guess what the second one is? Baptism. These two things. And they represent the same thing. He gave us communion to remind us of His death upon the cross, His body being broken, His blood being shed. He gave us baptism also.

pointing back to his work, what he accomplished for us. And we'll see that in just a moment. He only gave us two things to practice as a church. And so usually people don't wrestle with, I don't know, should I take communion? Should I don't take communion? Hey, if you believe in Jesus, you partake of communion. And if you believe in Jesus, you need to be baptized. No need to wrestle with it anymore. No need to like worry about, I don't know if I should. Is it really necessary yet? Stop it. Listen. Listen.

That fight, that struggle is not from the Lord. That fight, that struggle, that's you wanting to hold on to your own life. But Jesus calls you to surrender. Are you going to follow him or are you not going to follow him? If you believe in Jesus, you need to be baptized. It's one of the first things you need to do. And if you're a little bit delayed, well, get on the ball. Let's get going. Are you going to follow him or are you not going to follow him?

As we continue to consider this timeline of baptism, the thing I want to illustrate through this is that it began with John the Baptist, but then Jesus took it and he said, yes, this is what I want practiced. This wasn't just some crazy thing John thought up. Jesus said, you know what? John's so right on, I'm going to be baptized by John. Now look, if Jesus is going to be baptized, he's our example, right? We need to be baptized. Well, then Jesus carries it on though and he begins to baptize.

And he says, hey, you want to follow me? You want to come be with me? All right, be baptized. And then at the end of his ministry, he passes the torch on to his disciples and says, okay, now anybody who comes and believes in me, now baptize them. And then we see that practice throughout the book of Acts. And now Romans chapter 6, if you want to turn there, we have now Paul the Apostle explaining a little bit more about baptism, the imagery that's there and what it means.

We're not going to go through all the epistles. Of course, there's other references about baptism, but just to look at this one so that we can understand what baptism is all about. Romans chapter 6 verse 1 says, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Now think about it in the context of what we've been saying. Shall we who have repented from sin continue in sin?

Absolutely not. That's what he says in verse 2. Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? So here he begins to talk about baptism, but he's not talking about water baptism. He's talking about baptism into Jesus Christ. When you believed in Jesus Christ and were born again,

Or if you haven't yet, when you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be born again and you are immersed into Jesus Christ. You are identifying with Christ. You are included with Christ. He's talking about the spiritual reality that is accomplished when you are born again. He goes on in verse 4 to say, "...therefore we were buried with him through baptism unto death."

That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. And so Paul says, look, the spiritual reality that takes place when you believe in Jesus...

is this baptism into Jesus Christ. And that means that you are buried with Jesus. You died with him on the cross, you're buried with him, and then just as he resurrected, you are resurrected to walk in newness of life. Paul is saying God does this work when you believe in Jesus. Here we understand that God does not try to reform people. Let's try to take that sinful nature away

and just patch it up a little bit, clean it up a little bit. No. The only way to deal with the sinful nature is to put it to death. It's too corrupt to be reformed. Our only hope is death and then resurrection. And so that's what Jesus does. He says, look, I died and I resurrected. And when you believe in me, you're included with me. And that means that now as a believer, well, like Paul said in Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ.

My old nature is put to death. My sinful life is put to death. But it's not just the putting away of the old life and the sinful things, but it's also including the resurrection now. And so now it's a walk forward in this newness of life, this new life that God has established for you. Now instead of adding this as another point, I'm going to modify point number one because it's the completion of

Of what John the Baptist began. And so not only does baptism represent. The turning from sin. But it also represents. Beginning a new life. In Jesus. John the Baptist didn't have the full picture yet. Because Jesus came on the scene after him. And so his baptism was limited to repentance. Turn from sin. Stop living in sin. But now as Jesus commands us to be baptized. There's a completer picture.

That is, it is still the turning away from sin, stop living in sin, but also live this new life where you get to experience relationship with God, the benefits, the blessings of walking with God, and all the things that He has in store for you. Paul puts it another way in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. He says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

And so there's these two elements that are primary in baptism. The old things being passed away. When you believe in Jesus, you are a new creation. Brand new. The old is gone. Crucified with Christ. Dead, buried with Him because you were immersed in Jesus. You were included with Him in His death and burial. But then, also with His resurrection.

And that means, what the Bible talks about, the same power of God that worked in resurrecting Jesus from the dead is at work in you. God is at work in you. His power is at work in you. And so walk in the new life that He has afforded you. This is what baptism represents. This is what it's all about. When a person is baptized, they're saying, I was crucified with Christ. I'm turning away. I'm repenting.

Of that old sinful lifestyle. And I want to walk with God. In this new life that He has provided for me. Now. As we consider the concept of baptism. Again. I encouraged you at the beginning. If you've never been baptized. You need to be baptized. Now.

