WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT
BAPTISM?
Those of us who maintain that baptism is
for the remission of sins have found our religious friends responding by
suggesting that we make too big a deal about baptism. For this lesson, that
reaction is put in the form of a question, “What’s the big deal about baptism?”
Lets look and see.
A WORD OF BALANCE
The Priority of Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9)
1. The
source or basis of our salvation is God’s grace not our works.
2. Grace
means we do not and cannot merit salvation through boastful works (Rom. 3:27;
4:1-6).
3. When
the Bible teaches that baptism saves (I Pet. 3:21), it is looking at how
obedient faith receives God’s gracious gift (i.e. Josh. 5:13-6:21; II Kgs.
5:1-14; Jas. 2:14-26).
WHY BAPTISM IS A BIG DEAL
Letting the Bible Speak for Itself (II Tim. 2:15)
1. 18And Jesus came
and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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 (Matt.
28:18-20).
2. 15And He said to
them, “Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. 16“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned (Mk. 16:15-16).
3. 3Jesus answered
and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say
to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is
old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus
answered, “Most assuredly, I say to
you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God (Jn. 3:3-5).
4. 36“Therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37Now 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?” 38Then 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 (Acts 2:36-38).
5. 35Then Philip
opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36Now as they
went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here
is
water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37Then Philip
said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered, “I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38So he
commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down
into the water, and he baptized him. 39Now when
they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and
the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:35-39).
6. 30And he brought
them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31So they
said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your
household.” 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to
him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took
them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all
his family were baptized. 34Now when he
had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced,
having believed in God with all his household (Acts 16:30-34).
7. 16‘And now why
are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the
name of the Lord (Acts 22:16).
8. 3Or do you not
know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
His death? 4Therefore we
were buried with Him through baptism into 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 (Rom. 6:3-4).
9. 12For as the body
is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (I Cor.
12:12-13).
10. 26For you are all sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. 28There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26-28).
11. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you
were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and
Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all (Eph. 4:4-5).
12. 25Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26that He
might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word (Eph.
5:25-26).
13. 11In Him you were also circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12buried with
Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the
working of God, who raised Him from the dead (Col. 2:11-12).
14. 4But when the kindness and the love of God
our Savior toward man appeared, 5not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus
3:4-5).
15. 20Who formerly were disobedient, when once the
Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared,
in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21There is
also a like figure which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of
the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Pet. 3:20-21).
The Bible has answered the question.
Baptism is of vital importance because God has determined that immersion in
water is an act of faith required of those who would find salvation through grace.
Edwin
2/18/00
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