A BIBLICAL LESSON ON WATER BAPTISM

Matthew 3:13-17
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him.
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Matthew 28:16-20
"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, 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."

Mark 16:15-20
"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
And these signs will follow those who believe. In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."
So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen."

Our Lesson

The first place in our New Testament where we are introduced to the concept of water baptism by immersion is found in Matthew 3. The chapter begins: "In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness; prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight."
Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." (Matthew 3:1-6)

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But where did John get his idea about baptism?
Ritual cleansing in water was practiced from immemorial antiquity and those early beliefs have never died; they did not die in Israel, they did not die in the Church and they persist in various fashions even to our day.
The ancients believed that water was imbued with the vital energy of the deities to which they were regarded as consecrated.
In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, we have the description of the rites of the Day of Atonement in which direction was given for the ceremony of the High Priest in the making of the sacrifice for the nation of Israel. Aaron must not come at any time into the Most Holy Sanctuary, lest he die if he had not bathed his body in water. Thus, water was symbolic of cleansing in preparation for acceptance before God in the act of worship.
But there was also another ancient rite which the Jewish nation performed that must have been in the back of John's mind as he baptized in the river Jordan. It was known as the proselyte baptism. A Gentile, who did not observe the Levitical regulations concerning purity, was unclean as a matter of course, and so could not be permitted into Jewish communions without a tebilah, a ritual bath of purification. The baptismal terminology of the New Testament is held to be derived from that used of the proselyte baptism. Paul writes in Romans 6:1-10: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, but just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God." (Romans 6:1-10).
The concept of dying and rising in baptism appears to be reflected in the rabbinical saying, "One who separates himself from circumcision is like one who separates himself from the grave. Spiritually, heathenism equaled existence in a tomb, hence conversion meant a passage from death to life."
The baptism of John had two focal points; it inaugurated the new life of the converted, so assuring the baptized of forgiveness of sins, it anticipated the messianic baptism with the Spirit and fire, so giving assurance of a place in the Messiah's kingdom.
There is a question that is often been asked and it has to do with the reason why Jesus came to be baptized by John. The answer Jesus gives is: "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

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From the earliest times thinkers were puzzled by the fact that Jesus submitted to be baptized. But there were reasons, and good reasons why He did.
(1) For thirty years Jesus had waited in Nazareth, faithfully performing the simple duties of the home and of the carpenter's shop. All the time He knew that a world was waiting for Him. All the time He grew increasingly conscious of His waiting task. The success of any undertaking is determined by the wisdom with which the moment to embark upon it is chosen. Jesus must have waited for the hour to strike, for the moment to come, for the summons to sound. And when John emerged Jesus knew that the time had arrived.
(2) Why should that be so? There was one very simple and vital reason. It is the fact that never in all history before this had any Jew submitted to being baptized. The Jews knew and used baptism, but only for proselytes who came into Judaism from some other religion. It was natural that the sin-stained, polluted proselyte should be baptized, but no Jew had ever conceived that he a member of the chosen people, a son of Abraham, assured of God's salvation, could ever need baptism. Baptism was for sinners, and no Jew ever conceived of himself as a sinner shut out from God. Now for the first time in their national history the Jews realized their own sin and their own clamant need of God. Never before had there been such a unique national movement of penitence and of a search for God.
This was the very moment for which Jesus had been waiting. Men were conscious of their sin and conscious of their need of God as never before. This was His opportunity, and in His baptism He identified Himself with the men and women He came to save, in the hour of their new consciousness of their sin, and of their search for God.
The voice which Jesus heard at the baptism is of supreme importance. 
"This is my beloved Son," it said, "with whom I am well pleased." This sentence is composed of two quotations from the Old Testament. "This is my beloved Son", is a quotation from Psalm 2:7. Every Jew accepted that Psalm as a description of the Messiah, the mighty King of God who was to come. "With whom I am well pleased" is a quotation from Isaiah 42:1, which is a description of the Suffering Servant, a description which culminates in Isaiah 53.
So in the baptism there came to Jesus two certainties—the certainty that He was indeed the Chosen One of God, and the certainty that the way for Him was the way of the cross. In that moment He knew that He was destined to be a conqueror, but that His conquest must have as its open weapon the power of suffering love. In that moment there was set before Jesus both His task and the only way to fulfilling it. If Jesus was going to act proxy for sinful men and women on the cross, He must identify fully with them. And at His baptism, this is what He is doing. He identified Himself with sinners in order, in due time, to bring about the forgiveness of sins to which John's baptism pointed.
Something wonderful happened at Jesus’ baptism: "The

