1 2015, Reverend Steve Carlson Tabernacle Baptist Church West National Avenue West Allis, Wisconsin

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1 I. Introduction Questions concerning Baptism August 30, 2015 Acts 8:26-40 Later in this service Corinne and Jon Roenfanz are going to be baptized, so this morning we are going to take a break from our study of 2 nd John and instead we are going to consider some questions concerning baptism. As I was thinking of baptism, I was reminded of a story that I have shared before. It s about a newly married couple who were having a pot roast for the very first time. As the new wife prepared the roast, she cut off both ends before she put the roast into the roasting pan. Her husband asked why she cut the ends off. His wife said she didn t know but that was how her mother did pot roasts. Later, the bride asked her mother why she cut the ends off, the mother didn t know either. She said that was the way her mother had done roasts. Sometime later the young wife s mother was talking with her mother and she asked her mother why she cut the ends off pot roasts before they were cooked. The elderly woman said that when she had gotten married she only had a small roasting pan and the only way a roast could fit in the pan was to cut off the ends and so a tradition was born. It s important that as Christians we don t do things just because that is the tradition. It is so easy to get caught up in ritual or tradition that we lose the meaning or significance of what we are doing. That is why we take time each month to talk about the Lord s Table and not rush through it. And that is the reason we are going to take time this morning to consider some questions and answers concerning baptism. II. Questions Concerning Baptism A. 1 st Question: How is baptism done? As people of the Book the Bible, as Christians, we need to do what the Bible says. We just read in verse 36, As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized? And then verse 38 said that both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Turn to Mark 1:9-11 where we see another baptism. The Greek word baptizo which is translated into the English word baptize means to dip, immerse, or submerge. That s why John was baptizing in the Jordan River so that he could immerse those who were repenting. That is why Philip and the eunuch went down into the water so that the eunuch could be immersed otherwise, why get all wet? Part of the misunderstanding today about how to baptize immersion or sprinkling goes back to the early 1600 s AD. This was the time when the Bible was being translated into the King James Version of the Bible. By this time, the Church of 1

2 England was already practicing other methods of baptizing besides immersion. So that no one would question the church, King James decreed that the translators should make the Greek word baptizo into the English word baptize and not translate it into immerse. And so a tradition was born. But according to Biblical examples as well as the Greek word itself, baptism is done by immersion. B. Who is baptized? So according to the Bible who is supposed to be baptized? To find this answer, we have several verses to look at in the Book of Acts. Turn to Peter s first sermon the one he gave after Pentecost Acts 2: Now turn to Acts 8: Now turn to Acts 10:44-48; Acts 16:29-33; Acts 18:7-8; and, finally, turn to Acts 19:1-5. Do you see a pattern? As it says in Acts 8:12: Those that believed the Good News of the kingdom of God and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ were baptized. Even John the Baptist s disciples, who had been baptized by John before they knew who Jesus was, were baptized after they believed. So who is baptized? Those who are saved believers are baptized. This is why this is often called Believer s Baptism. C. Why baptize? So after a person was saved that is believed that Jesus died and rose again to pay the penalty for their sins then they were to be immersed in water. Turn to Mark 16:16. The emphasis in this verse is believe. A person is condemned bound for hell if he or she doesn t believe. The verse from Romans 10:9 that I quote often says, That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. John 3:36 says, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. The emphasis in all these verses is believe, baptism is hardly mentioned, so why baptize at all? In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, Jesus said Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Being baptized is an act of obedience obeying the one we have made the Lord of our lives. This is why in the verses we read earlier in Acts, we saw baptism following belief. The believers were obeying their Lord. D. What does baptism mean? Since no one is saved by being baptized, what does baptism mean? Like the Lord s Table or Communion, baptism is a symbol. Turn to Romans 6:3-4. Colossians 2:11-12 says, 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, 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. When a person is lowered into the water--immersed, it is like the burial of Jesus; when the person is raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. 2

3 Baptism is a symbol of the death and burial of the old life of sin and being raised to a new life in Christ Jesus. Baptism is a sign a testimony to others that the one being baptized has accepted the gift of eternal life that God has offered. It is a sign of being identified with Christ. This is another reason to call this Believer s Baptism. III. Conclusion In John 1:12 John wrote, Yet to all who received him, i.e. Jesus Christ, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. In Ephesians 2:8-9 the Bible says that a person is saved by God s grace alone working through the person s faith; it is a gift of God not by any action of the person, this would include the action of being baptized. This is important: Baptism has no part in the work of salvation baptism doesn t save. However, baptism it is a God-ordained and God-commanded action to follow salvation. By God s own words, the act of baptism, i.e. immersion, is His divinely designated sign of the believer s identification with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, baptism immersion is a divinely commanded act of faith and obedience. The call to Christ is not only a call to salvation but also a call to obedience. One commanded act of obedience of a child of God is baptism in His name. So the question this morning is this, have you been immersed after you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If you have, does your life show that you are a child of God in what you say and what you do? If you have made Jesus your Lord and Savior and haven t been baptized, why not obey Jesus you claim He is your Lord, why not obey your Lord and be baptized/immersed? 1 John 2:4 says, The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Baptism Roenfanz This morning Corinne and Jon would like to be obedient to God and be baptized, but there is a problem: there is no way Corinne can negotiate the steps into and out of the baptistery. In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read, The LORD said to Samuel, The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. God knows Corinne s heart that if she were able she would be immersed as will Jon in a little bit. But in order to demonstrate to you gathered here of her wish to be obedient, we are going to symbolize her baptism through a pouring of water. But before we do that, Corinne, I have 3 questions for you. 1. Do you believe that Jesus died and rose again from the grave so that your sins could 3

4 be forgiven? 2. Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? 3. Does baptism save you? Then based on your profession of faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and in your choice to obey Him, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jon and Pastor Steve go get ready for Jon s baptism In Jesus day baptizing a person wasn t something new or strange. This is why in the New Testament we see people believing in Jesus and being baptized even on the same day they knew what baptism was and what it signified to those watching. As we read in Romans 6 and Colossians 2, the Apostle Paul wrote that the significance of baptism for Christians was that it represented dying to the old life and rising to new life in Christ. It was a testimony to others and to the person being baptized about a change that had occurred in his or her heart. Today we don t rush into baptizing a person, there needs to be an understanding of what baptizing means and doesn t mean. This morning Jon chooses to be obedient to God. He wants to testify to each one of you about his faith in Jesus Christ. He believes that Jesus died on the cross for his sins. He has made Jesus his Savior and Lord. This morning, he wants to follow God s directions and have a believer s baptism. If you have had a believer s baptism, let this baptism be a reminder to you of what you promised to God, to those who witnessed your baptism, and to yourself. Philip Henry, the father of Matthew Henry a Presbyterian minister, wrote a baptismal statement which I would like to read to you. I take God to be my chief end and highest good. I take God the Son to be my prince and Savior. I take God the Holy Spirit to be my sanctifier, teacher, guide, and comforter. I take the Word of God to be my rule in all my actions and the people of God to be my people under all conditions. I hereby dedicate and devote to the Lord all that I am, all that I have, and all I can do. And this I do deliberately, freely, and forever. By being baptized, this is what Jon is saying to God and to you as his witnesses. Jon, I have 3 questions for you: 1. How do you know you are saved? 2. Does baptism save you? 4

5 3. Then why be baptized? Then based on your profession of faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and in your choice to obey Him, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 5