What is Baptism?
Text: Selected Scriptures
Core Idea: Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality – the gospel reality. It’s a sign of union with Christ, an act of obedience to Christ, and a point of entry into the body of Christ. Then, may our lives reflect this truth as we live for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.
INTRODUCTION
Last week, we celebrated a beautiful and memorable moment as two families stood before our church to dedicate their children to the Lord – something we experienced for the first time in our church. Witnessing their commitment to raise their children in the Lord was such an encouragement – and it reminded us how important it is to invest in the faith of the next generation. It’s not enough to finish our own race well – we must prepare and equip the next generation to finish their race well so that they can do the same for the generation that’s coming after them. This is our responsibility because God has entrusted the gospel to us. We must see to it that it’s preserved until Christ comes back. Now, I also communicated that, going forward, we will no longer baptize infants because baptism will be reserved only for those who have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. Again, this is not a reflection of my personal preference but a conviction that comes from the Word. One of the things I aimed to do as we started this church was to be a community that is shaped by the Word – I wanted every vision we implement, every decision we make, every policy we set, and every ministry we begin to be grounded in Scripture, not shaped by cultural trends or popular opinion. But a few years ago, when we were administering infant baptism, one of the parents asked me a question that caused me to stop and reflect – he asked, “Where does it say in the Bible that we should baptize infants?” I really couldn’t answer because there was no clear example of infants being baptized in the Bible. So, I brought up a few verses that seemed to hint at infants being baptized – for example, households being baptized in the Book of Acts. I explained how circumcision in the OT (a sign of the old covenant) was replaced by baptism in the NT (a sign of the new covenant) – and given that male infants were circumcised, I reasoned that infant baptism is appropriate. I talked about Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John, who administered infant baptism, with the logic that if it was wrong for him to do that, John would’ve stopped him – but he didn’t. So, I said the absence of prohibition shows that it’s acceptable. But despite all my effort, I still felt uncomfortable because I couldn’t point to one passage that clearly supported infant baptism. Not just that, but it also left me with a lot of other questions – “If we’re considering infants to be part of the covenant family, why can’t children who were baptized not allowed to participate in the Lord’s Supper? If we consider infant baptism to be biblical, why do we treat it as optional, in that why do we talk about its importance, but tell parents it’s okay not to do it if they don’t want to? Shouldn’t we convince them if we truly believe that it’s commanded by God?” I could go on and on with these questions, but the point is that it left me unsettled. So, I studied – I looked at different passages and read many books on this issue. But in the end, I still concluded that the biblical case for infant baptism was insufficient – in fact, I became even more convinced that baptism is meant only for those who can personally and publicly profess their faith. Now, I’m sure some of you may be asking, “What does that mean for those who were baptized as an infant, like me or my child?” I’ll answer them later – so please bear with me.
But the goal of this sermon is to teach you what baptism is according to Scripture and why it’s important to our faith. So, this message will be a bit different, in that I’ll be moving through several passages rather than staying in one. I don’t plan to do this often, but this will help us cover various aspects of baptism – which means that it’ll be very heavy on information and light on application. So, put on your thinking cap – and let’s look at three things about baptism:
· BAPTISM IS A SIGN OF UNION WITH CHRIST
· BAPTISM IS AN ACT OF OBEDIENT DISCIPLESHIP
· BAPTISM IS A DOOR TO THE COVENANT COMMUNITY
1) BAPTISM IS A SIGN OF UNION WITH CHRIST
Baptism is a sign of our salvation – it does not save. This is important to point out because the Roman Catholic Catechism (CCC 1213) teaches the opposite – listen to what it says, “Through baptism, we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God.” In other words, they say that baptism creates regeneration of the heart – that it washes your sins away and makes you pure. No wonder the Roman Catholics believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. But nothing could be further from the truth. If that were the case, the thief on the cross would not have been saved. Think about it. He gave his life to Jesus in his final moments – there was no time for baptism. And yet Jesus said in Luke 23:43, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” This passage makes it clear that we’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone – not by works and not even by the work of baptism. All that to say, baptism does not save – and it certainly is not necessary for salvation. But baptism does demonstrate something – namely, our union with Christ by faith. Romans 6:3-4, “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.” Let me explain. When you go into the water in baptism, it symbolizes our death and burial. Just as Jesus died on the cross and was buried in the grave, it reminds us that our old self is crucified with Christ – in that sin no longer defines us or rules over us, and we begin to grow indifferent to the things of this world. Now, when you come out of the water, it symbolizes our resurrection. Just as Jesus conquered the grave and was raised from the dead, it reminds us that we have been born again with Christ – we now have a new identity and a new heart that desires to love God and love others. We no longer live for ourselves but for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” All that to say, baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality – the gospel reality. It narrates all that Christ did for us and symbolizes our union with Christ – being dead to our old way of life and rising in the newness of life.