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heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him." (Matthew 3:16).
God's Holy Spirit came mightily upon Him. He was, of course, no stranger to the Spirit. He had been conceived under the Spirit’s influence. But now He was starting out on His ministry, and Isaiah's prophecy, ‘the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him’ (Isaiah 11:2), was being fulfilled. At His baptism Jesus receive a permanent, unwithdrawn endowment of the Holy Spirit. It is in the sacrament of water baptism that the Holy Spirit marks the believer as a child of God.
There is another question we must ask and answer. If then baptism was introduced by John, and Jesus went to John's baptism and requested to be baptized, what was the significance assigned to it?
Baptism is an overt, public act that expresses inward decision and intent; since it is performed in the open, and not in secret, it becomes by its nature a confession of a faith and allegiance embraced. If baptism in the name of Jesus is a baptism with respect to Jesus, and so distinguished from all other baptism by its relation to Him, then to submit to it becomes a confession of trust in Him. Baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, was in the earliest time a baptism for the sake of the Lord Jesus and therefore in submission to Him as Lord and King.
BAPTISM MEANS INCORPORATION INTO CHRIST! Paul writes in Galatians 3:27: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." The whole New Testament unites to stress this. The phrase which constantly faces us in its pages is ‘baptism into Christ’ or ‘baptism into the name Christ’ (the name being, to the Hebrew mind, the ‘person’, the ‘character’, sometimes the ‘ownership’ of the one named). So baptism is a total commitment which brings us into the most intimate union with Christ. Christ did all that was necessary for us through His incarnation, His death, and His resurrection. As a result we can be forgiven, indeed justified or ‘made right’ with God; but only as we are incorporated in Christ, only as we are united with the Righteous One. This is a marvelous thought! If we are incorporated by God Himself into Christ, His death, His resurrection, His victory, and His endless life, then we can never be the same again. Even if our growth is stunted because of cold winds or poor soil, we remain like branches in a tree. The power and the grace are still there, waiting to be appropriated. He is faithful even though we are not!
As Paul has indicated in the Romans 6 passage, baptism is union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Baptism plunges us into the dying and the rising of the Lord Jesus, and this aspect is particularly clearly emphasized by full immersion. Baptism means death to the person I once was, self-centered, unforgiven, alienated the life of God. It means that as the waters closed over me in baptism God has closed the account for all my past life. And just as Christ rose from the chill waters of death on the first Easter Day, so you and I rise from the waters baptism to enter on the new life He gives us, a life that is shared with Him, governed by Him, a life that will never end.

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BAPTISM WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVER! When Peter finished his sermon in Acts 2, verse 41 says: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."
In Acts 8 we have the story of the early Christians being scattered abroad because of Paul's attack on the Church. Verse 5 begins: "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city.
Verse 12 continues: "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."
In Acts 8:29 through 40, we have the account of Philip being led by the Spirit to talk with the Ethiopian who was traveling along in his chariot. He had been reading the Scripture in Isaiah 53. He could not understand what he was reading and so he asked Philip to explain it to him. “Now 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?’”
Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may. " And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:35-38)
In Acts 9, the conversion of Paul is recorded for us. After falling under the bright light from heaven, and then being led into Damascus, "...there was a certain disciple named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am Lord."
Ananias is instructed to go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold he is praying.
And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight. And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized." (Acts 9:9-18)
When Paul arrived in Philippi which is the foremost city of Macedonia..."On the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household

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were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us." (Acts 16:13-15)
In this same chapter, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. “At midnight, they began to sing and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed." When the jailer realized that all his prisoners had not fled but were still in his keep, then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized." (Acts 16:24-33)
BAPTISM FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY UPON THE CONFESSION OF FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. In many churches, baptism is not encouraged until the new believer has matured for a while in his or her faith. But this was not so in the early church.
Consider with me the mode of baptism. The practice of baptism in the New Testament was carried out in one way; the person being baptized was immersed or put completely under the water and then brought back up again. Baptism by immersion is therefore the 'mode' of baptism or the way in which baptism was carried out in the early Church. The Greek word BAPTIZO means "to plunge, dip, immerse" something in water. The symbolism of union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection seems to require baptism by immersion. Paul tells the Colossians, "You were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." (Colossians 2:12)
Sometimes it is objected that the essential thing symbolized in baptism is not death and resurrection with Christ but purification and cleansing from sins. Certainly it is true that water is an evident symbol of washing and cleansing, and the waters of baptism do symbolize washing and purification from sin as well as death and resurrection with Christ.
SO, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE CHRISTIAN BAPTISM?
(1) Baptism embodies God's challenge to repentance and faith. The amazing truths of passing through the waters of judgment safely, of dying and rising with Christ, and of having our sins washed away, are truths of momentous and eternal proportion and ought to be an occasion for giving great glory and praise to God. At baptism, we are given a wonderful opportunity to give witness to the love and mercy and grace of our wonderful Savior who reached out in love and true as to Himself!
(2) Baptism offers the blessing of the covenant. This is one aspect of baptism seldom referred to but in the New Testament, the outward sign of entrance into the ‘covenant community’ is baptism, thus baptism in the New Testament was the counterpart to circumcision in the Old Testament.

