Baptism

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. Show from Scripture that baptism is commanded by the Lord, not optional.
2. State the New Testament design of baptism — what it is for.
3. Identify the proper subjects and the action of baptism.

Thesis

Baptism is commanded by Christ, is unto the remission of sins and entrance into Christ, is for believing penitents only, and is a burial in water — so that to obey the gospel is to be baptized.

Burden

It is a strange thing that the simplest command in the New Testament has become the most disputed. Boles noticed it: no inspired man ever had to preach a whole sermon arguing for baptism, because it was told in a few plain words and obeyed on the spot. The confusion is not in the Book; it is in the traditions men have laid over the Book. So we will not argue cleverly tonight — we will simply read what the Lord said, and let the plainness of it press its claim on every honest heart.

Introduction

There is no record of an inspired man preaching a sermon to prove baptism. Why not? Because it is so plain and simple that it was told in a few words and obeyed at once (Acts 2:41; 8:36-38). The confusion we see today is man-made. Boles asks four direct questions of the text: Is it commanded? What is its design? Who is to be baptized? What is its action? Answer those from Scripture and the matter is settled.

I. Is It Commanded? (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15-16)

If baptism is commanded, that settles it for anyone who truly wants to obey God.

1. John the Baptist taught and practiced it (Matt. 3:6; Luke 7:30 — the Pharisees "rejected the counsel of God" in refusing it).
2. Christ acknowledged it in His ministry (John 4:1-2).
3. Christ commissioned it for all nations: "Go ye... baptizing them" (Matt. 28:19); "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15-16). A command of the Lord is not a topic for debate among His servants; it is a duty to be done.

II. The Design of Baptism — What It Is For (Acts 2:38)

This is the heart of the matter, and Scripture speaks with one voice:

1. Salvation is promised after, not before, baptism — "baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16); "except one be born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5); "be baptized... unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38); "be baptized, and wash away thy sins" (Acts 22:16); "baptism doth also now save us" (1 Pet. 3:21).
2. It is unto the forgiveness of sins in Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:13-14).
3. It is the point at which one is baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27, "as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ"). Baptism is therefore not a church ordinance added after salvation, nor a mere symbol of a salvation already possessed; it is the divinely appointed place where the penitent believer, by faith in the working of God (Col. 2:12), receives the remission of sins and is added by the Lord to Christ.

III. Who Should Be Baptized? (Mark 16:16; Acts 8:37)

1. Believing penitents only — "He that believeth and is baptized" (Mark 16:16); faith and repentance must precede it (Acts 2:38; 8:37).
2. The examples of conversion in Acts confirm this every time — they heard, believed, repented, confessed, and were baptized (Acts 2; 8; 16; 18).
3. Therefore the proper subjects are those guilty of sin who can believe and repent — not infants, who have neither sin to remit (Ezek. 18:20; Matt. 19:14) nor capacity to believe.

IV. What Is Its Action? (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12)

1. The New Testament examples require much water and going down into and coming up out of the water (Mark 1:9-10; Acts 8:38-39).
2. Plainly stated, it is a burial: "buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye were raised" (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12). A burial is the action God named. Where the Bible specifies the action, men are not free to substitute another.

Application

If baptism is commanded by Christ, then no one who loves Him treats it as optional. If it is unto the remission of sins, then it is not a postponed formality but the very hour of pardon, to be sought without delay (Acts 22:16, "why tarriest thou?"). If it is for believing penitents, then it cannot be pushed back onto infants who cannot believe, nor forward as a mere badge after the fact. And if it is a burial, then it is to be done as God said. Examine where you stand: have you been baptized as the New Testament describes — a believing penitent, buried with Christ, for the remission of your sins?

Conclusion

Baptism is plain because God made it plain. It is commanded; it is unto remission of sins and into Christ; it is for those who believe and repent; it is a burial in water. The confusion belongs to men; the simplicity belongs to God. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."

Invitation

The Lord's command waits on no one's convenience. If you believe in Jesus, if you are willing to turn from sin and confess Him before men, then nothing should keep you from being baptized this very hour for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). The water is ready; the promise is sure; the only question is your obedience. Come while we sing.

Word Study

• "Baptize" (Gk. baptizō): to immerse, dip, submerge — its ordinary Greek meaning, matching the burial figure of Romans 6.
• "Unto / for" the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, Gk. eis): "for, in order to" — the same construction as Matt. 26:28, where Christ's blood is shed eis the remission of sins; baptism looks toward remission, not back upon it.

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