A DEEP DIVE INTO BAPTISM (Acts 2:32-39)_ INTRODUCTION This morning I want to take a deep dive into the subject of baptism. This may be dangerous because baptism is sometimes referred to as the water that divides. In fact there is a book by that title, The Water that Divides. This is because there are many disagreements related to baptism. There is the disagreement as to mode: immersion, pouring, sprinkling. There is the disagreement as to subjects: believers or believers and their children. There is disagreement as to necessity to salvation: is it necessary to be saved or not. You see there are many disagreements. With all the disagreements it is a wonder that the church hasn t given up on performing water baptism. But that is not an option because Jesus commanded the church to go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Also Jesus himself was baptized and we are to follow Jesus. This morning I want us to emphasis that it is baptism that actually unites us. In Ephesians 4:5 it says that there is one baptism. The part of baptism that unites is the work that God does in us and for us that is signified by baptism. Also doesn t I Corinthians 12:13 say that (NKJV) by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. If water baptism is related to Spirit baptism, then water baptism points to the one baptism that unites us. What is the significance of water baptism? As we look at what the Scriptures say about baptism, we will see that there is a multifaceted significance to baptism. There are several things that baptism points to. I assume that most of us have been baptized, so what I am asking each one to do this morning is to remember your baptism and recall what your baptism says that God has done for you. No matter if you were baptized by immersion, sprinkling or pouring, each mode points to the work God has done in your life. Remember God s work and renew your commitment to Him. OK? Let s go! NEW COVENANT BLESSINGS (FORGIVENESS AND GIFT OF SPIRIT) The first sermon preached at Pentecost, which was the first sermon preached in the New Covenant Age in the history of redemption, Peter states the importance October 24, 2016 Corntassel CP Church Page 1
of baptism when he was asked by the hearers of his message how they should respond to the Gospel, he said, Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). One of the things that baptism points to is our forgiveness of sins. One of the blessings of the New Covenant is the promise that our sins would be forgiven. Jeremiah 31:34 ends with this promise, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." To be forgiven of our sins is to be cleansed of our sins. In Ezekiel s vision of the New Covenant he mentions cleansing and he also the promise of the Holy Spirit. His image for this cleansing is that God would sprinkle clean water on you as a sign of this cleaning. Eze 36:25-27 NIV I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. (26) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. This is one place where the churches that sprinkles as a mode of baptism gets their Biblical basis. But what I want to emphasize is not the mode of baptism but the significance of baptism which includes our being cleansed from our sins. It is the forgiveness of our sins through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized, no matter what the mode, we are testifying to God s grace of forgiveness and cleaning. As you remember your baptism, remember that your sins are forgiven. Remember that you are cleansed from your iniquity and God is your God. OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN REGENERATION Next baptism is taught in Scriptures that it points to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us. This is mentioned in the Ezekiel passages as well as in Peter s sermon. You will receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. That water baptism is associated with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is well attested in Scriptures, especially in the book of Acts. A couple of passage must suffice: October 24, 2016 Corntassel CP Church Page 2
Act 2:33 NIV Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Not only on the church at Pentecost was the Holy Spirit poured out, He was poured at on individuals at time of their faith. When Peter went to preach the gospel to the gentile Cornelius, he summarized the results here: Act 10:45-47 NIV The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. (46) For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, (47) "Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." Water baptism clearly is related to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at the time of a person s regeneration. You can see that those churches which baptize by pouring use these Scriptures to support their view. John the Baptist said in Mark 1:8 I baptize you with water, but he will (speaking of Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. We know for certain that Jesus mode of baptizing with the Holy Spirit was pouring; He poured out the Holy Spirit upon the early church and He pours out His Spirt upon each believer upon faith in Him. What does it mean to us that the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us? For one it means that we have be born again or regenerated. Jesus said, You must be born again and he was referring to the new birth the Holy Spirit works in our life. It means that you have been placed in the Body of Christ, the family of God. To have the Holy Spirit poured out on us means that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, our Teacher, our Guide, our Strength, our Joy. When you remember your baptism, you are to remember that the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon you and all these blessings are yours through faith in Jesus Christ. UNION WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION Finally the Scriptures teach that baptism points to our union with Christ and especially our union with Him in His death and resurrection. Romans 6 is the classic passage support this. Rom 6:3-4 NIV Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. October 24, 2016 Corntassel CP Church Page 3
In a way it is our union with Christ that is the central truth that baptism points to. Our union with Christ is not only with Him in His death and resurrection, but in his ascension and in His reigning in heavenly places. Our union with Christ is the basis by which all of God s blessings are communicated to us. The phrase in Christ is sprinkled throughout the New Testament and being in Christ is referring to our union with Christ. Baptism points to our union with Christ. You can see that the churches that practice immersion looks to this passage to support their practice. And certainly our being united with Christ in His death and resurrection is crucial to our Christian life. When we are baptized we are confessing that through Christ we have died to the old man, to sin and are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life. This is our testimony in baptism. As your remember your baptism today remember that you have died with Christ to sin and are now alive unto God in your new life by Christ s resurrection and it is all by God s grace. What a blessing this is to confirm and be reminded of. WHICH MODE IS BEST Now with this deep dive into the Scriptural teaching on the significance of water baptism which mode is best? Which method of baptism is valid? All of them! There is no one mode that can capture all the meaning of what God has done for us as signified by water baptism. Remember that Jesus never told us which method to use in baptism, He just told us to baptize and to be baptized. You will not find in Scripture where Jesus said that you must be baptized in this manner. So any mode of baptism is valid. What makes baptism valid is not the mode but it is what is in your heart and what God has done for you. If you do not have faith in Jesus Christ in your heart and God has not forgiven you, cleansed you, poured out His Spirit upon you, and united you with Christ in His death and resurrection, then you baptism counts for naught! The Cumberland Presbyterian Church s understanding of this question is that baptism s validity does not depend on the mode, but depend on your repentance and faith. We use any of the three modes to baptism. In my personal practice I have used all three methods. I have immersed, sprinkled, and poured. Cumberland Presbyterians prefer pouring because of the relationship that baptism has to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon a person at regeneration when we are cleansed from our sins and the Spirit which unites them to Christ. October 24, 2016 Corntassel CP Church Page 4
CONCLUSION Now my aim in this message is not to convince you of any particular mode, and certainly not to persuade you to change your view, if you already have a strong view towards the mode of baptism. My aim is to help each of us see the multifaceted significance of baptism. My aim is to help us see that what baptism points to is what unites us, not divide us. Also I hope that this message has helped us to remember our baptism and rejoice in all the blessings it signifies. It is important to remember our baptism. Although baptism is a onetime act, it has a lasting effect on us throughout our life. It becomes one of God s means of grace by reminding us what He has done for us and in us. When we hear the statement, Remember your baptism, we are not being asked to remember the time or place of our baptism, but to remember what God has done for us that baptism points to. Although baptism doesn t save us, it is important. It is a way of our confessing our faith in Christ. It is like Jesus drawing a red line and saying whoever is for me and whoever believes in me come over this line and identify yourself with me. We have a person this morning who wants to make that profession of faith and to thank God for what He has done and is doing in his life. Amen? Amen! October 24, 2016 Corntassel CP Church Page 5