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Paul writes in Colossians 2:11-12: In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ, and you were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."
In the Old Testament, circumcision was the outward sign of entrance into the covenant community noted above, and all Israelite children (that is, male children) were circumcised when they were eight days old.
Herein was the reason that "infant baptism" became a part of the Christian faith. Further support for the practice of baptizing infants is found in the "house-hold baptisms" reported in Acts and the epistles, particularly the baptism of the household of Lydia, the Philippian jailer, and the household of Stephanas as recorded in 1 Corinthians 1:16. I have only commented on this issue to show where the reasoning comes from and which is used in many liturgical churches today.
(3) Baptism initiates us into the worldwide Christian Church. It is the adoption certificate into the family of God. It is the mark of belonging, the badge of membership. This is not always entirely obvious in traditionally Christian lands where there is a lot of nominalism, where baptism is the socially acceptable thing, and where it is often performed in semi-private. But we get much nearer to the meaning of baptism when we go into a Jewish or Muslim society, and see what baptism means there. It is extremely costly, and often involves the expulsion of a newly-baptized person from home and country. Sometimes the family holds a funeral service, to show that the baptized person no longer belongs to them in any way. He is, to all intents and purposes, dead. This extreme reaction does not take place if the person is a convert believer, but only if he or she is baptized. For baptism is rightly seen to be the point of no return. It is the definitive mark of leaving the old life and following Christ.
It is important to stress this corporate side of baptism. Nobody is meant to be a Christian on their own. We belong to one another, and the mark of that belonging is baptism. That has an important message for us in our church. Baptism is not a solitary thing, marking me out as a Christian on my own. It is a corporate thing, making us part of the Body of Christ, with all the privileges, partnership and responsibility which that entails. This comment is made because, on occasions, we are asked to conduct a private baptism...something we do not do.
In the Anglican Cathedral in Geraldton, West Australia, there is an unusual baptistery which brings to the fore these two aspects of corporate belonging and dying with Christ. For the baptistery stands in the middle of the main aisle. So anybody baptized in it is inevitably brought into the midst of the congregation. This is eloquent symbolish for stressing the corporate nature of baptism and the responsibility of the congregation for the new member. But the second piece of symbolism is even more eloquent. For the shape of the baptistery is that of a coffin! It says...We die with Christ!

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(4) Baptism commissions us for the work of the kingdom. Just as Jesus was ushered by His baptism into the ministry, so are we! It is God's commissioning for service. For baptism is a sign of the kingdom of God. It is both the demonstration that we have surrendered to Him as our King, and it is the uniform of those who are engaged in active service on behalf of the King, to draw His rebel subjects back into His allegiance.
When Azariah, Bishop of Dornekal, in South India, took over the leadership of his diocese there were few Christians, drawn mainly from the outcaste class. When he relinquished office there were a quarter of a million. He made a habit, whenever he conducted an adult baptism or a confirmation, of getting the candidate to repeat after him, "I am a baptized Christian. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel."
HERE IS ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION. Is baptism necessary for salvation?
To say that baptism or any other action is necessary for salvation is to say that we are not justified by faith alone, but by faith plus a certain work...that is, the work of salvation.
Those who argue that baptism is necessary for salvation often point to Mark 16:16: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned." This verse is simply talking about general cases without making a pedantic qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes and is not baptized. The verse says nothing about those who believe and are not baptized, thus it cannot be used to support the argument.
HERE IS A WARNING! Today, there is a very active cult which call themselves the CHURCH OF CHRIST. They have their headquarters near our city and they gather their followers in various meeting locations throughout the peninsula. They preach that if one is not baptized in their church, they are not saved. In other words, any person who does not join their group and be baptized, will not go to heaven but are destined to hell. This group is a cult and they are not Christian no matter what their name suggests. ANY CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS GROUP WHICH BELIEVES THAT THEY ARE THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN IS A CULT AND MUST BE AVOIDED AND MARKED.
And here is another warning. If you truly love Christ and have accepted His mercy and forgiveness, it is imperative that you follow Christ is baptism. Water baptism is not optional! Obedience is eternally important in our relationship with Christ, and not to be baptized is an act of disobedience. One really should question the validity of their conversion if there is a heart of rejection to the command of Christ to be baptized!
So we have observed that baptism initiates us into the Family of God...it is the adoption certificate. It is the mark of believing and belonging, it is the badge of membership!
Now we come to the most important question...HAVE YOU BEEN OBEDIENT TO CHRIST IN FOLLOWING HIM IN WATER BAPTISM? If your answer is NO, then it is my prayer that you will respond to the very next opportunity to be baptized. Obedience brings joy and peace and a presence of the Holy Spirit into your heart and life!