If you have not yet believed in Jesus Christ and made that decision to follow Him, if you've not been born again, that needs to come first. That repentance has to come first. And it doesn't require some huge ceremony. It doesn't require some, you know, great feat of strength or some running of laps. It requires you making that decision, you saying to the Lord, I believe in what You did for me upon the cross. It's a free gift. And when you receive it,

When you tell him, I receive your gift of salvation, your forgiveness of sins that you offer to me because of what Jesus did, when you receive it, you're born again. And so if you've not yet done that, I would encourage you right now, just in your heart, between you and the Lord, just do that right now. Get it done. Okay, good. We good? All right. So now, we're all believers, right? Now, if you've never been baptized, you need to be baptized. Seriously. Stop wrestling with it. Stop talking yourself out of it.

Men, women, young, old, you need to be baptized. It's one of the first things you need to do. And you have an opportunity today to be baptized. And so I want to ask you, I want to challenge you, come be baptized. You need to do it. It's important for you. It doesn't save you. It doesn't make God all of a sudden more happy with you. He's already pleased with you because you believed in Him. But it's important for you. You need it.

But then there's also some who have been baptized. And I think that God is speaking to you and he's working in you and he's saying, you need to be baptized as well. It's a question that sometimes people ask. Can I be baptized again? Is that appropriate? Is that wrong? I mean, is that right? How does that work? I would say, listen, if God's prompting your heart to be baptized, even though you've already been baptized, here's what you need to consider.

Consider the two basic elements. The death to sin and the new life in Christ. If God has been working in your life in those areas, one of those or both of those, and He's prompting your heart, then it is appropriate for you to be baptized again. Because sometimes there's a new season of turning from sin where you realize, I've been living in sin. I don't even know how I got here, but I've been in this backslidden state. I've walked away. I've been in this

and God's been showing me, and I want to turn from those things, and I want to follow Him, it's appropriate, and it's okay, because it's a representation of what's in your heart. And so if it reflects what's going on, what God's doing within, then I would encourage you. Don't be shy about it. Don't be embarrassed about it. But be baptized again if God is prompting your heart with that, because He's putting it on your heart because you need it. It's for your sake.

It doesn't make you more saved, but it helps you to go forward in that decision to turn from sin and to follow him. I liken it to what took place in Joshua chapter 4, where Joshua, as they're crossing the Jordan River, he takes stones out of that river and he piles them up. This is something God told him to do. And so he piles these 12 huge stones on the bank of the river.

And he tells the people, listen, whenever your kids ask, hey, why is there that big pile of rocks right there? He says, tell them, this is what God did. And so God established this as a memorial for them. And as I look back in my life, I've been baptized a few times. I was baptized as a young teen. It was an important part as I was, you know, kind of as a young man, really just beginning that decision to follow the Lord.

But then I had another time where I walked away from the Lord. And it was on a mission trip in Samoa where I was baptized again. And that is a memorial for me. I look back now and it was like, my life has been different ever since. Because God was doing that work in my heart and it was reflected in the baptism once again.

And then a few years later, as I began the relationship with Kim, and we were dating, and God was doing a work in us, and there was the time of the baptisms, and so we got baptized together. Just as, you know, God's doing a new work in us, and He's called us together, and we're going to go forward together, and so we were baptized together. And I look back on those, and those were significant points in my life. They were memorials that I can look back on and remember, this is what God did. And

And I think for some that God wants to do that in you. That He wants to help you establish that memorial so that you keep going forward in what He's called you to. You can think about the example of Jesus there in Mark chapter 1. He was baptized as He began His ministry. He didn't have any need to repent, right? He never sinned. He already had life. He didn't need, you know, that was already done. So,

His baptism, although it represented those things, it wasn't a need that he had. But he was baptized at the beginning of his public ministry. He was baptized and launched into his ministry going forward. In the same way, God might be doing that kind of work in you. Calling you out of sin or calling you forward into a new season. And if he pumps your heart, it's okay. Let it be a memorial. Be baptized again.

And let God establish that as a reminder going forward of what He's called you to. So this is what baptism is about. It's representing that turning from sin, that new life in Jesus Christ. It can be performed by any believer. It doesn't have to be a specific person. But it's commanded for you to be baptized. And it should be one of the first things that you do. The first step.

To go forward with Jesus. To follow him and obey him. And so to complete the timeline, we saw John the Baptist. We saw Jesus and then he passed it on to his disciples. We saw it throughout the book of Acts. Paul explained it in Romans. And now it's your turn.

It's time for you to be baptized. I like what Ananias said to the Apostle Paul before he was the Apostle Paul. In Acts chapter 22 verse 16 he says, And now, why are you waiting? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And I want to encourage you today. What are you waiting for? Arise and be baptized.

Heavenly Father, as we consider these things, I pray that you would help us to respond as you're speaking to our hearts. Lord, that those who have never been baptized, Lord, we pray that you would help them to obey you, to go forward, to follow you, and to be baptized today.

We pray that you would help them, God, to overcome the doubts, the fears, the pride, all the things that the enemy tries to throw. Lord, that they would be serious about their relationship with you and that they would obey you as you've called us to. And Lord, for those that you're prompting to be baptized again, I pray, Lord, that you would continue to confirm that and speak to their hearts and give them the boldness to respond to you as you're speaking to them.

And I pray that you would help them to arise, to be baptized, to go forward in all that you've called them to. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.