The Bible on Baptism The most recent perversion of baptism to hit our land was introduced by the National Secular Society in 2004. This atheist association initiated debaptism, as they put it, "to mock the practice of baptizing infants too young to consent to religious rites." The National Secular Society has sold over 100,000 Certificates of Debaptism in the past five years. The Certificate of Debaptism reads: I, John Doe, having been subjected to the Rite of Christian Baptism in infancy (before reaching an age of consent), hereby publicly revoke any implications of that Rite and renounce the Church that carried it out. In the name of human reason, I reject all its Creeds and all other such superstition in particular, the perfidious belief that any baby needs to be cleansed by Baptism of alleged original sin, and the evil power of supposed demons. I wish to be excluded henceforth from enhanced claims of church membership numbers based on past baptismal statistics used, for example, for the purpose of securing legislative privilege. While the NSS is based in London, England, the debaptism movement is spreading like wildfire to other European countries and some parts of the United States. "In a type of mock ceremony, a robed "priest" uses a hairdryer marked "reason" in an apparent bid to blow away the waters of baptism once and for all." This morning‟s program kicks off a series on baptism in which we plan, every other week, to compare the teaching and practice of twelve of the largest Christian organizations with the Scripture to see if we can break through the prevailing fog of confusion on this all-important topic. Hope you will follow this study closely, but first enjoy our song… After Jesus‟ resurrection and before his ascension in a country in the Middle East about the size of New Jersey, our Lord set in motion a series of events that, even from a secular perspective, would dramatically change the world for the better. In what is commonly referred to as The Great Commission, Jesus issued a charge to the apostles that would inaugurate Christianity – a religion with about 2 billion adherents worldwide. Reading from Matthew 28:18-20, we find Jesus saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Baptism, the only act necessary in the process of discipleship mentioned in the Great Commission, has, unfortunately been twisted and tweaked by modern man so that the average churchgoer doesn‟t know for sure what it means, how it is to be performed and whether or not their denomination actually practices the ordinance as Jesus and the apostles originally laid it down in the New Testament. This has been a major obstacle to unity within Christianity.

We appreciate the questions you have asked on baptism and hope to get to each of them within this series. Some of these include: 1)

Should babies be baptized?

2)

Does baptism forgive sins?

3)

Is sprinkling acceptable baptism?

4)

How many valid baptisms are there today?

5)

Is water baptism necessary?

6)

Should we be baptized in Jesus‟ name or in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

7)

What is required of the one doing the baptism?

Let‟s take a closer look at the Great Commission from Matthew 28: “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…” Notice, first of all, that Jesus told the apostles that they would be baptizing those who became disciples. This is significant because it distinguishes the baptism that Jesus authorized from other “baptisms” mentioned in Scripture.

BAPTISM OF SUFFERING You may remember the baptism of suffering from Matthew 20:20-23: Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. 21And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." 22But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." 23So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." Because Jesus already knew that they were able to go through a literal baptism and drink a literal cup, we know that these terms must be used in a figurative sense. Adam Clarke tells us in his commentary that “Baptism among the Jews…was used not only to express death, but the most cruel kind of death… As to the term cup, it was a common figure, by which they expressed calamities, judgments, desolation…” Obviously, Jesus was asking the twelve if they were willing to undergo the same kind of suffering that He was to go through. The enemies of God and His people would be administering this baptism so we know that this baptism could not be under consideration in Matthew 28 since the apostles, and later other disciples, would be administering the baptism of the Great Commission.

HOLY SPIRIT AND BAPTISM More often people are confused in thinking that the baptism of the Great Commission – the baptism essential for all disciples of Christ – is a baptism of the Holy Spirit without water. In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist says, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is

in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."” We learn that John‟s baptism was temporary in Acts 19. In verse 2, the apostle Paul asks some disciples at Ephesus, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." 4Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So, though for a time one could do no better than John‟s baptism, after the cross, this baptism was insufficient. The red flag that made this obvious to Paul was that the folks at Ephesus had never even heard of the Holy Spirit. The change became effective after the cross as the twelve spread the truth of the gospel through Jerusalem preaching baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” as commanded in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20. We see the role of the Holy Spirit emphasized again on the day of Pentecost when Peter responds to the plea of the Jewish audience for forgiveness in Acts 2:38. He told 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.” The gift of the Holy Spirit is referred to as a promise in the next verse. In Acts 5:32, this truth is reinforced, “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." Speaking prophetically of this truth, Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:5, “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Paul expresses this beautiful reality in a similar way in Titus 3:5, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing (bath – Amplified; bathing – Young‟s Literal translation) of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…” Again we see that the Holy Spirit plays an important role in conversion in I Corinthians 12:13, “For 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.” All of these are linked to the baptism of the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT It is critical that we do not confuse the baptism of the Great Commission with the baptism of the Holy Spirit prophesied by John the Baptist in Luke 3:16-17, "I indeed baptize you with water; but… He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Jesus clarifies in the next verse that the baptism of fire refers to hell: “He will… gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” But what does he mean by Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit? We can see immediately that this is not the baptism of the Great Commission, because Jesus never administered the baptism of the Great Commission; the apostles and later other disciples offered this baptism. In contrast, Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, Jesus was assembled with the apostles according to verse 2. Then, in verse 4-5, “He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Jesus added in verse 8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." So Jesus told the apostles that THEY would “be baptized with the