Now, if everything I mentioned is true (and it is), it becomes clear that baptism should be for every born-again Christian. If you have repented and placed your hope in Christ, if you believe that He’s your Lord and Savior, if you truly are a disciple of Jesus, you must be baptized. In fact, this is the pattern we see in the NT – repentance and faith leading to baptism. Let me give you some examples. First, Acts 2:37-41. The context is that Peter had just finished preaching about the crucified and risen Christ on the day of Pentecost – and this is what happened next. “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ 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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’ With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” The Jews heard the gospel, repented of their sins, believed in the name of Jesus Christ, and then they were baptized. Second, Acts 8:12. The context is that the early Christians had scattered due to persecution and were preaching the gospel wherever they went – this verse focuses on Philip, who went to Samaria to proclaim Christ to the Gentiles. “But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Again, Philip preached the gospel, they believed the good news, and then they were baptized. Third, Acts 10:44-48. We looked at this not too long ago, but the context is that Peter stepped out of his comfort zone to enter Cornelius’ house and preached the gospel to the Gentiles – and this is what happened. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, ‘Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Peter preached the gospel, the Holy Spirit came, the Gentiles praised God (in that they believed the message), and they were baptized. Lastly, Acts 16:30-34. The context is that Paul and Silas have been imprisoned in Philippi for preaching the gospel. Now, there was a violent earthquake that opened all the prison doors – so thinking that all the prisoners had escaped, the jailer was about to kill himself. But Paul stopped him – and this is what happened. “He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole household.” The pattern remains the same: Paul spoke the Word, the jailer and his household came to believe in God, and they were baptized. You’re probably thinking, “I don’t think I needed all those passages to get the point.” But I shared them because I wanted to actually show you that this is not from me but from the Bible – I wanted you to be confident that what we do here is not a reflection of my preference but of the Word. But that’s not all.
Another reason I went through this very thoroughly is because I wanted to show you that there’s no example of infants getting baptized in Scripture. This makes sense because the biblical pattern places repentance and faith before baptism – and since infants can’t yet make that response, they should wait before they’re baptized. Now, before I go on, I want to make it clear that this is not a gospel issue – in that, your stance on this does not determine whether you’re a Christian or not. If you believe in infant baptism, you’re still my brother and sister in Christ – we’re in the same family of God, we’ve been saved by the same Christ, we’re filled with the same Spirit, and we will certainly be in heaven together. But this debate over infant baptism isn’t something we can afford to overlook because it’ll significantly shape how we understand, communicate, and live out the gospel in ministry. So, what I would like to do is convince you that a believer’s baptism is correct and that infant baptism is not. Now, there are many ways I could approach this. I could talk about how the absence of command or examples of infant baptism in the Bible proves that infants shouldn’t be baptized – even in the household texts, the emphasis is consistently on belief before baptism. I could talk about the Great Commission, where Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” (Matt. 28:19). Who is “them”? The disciples – but since infants are not able to make that kind of personal commitment, they shouldn’t be baptized. In fact, if baptism is an outward sign of inward reality, by baptizing infants who have not experienced the gospel realities, we may be re-defining what baptism is or at least creating a different category just for infants. Now, even though these arguments are helpful, I want to take another approach. Paedobaptists (which is the term for those who baptize infants. In contrast, we’re called credobaptists because we baptize professing believers) believe that the sign of the old covenant (circumcision) has been replaced by the sign of the new covenant (baptism). I briefly mentioned this in the beginning. They believe that circumcision and baptism essentially function in parallel ways because both are used as a marker to identify someone as belonging to God’s covenant community. And since God instructed Abraham to circumcise every male, including infants, they see this as a basis for baptizing both believers and their children today. Don’t get me wrong – I understand the logic. But I disagree with them because, again, there’s no clear passage in the Bible that says circumcision has been replaced by baptism. In fact, listen to what Hebrews 8:6-13 says, “The ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: ‘The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to My covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ By calling this covenant ‘new,’ He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” The point is that the new covenant is not just a continuation of an old one with a little bit of renovation but that the first one will be completely obsolete. The new covenant is not like the old one. Circumcision will