The Grove A Personal Baptism Study Baptism and Promises Baptism is an extremely important event in the life of a believer. In this study we are going to look at several passages of Scripture that talk about what happens when we in faith are baptized into Christ. In Acts 2:39, Peter in the very first sermon ever preached after Christ ascended into heaven says that baptism is a promise. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the Lord our God will call. Acts 2:39 Let s look at and be encouraged by some of the awesome things that God promises will happen when we are baptized. Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, 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 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Gal 3:26-28 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. - Mk 16:16 1
and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:21 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection - Rm 6:3-5 Question did you notice that Paul says that we are baptized into Christ? In other words after we are baptized we are in Christ. And that is a really awesome thing. Read the following verses and write down the awesome things they say about being In Christ. Romans 8:1 2 Corinthians 5:17,21 Ephesians 1:3-8 (note here the words in Him but the Him is obviously Christ) When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure--the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross. 2
- Col 2:11-14 In the verses you just studied you saw many promises that are connected with our baptism into Christ. 1. Are these promises really true? 2. Will God keep his word? 3. How do these promises make you feel? Baptism and Questions Okay, as we wrap up this brief study I thought it would be a good idea to deal with a few questions they may be on your mind right now. #1 How much do I need to know to be baptized? Basically you need to know that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ is your Savior. Now it s helpful to read the book of Acts and see what people who were converted in the first century understood before they were baptized. Let s look at the conversions in Acts 2, 8, 16 & 22 Pentecost (Acts 2:36-41) What they understood (Acts 2:36)? How did they respond (Acts 2:41)? When did they respond? (Acts 2:41) 3
Ethiopian (Acts 8:35-38) What was the message of Philip to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:35)? What was his response (Acts 8:38)? Jailer (Acts 16:31-33) What did he understand (Acts 16:31)? What was his response (Acts 16:33)? Saul (Acts 22:14-16) What did he understand (Acts 22:14-16)? What was his response (Acts 9:18)? Do you see any similarities? The message and the response are consistent. The message is Jesus, and the response is voluntary (a simple faith in Christ and an immediate response to that faith by surrendering in baptism). 4
#2 What if a person is not baptized can they be saved? Yes that is a very big question! And understand this question is best answered with a question. Why isn t the person baptized? There are 3 possible answers I never understood baptism Perhaps you were never instructed to be baptized. Maybe you ve never been challenged to consider the issue. That s entirely possible. If this is the case, we urge you to give thought to what God says about baptism in His word. This doesn t negate your faith up to this point. But understand, part of maturity is an openness to respond to new truth that is revealed to us in a positive way. And listen, once a new truth (like the extreme importance of baptism in our salvation) has been made known to us, then to not respond in a positive way is actually disobedience. I don t want to Let s analyze this response for a moment. God humbles himself by leaving heaven and being born in a feed-trough. The God of the universe eats human food, feels human feelings and dies a sinners death. He is spat upon, beaten and stripped naked and nailed to a cross. He takes our eternal condemnation on himself in our place. He then offers salvation as a free gift and asks that we say yes to him in baptism and someone responds, I don t want to. Such logic does not add up. Such resistance spells trouble of the soul. It reveals a problem of the heart. Such a person does not need a study of baptism, they need an examination of the soul. This kind of person even puzzled Jesus, Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I ask. Luke 6:46 What if I die before I can be baptized? Have a heart attack in the changing room? The answer to this question is found in the character of God. Would a God of love reject an honest heart? No way. Would a God of mercy and kindness condemn a seeking soul? Absolutely not. Having called you and died for you would he cast you away because of a curious sequence of events? Inconceivable. Is it possible for un-baptized person to be saved? Yes, definitely. But it is God s call not ours. Should every believer be baptized? Yes, definitely. 5
#3 Do I Ever Need To Be Re-Baptized? Now, the Bible never talks about a person who was baptized into Jesus ever being baptized again. Bottom line, if we are baptized with an understanding of what it means (believe in and surrender to the Lordship of Christ), then we will never need to be baptized again, even if, we make some pretty significant mistakes after our baptism. Understand, sinning after our baptism is not a cause to be baptized again, because the truth is, we will never this side of heaven be completely free from sin. So, then what do we do when we sin, John 1:9 tells us that we need to confess it to and agree with God that it is a sin and should not be in our lives. However, if we are not sure about our baptism, if we were baptized for some other reason other then surrendering our lives to Christ (our parents wanted us too, all our friends were being baptized), then we were probably never baptized to begin with. Does that make sense? Over the years I have meet with many people who doubted the validity of a baptism in their past... who decided to get baptized, not again, but for the first time with an understanding... #4 When Can I Get Baptized? Anytime you are ready to surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ. And throughout the book of Acts we see that people like those in Acts 2:41 who accepted the message about Christ were baptized that very day. We have a baptistery in our auditorium. It is heated during Sunday services and can be heated at any other time upon several hours notice. Again MGCC we feel that baptism should be done as soon as you're ready to commit to Christ whether that be on Sunday or some other time during the week. Once we understand what baptism is about, we should not put it off. Like Ananias said to Paul in Acts 22:16 What are you waiting for? Get up be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name. Remember this was 3 days after Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. 3 days after he had decided to follow Jesus. Yet, there was still something essential for him to do in order to deal with this sin problem. 6
IF we love Christ. we desire to obey and follow Him. we understand that even He was baptize we understand that Scripture calls on us to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21) AND we have not been baptized, THEN Ananias question to Paul applies to us, what are we waiting for? Understand, at The Grove we call on people to respond to the Gospel the same way that Peter did when he preached the Gospel for the very first time, Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:38 And we want them to be baptized as soon as possible after accepting the message, Those who accepted the message were baptized, and about 3000 were added to their number that day. - Acts 2:41 Now, when you are baptized we would encourage you to invite your family and friends. What a tremendous witness your baptism would be to them! However, we would not encourage anyone to put off their baptism for an extended amount of time so that everyone can be there. It s the those who accepted the message were baptized that day (Acts 2:41) principle. 7
#5 Does The Grove Baptize Infants? Because of what the Bible teaches, we at The Grove wait until our children are old enough to believe in Jesus (who He is and what he did) and understand the meaning of baptism and surrendering to the Lordship of Christ before we baptize them. Our understanding is that until they are old enough to believe and understand what it means and why they need to be baptized they are "innocent" of their condition. Even Jesus said, "Let the little children come unto Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -- Matt 19:14 Remember, baptism is a personal statement of your faith in the promises of God, therefore, it is not a decision that anyone else can make for you. #6 Who Can Baptize Me? Any Christian can baptize someone, there is no biblical direction or distinction between "clergy" and "laity." If you have lead a person to Christ one of the greatest privileges you will ever have would be to baptize that person into Christ. Parents of children can baptize their child (which is awesome, I ve had that privilege 4 times so far as a dad). But, of course the staff and leadership at The Grove are always available to perform baptisms. #7 Why Does The Grove Practice Baptism By Immersion? We practice baptism by immersion because the word translated "baptize" in the New Testament is the Greek word baptizo which means to dip or plunge. And every time we find the word baptism in the New Testament it is always the Greek word for immerse. Understand, the New Testament never calls on anyone to have water sprinkled on them or poured over them. So, I guess the answer as to why we only practice baptism by immersion is because that it what the bible tells us to do. If you have any questions about baptism, feel free to contact me anytime. Steve Malone (Lead Pastor MGCC) Steve@maple-grove.org 434-284-1057 8