BAPTISM

The Bible Teaches That …
1. BAPTISM IS ESSENTIAL UNTO SALVATION. In the following passage of Scripture, Jesus Himself said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:15,16. If there is any one subject that is plainly presented in the Bible, it is the subject of baptism. We should be willing to accept exactly what the Lord teaches on this as well as all other subjects of inspired writing. We have had at least three accounts of the commission given by Christ to His apostles, and they are as follows:

Matthew 28:18-20 – “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Mark 16:15-16 – “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Luke 24:46-47 – “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

In two of these three accounts of the commission, baptism is mentioned twice. In these two instances, specific instruction to be baptized is given to the persons to whom the Gospel is preached. It also is specifically stated, “He that believeth AND is baptized shall be saved.”

The Bible Teaches That …
2. THOSE WHO WANTED TO BE SAVED, GLADLY RECEIVED THE WORLD OF GOD AND WERE BAPTIZED. In Acts chapter 2, which records the establishment of the church, we find that Peter and the apostles stood up and preached to those gathered there from every nation under heaven. In verse 37, we read that they were pricked in their hearts and cried, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

In verse 41, we read, “Then they that gladly received His word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

We should consider this admonition today. If we desire to be saved, to enjoy remission of sins, we should be willing to receive the word gladly and to be baptized.

The Bible Teaches That …
3. BAPTISM PUTS ONE INTO CHRIST. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we read, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Since being in Christ makes one a new creature, then what we want to learn is how to get into Christ.

This is an easy matter to find. Open your Bible and read, Galatians 3:26-27, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” This plainly states that we put on Christ in baptism. If we put on Christ by baptism, then we become new creatures in Christ by being baptized into Him.

There also is another passage that teaches that we are baptized into Christ. Romans 6:3-5 – “Know ye not, that so many of us have been baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”

There is another passage which teaches this same thing. 1 Corinthians 12:13 – “For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body.”

“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

These three passages emphatically declare that to get into Christ we are to be baptized into Him.

Next, we want to mention that all spiritual blessings are in Christ.

The Bible Teaches That …
4. ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS ARE IN CHRIST. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul wrote: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

If all spiritual blessings are in Christ, and one must be baptized to get into Christ, it follows that the unbaptized do not have spiritual blessings at all. Therefore, those who have not been baptized do not have remission of sins; they are not saved; they are not in Christ, and they are not new creatures in Christ.

Surely this should cause us to see the importance of baptism.

The Bible Teaches That …
5. BAPTISM IS A BURIAL. Romans 6:3 says that baptism is a burial. Actually, baptism is a burial in water (Matthew 3:16,17); it is for remission of sins (Acts 2:38); it is to put one into Christ (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27); it enables a person to be raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-5).

There is a common teaching prevalent today that sprinkling or pouring of water on one, in the name of Christ, is baptism. That is not true. Baptism is a burial. This is definitely stated in the above passage of Scripture. To show further how that it must be a burial and that sprinkling or pouring is incorrect, let us read Romans 6:17-18: “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine delivered you.

“Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

Jesus died, he was buried and he rose again. Similarly, we stop sinning, we are buried in water, and we rise from baptism to walk in newness of life.

OBJECTION:

Some take the example of the thief on the cross and try to show by this that a person may be saved before or without baptism. However, remember this: before Jesus died we have examples of Jesus saying, “Thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2). Jesus said He had the power to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6). Therefore, when Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise,” He had the power to forgive if He wants to do so. But this was before His death. After He died, He then gave the commission, which we have studied, and the Apostles went out to teach the people that they were to be baptized. It was impossible for the thief to obey the command of baptism.

The thief was an exceptional case since Christ had not yet commanded His baptism. We are required to do something else. Hebrews 9:15-17, shows that Jesus’ will did not become effective until after He had died. He commanded, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Let us not try to get to heaven on an excuse, but by obeying the Gospel through baptism in Christ.

Section 1 - Answer the Question

Question 1 Where are all spiritual blessings?

Question 2 How do we get into Christ?

Question 3 Is sprinkling or pouring a scriptural substitute for baptism? ---

Question 4 Is baptism a burial?

What passage of scripture shows this?

Question 5 Jesus died, he was buried and he rose again. Similarly, we __________, we are _______ and we rise to ______.

Section 2 -FILL IN THE PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE THAT HAVE THE STATEMENTS IN THEM.

Question 1 “Therefore we are buried with him in baptism” ---

Question 2 “Have put on Christ” ---

Question 3 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” ---

Question 4 :Give the purpose of baptism as stated in these verses:

a. Galatians 3:27 –

b. Acts 22:16 –

c. Acts 2:38 –

d. 1 Peter 3:21 –

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