be no more because God is going to give His people a better sign – baptism. Yes, God did instruct the Israelites to circumcise their male infants as a sign of the old covenant – but that’s the whole point. It’s old. As a sign of the new covenant, God gives us a new way of administering it – only to believers. Think with me. If circumcision and baptism are the same thing, why was Jesus circumcised and baptized? In fact, why wasn’t Jesus baptized as an infant? Or why didn’t the Apostles instruct the believing Gentiles to baptize their infants? Colossians 2:11-12, “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through your faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” The physical act of circumcision in the old covenant points to a greater spiritual act in the new covenant – a spiritual circumcision where your old sinful flesh is put off. Then, baptism is a visible sign of this reality – by faith, His death, burial, and resurrection become our death, burial, and resurrection. This is why we would never baptize an unbeliever – they’re not united with God. And for the same reason, we shouldn’t baptize infants as well. Having said all this, I could’ve missed something – so if you have something you would like to share with me, to help me understand this better, I would love to hear from you. But, either way, let’s continue to make every effort to study the Bible so that everything we do here at Lighthouse will be from the Word.
Now, what does this mean for those who were baptized as infants? If you heard the gospel, repented, and believe Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you should be baptized as a believer. You may ask, “What if I went through confirmation already?” If this is you, the association that our church is part of (AGC) wants you to be baptized – but they’re not going to enforce it on you as a way of honoring our paedobaptist background. So, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. But if you want to, depending on how many people desire this, we may need to arrange something for the future – so speak to me if that’s you. One last question – “Is there a minimum age for anyone to be baptized?” A short answer is no – but if you’re a minor (under 18), we’ll be very careful to make sure that you’re truly ready. So, that’s the first point: Baptism proclaims and reenacts the gospel story (the saving work of Christ), for it’s a sign of our union with Him.
2) BAPTISM IS AN ACT OF OBEDIENT DISCIPLESHIP
Baptism is an ordinance in that it’s a practice that has been ordained or commanded by Jesus for the church to carry out until the end of the age. Where do we see that? The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 – Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” It’s our duty and responsibility to go and make disciples as we baptize them and teach them to obey His Word – which means that all those who become disciples must be baptized. There’s no category of unbaptized disciples. Yes, it’s true that the act of baptism does not save – but its non-necessity does not make it unimportant. It’s foundational, not optional, in following Jesus – which means that we should never intentionally delay or choose not to get baptized, for it would be considered disobedience in the eyes of the Lord. In fact, this is one of the reasons why Jesus was baptized – He was giving us an example of obedience. Think with me. Since He was sinless, there was no need for Him to be baptized – and yet He did to show His disciples what it means to live a life of obedience. It’s as if He was saying, “Do what I did. Walk in My footsteps, for it’ll bring joy to your heavenly Father.” All that to say, if you’re a Christian but have not been baptized, follow the example of Christ, take the step of obedience, and be baptized.
Then, the question remains, “How should we be baptized?” The word “baptism” in Greek is baptizo which literally means to dip, plunge, or immerse – which is why the word “baptism” in the NT has always been used to describe either literal immersion in water or metaphorical immersion in Christ. Let me give you a couple of examples. Mark 1:4-5, “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” He didn’t baptize them by the Jordan River, around the Jordan River, but in the Jordan River. This is no coincidence. In fact, just a few verses down, in verse 10, we read that Jesus came out of the water. Another example – Acts 8:36-39, “As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.” Again, baptism is described as an act of immersion in water. You wouldn’t need to come to a body of water, go into the water, and then come out of the water unless full immersion was the normative mode of baptism. Some Christians claim that the amount of water used is irrelevant since baptism is just a symbol – so they sprinkle or pour a bit of water over their head. But I firmly believe it’s no coincidence that Jesus used the word baptizo in Matthew 28 – He literally said, “Go and make disciples of all nations as you immerse them, dip them, plunge them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Then, that’s what we should do – full immersion in water will be the mode of baptism we will practice at Lighthouse. We actually bought a baptism tank – so I can’t wait to witness our first full immersion baptism and celebrate what Christ has done for us. Just as a note, there could be some exceptions. I heard from a pastor from the AGC that he had to sprinkle one time because an individual was deathly scared of water. He wasn’t going to forcefully dunk her in the water – so he chose to sprinkle. And we’re going to do the same – we want to be mindful of people’s situations. But our normative way of doing baptism will be full immersion.