Holy Spirit not many days from now.” This was fulfilled in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost. The Bible says in verses 1-4, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues (or languages), as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Remember that this baptism of the Holy Spirit was administered by Jesus not His disciples. The uniqueness of this occasion is emphasized when Cornelius and his household receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:44-47. This passage reads: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 47"Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" When Peter retells the story to the Jewish brethren skeptical of the conversion of Gentiles in Acts 11:15-16, he says, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, „John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” It‟s extremely important to notice that Peter does not say that the Holy Spirit fell upon them as he falls on every believer, but rather that “the Holy Spirit fell on them, as upon us AT THE BEGINNING.” This indicates that this baptism of the Holy Spirit administered only by Jesus took place only on two occasions. The baptism of the Holy Spirit fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus made as well as the prophecy of Joel 2:28, “That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh…” Peter referenced Joel‟s prophecy on the Day of Pentecost. On that day, the baptism of the Holy Spirit validated the apostles‟ message – the first gospel sermon – that Jesus had been raised from the dead and that remission of sins was extended to those believers who repent and are baptized. On this occasion it fell on Jews. Joel‟s prophecy referred to the “pouring out of the Spirit ON ALL FLESH” and so, was not completely fulfilled until experienced by the Gentiles - Cornelius and his household - in Acts 10. This clarifies one of the major sources of confusion on the subject of baptism. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 that there is only “one baptism” required of all believers. This is the baptism of the Great Commission issued by Jesus to the apostles in Matthew 28, “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…” The baptism of suffering is executed by the enemies of the cause of Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is administered by Jesus. This knowledge will enable you to distinguish between these three when you read through the New Testament. You can also see that Jesus‟ command to “teach all nations” or “make disciples of all nations” involves baptizing those who believe the gospel. This is the only action separated from the other acts of obedience that they were to be taught. To neglect or marginalize water baptism is to depart from Jesus‟ original marching orders to the apostles and, by extension, to the church. We also see in Matthew 28:19-20 that baptism is not the alpha and omega of Christianity. Baptism is just the beginning. Afterwards, we are obligated to teach those new to Christ “all things” that the Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament writers to provide for our spiritual development. This is why the New Testament does not end in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost. We can also see that there is a cycle inherent in the Great Commission that necessarily perpetuates the original teachings of the apostles. The apostles were to make disciples of all nations. They baptized

those who received their message and taught them “to observe all things that Jesus commanded…” This, of course, would include making disciples of others, baptizing them and teaching those converted to observe or obey ALL THINGS that Jesus commanded. This meant that no one would have the right to make changes from the original truths set down by the apostles in the New Testament. Even today, nearly 2000 years later, no man or woman is qualified to pass on any of the teachings of the New Testament for some idea that they may consider an improvement or necessary change to conform to the spirit or desire of the times. In our next message on baptism we will address how we can reconcile being baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and being baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” We will also explore the meaning of the phrase “in the name of” in the context of baptism. I believe you will find this study interesting and enlightening. If you would like to receive a copy of this sermon, “The Bible on Baptism,” or if you have any questions about baptism to pass along to us, have a pen and paper handy and we will tell you how after our song… Thank you for watching Let the Bible Speak. We pray you have heard God speak to you through His word. If you would like us to help you in obeying your Lord, please contact us. If you‟d like a copy of this sermon, “The Bible on Baptism,” please write us at the address on your screen and we‟ll be glad to get it out to you. If you would like to get a baptism chart showing where twelve churches stand on each of these questions on baptism, we can get to you as well. You may also request a free Bible study course you can complete at home. If that interests you, please let us know. Please visit our website, letthebiblespeak.com, and watch videos of the program at your convenience. On behalf of the congregations listed shortly, we echo the sentiment of the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 16:16, “the churches of Christ salute you.” Until next week, goodbye and God bless.