What we Believe
Foundations for Christian Life
No.5 - Water Baptism
Study verses: 1 Peter 3:20-21
"In the ark only a few people, eight in all, were
saved through water, and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also
- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience
toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ..."
Read the same verses again from the Amplified version
and compare:-
v20 (The souls of those) who long before in the
days of Noah had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the
building of the ark in which a few (people), actually eight in number, were
saved through water. (Genesis 6:8) v21 And baptism, which is a figure (of their
deliverance), does now also save you (from inward questionings and fears), not
by the removing of outward body filth (bathing), but by (providing you with)
the answer of a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before
God, (because you are demonstrating what you believe to be yours) through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The bible makes it very plain that every believer
needs to be baptised. It is such an integral part of Christian initiation that
the New Testament takes it for granted that a profession of faith in Christ
will be followed more or less immediately by water baptism. Consider the
following verses:
Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were
baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Acts 18:8 "... and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and
were baptised."
It is a condition of membership of this church that
you have been baptised by immersion as a believer, or that you are willing to
be baptised at the earliest opportunity.
Why be baptised?
Baptism is closely linked
with believing in Jesus Christ. Some scriptures place them side by side as part
of becoming a Christian:
Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptised
will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Acts
2:38 "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,
so that your sins may be forgiven."
Acts 22:16 "... and now what
are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away, calling on
his name."
Matt.28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit."
This explains why water baptism is regarded as being
of such importance that it is a requirement for membership. What pictures and
examples do we find in the bible?
1. Noah and the flood - see bible study verses.
2. Children of Israel at the Red Sea - 1 Cor.10:1-4,
Exodus 14. Answer the following questions:
a) What did they leave
behind?............................
b) Who were they now dependent
upon?......................
c) Where were they
going?.................................
3. Jesus at the Jordan - Matt.3:13-17, Mark 1:9-10 and
Luke 3:21-23. Can you find two reasons why Jesus was baptised? You may find the
key to one reason in Matthew 4:19.
a)
.......................................................
b)
.......................................................
4. Early Christians - in the first paragraph of this
study you have seen some verses in Acts which show this truth. Can you find any
more?
What does baptism do for the believer?
1.
It is an act of obedience to Christ - a clear-cut demonstration that we know
and acknowledge our new Lord who said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
Matt.28:19-20 There is great blessing and satisfaction in obeying the Lord. Our
baptism will set a pattern of obedience to his Lordship in our lives as a
whole.
2. There is a cutting away of the old nature as the
dominant power in our lives. Just as Israelite boys in the Old Testament days
received physical circumcision, so God's new-born children today receive at
their baptism a spiritual circumcision, or a circumcision of the heart. Like
all God's blessings, this must be received by faith.
"The Lord your God will circumcise your heart ...
so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul ..." Deut.20:6.
"In him also you were circumcised with a
circumcision not made with hands, but in a (spiritual) circumcision (performed
by) Christ, by stripping off the body of flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal
nature with its passions and lusts). (Thus you were circumcised when) you were
buried with him in (your) baptism, in which you were also raised with him (to a
new life) through (your) faith in the working of God (as displayed) when he
raised him up from the dead." Col.2:11-12 Amplified bible.
3. Other scripture references state:
"...
baptised into his death ..." - Rom.6:3.
"... clothed with Christ
..." - Gal.3:27.
"... baptised both men and women." - Acts
8:12.
"one body and one Spirit .. one hope .. one Lord, one faith,
one baptism and one God .." Eph.4:5.
Objection!!
I have been 'baptised' as a
baby.
1. Baptism is not for babies. Not once does the New Testament refer
to such a practice. Baptism is for believers only, which implies a certain
level of mental development. (see Mark 16:16 "... whoever believes and is
baptised." John 4:1-2 "... Jesus gained and baptised more disciples
..." Acts 2:38 "... repent and be baptised ..." Acts 18:8 "...
and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptised.") We
have seen children being baptised, but only when they had a clear understanding
of Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and because they wanted to obey him by
baptism.
2. Baptism by sprinkling is a contradiction of terms.
The word 'baptise' is an Anglicisation of a Greek word meaning to dip, immerse,
submerge or plunge into a liquid. It was used by dyers to describe the act of
dipping material in dye. New Testament baptism was by immersion. "Then
Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When
they came up out of the water ..." Acts 8:38-39. "At that time Jesus
came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. As Jesus
was coming up out of the water ..." Mark 1:9-10.
You and baptism
1. Have you been 'born
again'? If yes then:-
2. Have you been baptised by immersion? If no then:-
3. Are you willing to obey the Lord Jesus and be baptised as soon as this
can be arranged? |