3) BAPTISM IS A DOOR TO THE COVENANT COMMUNITY
Baptism signifies our union with Christ, but it also marks the beginning of your life in the body of Christ – you’re added to the fellowship of the local church. Two things happen in baptism. First, you’re publicly committing yourself to Christ – telling the church and the world that you now belong to Christ. Second, the church, in return, affirms your commitment and pledges to support you in your faith journey – reminding you that you’re not alone. Then, in one sense, you could say that baptism doesn’t just portray our union with Christ but also with the church. How can you be connected to the head and not to the rest of the body? We see how baptism is closely tied to the local church in Acts 2:41-47 – listen to what it says, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” As you can see, those who were baptized were then incorporated into the life of the church – and that’s exactly what we want to do as well. Those who get baptized at our church will become members of the church to learn, grow, and do life together as we make His name known to the world. Again, exceptions can be made, but the normative pattern will be that baptism and church membership will be inseparable.
Then, at this point, let me speak to our non-believing friends. First of all, thank you for patiently listening – I know, it was a bit heavier on information than usual. Now, the point I want you to remember is actually not baptism but what baptism represents – the gospel story. The only thing you need to know is that you need Christ. The Bible speaks about the reality that we all are sinners. We are sinners by nature and sinners by choice. And we rightly deserve the righteous wrath of a holy God. In a sense, you can say that we deserve to be immersed in God’s wrath. If you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus Christ, being baptized or immersed in water will not save you from the wrath of God, for your sin still condemns you. We’re saved only by the blood of Christ, for it signifies that He paid the penalty of our sin. He became sin for us so that we can be made right with God. I mentioned earlier that Jesus Himself was baptized to show us an example of obedience. But there’s actually another reason – to portray the gospel. Let me explain by quoting Pastor Sinclair Ferguson. This is in the context of talking about the scene where Jesus appears while John the Baptist was baptizing vast numbers of people in the Jordan River – here’s what he said, “We see the great crowds that have come to the river Jordan to be baptized, confessing their sins. Do you see what John is doing? He is symbolically washing their sins off of them and into the river Jordan. But now look, Jesus is standing in front of him. You see what John is doing? He is baptizing Jesus with the very water into which those sins have been symbolically washed. And there’s a profound gospel message in this picture – sinners washing away their sins into the water, but then Jesus Himself being baptized with that sin-polluted water. It’s as though the sins that have washed off these sinners have now washed over the person of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is being baptized into our sin so that we might be baptized into His righteousness. Sin filled water pours over Him; cleansing grace flows over us.” Friends, I pray that God will give you ears to hear and a heart to respond to the story of this wonderful exchange so that you’ll repent and place your faith in Christ.
Now, if you’re a Christian, remember your baptism and remember who you are in Christ. Remember that you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. Remember that you’re dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Then, make every effort to grow in the grace of God – to become more like Christ in every way. I’ll leave with this – Colossians 3:1-4, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” May this be true in your lives today.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality – the gospel reality. It’s a sign of union with Christ, an act of obedience to Christ, and a point of entry into the body of Christ. Then, may our lives reflect this truth as we live for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) How would you explain the difference between baptism being a sign of salvation versus a means of salvation? Why is it important to affirm that salvation is by grace through faith, and not by works such as baptism?
2) If you were baptized as an infant, how do you process the idea of being baptized as a believer? How can we be both firm in our convictions about believer’s baptism and gracious toward those who disagree?
3) Why do some believers delay baptism? What might help them take the next step?
4) Why is it important to see baptism not just as a personal act but also as a community event? How has the church helped you grow since your own baptism (or since becoming a believer)? How can we as a church better support those who are newly baptized?